AWAY IN A MANGER?
Whether Christmas Day is important to you for religious or other reasons, or whether it is simply a welcome day off, everyone knows the story: what happened was completely unanticipated by the parents. Their newborn child was born in an emergency situation, far from home, in a strange place; the child needed to be placed in an emergency crib, one that a day before would have been unthinkable. A "manger"? I'm sure the baby's mom didn't envision this particular outcome. I'm sure the dad must have been a little freaked out: unprepared to have his brand new family spending their first few days together sharing space with strangers, instead of the privacy that comes from being in your own home. Not a normal birth, not a normal script to the first days of life for the child. Imagine the family's reaction when they learned that there was also some risk to the life of their newborn son. Imagine how it must have felt to have a parade of people coming by, unannounced and non-stop to check on the baby in the strange bed, even if some of them brought presents. No one knew exactly what to say. Can you imagine the look of visitors' faces when they looked around the space where the baby was sleeping? They might have said, "I'm glad this was here, but this is no place for a baby to be." Most of the visitors had never seen a baby in such a strange place. What about the smells? Imagine the real-life noises from everything in that scary strange place. Had to be a scary time in the life of the new family, don't you think?
As you may have guessed by now, the story takes place in Bethlehem ... Pennsylvania; or Oxnard, California; or Memphis, Tennessee; or Cincinnati, Ohio; or Worcester, Massachusetts. The story is that of the family that has a baby begin life in a neonatal intensive care unit. An emergency. A strange place. Not a normal birth, family unprepared, not a private space, a strange "bed"; lots of visitors who don't know what to say, some risk to life. A strange place. Noises, smells and shock at the whole experience. Is a NICU incubator anything more than a high tech manger? A place to put a baby born in an emergency. Not anyone's first choice. Aren't there plenty of "swaddling clothes" in a NICU? This year when you hear the Christmas story, regardless of your faith, think about the THOUSANDS of families, across the country that are living out their own Christmas story in a NICU and the families who have children in the hospital. There are some moms who have a wish list that consists only of another day of life for their child as a present. There are dads who wish they were suffering instead of their kids. The visitors who would trade all their gold for a healthy grandchild.
Two points: First, the March of Dimes NICU Family Support program in more than 100 hospitals nationwide, including Tufts Medical Center in Boston, provides comfort and information to the families in the same kind of crisis every day. "Stable Family" Support would have been greatly appreciated when there was no room at the Inn. Second, they say that money can't buy happiness. For the NICU family, that is very true. No amount of money is going to remove those tubes, fix that problem or get that baby home for Christmas Day. Those babies sleeping in their "high tech mangers" have already been dealt their hand and must play it. But money can buy happiness for babies born in the future. Funds raised today will buy happiness for many babies by enabling the March of Dimes to continue its fight prevent prematurity, birth defects and infant mortality for babies yet to be born.
For the past two years, the rate of premature birth in our country has declined. That is the turning point of our efforts. The real performance review of our research and engagement as volunteers and staff will come in the future when no baby is born too small, or too sick because of what we give today. A world that doesn't need "mangers" is a world where every baby is born into ideal circumstances.
As you enjoy time off with your families this holiday season, remember that NICU babies don't go home just because it is December 25th. The tubes don't come out because Santa Claus is coming to town, and the fears and tears of the moms and the dads don't dry up over the river and through the woods at grandmother's house. No, the rescue mission doesn't stop just because the stores are closed. Prematurity and birth defects are forever. When you save a baby, you change the world.
During this giving season, I hope that you enjoy your holiday time off and consider making a gift to the March of Dimes. Let's save babies and do away with mangers, high tech or otherwise.
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