Greetings all~

Kicking off National Prematurity Awareness Month as media spokesperson for the March of Dimes in Northern CA,  Candy the Nurse was pleased to co – host  the Morning in Sonoma (2 hour!) talk- radio show with Ken Brown on Nov 1st.

My first guest was parent of preemie twins (and March of Dimes local representative), Jody Olney, whose micropreemie twins were born  < 2 lbs. at 25ish weeks. The interview will be available here as a podcast in a few days—keep checking back. Thanks for joining us, Jody!

Other guests included fellow actor, Hester Schell, long time friend and now author of Casting Revealed,  soon to be published by Michael Weise Publications. (Yours truly was honored to write the forward, since my kick-in-the-pants helped inspire her to pen it!) Look for it this January…

And last but certainly not least, Steve Doherty, another long time friend, and President of the Sonoma Development Center Family Foundation. Steve works tirelessly to ensure a culture of caring is extended to the mentally disabled residents on that idyllic site of >1000 acres in northern Sonoma County. Watch for news of their annual fundraiser coming in spring.

Thanks to all my guests!

The first, from the June issue of Pediatrics, mentions a study which found C-Sections may increase the risk of celiac disease, as opposed to  those infants born vaginally.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder which leads to inflammation of the gut when the person consumes any foods containing gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley and rye). In terms of the western diet, that’s a toughie.

The researchers have no certain understanding of the process at this point, but hypothesize that  perhaps the phenomenon is linked to the fact that infants born via C-Section miss out on the squeeze down the vaginal tract. We know that action helps eliminate fluid in the respiratory tract, but now scientists think perhaps there are other important microbes an infant would ordinarily encounter which trigger some sort of digestive colonization. As in all closed systems,when one part malfunctions, the result has a domino effect.

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Another story, out of the journal, Obstetrics & Gynecology, mentions a study of over 20,000 pregnancies in Scotland spanning a period of 60 years. The results are glum: mothers who were themselves born early (defined as 24-37 weeks gestation) were 60% more likely to have a preterm baby. Although there is no cure at this time, just knowing it,  makes a case for early prenatal care.

Hang in there, mothers. The March of Dimes is working as fast as they can to find a solution.

]]> http://candycampbell.com/articles/maternal-risks-of-prematurity-update/feed/ 0 http://candycampbell.com/podcasts/march-of-dimes-louisiana-interview/ http://candycampbell.com/podcasts/march-of-dimes-louisiana-interview/#comments Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:44:16 +0000 Candy http://peripateticproductions.com/blog/?p=220 Another busy week of interviews !  Listen to this one with Nancy Darland, a Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist for 23 years when her  daughter gave birth to a 28 week  preemie. Her family is a  March of Dimes Ambassador Family for Lincoln Parish in Louisiana. Nancy discusses the challenges  Bankston has overcome in his young life; truly another miracle story. Here is his photo, the bright and vivacious 6 year old.

Nancy-Darland-podcast-7-1-09

Bankston-poster child for The March of Dimes

(photo courtesy N.Darland)

Joy and Candy at March for Babies 2009

May 2009- the March of Dimes sponsored March For Babies walk in California was a great success!  My team, from the John Muir Health systems NICU, numbered a baker’s dozen, and we brought in quite a respectable amount of donations. This arm of the event was held in San Ramon on a gorgeous San Francisco East Bay morning. Several team members and their families attended, and we all had an invigorating walk and fellowship.

Team John Muir NICU

In these days of strife and pain around the world, it is exciting to be a part of such a large, diverse group of people working for a common cause to bring some relief and happiness to others. Each of us felt we were doing so little, but taken all together, the results were amazing. See YOU there next year!

Stay tuned for future updates!

Candy and Lori Bowlby at CAPIHC