March for Babies funds research to help premature infants
Hundreds of parents will walk together Sunday, April 29, brought together by experiences none of them expected to share.
None of those parents thought they'd bring their babies into the world as much as three months early. None wanted to reach a finger around tubes and wires for their first touch of their newborn's skin. None imagined heading home from the hospital without their baby.
Some of their stories end in unimaginable pain, premature babies not ready for the world who fight for hours or days or even months before their tiny bodies give out.
But some of their stories are filled with triumph and joy, the babies that science and technology and medicine can protect, support and nurture. The ones who go home and grow strong and grow up.
Through their common experience of premature births, all of the families walking Sunday share a commitment to supporting March of Dimes.
Founded in 1938 with the goal of eradicating polio, the organization's mission has shifted to helping women have healthy full-term pregnancies, to supporting families of premature babies through education and counseling, and to funding research into medical practices that help save premature infants' lives.
In the United States, one in eight babies are born prematurely, a figure that has risen 36 percent in the past 25 years, according to the March of Dimes. Premature babies who survive are at risk for long-term health problems and lifelong disabilities.
Hundreds of parents will be walking together in March for Babies walks in Chicago, the suburbs and beyond to benefit the March of Dimes. Here are their stories.
If you go
March for Babies walks to support March of Dimes are planned Sunday, April 29, in several locations in Chicago and the suburbs. Here are the details:
<b>DuPage</b>
When: Registration begins at 8 a.m., walk begins at 9 a.m.
Where: Riverwalk Grand Pavilion, west of Centennial Beach, 500 W. Jackson Ave., Naperville
Distance: 3.2 miles
Info: (312) 435-4007 or <a href="http://marchforbabies.org/connections_walk_list.asp?si=&prefill=&pnum=&pname=&tid=&tnum=&tname=&SeId=&subname=&walk=&change=&other=&state=IL&w=&g=&EditTeam=&pg=&cid=&u=&walkselection=&ReturnWalker=">marchforbabies.org</a>
<b>Bolingbrook</b>
When: Registration begins at 8 a.m., walk begins at 9 a.m.
Where: Bolingbrook Promenade, 631 E. Boughton Road
Distance: 3.1
Info: (815) 600-8086 or <a href="http://marchforbabies.org/connections_walk_list.asp?si=&prefill=&pnum=&pname=&tid=&tnum=&tname=&SeId=&subname=&walk=&change=&other=&state=IL&w=&g=&EditTeam=&pg=&cid=&u=&walkselection=&ReturnWalker=">marchforbabies.org</a>
<b>Fox Valley</b>
When: Registration begins at 8 a.m., walk begins at 9 a.m.
Where: Pottawatomie Park, 8 North Ave., St. Charles
Distance: 3.1
Info: (312) 435-4007 or <a href="http://marchforbabies.org/connections_walk_list.asp?si=&prefill=&pnum=&pname=&tid=&tnum=&tname=&SeId=&subname=&walk=&change=&other=&state=IL&w=&g=&EditTeam=&pg=&cid=&u=&walkselection=&ReturnWalker=">marchforbabies.org</a>
<b>North Suburban</b>
When: Registration begins at 8 a.m., walk begins at 9 a.m.
Where: Busse Woods picnic grove 5, 42-48 S. Arlington Heights Road, Elk Grove
Distance: 3.2 miles
Info: (312) 435-4007 or <a href="http://marchforbabies.org/connections_walk_list.asp?si=&prefill=&pnum=&pname=&tid=&tnum=&tname=&SeId=&subname=&walk=&change=&other=&state=IL&w=&g=&EditTeam=&pg=&cid=&u=&walkselection=&ReturnWalker=">marchforbabies.org</a>
<b>Lakefront</b>
When: Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., walk begins at 8:30 a.m.
Where: Grant Park, lakefront, Chicago
Distance: 3.2 miles
Info: (312) 435-4007 or <a href="http://marchforbabies.org/connections_walk_list.asp?si=&prefill=&pnum=&pname=&tid=&tnum=&tname=&SeId=&subname=&walk=&change=&other=&state=IL&w=&g=&EditTeam=&pg=&cid=&u=&walkselection=&ReturnWalker=">marchforbabies.org</a>
<b>McHenry County</b>
When: Registration begins at 7 a.m. May 20, walk begins at 8 a.m.
Where: McHenry Community College, 8900 Route 14, Crystal Lake
Distance: 3.11 miles
Info: (815) 397-0097 or <a href="http://marchforbabies.org/connections_walk_list.asp?si=&prefill=&pnum=&pname=&tid=&tnum=&tname=&SeId=&subname=&walk=&change=&other=&state=IL&w=&g=&EditTeam=&pg=&cid=&u=&walkselection=&ReturnWalker=">marchforbabies.org</a>
<b>Lake County</b>
When: Registration begins at 8 a.m., walk begins at 9 a.m.
Where: Old School Forest Preserve, St. Mary's Road between Route 176 and Route 60
Distance: 3.5 miles
Info: (312) 435-4007 or <a href="http://marchforbabies.org/connections_walk_list.asp?si=&prefill=&pnum=&pname=&tid=&tnum=&tname=&SeId=&subname=&walk=&change=&other=&state=IL&w=&g=&EditTeam=&pg=&cid=&u=&walkselection=&ReturnWalker=">marchforbabies.org</a>