March for Babies

In the few moments after that final push that brought Adelaida into the world, it was the lack of sound that I remember -- newborn babies were supposed to cry, but I head nothing. The doctors knew she was in distress and had a team of NICU pediatricians, nurses, and support staff waiting for her birth. A dozen medical professionals bustled around the delivery room, performing a complicated but well-rehearsed dance to maintain and strengthen Adelaida's tenuous hold on life. I didn't realize it at the time, but it wasn't clear whether she would live or not. She had almost no signs of life when she was born: she was gray from lack of oxygen, wasn't breathing, and had no reflexes. Only a weak and irregular heartbeat demonstrated her will to live. She was stabilized, intubated, and hooked up to an IV and a dozen monitors in the moments after birth and rushed to the NICU within two minutes, where I saw her rosebud lips and her unruly black hair (between all the tubes and wires) for the first time six hours later.


Despite predictions of weeks to months in the NICU, Adelaida extubated herself when she was one day old, was released from the NICU at three days old, and has grown into a vivacious and intelligent 5-year-old with no lasting effects from her rough start to life.

Two years later, I learned I was pregnant again -- this time, with twins. My immediate reaction was joy: twins are so special, and we would have an instant large family. Three kids for the price of two! I began looking up twins online, and what I read was disheartening. Twins are significantly more likely to be born pre-term, have low birth weight, and require lengthy NICU stays than singletons are. 80% of twins are born pre-term (before 37 weeks) and 57% have low birth weight (less than 5 lb). My joy at having twins was quickly replaced by a fear of having tiny babies who were too sick to breathe on their own and would spend their first months in a sterile hospital room rather than in my arms. I wanted healthy babies and made it my primary job to gestate them as well and as long as I possibly could.


At 38 weeks gestation, we welcomed Estella and Cordelia to our family: two healthy, full-term, 7-lb babies! Their cords were cut, they were cleaned up, and within minutes of their births, Dale was holding both babies while my Cesarean incision was sewn up. They never saw the inside of the NICU and went home with us four days after they were born. They are now 2-1/2 years old and are active, smart, and beautiful little girls who love to follow their big sister around.


We are the lucky ones.

Against the odds, Adelaida survived.


Against the odds, Estella and Cordelia were born full term and with healthy weights.


Against the odds, we have three beautiful, healthy daughters who light up our lives every single day.


We are the lucky ones.

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small, and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies to honor my own healthy children, and in honor of all those babies who weren't as lucky as mine. I'm walking in honor of every baby born too early, every baby unable to breathe independently, every baby whisked away to the NICU rather than being placed in his mother's arms, every baby who required the marvels of modern medicine to get through those first few terrifying minutes, hours, weeks, or months of life. I'm walking for the babies who didn't survive, and the families who had to overcome the grief of losing a baby. I'm walking for Trevor, for Amanda and Melanie, for Kevin, Trevor, and Courtney, for Chloe, for Christa and Courtney, for Jack, for Gwen, for Bronte, for Owen and Evie, and for Travis. I'm walking for the mothers and fathers who watch helpless from the sidelines while their babies fight for life. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help.


March of Dimes is an organization whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. The March for Babies is a fundraiser sponsored by March of Dimes. Your March for Babies donation will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. Donations will also be used to provide comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.

Please support my walk. Making a secure donation is easy: just go to http://www.marchforbabies.org/marieparkes and click the 'donate now' button on the right side of the page. Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!