Caught Caring: March Of Dimes and Prematurity Awareness Month
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It’s every expectant mom’s worst nightmare, but sadly each year in the United States more than 500,000 babies will enter the world prematurely. Because they aren’t yet ready to be born, babies delivered prior to 37 weeks gestation can and often do suffer from a litany of health problems, including mental retardation, cerebral palsy and respiratory distress syndrome.
The March of Dimes has been working to raise awareness of — and funding for — premature babies since 1938. November marks Prematurity Awareness Month, and the organization kicked it off at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills last weekend.
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In attendance was Halle Berry, sporting a purple band as part of the March of Dimes’ banding together campaign.
More than 15,000 virtual bands have been created thus far, celebrating, honoring and remembering preemies around the world.
Halle’s support — and the support of other celebrity moms like Julie Bowen, Nicole Richie and Kellie Martin — couldn’t come at a better time.
Prematurity has been escalating “steadily and alarmingly” over the past two decades, according to the organization, and everyone pays a price.
Whether or not you have delivered prematurely, in 2005 alone the United States paid at least $26.2 billion in economic costs associated with preterm birth.
The March of Dimes notes that although a premature delivery can happen to anyone and that in 40% of the cases the cause is unknown, there are some steps that an expectant mom can take to minimize her chances of a premature delivery.
They include establishing quality prenatal car as early in the pregnancy as possible, quitting smoking, eliminating alcohol, going over prescription medications with a doctor, eliminating the use of herbal remedies and supplements, reducing stress, and keeping a watchful eye on infections.
Other risk factors include a previous preterm delivery and a multiples pregnancy. Learning the signs of preterm labor is also crucial, for the earlier it is detected the better the odds that doctors can work can treat both mom and baby.
To learn other ways you can help, click here.
Halle is mom to 19-month-old Nahla Ariela, her first child with partner Gabriel Aubry.
– Missy
- Posted on Nov 12, 09 at 2:00PM
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- 6 Comments
November 12th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I gave birth to my son 6 weeks early & he remained in the NICU until his due date. I had a perfect pregnancy. I was extremely healthy. My doctor couldn’t explain why it happened. Any mother who has experience the NICU can tell you the roller coaster ride of emotions. Your baby takes two steps forward & one step back. My son just had to develop the suck-swallow-breath coordination. Once he had that down he was fine. He doesn’t have any other problems & is right on track developmentally.
March of Dimes is a worthy cause.
It’s a miracle that these tiny babies can survive when they should still be safe & sound in the womb.
November 12th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I had a perfect pregnancy up until about 20 weeks. Then my blood pressure became a problem. I did EVERYTHING mentioned in the article, except reduce stress. I didn’t do that until after 20 weeks, when my physician took me off of work. Even with that, doing everything by the book for my pregnancy, and getting excellent care from a perinatologist, I still delivered a tiny baby at 31 weeks, 6 days. She was the size of a 28 week baby at just 2 pounds, 2.2 ounces! Other than being tiny, she was perfectly healthy! We are so blessed and so grateful for the March of Dimes! My daughter was the local Ambassador for the March of Dimes this year – such a great organzation! Going home from the hospital without a baby, and leaving her in the NICU for 4 weeks, 4 days was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life! Being the parent of a preemie with H1N1 and flu season upon us is no picnic either! My one piece of advice to the public is – if you see a baby in public, do not touch it especially it’s hands or get in it’s face! Very scary – especially this time of year!
November 12th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Although I’m sure March of Dimes is a worthy cause from my personal experience of delivering a preterm baby I’d tell people to give money and time to their local hospital NICU. When I delivered my baby two-years ago at 30 weeks he was 2 pounds 14 ounces. He stayed in the NICU for six weeks. He is now a healthy and active two year-old. All of my help and guidance received over that time came exclusively from the NICU staff and my hospital’s Parent Support Group. When I reached out to see what help March of Dimes could give all they said was go to our website. I asked my NICU staff and the support group what support they received from March of Dimes and they said none. My hospital is in Pasadena, CA so I’m not talking about somewhere remote. I just say to folks do things locally and that you can see the direct result of your donation. My support group donated knitted booties and hats for the NICU babies as well as provided a listening ear. They also bring pizza to the families with admitted babies and so many more things.
November 13th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I too am the mom of a preemie. My little girl was born unexpectedly at 27 weeks. She weighed just 2 lbs 8 ounces and her weight dropped to 1 lb 13 ounces. I had a perfectly normal pregnancy up until I went into labor. I had no warning signs and the doctors were never able to find out what caused me to go into labor 3 months early. She spent 11 long weeks in the NICU before she was healthy enough to come home. I’m so lucky, she is now a healthy 6 year old with no long term problems from such a rough start. I am forever grateful to the NICU staff all the amazing doctors and nurses. I think it’s a wonderful idea to donate to march of dimes but also to your local hospitals NICU. They will take donations for baby blankets, and preemie sized clothing and hats.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I applaud the celebrities bringing attention to the March of Dimes and prematurity. I can also relate to the commenters. My beautiful girl was born early at 29 weeks. She was in the NICU for 7 weeks, which was pretty traumatic for the family. Now at 14 months, she is healthy, no complications, and has hit all of her milestones. To anyone that has had a premature baby, there is hope, for a wonderful, normal future. Reach out for help from the fellow preemie parents, the hospital, and the March of Dimes.
November 19th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Thanks for this great post and for point out the need for all of us to fight for preemies. The March of Dimes just released the second annual Premature Birth Report Card and America scored a depressing “D.” What that means is that every year, we’re failing more than half a million babies.
Each state received its own report card, by the way, and you can find your state’s grade here: http://www.marchofdimes.com/prematurity/index_map.asp. No state earned an “A,” and Vermont was the only state that received a “B.” Even though seven states improved their grade, I’m sure you’ll agree we have a long way to go.