Prematurity Awareness Month Activities and Observances
Southwest Indiana
During November – Prematurity Awareness Month – Indiana Sending a Message of Hope for Premature Babies
The March of Dimes has designated November as Prematurity Awareness Month - to send the alert that premature birth is a crisis in our country and to bring people together to help give all babies their 9 months. (http://www.marchofdimes.com/indiana/6185_15859.asp)
Babies are in crisis today. Nearly half a million are born prematurely every year and the number is rising. Across Indiana the March of Dimes is organizing events raise awareness as part of its national effort to save babies from premature birth by funding research to find the causes and by supporting local programs that offer hope and help to families with a baby in intensive care.
Premature birth is the number one killer of newborns and a major cause of serious health problems. It costs society billions of dollars every year. Here in Indiana, more than 10,600 babies are born prematurely each year, about 1 in 8.
ALERT: Candlelight Vigil/ Roll call at the Old National Bank building and 4 Freedoms Monument has been Rescheduled due to the severe weather that occurred on the 15th. The Prematurity Roll Call and Vigil will be held Wednesday, November 23rd. Light refreshments start at 5pm, program begins at 5:30 and candlelighting begins at 6pm. It starts at Old National Bank in downtown Evansville and concludes at the Four Freedoms Monument. To be included in the Roll Call in Evansville, please email abaker@marchofdimes.com or mball@marchofdimes.com. They will continue to add names to the roll call until Tuesday, November 22nd at noon.
Other activities across Southwest Indiana include:
- Ambassador Stories in Media – Fox7
- Mayors proclamation
- Old National Bank Building lit pink and blue
- Presentation at Gibson General
- Displays at Chandler, McCullough, and Red Bank Libraries
- Buy Low Baker (pink and blue cookies or donuts)
- Boonville Wal-Mart Bakery (pink and blue donuts)
- Display at 2 Golden Corral restaurants
- Cookies by design (pink and blue cookies)
For more information contact Michael Ball and Autumne Baker at the Southwest Indiana Division of the March of Dimes Indiana Chapter at 812-473-3300 and visit marchofdimes.com and find out what you can do for pink and blue to help prevent premature birth. You can send a message of hope for premature babies by wearing pink and blue, raising awareness with wristbands, car magnets and ribbons, sending e-mails and letters, and supporting research. Visit marchofdimes.com to help give all babies their 9 months during November – Prematurity Awareness Month – and any time of year.
The March of Dimes Prematurity has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. American Baby magazine and Working Mother Media are national media sponsors. More than 46 professional and consumer organizations have become Campaign alliance members, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Hospital Association and the American Public Health Association.
The national Prematurity Campaign Sponsors are CIGNA and FedEx, and Prematurity Awareness Month Sponsors are First Response and Arm & Hammer Oral Care.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish Web site at nacersano.org.
|
