Shining the light of hope

As 48 names of premature babies were read aloud Tuesday evening, silence filled the room as loved ones lit candles in honor of them.

Candlelight illuminated the faces of those attending the March of Dimes Candlelight Roll Call to Fight Prematurity on Tuesday night at Seymour Christian Church for Prematurity Awareness Day. Premature babies are those born before 37 weeks’ gestation.

Sherry Mullins of Vallonia has been a March of Dimes volunteer since her son, Keegan, was born at 29 weeks.
Keegan is now 8 years old. He weighed 2 pounds, 2 ounces when he was born.

“He is one of the lucky ones,” Mullins said of Keegan.

She said one year after his birth, she saw a March of Dimes billboard and decided to get involved.

“It’s very important because we have to raise awareness of this problem,” Mullins said.

Jill Whitaker of Columbus also attended the ceremony Tuesday night.

Jill said her daughter Whitney was born Aug. 25, 2008, at 24 weeks. She spent seven months at St. Vincent Women’s Hospital in Indianapolis.

“We are extremely grateful,” Jill said of the March of Dimes. The Whitakers are going to be an Ambassador Family for the local March of Dimes.

Jill said she and her husband, Ben, feel very blessed to be asked to be an Ambassador Family. She said they want people to know there is hope that comes out of these situations.

“We want to be involved,” Jill said. “We have a miracle.”

Kimberly Jewell, division director for the Indiana Chapter of the March of Dimes, read the names for the roll call. The names listed were from both Jackson and Bartholomew counties.

The annual event is something the Seymour volunteers want to do every year. It is now in its fifth year.

“It helps families come together,” Jewell said. She said it also helps some families with the healing process of losing a child.

She said families come to honor their premature baby or to honor the memory of their babies.

Missy and Monty Casner attended the ceremony with their daughter Macy, 3, who was born premature. Holding a picture of their son Matthew, Missy said they are involved with March of Dimes because they lost Matthew in 2005.

They said it was important to attend the ceremony and to be with other families.

The March of Dimes released its second annual Premature Birth Report Card on Tuesday. Indiana was one of seven states that received a better grade than last year by earning a “D.”

According to a press release, for the second consecutive year the United States also earned a “D” on the report card, demonstrating that more than a half-million of the nation’s newborns didn’t get the healthy start they deserved. As in 2008, no state earned an “A” and only Vermont received a ‘B.’”

“Here in Indiana, we are proud to see that our hard work is starting to pay off,” said Robert White, M.D., March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign chair. “But we have a long way to go before all babies in America get a healthy start in life and we are committed to working with state health officials, hospitals and health care providers to continue to fight for preemies.”

Criteria that affect preterm birth also improved in Indiana, according to the news release. The state earned a star for reducing the percent of uninsured women of child-bearing age and lowering the late preterm birth rate. In Indiana, the rate of late preterm births is 9.3 percent; the rate of women smoking is 29 percent, and the rate of uninsured women is 17.2 percent.

In the United States, more than 540,000 babies are born too soon each year. Preterm birth is a serious health problem that costs the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of lifetime health challenges, such as breathing problems, mental handicaps and other problems. A March of Dimes report released in October found that 13 million babies worldwide were born preterm and more than one million die each year.