Wednesday, November 17, 2010

prematurity awareness day

(Grocery giveaways below… Please scroll down and enter.)

(Great information below, but there are some sick little ones in this video. FYI.)

I have been privileged to help tell the stories of several families whose babies were born far too soon. The March of Dimes has made dramatic steps in saving these babies. (Surfactant, which helps tiny underdeveloped lungs inflate, is probably the single greatest advancement in saving the lives of preemies. Babies as young as 23 weeks gestation have a chance at survival now.) However, there is much to be done. Our state got a big fat F on the prematurity report card issued by MOD last year. 

Please watch the video, click over to the March of Dimes’ site and learn more about this. If you are pregnant, know the signs of preterm labor!

2 comments:

MoDLin said...

Chris, thank so much for your post and for helping us spread the word about the seriousness of premature birth. We appreciate your support.

Debra said...

Oh, wow! I had no idea there was such a thing... I will definitely keep this in mind for next year.

In my neck of the woods, premature birth is a pretty big problem... and if you read most pregnancy literature, they sure make it sound like something you only need to worry about if you are "bad" (smoker, drug user, etc.)

With our altitude, though, it just seems so much more common... and yikes, being aware is so important. Being a former NICU Mom myself, oh, I just want people to know that it can happen to anyone. And it isn't fun.