Unfettered Letters

Premature babies

Recognizing November as National Prematurity Awareness Month, the March of Dimes continues to lead the fight to help prevent the half a million premature births that occur in this country every year, as well as against other serious threats to infant health. Prematurity is the No. 1 killer of newborns.

The March of Dimes funds cutting-edge research and innovative programs that help babies come into the world healthy. In our community, it has granted more than $1.4 million for research in the last five years. Each year, it also provides about $40,000 in local grant awards to organizations that provide services related to prenatal care and the prevention of premature birth. It has funded quality local health programs, including the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Family Support Program at St. Luke’s Hospital.

Thank you to Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders for issuing a proclamation recognizing Prematurity Awareness Day (Nov. 13). His family has been affected by premature birth and is one of the many March of Dimes success stories.

Visit marchofdimes.com/everybaby to learn more. Together we can give and share hope for all babies — those born healthy, those born prematurely, and those whose lives hang in the balance.

Ginger Breedlove
March of Dimes, Greater Kansas Chapter Prematurity campaign chairwoman
Shawnee

Fine care for preemies

We were shocked and saddened to hear of HCA’s decision to terminate its contract with neonatologist William Topper (5/23, A-1, “Changes fall hardest on the tiniest patients”).

In June 2004, Dr. Topper, along with many other dedicated Research Medical Center staff, cared for our daughter, Ellie, who was born seven weeks premature.

Dr. Topper is a committed and well-respected physician who provided exceptional care during our daughter’s monthlong stay in the neonatal intensive-care unit. Not only did he address Ellie’s medical needs, but he helped our family through the emotional rollercoaster of parenting a premature baby long after her stay at Research.

We are so grateful that Ellie is a healthy and thriving 3-year-old today. That may not have been the case were she not in the best of hands at the time of her birth.

As too often seems to happen, the real victims in this tragedy are the weakest, in this case the premature infants who are fighting to survive.

Megan and Matt Bolch
Kansas City

Record preemie baby

The fact that a tiny baby (9.5 inches long, weighing 10 ounces) was delivered at 22 weeks and is going home four months later is amazing (2/22, A-6, In brief, “Preemie heads home”).
In Kansas, the mother could have legally destroyed her, by abortion, a day before she was born.
Are any pro-choice and pro-abortion advocates feeling a tug to change their stance on this issue? I would think they would.
Amy Brown
Leawood

Very premature baby

Tiny Amillia Taylor is a living example to all mankind of what is lost when a woman has an abortion (2/22, A-6, In brief, “Preemie heads home”).
This little baby was obviously a human being when she was delivered by emergency C-section, and medical professionals treated her as such.
For those who still say the heinous act of partial-birth abortion is necessary when a mother’s life is at stake, here’s one more thing to consider: Why does a baby have to be murdered most cruelly to save the mother’s life?
Little Amillia teaches us that if there truly is a crisis, there are other ways to prevent the mother’s death than to purposely kill the baby. The doctors should treat both patients, mother and child, with the human dignity and compassion they equally deserve.
God bless this little miracle, Amillia. May she shine as a beacon of truth. She’s made a mockery of the entire abortion-rights movement, and she has shown the entire world that even the tiniest among us deserves a fighting chance.
Kathy A. Sneed
Belton