Today is the 8th Annual Prematurity Awareness Day®, when the nation is asked to focus their attention on the growing problem of premature birth.
“Every year, 20 million babies are born too soon, too small and very sick – half a million of them in the U.S. November 17th is when we fight!
Do you know a baby who was born too soon, too small, unable to breathe or nurse on their own? With 1 in every 8 babies born prematurely, you probably do. While medical advances give some babies a chance of survival, for many babies premature birth is a life-or-death condition. Babies who survive can face serious health challenges and risk lifelong disabilities.
The rate of premature birth has risen more than 30 percent since 1981. In half the cases, we simply don’t understand what went wrong. The March of Dimes is leading the fight for answers and, ultimately, preventions. November 17 is dedicated to raising awareness of the crisis.” ~ taken from http://www.bloggersunite.org/
In our family, we are celebrating Wyatt & Colton. I count my blessings every day for the two little miracles God gave my husband & me.
My road to motherhood was not without its complications however, it ended up going very well overall. My boys were born at 35 weeks, 6 days gestation, which means they arrived a little over 4 weeks premature of the normal 40 week due date. My water broke on its own around 9:30 PM on Monday evening (July 5th) which put me into labor. The boys were born at 6:13 AM & 7:44 AM the following morning (Tuesday, July 6th). They both weighed less than 5 pounds; however we were very lucky that neither of them needed any special medical assistance or special care nursery time. God truly blessed us with two little, but healthy boys!
Looking back and seeing how far my boys have come since their birth day truly amazes me. Just 4 months have passed and they have both more than doubled their birth weight and are hitting their development milestones just slightly behind the typical schedule.
To see how tiny my boys were and to know that there are babies born premature only weighing 1-3 pounds, I can’t even begin to imagine what they & their parent have to go through. My heart & prayers go out to all the mothers who do not get to hold their new precious miracles, who have to see their tiny babies hooked up to monitors & machines and who spend countless hours in a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) watching their little ones go through the fight of their life.
Today our thoughts and prayers are with those who have or are currently struggling through this crisis. Let's remember & celebrate these special babies.
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