Fighting premature births

Seeing Hope Niccum of Brownstown learning to walk with the help of her father, Jason Niccum, Thursday evening, you wouldn't have guessed that when she was born 19 months ago in March 2007 she was struggling for her life.

At only 24 weeks, Hope was born 1 pound 4 ounces and 12 inches long in South Bend. Jason and his wife, Cami Niccum, had been working with an adoption agency at the time in hopes of adopting a child of their own when they were contacted about Hope.

"We got a call from the adoption agency asking us if we were interested, so we went and checked everything out and talked to the doctors and the nurses and the lawyer and we decided that we would go ahead and try it as long as she survived," Cami said of adopting Hope.

The Niccums first saw Hope just days after she was born.

"It was very scary looking at her because we didn't know that much about babies because she's the only one we have, let alone knowing something about premature babies," she said.

Dealing with a premature baby, Cami said they tried not to get too attached to Hope in the beginning.

"I know that's sad, but we tried not to at the very beginning because the doctors said it was a day-to-day obstacle," she said.

The couple went to see Hope every weekend, and often Cami would make trips up during the week as well.

"We went up every weekend, up to the point where she could be held a lot and fed," she said. "It was hard to leave her at that point because it was a four-hour drive up there and four hours back ... it was tough, but she was in good hands there."

While the Niccums took it one day at a time, Hope hung on tightly.

"She was in the hospital about three months and we brought her home and she wasn't home for 24 hours and she stopped breathing on me," Cami said. "I had to do CPR on her and call the EMT and she got sent back to the hospital for about two weeks."

Since that last stay in the hospital, Hope has been healthy and growing well. She and her adopted parents took part in the March of Dimes Candlelight and Roll Call ceremony held Thursday at Seymour Christian Church, honoring her success with prematurity.

Several other parents, children and family members gathered to light a candle in honor of babies that have won the battle with prematurity and also to remember those that lost.

Sherry Mullins, leader of the ceremony, serves as an Ambassador Family for the March of Dimes with her son, Keegan, 7, born premature and Kinlin, 2, who was born with a tethered spinal cord and a mild form of spina bifida. She volunteers her time to help spread the word about prematurity and birth defects and how the March of Dimes has helped them.

"It seems like so many other times during the year we are doing this for a fundraiser, and tonight is just a night to honor and remember," Mullins said.
She said the candlelight roll call is an important way to help raise awareness. November serves as Prematurity Awareness Month, and the March of Dimes has been busy getting the word out.

Last week, the March of Dimes released its first Prematurity Report Card, and Indiana received a failing grade.

A press release stated the nation received a "D" and not a single state earned an "A," when the March of Dimes compared actual preterm birth rates to the national Healthy People 2010 objective. The grade of "F" indicates how far Indiana, with a preterm birth rate of 13.5 percent, is from the Healthy People 2010 objective of 7.6 percent of all live births.

In addition to providing state rankings, the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card analyzes contributing factors and prevention opportunities, including rates of late preterm birth, smoking and uninsured women of child bearing age. In Indiana, the rate of late preterm births is 13.5 percent; the rate of women smoking is 26.8 percent and the rate of uninsured women is 17.6 percent.

"The more awareness we can raise about this problem, the more help we can get to solve it," Mullins said of prematurity. "The thing is, every 1 in 8 babies in Indiana is born premature and half of those we have no idea why. You have the half that are born premature because of poor health care and medical reasons. We also have a number of growing late preterm births."

By late preterm, Mullins said, babies are born anywhere between 34 to 36 weeks that are due to Caesarean sections being performed for non-medical reasons.

"That two-week time period is so crucial in the development of a baby's lungs," she said. "A baby born at 34 weeks could have severe lung deficiencies and our bodies are designed to tell us when we are ready to have a baby and going into labor is the natural process of things."

The last few weeks are crucial in a baby's development, Mullins said, adding that the brain size doubles in the last few weeks.

"So two or three weeks early, it may not seem like a lot, but it can be," she said. "It is such an important time in the development of the baby."

While prematurity has been a continuing problem, the March of Dimes has made great strides in donating nearly 200 grants related to low birth weight and prematurity totaling more than $13 million since 1984. It has contributed to the successful gene therapy for treating hemophilia and prenatal education and care.

"For example, the mom and baby mobile units that we placed in the Gulf Shores area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, these were fully staffed mobile medical units that provide excellent health care to moms that are expecting and to babies after they are born," Mullins said.

She added the agency continues to urge Congress to vote yes on any bill that includes health care related issues.

The March of Dimes will continue its mission to find a cure for prematurity in an attempt to prevent birth defects, infant mortality and low birth weight.

"We are making progress and with each candle we light tonight we are one step closer to finding a cure for prematurity," Mullins said.