Jennifer Swain-Dorrough

Coraline and I were  lucky to both make it through the night of her birth and I thank god every day. 

Most of our family and friends know the broad strokes of our journey. The NICU was only a piece of the puzzle, it’s a personal story I don’t share lightly. I focus my attention on where she is now; on how blessed we are to be seeing her grow into the wonderfully smart and happy little girl she is. 

It’s important to me to do this walk to raise awareness and funds to support babies, mothers and families who face difficult obstacles and journeys on their way to growing their family. The traumas I experienced that altered our path came with a lot of questions. Doctors and nurses delivered her that night, at 29 weeks, to save my life and my baby’s life. The doctors said nothing I did or didn’t know caused the life threatening traumas my body experienced that forced the urgent delivery.

Even with our modern medicine and knowledge there is still so much doctors don’t yet know and that is why research is so important. There are many risks that access to proper care can prevent, but not everyone has access to that care even. Help me raise funds to support March of Dimes’ efforts to raise awareness, fund research and support mothers and babies. 

As of 2022 the CDC reported:
- about 1 out of every 10 infants born in the US were preterm. 
- The US infant mortality rate was 5.6 per 1k live births. 
- The primary leading cause of infant deaths was birth weight, the secondary leading cause was Preterm Births. 

Thank you for your donation and support. Thank you for helping me make a difference for future parents and their babies.