Tidbits is a project I began to knit blankets, booties, and hats for premature babies during their stay in the neonatal units of area hospitals. The items are necessary to help the babies retain critical body heat. It doesn’t take much to make these tiny items, just gather your extra yarn and create something that will help the preemie survive and let the family know you care.
Every day, 1,300 babies in the U.S. are born prematurely, about 1 in 8 babies. Many will be too small and too sick to go home. Instead, they face weeks or even months in the neonatal intensive care unit. These babies may face lifelong or life-threatening health problems. Prematurity has been increasing steadily and distressingly over the past two decades. The rate of premature births rose from 9.4 percent to 12.3 percent, between 1981 and 2003. Whose fault is premature birth? No one’s. It can happen to any pregnant woman, and no one knows why for sure. There are ways to help prevent premature births, including taking supplements of the B vitamin folic acid. Taking folic acid before conception and during early pregnancy has been shown to decrease the occurrence of neural tube defects (NTDs) by at least 50-70%. You don’t have to be pregnant to worry about this issue. Prematurity is a serious, common and costly problem that everyone should care about. There are many ways you can help to support those whose lives have been affected by prematurity. There are walks, rides and many other volunteer activities.Feel free to send questions or comments to
[email protected]
