Locals vow to continue long fight against premature births
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Just over four years ago. Rev.
Drew Southern and his wife Jamie
were excitedly awaiting parenthood.
After years of trying, the couple was
expecting triplets.
But tragedy struck on July 30,
2007, when the babies were deliv
ered at just 25 weeks - nearly four
months too soon. One of the triplets,
Adam Southern, passed away just 1 2
hours after his delivery, but William
and Lindy Southern, Adam's brother
and sister, survived. It was a har
rowing time for the Southern family
as they mourned the loss of their tiny
son and prayed for the survival of
their other two children, both of
whom would spend months in the
hospital's neonatal intensive care
unit (NICU).
"It was awful," said Rev.
Southern, pastor of Faith United
Methodist Church in Rural Hall.
"These are our first and only chil
dren and you typically think of that
as the happiest moment of your life, _
but that's not what it was at all for
us, because they were bom so early."
Leaders from the local March of
Dimes chapter gathered at
Corpening Plaza Tuesday morning,
in hopes of bringing awareness to
the issue of premature births - which
disproportionately affects blacks -
PhoU* by Layb Farmer
From left: Mayor Allen Joines, Dr. Marty Scott, Ann Smith, Dr. Cherrie
Welch and Tanner Robinson cut the ribbon across Corpening Plaza's
entrance to officially kickoff the month.
and preventing tragedies like the one
the Southerns endured. Organizers
joined forces with representatives
from local medical centers in the
event to officially kickoff national
Prematurity Awareness Month,
observed in November each year.
At more than 12 percent, North
Carolina's rate of premature births -
deliveries that take place before 37
weeks of gestation - is among the
highest in the nation.
"On any given day, there are over
100 babies in the nurseries in the
Triad struggling for their lives, and
some of them weigh less than a
pound," said Dr. Cherrie Welch,
director of Brenner Children's
Hospital Nurseries. "...Some of
these babies die before they're ever
able to go home with their families."
Welch, a neonatologist for the
last decade, is the incoming board
chair for the March of Dimes.
"I see the tragedy of premature
births every single day at work and
it's just heartbreaking," she said of
her motivation to take on a leader
ship role with the organization.
Premature births can cause myri
ad health complications, including
cerebral palsy, vision or hearing loss
and intellectual disabilities.
While most premature births are
caused by conditions that can't be
prevent, many women choose to
deliver prematurely for a variety of
non-medical reasons, Welch said.
She believes these women are
unaware of the risks these early
deliveries present.
"Lots of people think mm^^m
that at 37 weeks (of gesta
tion), your baby should be
able to be born healthy, but
actually that last two
weeks is important to
development^and growth,"
Welch explain&d. "...It's
just not good for the baby
(to be delivered early).
Sometimes, they'll die."
Forsyth Medical Center
has taken some big steps to
reduce the number of premature
births, such as prohibiting elective
deliveries before 39 weeks unless
the mother or baby is in danger, said
Ann Smith, director of Forsyth
Medical Center's Sara Lee Center
for Women's Health.
The medical center is also work
ing to promote breast feeding, which
is beneficial for all babies, but can
be life savings for premature infants.
Smith explained. Two years ago, the
hospital started a breast milk donor
program to provide for premature
babies who didn't have access to it
Rev. Southern
otherwise.
"They get the immunities from
their moms and have much less risk
of infections," explained the
University of Florida alumna. "The
more breast milk that they receive,
the better the outcome. We started
our donor breast milk program and
we decreased out gut infections (in
N1CU infants) by 50 per
cent, just in the first year."
The Southern family is
among the staunch sup
porters the local March of
Dimes chapters depends
on each year to help raise
funds for research and
education. They even
served as the organiza
tion's ambassador family
during the 2010 March for
Babies fundraiser walk.
"We've been very involved with
March of Dimes since our kids were
born," Rev. Southern related. "It is a
cause that we do believe in. We've
experienced the pain and trauma that
can occur when kids are born very
prematurely, and the goal of the
March of Dimes we believe is a wor
thy goal for families, for communi
ties."
For more information about the
March of Dimes, visit
www.marchofdimes.com.
Wake Forest Baptist
treated me
like a number: 1 .
When Jane was diagnosed with cancer that had spread to her brain, her physician
referred her to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. We have the only Gamma Knife?
in this area, so we were able to remove Jane's tumor without surgery and leave healthy
tissue intact. Jane says that each member of our Comprehensive Cancer Center treated
her like the only patient they had. That combination of the most advanced medicine
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Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Triad. For an information kit or for assistance in
scheduling an appointment, call 888-7 16-WAKE or visit WakeHealth.edu/gamma-knife.
COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER I Call 888-716-WAKE for an appointment.
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