Prematurity Awareness

www.marchofdimes.com


THE FACES BEHIND THE NUMBERS…….
Is there a fine line between crisis and epidemic?????…
The most current statistics read. 1 in every 8 babies is born premature.
1 in every 28 babies is born with birth defects.
Approx 4000 of these babies lose their fight for life.
Many times I sit and think about these numbers, the statistics of a crisis that is still far too silent. The numbers are staggering. The facts are truly heartbreaking.
And the reality….
Means ….
Somewhere right now…..A couple is celebrating the news they are expecting a Baby, unknowing to them their world is about to change forever.
Somewhere right now…..Bililights are being turned on.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is on total bed rest.
Somewhere right now…..Blood gases is being drawn from a tiny life.
Somewhere right now…..An expectant Mother is sicker than she has ever been before.
Somewhere right now…..Cryotherapy just began.
Somewhere right now…..An expectant Mother is lying in a hospital bed praying for more time.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is being diagnosed with IURG.
Somewhere right now…..Parents sit hypnotized watching a fetal monitor
Somewhere right now…..A Mothers water just broke many weeks too soon.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is experiencing pre-term labor.
Somewhere right now…..Parents are decorating a nursery for a baby who will never be using it.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is being placed on high frequency ventilation.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is watching an ultrasound realizing something is terribly wrong.
Somewhere right now….. A Mother’s baby just stopped kicking.
Somewhere right now….. Expectant parents is given no hope.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is receiving medication in hope of keeping her pregnant.
Somewhere right now…..A toddler still wears a pulse oximeter.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is lying in a hospital bed crying in fear of what is soon to come.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is receiving Surfactant Therapy.
Somewhere right now…..A mother is being forced to birth a still born baby.
Somewhere right now…..ADoctor is performing an emergency C-Section.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is having an amniocentesis.
Somewhere right now…..An umbilical catheter is being inserted.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is diagnosed with preeclampsia.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is being taken from it’s protective world, and placed in a very clinical environment.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is standing next to a plastic box looking down helplessly at her baby, making deals with God.
Somewhere right now …..A baby is being baptized in a NICU.
Somewhere right now…..A neonatologist is painting a grim picture.
Somewhere right now…..A Parent never imagined they could feel this kind of heartache
Somewhere right now…..A parent lives in fear, of all they do not understand.
Somewhere right now…..A baby has just exceeded its parents insurance limitations.
Somewhere right now…..Regardless of the diagnosis a Parent refuses to give up hope.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is receiving Nitric Oxide.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is having a G-Tube inserted.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is being given a diuretic.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby just crashed.
Somewhere right now…..An apnea monitor just alarmed.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is frantically dialing 911 because her baby just stopped breathing.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is being placed on echmo.
Somewhere right now…..A baby’s life hangs in the balance.
Somewhere right now….Parents are rooming in with their baby.
Somewhere right now…..Parents dreams of taking their Baby home is being shattered.
Somewhere right now…..A Mommy is longing to touch her baby, that is too fragile to tolerate her touch.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is being placed on a vent.
Somewhere right now…..Parents are looking for someone to blame.
Somewhere right now….A parent is signing consent to let their baby go.
Somewhere right now…..A mother is replacing bandages around her baby’s newest procedure.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is being buried.
Somewhere right now….The pain, uncertainty, and fear has become more than a couple can bear.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is graduating to a C-Pap.
Somewhere right now…..A Mommy is singing to her baby in a whisper.
Somewhere right now….A parent is being awakened by an apnea monitor.
Somewhere right now….Medical staff are trying to stabilize a baby.
Somewhere right now….A Mother is longing so much to hold her baby, it hurts.
Somewhere right now…..A parent is speaking to a medical supply company.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is being bagged.
Somewhere right now….Parents are being medically trained to take their baby with special needs home.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is getting their heel stuck again today.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is experiencing Kangaroo Care for the first time.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is experiencing tachycardia.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is getting their first bath in a plastic spit tub.
Somewhere right now…..A Babys nursery light remains off.
Somewhere right now….A nurse is inserting an IV in a baby’s tiny head.
Somewhere right tnow…..A central line is being inserted.
Somewhere right now…..A candle is being lit for a baby.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is giving her child a breathing treatment.
Somewhere right now…..A family is having a picnic at a grave site.
Somewhere right now…..A home is being remodeled to accommodate a special needs child.
Somewhere right now…..Parents are walking out of a NICU for the last time with empty arms.
Somewhere right now…..A Parent is wondering what if???
Somewhere right now….A Mother is placing a teddy bear on a tiny grave.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is awakening in tears from a nightmare.
Somewhere right now…..A child is being given Botox injections, in hopes of easing the effects of Cerebral Palsy
Somewhere right now…..An infection is developing around a central line.
Somewhere right now…..A respiratory therapist is adjusting pressure on a vent.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is going home after months in the NICU.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby’s feeds have just been stopped.
Somewhere right now…..A neonatoligist is sitting silently in prayer.
Somewhere right now….A Mother is feeling guilty.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is experiencing Bradycardia.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is walking into a NICU for the very first time.
Somewhere right now…..A small child is being fitted for leg braces.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is enduring the examination for ROP.
Somewhere right now…..A Father is balancing a role of primary care giver to siblings at home, and work to allow Mom more time with her baby.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is pumping breast milk to put down a feeding tube.
Somewhere right now…..Parents are searching for a pre-school that will accommodate their special needs child.
Somewhere right now….Siblings are being sent to stay with Grandparents for reasons they do not understand.
Somewhere right now…..Parents are trying to explain to a small child their sibling will never be coming home.
Somewhere right now…..A home is being remodeled to accommodate a wheel chair
Somewhere right now…..A family is living in hibernation to protect their Baby from the health dangers of the outside world.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is being intubated.
Somewhere right now…..A parent is searching for some kind of normalcy.
Somewhere right now…..A parent is hearing their baby will be severely visually impaired.
Somewhere right now……A surgeon is operating on a heart the size of a strawberry.
Somewhere right now….Part of a baby’s intestines are being removed.
Somewhere right now….A parent is replacing monitor leads.
Somewhere right now….A child is playing as far as it’s oxygen tubing will allow.
Somewhere right now…..A parent is picking out a tiny casket.
Somewhere right now…..A shunt in being inserted into a tiny baby.
Somewhere right now…..Faces are being missed from a family gathering because of the health risk it poses to a Baby.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is aspirating.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is deciding which one of her babies in the NICU needs her more.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is too frightened to go home
Somewhere right now….. A NICU nurse is consoling a Mother.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby’s kidneys are failing.
Somewhere right now…..A child is being made fun of because they are different.
Somewhere right now…..A Mothers heart is breaking for them.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is having a feeding study.
Somewhere right now….A mother is watching anxiously as her near 2 year old child takes its first steps.
Somewhere right now….A Mother is untangling her child from it’s oxygen tubing.
Somewhere right now….A child has just pulled out its g-tube.
Somewhere right now…..A parent sits anxiously awaiting test results.
Somewhere right now…..A baby is being extubated.
Somewhere right now….A Baby is having an echo cardiogram.
Somewhere right now…..A Surgeon is performing a lifesaving procedure.
Somewhere right now…..A Child is being fitted for hearing aids.
Somewhere right now….A Child is having a sweat test.
Somewhere right now….A baby is receiving a blood transfusion.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is kissing her baby for the very last time.
Somewhere right now….A parent is inserting a feeding tube.
Somewhere right now…..A parent is feeling like they can’t go on.
Somewhere right now…..A Nurse is drawing blood from a tiny little vein.
Somewhere right now……. Grandparents watch helplessly.
Somewhere right now…..A parent is picking out frames for the new glasses their small child will be wearing.
Somewhere right now…..A child can only sit and watch children play.
Somewhere right now…..A Baby is being released to come with feeding tubes, oxygen, and monitors.
Somewhere right now…..A Mother is putting hearing aids on her Child.
Somewhere right now…..Parents are sitting with a Social Worker.
Somewhere right now…..Parents are holding a Memorial instead of a birthday party.
Somewhere right now ….. So many babies are enduring so much more, with some procedures surpassing the imaginable…..
Far too many…………………
Taking an overall average, the average person reads approx 200 words per minute. In the length of time it took you to read this.
7 Babies have been born premature
2 Babies have been born with a birth defect and
1 Baby is preparing to receive its wings.