The Sattler Scoop: World Prematurity Day

November 17th is World Prematurity Day. Last year at this time, Casey was over three months into her NICU stay with no end in site, and at the time I just didn't have it in me to post about it. I'll be honest, before Casey was born, I didn't know much about prematurity. I certainly didn't think it would happen to my baby. The one I hoped and prayed for all those months. The one who I saw and heard every month on ultrasounds. The one who my doctors said was healthy and growing beautifully just as expected...until suddenly at exactly 26 weeks gestation, my body began shutting down and her arrival was imminent. I did everything right as far as my pregnancy was concerned, and yet on August 7th, 2011, we learned all too well about the impact prematurity would forever have on our lives.

Did you know 1 in 8 babies in the U.S. is born prematurely?

Casey is now a part of that statistic...and she is one of the lucky ones. Today we can celebrate all that she has overcome, but there are many babies who don't survive the fight to live. Many of these births are preventable. World Prematurity Day is about bringing awareness and prevention to a growing crisis in both our country and worldwide, where every year 15 million babies are born too soon. I hope that by sharing our miracle girl's story on this blog we have brought some awareness to the seriousness of prematurity.