Melissa Lopez Duarte

I joined the March for Babies movement, in memory of my sweet daughter Romina. On May 22, 2018, at exactly 30 weeks pregnant with Romina, I suffered from an unprovoked placental abruption and underwent an emergency c-section to save both my baby and myself. Upon delivery Romina was immediately transferred to the NICU and over the following days had several tests ran on her. After many conversations with her medical team, it was confirmed that she had no brain activity and next steps that would be taken were left in mine and my husband’s hands. Together we made the most difficult decision we’d ever made and ultimately decided to remove her off life support. Previous to all of this happening, we had envisioned such a full and happy life for her. Being tied to machines, just for our own comfort of not losing her, was not a life she deserved. In the late afternoon of May 27th, Romina passed away peacefully in my arms. Since then, through my own research and connecting with March of Dimes, I’ve learned that thousands of babies are born prematurely every single day. In the years since Romina’s passing, I have dedicated my time and efforts to raise funds and participate in annual walks with March for Babies. My hope is that the efforts this community puts in, will help bring awareness, funding, support and hopefully an end to premature births. My wish is that no other family ever has to go through what we went through with our perfect angel, Romina.