As summer heats up, so does our fund raising! Please donate 15 minutes of your time to help us raise funds and awareness to save babies by joining Mothers March online. Simply e-mail your friends and family a special link to a personal page you create. This month's Personal Spotlight features Cindy's story. She knew about the March of Dimes but didn't know how thankful she would be for our research.

Because you are part of the March of Dimes family, we're sharing this story with you, as well as important information on:

• the facts on food risks during pregnancy
• promising new treatment for prematurity
• audio stream of a mother's story
• "Fact of the Month"

We are also asking the question -
Do you know Randy Kerr?

Visit marchofdimes.com to read more. Share your comments, suggestions and feedback on this newsletter with us by e-mailing newsletter@marchofdimes.com

The March of Dimes means so much to me... Through a fund-raiser, I bought four bean bag bears from the March of Dimes for my unborn baby. I remember reading the tag and thinking "Those poor babies!" I thought that these babies were born early or with problems because their mothers did not take care of themselves. Little did I know that the March of Dimes would play a role in saving MY baby's life. I was 30 weeks into my pregnancy when I traveled 250 miles to Atlanta for a baby shower that my friends gave me. That Friday night I went to sleep and woke up early Saturday morning to a wet bed. I was in no pain so I thought I had lost control of my bladder because I was severely swollen. I went to the emergency room and they confirmed that my water had broken and I was 1 cm. dilated. That hospital did not deliver babies so they transferred me to the nearest maternity unit 2 miles away by ambulance. They gave me magnesium sulfate, steroids to develop my baby's lungs and they inverted my bed. My back was killing me. They called the doctor who arrived within 15 minutes and my baby's feet were out. He explained that they needed to do an emergency c-section because once his shoulders passed though the cervix, it would close and he would die. Only 2 hours and 19 minutes after arriving at the hospital my son, Austin was born weighing 4 pound 5 ounces, which was a blessing for 10 weeks early. But he still had developmental problems to overcome. The doctor told us that he had blown surfactant into his lungs and that it saved his life. He also explained to us that the March of Dimes helped invent the drug. I vowed then and there that I would help the March of Dimes in any way that I possibly could and I wanted to bring awareness to all of the women like me who thought they would never rely so greatly on the March of Dimes. My son is now 9 months old and a picture of health. Every day I look at my little miracle and thank God for him. Cindy Jesup, Georgia

Food-borne Risks in Pregnancy
When a pregnant woman eats right, she helps ensure that her baby gets all the nutrients needed for healthy development. A healthy, well-balanced diet includes: protein foods (meats, poultry, fish, beans); grains (cereals, bread, pasta, rice); dairy products (milk, cheese); fruits and vegetables.

Most of these foods are safe and should be part of a healthy pregnancy diet. However, there are a few foods—including certain fish, some soft cheeses, ready-to-eat meats and raw sprouts—that may pose risks during pregnancy. A pregnant woman should be aware of these risks, so she can choose the safest foods to nourish herself and her baby.

Find out more about what you need to know from our Pregnancy & Newborn Health Education Center. sm

Promising New Treatment for Prematurity Published in New England Journal of Medicine

Weekly injections of a derivative of the hormone progesterone may help prevent recurrence of premature birth, according to a study published on June 12, 2003 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

“This is a very impressive result, and this treatment may prove to be a powerful new tool to help prevent preterm birth in women at high risk because of their history of having previously delivered a premature baby,” said Nancy S. Green, M.D., Medical Director of the March of Dimes. “We don’t yet know the implications for first-time mothers or for women at lower risk. We look forward to more clinical trials to help answer these questions.”

March of Dimes Remembers....

April 26th, 2004 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Salk Polio Vaccine National Field Trials. On that date, the March of Dimes initiated what was then the largest volunteer vaccination program in history. In the span of one year, nearly 9 million doses of the vaccine were administered to "Polio Pioneers" in 44 states. The first Polio Pioneer was Randy Kerr, a courageous and confident six-year-old schoolboy who received his innoculation on April 26th, 1954, at Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia. With the March of Dimes preparing to commemorate the field trials in 2004, a wide net is being cast to locate Randy. If you know someone named Randy Kerr, who currently is 56-57 years of age and once lived in Fairfax County, Virgina, please let us know. Who knows? You may be friends with the nation's first Polio Pioneer! Please e-mail us if you have any leads - newsletter@marchofdimes.com

Do you know of a baby who was born prematurely?
Visit our Prematurity
Web site.

Breast is best.
A record 70 percent of women are now breastfeeding their babies when they leave the hospital. This is good news since breast milk contains the ideal nutrients a baby needs for healthy growth and development, along with disease-fighting substances called antibodies that reduce a baby's risk of ear, respiratory and other infections.