ELCPBC AWARENESS TOPICS

November 2018: Prematurity Awareness Month

Premature birth (birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy) and its complications are the #1 cause of death of babies in the United States. Babies who survive premature birth often have long-term health problems!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that we can work to reduce preterm birth using the following strategies:

• Providing women age 18-44 access to health care before and between pregnancies.
• Identifying women at risk for giving birth too early and offering effective treatments to prevent preterm birth.
• Discouraging deliveries before 39 weeks without a medical need.
• Preventing unintended pregnancies and achieving ideal length of time between pregnancies.
• Electing single embryo transfer as appropriate to reduce multiple births when undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County, Inc.

The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County (HMHB) seeks to improve birth outcomes and promote healthy families by providing access to care, education, and support to those facing the physical, emotional, economic, and social challenges of pregnancy and infant care. HMHB is considered "The Gateway" to accessing prenatal care in Palm Beach County and is the only prenatal focused agency that is part of the Healthy Beginnings system of the Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County. They also offer free childbirth classes, free workshops for parents, and provide access to free local parent support groups. For more information, visit their website here!

World Prematurity Day: November 17

World Prematurity Day is a day of action on a global scale that grows bigger each year, helping to reduce the rate of premature birth and improve newborn health. Celebrities help raise awareness and landmarks nationwide light up purple to honor premature babies! Did you know that here in South Florida, the Bank of America building in Fort Lauderdale is one of the facilities participating in the Prematurity Awareness Month lightings?! How cool!!

You can join the movement to raise awareness and show your support by changing your Facebook profile picture, let the world know that you care about the 15 million babies born too soon worldwide! You can also register on "Thunderclap.it" to schedule a message to be posted on your social network, expanding global awareness of premature birth. Don't forget to use hashtag #WorldPrematurityDay in your own posts, too!

International Prematurity Awareness Partner, Bliss, will be using the #PrematurityIs hashtag again this year for World Prematurity Day! We need more people to know about the hurdles babies and parents face, and overcome, every single day. That is why we are sharing what #PrematurityIs and what it really means for babies when they are born too soon.

• #PrematurityIs more common than you think. More than one in ten babies worldwide are born premature.
• #PrematurityIs costing lives. It is the leading cause of death in children under five around the world.
• #PrematurityIs often unpredictable and in most cases, unexplained. For babies it can mean the biggest fight of their lives and for family and friends it can leave them asking, why?
• #PrematurityIs not what most parents expect when they are having a baby. The emotional and financial burden of having a baby in neonatal care can be devastating.

But World Prematurity Day is our chance to make a difference to premature babies.

Other Prematurity Awareness Resources:

• Johnson & Johnson: 6 Things Pregnant Women Can Do to Lower the Risk of Premature Birth
• HealthyChildren.org: Prenatal Care Resources & Information
• HealthyChildren.org: Caring for a Premature Baby, What Parents Need To Know
• PrematurityPrevention.org: World Prematurity Day Infographic
• March of Dimes.org: Fighting Premature Birth
• MedlinePlus.gov: About Premature Infants
• MedlinePlus.gov: About Premature Infants (Spanish)
• MedlinePlus.gov: About Preterm labor
• MedlinePlus.gov: About Preterm labor (Spanish)

For additional community resources, contact our Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) team at 561-514-3300.

These links are to external websites. ELCPBC does not endorse the sites. If you find a link that is broken or leads to unrelated material, please email Contacts@ELCPalmBeach.org.