The March of Dimes

This month thousands of people will be walking and donating funds to promote The March of Dimes. Just last weekend, Nicole Kidman and Kelly Clarkson walked in Nashville.

The purpose of The March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies through education, community services, and research. Their goal is to reduce the number of premature births, birth defects, and infant deaths.

Their website has an immense amount of information for people who are thinking about becoming pregnant, are already pregnant, or are raising a newborn. I was amazed at the amount of information they had. Some of the tabs they have are Before You're Pregnant, During Your Pregnancy, Complications, Labor and Deliver, Caring and Safety for your Baby, Just for Dads. There are Special Features such as information on Folic Acid, Newborn Screening Tests, Birth Defects & Genetics, and Pregnancy & Newborn Loss.

Over 460,000 premature babies are born each year. Many will not survive, some will continue to have health problems their whole lives, and few will have no lasting effects at all. Sometimes, the premature birth can be prevented but many times there is no known cause.

The March of Dimes is also involved in Genetic Research using gene therapy to treat a few genetic birth defects. Another cause dear to them is trying to make sure all families have health insurance. Millions of pregnant mothers and children do not receive regular checkups, immunizations, or treatment for illnesses due to no health insurance.

By donating, you can help The March of Dimes continue to provide local services, education, and support their research.

This Saturday, April 25, 2009 I will be walking with other moms from our local Momslikeme.com site, Tampabaymomslikeme.com, to help raise funds and awareness for The March of Dimes. I signed up late so set a small goal of $50 for myself. I've already reached my goal so I am not asking for donations. If you would like to donate you can click here.

I was very fortunate to give birth to 4 healthy full term children and one Angel. My second child, Jacob, was born with Trisomy 18. Nothing could have been done to prevent this and there is no history of genetic defects in either my or Hubby's families. I have friends who have lost babies during their pregnancies and a few who have had premature babies. I will be walking for them and for all the future moms and babies.

No tips today. Just find one of your children or a loved one, give them a hug, and let them know how grateful you are that they are in your life.