Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers that have been impacted by premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality. This holiday is in many ways harder for us than for the “ordinary” mom. Many of us have been through the fires and the storms of motherhood pretty early in our journeys as moms. I’d like to share 3 poems about being a mom with you. Hopefully you’ll find one that you relate to and enjoy it as much as I have.

Many of us have a hard time on Mother’s Day because our children are not with us today. Some people don’t even consider us mothers because our children did not survive. This day is many times painful for us because we ARE mothers, we DO have children. Even if we can’t hold them in our arms, we hold them in our hearts forever. On Mother’s Day, there is great focus on those daughters that have mothers in heaven but little or no mention of those of us with sons and daughters in heaven. If you know a mom that has lost a child, please give her a special hug on Mother’s Day and let her know how special she is. We may not be “ordinary” moms but we ARE moms just the same and we love our children dearly.

"The Busiest Day In Heaven"

It's the busiest day in Heaven
I'm planning a big surprise
To let you know I love you
And that no one ever diesEven though your down below
And I am up above
I'm sending you my wishes
And all my angel love

It's really quite exciting
To plan this big event
For lots of gifts will come your way
And all are Heaven sent

First I'll take a bubble bath-
My splashes might cause some rain
But knowing all the fun I'm having
Will help to ease your pain

Next I'll get some pictures
In my halo and gown
So when you get to Heaven
You can show me all around

I have color crayons in Heaven
And I will draw some stars so bright
And place them in the sky today
For you to see tonight

Then Jesus will have story time
And I will sit upon his lap
He'll tell me all about you
Just before I nap

I'll awake full of energy
And play a game or two
Before I finish sending
All my love to you

After snack I'll write a song
For all the birds to sing
And know I've made you happy
With all the joy it brings

At night time I'll be tired
But I'll still hold you tight
My arms will wrap around you
And keep you through the night

And when you finally slumber
I will kneel and pray
Asking God to bless you
On this special Mothers Day

Love,
Your Little Angel

To mothers of preemies, Mother’s Day carries special meaning because our children came too early like unexpected visitors to our door. We were just starting to prepare for these little people to enter our lives but we didn’t have the nursery ready, we didn’t have all the supplies we needed, and we had no idea that the hardships of motherhood would come so early on. I’m sure we all heard stories while we were pregnant about how hard being a mom can be, how toddlers will keep you running and how teenagers might break our hearts. We knew to be prepared for that but nothing in a pregnancy book could prepare us for the NICU journey we were about to take. We had no idea that it could be days, weeks, or even months before we could hold our children. We didn’t know that when our children were the sickest, we couldn’t hold them at all. We didn’t know that we could not give them their 1st bath, their 1st bottle, or many other firsts we would miss with them. We weren’t prepared for the fact we would need to learn how to feed them from a feeding tube, stimulate them to breathe when they stopped, or that we wouldn’t hear them cry for months in many cases. Many people tried to reassure me by saying that my son and daughter would not remember any of this. However, I remember EVERYTHING. Mothers like us look into the eyes of those 2, 4, 6 year olds & we know what great courage and strength it took for those children to be here. No, Mother’s day is not the same for us. We are not “ordinary” moms.

Imbornto

Every baby is born to do something great. Whether that’s dance, create or explore. But first they deserve to be born strong and healthy. That’s where the March of Dimes plays a vital role.

This year between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, join the March of Dimes by participating in its Imbornto campaign by shopping, dining or making a donating where you see our logo. Information about the companies supporting the campaign can be found on the Partners' page. Check out our video about Imbornto. Additionally, donations can be made here. With your help, we can continue the developments and research that help all babies achieve what they were born to do.

And, don’t forget to treat mom to a special Mother’s day breakfast. Visit Imbornto special feature page for delicious recipes from Martha Stewart Living.

Thank you for helping make March for Babies 2013 amazing!

This year’s Philadelphia March for Babies was a beautiful day! The sky was a pretty blue and no rain! I truly hope you enjoyed the day as much as I did. All of your family team t-shirts were great designs; including Team Kaitlyn’s “Fight Like a Girl” with the 75^th anniversary seal on the front, Kickin’ It for Christopher and Just for Jenna with the creative logo. I want to especially congratulate our t-shirt design winner, Miss Kerry Anderson of Team Abby!

Some of my favorite memories from the day were seeing the sea of matching t-shirts for the enormous family teams like In Mary’s Memory and SMPS Preemie Power, meeting new teams like Baby Grayson’s Gang, Angels of Amelia and catching up with veteran teams like Team Jameson, Claudia’s Tagalongs, Duffy’s Angels, Running with the Sharks and CC Riders.

Of course, most of all, I enjoyed a special moment standing with my family and especially my little miracles - Jack & Lucy! Thanks to our family & friends for always supporting us! My family has been blessed to have been a part of March for Babies for six years now. It has become our family tradition to thank March of Dimes for saving Jack and Lucy’s lives! We haven’t reached our goal of $7,500 for the March of Dimes 75^th Anniversary yet but we’re not giving up. We took the challenge to exceed our 2013 goal as part of our Be your Best campaign. Just like our family, most family teams at the walk have endured a tragic experience and want to ensure that no family has go through what we went through. That is why I truly believe every family team can exceed their goal so that we can fund our mission.

What are your favorite memories from March for Babies Day??

Please email me some special moments you experienced on MFB day along with a couple of pictures of your team. I always enjoy hearing your feedback and looking at your pictures every year. There are so many of you who I did not get to connect with on walk day and I would love to hear from you! We are always improving our processes every year, so please give us feedback on what you thought worked well this year and areas we can improve. We value your input!

Thank you to all of the people that made the Family Teams Tent & Kids Zone possible!

Special thanks to Lowe’s for supplying us with fun kids projects to build in the Family Teams tent. They’re planning on coming back next year with even more kits and staff so the lines and wait won’t be as long.

Cash and Check Donations

If you did not make it to the Family Teams Tent to turn in your cash and check donations, it’s not too late! We are trying to get all donations in and processed by May 24^th. Please stop by our office to drop off any outstanding donations you may have or you can mail donations to:

March of Dimes

Attn: Kate Cleary

1019 West 9^th Avenue

King of Prussia, PA 19406

It's not too late to get those last minute after walk donations in!

Please note, your individual and team totals will not be accurate on our end until all cash and check donations have been received in our office. This is why my totals don’t always match yours on-line totals. You want to be sure for incentive purposes that you get everything in to our office in the next few weeks!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!

A final thanks goes out to YOU!! We want you to know how very much we appreciate your support of March for Babies and March of Dimes. YOU are the very HEART of our mission and we are so grateful for families like you! We hope you will join us for March for Babies 2014!!

Thanks again for being a part of March for Babies 2013!

A fellowship and a double helix

In 1952, James Watson was an unknown scientist who applied to the March of Dimes for a fellowship proposing research on X-ray diffraction patterns of proteins and nucleic acids. Knowing that the March of Dimes funded basic science as well as polio prevention, Watson hoped that the grant he would receive might enable him to conduct a year of research and cover his lab expenses. His modest grant award of $5,678, roughly equivalent to $50,000 today, led to one of the most momentous discoveries of the age. On April 25, 1953 Watson and his colleague Francis Crick published “A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” in the journal Nature. The field of molecular genetics was launched. They had discovered the double-helical structure of DNA.

Much has been written about Watson and Crick’s famous discovery, for which they received the Nobel Prize in 1962. Their path-breaking research vastly expanded the field of genetics, leading to knowledge unimaginable in their day. Their accomplishment also prefigured what the March of Dimes would do next. After funding the vaccines that brought the scourge of polioto a halt, the Foundation turned to the riddle of birth defects, knowing that the keys of genetics would open further doors to this intractable problem.

By the 1960s, the March of Dimes sponsored birth defects and clinical genetics conferences to keep medical professionals up-to-date with progress in the field. We helped to develop a universal standardized language (the karyotype) to describe human chromosomes. At a March of Dimes conference in 1969, Dr. Victor McKusick proposed that science might create a molecular map of all genes. His idea sparked the March of Dimes to organize a series of human gene mapping workshops that ultimately led to the Human Genome Project of the 1990s.

Our interest in genetics goes beyond science itself to assisting individuals and families. We have developed the field of genetic counseling to help parents and parents-to-be understand the risks of inherited disorders. We helped to establish the first master’s degree program in genetic counseling at a U.S. college. In the 1980s we sponsored an educational program on Genetic Decision Making and Pastoral Care, enabling clergy from different religions to understand the complexities of genetics in order to give appropriate counseling to concerned families. At the same time, our funding of scientific research has remained fundamental. Our grantees have identified the gene for Fragile X Syndrome and have created therapies for other life-threatening disorders.

As we note the 60th anniversary of Watson and Crick’s famous article on the double helix of DNA, we look forward to a time when birth defects and premature birthhave receded into the past just as polio has done. Our steadfast commitment to“stronger, healthier babies” is grounded in the building blocks of genetics that help us identify the causes of disease.

Study shows we can reduce unnecessary early deliveries

A study published today in Obstetrics & Gynecology shows that hospital-based quality improvement programs across many states can be remarkably effective at reducing early elective deliveries of babies.

The rate of elective early term deliveries (i.e., inductions of labor and Cesarean sections without a medical reason) in a group of 25 participating hospitals fell significantly from 27.8 percent to 4.8 percent during the one-year project period, an 83 percent decline.
The March of Dimes, which partly funded the study, calls the findings good news, because babies delivered before full-term are at increased risk of serious health problems and death in their first year of life.
“This quality improvement program demonstrates that we can create a change in medical culture to prevent unneeded early deliveries and give many more babies a healthy start in life,” says Bryan T. Oshiro, MD, of Loma Linda University School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
“Reducing unnecessary early deliveries to less than five percent in these hospitals means that more babies stayed in the womb longer, which is so important for their growth and development,” says Edward R.B. McCabe, MD, medical director of the March of Dimes. “This project saw a decrease in the proportion of babies born at 37 and 38 weeks and a corresponding increase in the 39-41 week range during the one-year period studied. Additional studies, perhaps over a longer period of time, could clarify whether such quality improvement programs can also bring down a hospital’s overall preterm birth rate.”
This was the first project of a collaborative with perinatal quality improvement advocates from state health departments, academic health centers, public and private hospitals, and March of Dimes chapters from the five most populous states in the country: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas. These five states account for an estimated 38 percent of all births in the United States.
The March of Dimes urges hospitals, health care providers, and patients to follow the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines that if a pregnancy is healthy, to wait for labor to begin on its own. The final weeks of pregnancy are crucial to a baby’s health because many vital organs, including the brain and lungs, are still developing.
“A Multistate Quality Improvement Program to Decrease Elective Deliveries Before 39 Weeks,” by Dr. Oshiro and others, appears in the April 8 online edition of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Vol. 121, No. 5, May 2013.