Grace Rohlfs

At 28 weeks and 5 days, I woke in the middle of the night with stomach pain, and some bleeding. Not knowing what was going on, I called my OB office and requested to have the on-call doctor call me back. Upon letting them know what I was experiencing, I was told "that is normal, and not any cause for concern". Speaking wtih Nick, we both knew that it was NOT normal, and that we should go the the hospital to see what was going on. After arriving at the ER getting to L&D triage. we found out that I was 3 cm dilated, I was put onto a magnesium drip and administered the first of two steroid shots to help our baby's lungs develop should they arrive early. Once my contractions were no longer happening, they transferred from Bethesda North to Good Samaritan. 

Upon arrival at Good Sam, I met with Dr. Voss from TriState Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) who explained to me what was going on in more depth, what the game plan would be, and what could happen in the next 24 hours-48 hours. This was definitely a scare and something that made us confused, scared and nervous. But, thankfully due to the knowledge of Dr. Voss and the rest of the MFM group, we knew that we were in the best hands no matter what would happen.

Having contractions since entering the hospital, I was monitored and placed on bed rest. I was informed that I would be here until the baby arrives, or I hit 32 weeks of pregnancy. Fast forward about 60 hours, and we realized that I would not make it that fare - I was being moved up to L&D - this baby was coming and ready to make their debut. All the emotions hit us, but we just wanted to make sure that our baby was safe for delivery and would have the best care once delivered. Thankfully, the knowledge and skills of Dr. Smith with MFM allowed for a quick and safe delivery of our baby girl, and the NNP and NICU nurses in the room were quick to make sure out little girl was taken care of for the best outcome she could receive being born at 29 weeks and 1 day. Our little girl was transferred to the NICU right after delivery. Her dad went with her, to be right by her side. We were scared - she was so tiny born at 2 lbs. 11 oz. and 15.25 inches. We had no idea what our journey would look like and that this was just the beginning of our story as a family. Larken spent 50 days in the NICU being monitored and taken care of. Other than that, she has had no major lingering effects so far of her prematurity, and was lucky to be discharged from many of her doctors quickly after her discharge from the NICU. 

After being in the NICU for those first 50 days of her life, we are well aware of how lucky we are with our outcome. What March of Dimes is able to do, can help others receive the treatment necessary so that they can have the same outcome, should prematurity be something they encounter. We share our story so people know that premature birth affects many people, and you never know who those people will be. We want to support those who are going through/ will go through what we did, so they know that there is another side of life for their baby outside of the NICU. This problem is too important to ignore. That is why I am asking you to support my fundraising campaign. By raising money, one of the things I am helping March of Dimes fund is important research to find out why premature birth happens and what can be done to prevent it. With nearly 4 million babies born each year, we have a lot of work to do to help them all. The funds I raise enable March of Dimes to support research, lead programs and provide education and advocacy that truly makes a difference to families in our community and across the country. If you believe, like I do, that every baby deserves the best possible start, please march with me or make a donation to support this community effort. 

Together we can fight for the health of all moms and babies!