Thank you for visiting my March for Babies Web Page! I am so honored to serve as Honorary Chair for Morris County’s March for Babies on May 1, 2011at Fairleigh Dickinson University. I hope that you will ALL take a minute to sign up and walk with our team on May 1st or if you can’t join us, please make a donation toward our team goal of $50,000.
The March of Dimes is an organization that is extremely close to my heart. They provide the education, research, family support and programs to help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies—every woman’s dream. Unfortunately, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby is not always the reality.
When I was pregnant with my daughter Ashley at the early age of 20, I was not given the education about prenatal care—I wish that I would have known about how the March of Dimes helps give young moms the resources they need for a healthy pregnancy. I pretty much winged it on Wendy’s frosties and crab legs! I got lucky with that one.
When I was 32, I gave birth to my son CJ after being bed rest the last 3 months of my pregnancy, with the threat of a pre-term birth. I remember feeling the fear of not knowing what would happen to my baby if he was born too soon and if it was something I had done wrong that brought this on. The March of Dimes is researching the chemical that starts labor so that bed rest and pre-term births are a thing of the past.
Then the hard part came when Chris and I were trying for our third baby. It took us six years and five miscarriages later, when I was 39, that God finally blessed us with our son, Nicholas. Again I was left wondering why this kept happening to me or if I was ever able to have another child that we both wanted so badly or left even wondering if I could ever enjoy another pregnancy with the fear that I had of miscarrying again. It was a very hard time in my life. The only thing I did differently for Nicholas was taking a baby aspirin once a day while trying to conceive up until 3 months after conceiving, and then upon finding out I was pregnant I used a progesterone insert for the first 3 months of my pregnancy. These two resources never would have been provided to me if it wasn’t for the research of The March of Dimes. Nicholas was our final little miracle.
Even through my experiences with pregnancy and childbirth, I feel like I have only felt a fraction of what a lot of these families must have to go through. I can’t help but wonder what lengths these families have to go through to get pregnant in the first place and the joy they feel of finally finding out they are pregnant then having that joy quickly turn to fear… when they realize their baby is coming sooner than expected.
If you’ve never toured a NICU--- a neonatal intensive care unit—you should. It’s an unforgettable experience. When you see these beautiful, tiny little babies hooked up to tubes and monitors fighting for their lives every hour of every day. Knowing the helplessness their parents must feel when they go home without their brand new baby in their arms. The constant worry they must feel knowing they are struggling to survive because they were born too soon and too sick to go home. All they can do is pray that their baby gets stronger and healthier so that they can go be with their families. It’s heartbreaking.
This is why I support the March of Dimes mission to help all moms have healthy long-term pregnancies and research the problems that can threaten the health of these babies. It’s an organization I feel very good about donating to and volunteering my time with.
Please, be a champion for babies and help the March of Dimes by donating to “Team Laurita" at www.marchforbabies.org/team/teamlaurita.
Grab your support bras and sneakers and join me, my family, friends and my fellow housewives at the Start Line on May 1!
XOXO
Jacqueline
