This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 5:47 pm and is filed under Preemies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
As many of you know, my wife and I started The Playpen as a resource for parents, new and old–particularly those of preemies.
Now, we are asking for your help
But first, I thought I’d give you some quick and interesting preemie statistics and hopefully provide some thought-provoking insight into the “world” of premature babies.
1. Babies are considered premature when born at 37 weeks or earlier
2. In the U.S., prematurity is the leading cause of neonatal mortality at 25%
3. Nearly half of all premature births have no known cause
4. The rate of preterm births in the U.S. has increased by 30% in the last 20 years
5. The average cost for caring for a premature infant in its first year is $77,000
6. The average cost of care for a full-term baby is $1,700
7. Number of preterm births in the U.S. per year: 500,000
8. Being poor, African-American, under 17 or over 30 can increase your risk of having a preterm delivery by more than 50%
9. African-American baby girls born weighing 2.2 pounds or less are more than twice as likely to survive as white baby boys born at the same weight
10. 1 out of every 10 babies born in the U.S. is premature.
Having gone through this experience ourselves, we know how incredibly stressful and emotionally testing it can be. When Frankie was in the NICU, one of the things we used to enjoy the most was looking at all of the photographs of babies who had been through the unit before us, leading happy lives as older children.
With this in mind, we’d like to ask for your help. We are starting a new preemie segment on The Playpen entitled “The Preemie Adventure – Then and Now.” The series will feature a picture of premature infants at birth, along with a photo of the child at present day, along with a brief story from the parents describing their personal experiences with preterm birth.
If you would like to participate in “The Preemie Adventure”, please comment here or drop either of us an email: matt[at]redsparks.com or aline[at]redsparks.com.
There isn’t that much required, just a paragraph or two and some photos (which we KNOW you have thousands of). Please help us get this off the ground, and thanks in advance.
Matt and Aline
Please stop by and check out our adorable line of clothing for preemies at our online boutique!
August 13th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Excellent intro, Matt and Aline. The encouragement of seeing photos of children who had a preterm start to life will be tremendous for all your readers.
I’m curious, do the stats coincide in that there are 5 million babies born in the US annually? (10% preterm/year or 500K)
I’m in for the invitation you’ve extended to me - from a NICU-worker point-of-view.
If you think of any specific slant from me, just ask!
Barbaras last blog post..Touchy Feely
August 13th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I think this is a great idea, count me in!
In the NICU where Kyle stayed, there were several “now and then” type pictures of preemies. This was of great comfort to me…looking at Kyle at 18 ounces, I could hardly fathom that he would survive, let alone would ever look “normal”. But looking at pictures of other babies that were once almost as small as him and seeing them doing so well, it was inspiring. Anyways, I think your idea is fabulous and I’d love to help in anyway I can.
Jennifers last blog post..Beach Bums
August 15th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Hey Matt
AS I have had 2 preemies in 2 years, I’d love to participate. As soon as I get a free moment - this is my first week back at work - I’ll comply.
Great idea!
Lori B (mamanuggle)s last blog post..Impending Dread - return to work
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:14 am
HI Matt! I’m new to the site but would love to participate. I would have loved to hear stories like this when I goes going through all the preemie stuff!
Susans last blog post..C-L-E-M-S-O-N T-I-G-E-R…S Fight Tiger, Fight Tigers, Fight, Fight, Fight!
September 10th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
I would love to participate, I have had 2 regular births and 2 preemies, I would have loved to have had a “venting / sharing” area when I was going through everything at the NICU
insane mamas last blog post..Real life drama…
September 11th, 2008 at 11:50 am
What a wonderful, encouraging idea! I would be happy to participate, if you’re still looking for preemie stories. My daughter was born at 24w0d on Christmas Eve of 2005. It is incredible to see her waltz into preschool now!
Incidentally, I host a support blog for preemie parents, especially micro-preemie parents… glad to have found you!
JessieLeighs last blog post..What causes prematurity?
November 7th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
[...] posted statistics on preterm births that ring true with my experience in terms of both women in poverty and girls (younger than 17 [...]
November 20th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
don’t know if you are still looking for stories.
I had two babies, one born at 34 weeks and 6 days on November 16th 2006 and another born 26 weeks 6 days on November 4th 2007.
let me know if you would like us to share out story.
Jodi