March for Babies: Karri Friedenberger, Aurora
Every expectant parent looks forward to celebrating the birth of a healthy baby. My husband, Kirk, and I are no different. However, each year in the U.S. more than 530,000 babies are born premature. Our twin girls, Hanna and Rachel, contributed to this statistic.
When we learned in October 2000 that we were expecting twins, Kirk and I were shocked and excited. As with the pregnancy of our first child, Ian, I followed all the rules, ate well, rested and had regular prenatal checkups with my obstetrician. I even experienced the joy of feeling my twin babies kick for the first time. Even though I did everything by the book, for reasons unknown our baby girls came into this world nearly four months early.
In February 2001 our lives changed forever. At 23 weeks gestation my membranes ruptured. Just two weeks later at only 25 weeks gestation my babies arrived. Hanna Caroline weighed only 1 pound, 12 ounces and measured 12 inches. Rachel Marie weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces and also measured 12 inches.
Instead of being placed in my arms as all moms look forward to, my girls were immediately intubated, connected to a ventilator and given lifesaving surfactant therapy. Instead of reveling in the happiness of the birth of our daughters, Kirk and I were asked to decide whether to sign a Do Not Resuscitate form.
My first images of Hanna and Rachel were not at all what I had envisioned they would be. The girls were covered in tubes and wires. They had a machine breathing for them, a multitude of medications to support their heart and blood pressure, and a lamp to warm their tiny bodies. We were unable to even touch the girls some days, could not hold them for weeks and waited more than three months to bring our babies home. No mother should have to leave the hospital with empty arms.
In a recent interview I was asked if I was scared when Hanna and Rachel were born. Using the word scared doesn’t begin to adequately describe the emotions of that time in our lives. On a daily basis we faced fear, helplessness and deep sadness for all Hanna and Rachel had to endure. One in eight families faces this same unimaginable heartache when their baby is born too soon.
After 92 long, emotional days our girls were ready to come home, still weighing less than 4 pounds and on a list of medications and an apnea monitor to warn us if they stopped breathing. We quickly learned our journey with prematurity didn’t end there.
Since the girls’ birth, we have spent countless hours in medical appointments, hospitals, therapy sessions and Individual Education Plan meetings ensuring that Hanna and Rachel have everything they need to grow and thrive.
It’s a rare day when we are not reminded of the impact prematurity has had on our lives, even 11 years later. That reminder may come in the form of a difficult day or in the celebration of an accomplishment one of the girls has made. Many families never get these opportunities as their baby’s battle with being born premature is simply too great.
Throughout the past 11 years, much of the terror that gripped us in those early years has been replaced with immeasurable pride. Despite all the struggles, we could not be more thrilled with the incredible family we have. Without the March of Dimes funding decades of research leading to the discovery of surfactant therapy or the regionalization of Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Hanna and Rachel would not be here today.
The joy we feel each time we kiss Hanna and Rachel good night, and even the frustration at times in caring for these two feisty girls, would have been replaced by unimaginable heartache had they not survived.
Through Team Tiny Feet and the March of Dimes, we celebrate Hanna and Rachel and all their success. We celebrate the blessings we have in their brothers, Ian and Will. Team Tiny Feet will continue to raise funds for research and fight alongside the March of Dimes so no other family has to endure all that our family has as a result of prematurity. To support our efforts donations are graciously accepted at marchforbabies.org/hannarachel.