Babies born premature have hope
Donna Otto said she used to question why her three children were born prematurely, but it is now beginning to make sense to her.
"It's kind of my calling," said Otto, March of Dimes Neonatal Intensive Care Unit volunteer.
Otto is able to draw on her frightening experiences to give comfort and hope to other parents of premature babies and critically ill newborns.
Officials and staff members of the March of Dimes Hawaii chapter and Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children discussed pre-term birth developments at a news conference and prematurity summit yesterday at Kapiolani.
Premature births are considered the nation's No. 1 obstetrical problem, increasing by nearly one-third in the last 25 years, March of Dimes said.
Hawaii's premature birth rate is similar to the national average, with one in eight pre-term babies, or 12.1 percent, born in 2004, it said. The target set by the Healthy People 2010 Objectives for the Nation is 7.6 percent.
Otto and her husband, Rory, were devastated when their first son, Devin, now 7, was born at 25 weeks weighing 1 pound, 14.9 ounces, she said. "I would have given anything to talk to another mom" in a similar situation, she said.
Their 4-year-old twin sons also were born early, at 26 weeks, each weighing 1 pound, 12 ounces. "I was devastated again, but this time I knew there was hope because of their brother," Otto said.
To visiting parents of premature babies at Kapiolani, Otto happily displays a current photo of her three sons -- "just great, all normal healthy kids. If my boys can do it, then your child has a great chance," she says, encouraging stressed and worried parents.
Otto has been volunteering at Kapiolani for about a year, and she and parents with similar experiences are part of Hawaii's first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Family Support Program.
Rosemary Fox, March of Dimes NICU Family Support Specialist, works with families and staff to provide specialized support services to meet needs.
March of Dimes' Hawaii chapter joined with Kapiolani Medical Center to offer the program.
Last year, Kapiolani's Newborn Special Care Unit -- a combined intensive and intermediate care unit for sick newborns -- cared for 800 sick babies. Of those, 90 percent or 720 were born prematurely.
Premature birth is the major killer of babies in their first month of life and causes more than one-third of infant deaths within the first year, March of Dimes said. It is a major contributor to long-term medical problems such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, blindness and chronic lung problems.
Carmella Hernandez, March of Dimes Hawaii Chapter director, said 2,200 babies are born prematurely in Hawaii every year.
Not all need help, but Kapiolani's Family Support Program "is designed to help parents navigate the complex, frightening and uncertain time when a premature or otherwise ill newborn is fighting for life in the neonatal intensive care unit," she said.
"Our census is low (currently), but that doesn't mean we have seen a decrease in premies," said Mavis Nikaido, associate director of pediatric critical care at Kapiolani.
The figure bobs up and down, but the average prematurity rate of 12 percent has not changed significantly in the last five to six years, said Dr. Venkataraman Balaraman, associate director of pediatrics.
And it is high for an industrialized nation, he said, noting it is only 6 to 8 percent in Europe.
The U.S. also has a long way to go to improve birth survivals, he said. Genetics and environment could be involved, "but it is a puzzle," he added.