Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Prematurity Awareness Day

I just realized that there was a Zumba fundraiser in which you would pay $5 to Zumba for the night. I never engaged in a Zumba night before, nor have I had any though to do so. Then I realized that the money was going to the March Of Dimes. Okay, now I should really go to this event. You pay money to dance for the night and the money goes to an excellent cause. I can be such a hardie for certain causes that really don't make much of a difference, but I can also be a real softie for specific causes. The March Of Dimes is an organization with a mission to do their part in ending premature birth and spread awareness to such a cause. It turns out that November is Prematurity Awareness Month and tomorrow is Prematurity Awareness Day. No wonder why there was such an event going on.

Doing what we can to decrease premature birth has been such a strong cause in my mind. I know people who have been born prematurely and I know people who have had premature children. In the majority of cases, those born prematurely have been born undeveloped, most particularly in the lungs. Due to undeveloped lungs, premature babies are often placed on ventilators for a period of time. This time period generally lasts until the time they should have been born. Research show that premature birth is realistically most common among minority groups, the lower class, and among multiple births. This means that those giving birth to twins, triplets, and other multiple births are more common to produce premature babies.

There are other practices that should be avoided when you are pregnant. Smoking, drinking, and drugs are huge no's when you're pregnant. Multiple sources have mentioned that they have contributed to premature birth. Stress has been another factor, so handling your stress and attending therapy if you need to should really be a factor. The Mayo Clinic has even mentioned that keeping your teeth clean is important when you are pregnant. They mention that gum disease has proven to be a factor when it comes to preterm deliveries. Then, you also have to maintain a healthy diet. While you will have to eat much more, that doesn't mean wolfing down four bag of potato chips and then finishing that off with a complete serving of nachos and salsa everyday. We would all love to do this and the baby would probably develop a passionate appetite, but eating healthy would be your best bet for producing a healthy baby.

Tomorrow is Prematurity Awareness Day? What are you going to do? You can find a way to donate to the March Of Dimes or simply learn more about preterm birth. For the women who are reading, this may be valuable information. Of course, sometimes it cannot be controlled, but the only thing that you can do is change the things you can and accept the things you can't. Through learning, the chances of giving birth prematurely will decrease in some kind of way. Not completely, but to some extent. With the progress that we have already made, many babies that are born prematurely grow up to become healthy adults who live a regular life.

Such a cause should be supported everyday, not just one day. However, single days such as tomorrow help us produce such a thought and remind us about such a cause. This cause is one of those important causes. So what are you going to do?

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