Fight For Preemies-Prematurity made personal

 I thought long and hard about what to write this year.
 Here is what  I felt is important.

My family lives in South Carolina where statistics from the South Carolina March of Dimes show 1 in every 8 babies are born Prematurely or with some birth defect or complication. This can vary from state to state.
This number thankfully is changing for the better, thanks to research and programs and medicine developed by the March of Dimes.
What causes Prematurity? According to the March of Dimes only in  50 percent of cases do they have a known cause.

Our Story and proof Prematurity can happen to Anyone:
A Tale of 2 pregnancies:

Jonathan was born in March of 2006 after infertility and a miscarriage. He was born at 39 weeks but instead of first cries, he was in respiratory distress. His lungs were severely immature and underdeveloped. He was admitted to the NICU where he was placed on a ventilator and given 3 doses of Surfactant. After some time he deteriorated,he was transferred to Levine Children's Hospital level 4 NICU. (this is our fast forward version).After some time and an oscillating ventilator, he was placed on Nitric Oxide . We nearly were at the point where the neonatal doctors were going to do ECMO.
He began to improve. After 55 days in the NICU he came home on oxygen and monitors. Jonathan was on oxygen until he was six months old. Jonathan is now an active almost 5 year old who continues to amaze us.

Before his younger brother Daniel was conceived I took prenatal vitamins, and ate well. When I was pregnant with him I got more specialized prenatal care. I had a test done called an amniocentesis to check for lung maturity. I received the steroid Betamethasone (to mature his hungs) because his lungs too were immature,just like Jonathan's.

 He was born in late July of 2008 with borderline lung maturity. He was born screaming and has yet to stop.
Thanks to the research and  the support from the March of dimes, and incredible doctors and neonatal doctors Daniel spent 30 hours in the NICU under observation.  Daniel came home with me when I left the hospital on the fourth day. He is a very joyful , loving and active two year old.

We could have had a different outcome had we not learned about what the March of Dimes has researched and what special care we could receive.
I know my family is forever changed by prematurity but we are grateful for what the March of Dimes does for these precious babies.
We are expecting our third baby, Sarah (due after the new year) and I am receiving the same specialized care I received with Daniel. I will be receiving the steroid Betamethasone and a NICU team will be present at her delivery with the drug Surfactant at the ready.

 How do you get involved?
Go to The March For Babies website. Sign up and attend an event in your  area.
Find out for yourself about the mission of the March of Dimes organization. To have every baby be born healthy.
Get your business or company involved.
The walk in our area is fun and is on April 30th.  You can raise money both online and by doing car washes, bake sales and yard sales. You can have a silent auction or a sit down dinner.
Your level of involvement is totally up to you, and  the money you raise goes towards  life saving research.
This is a celebration for our family and for those touched by prematurity.

Everyone at some point knows someone touched by prematurity. We hope at  some point less families are impacted by it and this doesn't happen so often.
Until then we pray for better treatment and more research for a cause and a cure so more mom and dads can bring home healthy babies.

Thanks for visiting :)


Trina and my amazing family Andrew, Jonathan and Daniel