Premature births focus of Sunday march
CRANBERRY TWP — Winds and drizzly rain chilled about 400 people at North Boundary Park Sunday morning, but such inconveniences couldn't stop their marching.
Participants in Butler County's March for Babies, an event associated with the national March of Dimes organization, put foot to pavement in pursuit of both increased awareness of the issues surrounding prematurely born babies and funding for research to help parents dealing with such complications.
Doug Heusey, the group's committee chairman for Butler County and the march's chief organizer, said he hopes the walk prompts more people in the community to realize what it can mean to have a premature baby.
“I don't think anyone realizes how small a preemie baby is,” Heusey said. “It's the size of a water bottle.”
That was the reality for Tim and Jenny Converse. When the couple went to have an ultrasound for their second child and find out its sex, they also learned that Jenny had a shortened cervix. Eventually, doctors told the couple that their daughter may be born prematurely.
And so she was, just 23 weeks and four days into Jenny's pregnancy. Audrey weighed just one pound and six ounces at birth.
“She was in (UPMC Magee-Womens) and (UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh) for a combined 157 days,” Tim said. “We had great care from doctors and nurses. It was a really difficult experience, but it was also uplifting to see the help from everyone involved at the NICU.”
In the U.S. each year, mothers like Jenny give birth to 380,000 babies too soon in their development, according to the March of Dimes. Preterm birth can lead to a host of other health complications and is the leading cause of newborn deaths.
The Converse family has participated in such marches in the years since Audrey's birth, but this year they served as the event's ambassador family. The couple said they were happy to share their story, in hopes that it might help other parents in a similar situation.
“Anyone going through it, just try to be strong,” Jenny said. “Our hearts go out to anyone that goes through this. It's life changing.”
Audrey herself looked strong as ever during the march. She donned a purple cape for the year's “Superhero Sprint” and told the crowd “thank you” to close out her parents' speech.
The march followed a three-mile loop around North Boundary Park. Many parents pushed strollers the whole route.
Lora and Anthony Grasso pushed a double-wide stroller holding their three-year-old twins Tyson and Gia. The siblings were born prematurely after a pregnancy lasting 33 weeks and four days.
The family said they appreciated the sense of community at the march.
“It supports all the research,” Lora said.
“Research that makes kids like ours possible,” Anthony added.
When March of Babies began on Sunday, participants had already raised about $30,000 of a $50,000 goal. That's a goal for the whole year, and they're still taking donations online at https://www.marchforbabies.org/EventInfo/?EventID=19093.
The group also held walks in Erie and Pittsburgh, according to Meghan Principe, development manager for Butler, Beaver and Mercer counties.
