(CHAPEL HILL, NC, SEPT. 13, 2007)—The March of Dimes today announced that it has named North Carolina Children’s Hospital to implement NICU Family Support®.  March of Dimes NICU Family Support provides information and comfort to families of premature babies and other critically ill newborns being cared for in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

 “Preparing for a new baby is a time of great excitement,” said Kirk G. Warner, March of Dimes North Carolina Chapter Board Chair. “Families don’t expect anything to go wrong, but about 1 in 10 newborns wind up in a NICU because they are born too soon, too small or with a birth defect. The experience can be overwhelming for families.  NICU Family Support® aims to make the journey through newborn intensive care smoother and less traumatic for families.”

The project is an important component of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign, a nationwide effort to address the growing problem of premature birth, which is the leading cause of newborn death and a major cause of serious health problems. It costs society billions of dollars every year. The March of Dimes is also funding research to find the causes of premature birth. 

It is estimated that 10 percent of all newborns require some level of intensive care. In 2004 (the last year for which numbers are available), nearly 120,000 babies were born in North Carolina. More than 16,000 were born prematurely, many stayed in a NICU, some for hours and some for months. North Carolina Children’s Hospital admits about 700 newborns into the Newborn Critical Care Center annually.  
 
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Nationally, March of Dimes NICU Family Support® receives multi-year funding from MedImmune, Inc., Children’s Medical Ventures/Respironics, and Scholastic, Inc.  Additional support is provided by Dey, L.P. In Chapel Hill, primary financial support is also being provided by UNC Health Care.

In 2004, NICU Family Support® became a signature project of the March of Dimes and rolled out to additional NICUs across the country. At the end of 2006, there were 39 NICU Family Support® sites nationwide. The project aims to be in at least 50 NICUs and to support over 35,000 families by 2007.

“The March of Dimes selected North Carolina Children’s Hospital as its partner for NICU Family Support® because of its reputation for excellence and the quality care it provides to babies,” Warner said. “North Carolina Children’s Hospital does incredible work every day to care for sick babies and their families. We want to support their efforts.”

“We are excited to have been chosen as a March of Dimes NICU Family Support® site and are looking forward to this collaborative effort to support parents throughout their stay with us,” said Alan D. Stiles, M.D., Brewer Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Physician-in-Chief for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital “This is a wonderful opportunity to work with graduate NICU parents and staff to develop programs specific to the needs of our families.”

Incorporating NICU families into every level of the project, March of Dimes NICU Family Support® addresses the needs of families throughout the hospitalization, during the transition home, and in the event of a newborn death.  NICU Family Support also includes a professional development component to provide hospital NICU staff with support and educational opportunities.   The project is being led by a March of Dimes staff person who has experience as a NICU parent.  An advisory committee made up of graduate NICU parents and NICU professionals will be involved in selecting activities and providing direct services to current NICU families.  Each NICU family will receive a March of Dimes Parent Care Kit including informational books and materials to record their baby’s milestones. 
 
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Each year, more than 60,000 children from all 100 counties make over 200,000 visits to North Carolina Children's Hospital. The hospital relocated to a state-of-the-art facility in 2002, and includes a comprehensive children's outpatient center and 136 inpatient beds in a child-focused, family-friendly environment. It is the first children's hospital in North Carolina to bring together complete inpatient and outpatient care in one location.

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 www.marchofdimes.com or its Spanish Web site at www.nacersano.org.