Did you know that one out every ten babies will be born premature and that premature birth is the biggest contributor to infant death? Did you know that November is Prematurity Awareness Month? Or that yesterday (November 17) was Prematurity Awareness Day? Probably not, I couldn’t find word of it on any news or social media outlets, I didn’t hear anyone say anything about it on the radio and I didn’t see anyone posting photos of them wearing purple, in support of the cause.
You know what I did see? Everyone and their mother was talking about how Charlie Sheen has HIV (didn’t see that coming) I believe this headlined most websites, even above the Paris attacks because… rankings, am I right? Maybe you even saw on Facebook that Cheddar’s Casual Café closed without telling their employees, or that fashion was trending on Fox News. Not a single mention of Premature Awareness. But Adam Levine got a new back tattoo, in case you were curious.
Why aren’t we talking about this day? Everything you can imagine has it’s own day: National Cheeseburger Day or National Get Out of The Doghouse Day. Yesterday was National Unfriend Day, because some dumbass deemed that a worthy day to celebrate…and who would have thought it, but people were actually talking about it yesterday!
Breast Cancer gets an entire month of awareness, plus some…as it should. But we cannot even dedicate a mere day to the millions of babies born early (before 37 weeks)? What are we afraid of? We may educate too many people on the signs and warnings of going into labor preterm? Moms may realize they are safer to wait 18 months, after a premature birth, to try and have another child, as it will decrease the chances of another? Aren’t these things we want people to know? Don’t we want to see the internet splashed with images of kids who have success stories; of them holding pictures of themselves in the NICU? Wouldn’t this give hope to those watching their child battling for their life in the NICU? Shouldn’t we celebrate those beautiful lives that flourished and remember those beautiful souls we lost?
photo courtesy of t.Dow Photography
With 15 million babies born early each year, and approximately 1 million of those ending in infant death, this is a reality that far too many families are having to face. So why do we feel so alone? Let’s join forces and raise awareness, let’s let those parents in the NICU know they aren’t alone. Let’s bring research to the forefront to understand why we have a premature birth epidemic. The effects of premature birth do not end at the NICU, many of these surviving babies experience lifelong intellectual disabilities and health problems, including higher rates of hospitalization and illness, breathing problems, and cerebral palsy. Let’s educate and approach care, in such a way that we can enrich the lives of these babies, in an effort to make them healthy adults one day.
So although November 17 has come and gone, let’s not forget that we still have the rest of the month. Wear purple one day, or everyday! Talk to someone about the reality of preterm births and how we can lower the scary statistics. Take a day to recognize what so many parents are dealing with – in between life scares, health issues, and medical bills.
Let us not forget why this month and day were created.
xo, Jess
