Prematurity Day 2017

HPA Magazine 9

As is customary on 17 November, we commemorated International Prematurity Day by bringing together the parents and “our premature babies”. World Prematurity Day creates opportunities to improve awareness for premature birth, as well as support these new-borns and their respective families, by developing positive messages of hope and self-confidence.
The get together began with presentations by Dr Ivone Lobo (How to Prevent Preterm Birth) and Dr Marisol Anselmo (The Evolution of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), followed by an announcement from the “Born Premature” Association. This new association, created in the Algarve in 2016, came about from the needs that the parents of premature babies were finding along their journey through prematurity, with the main goal of helping them after being discharged from hospital.
Before enjoying a snack and handing out gifts, with tears in our eyes and smiles of admiration, we listened to the words of the parents of “our Martim” and “our Alice”.
Yes, they will also be a little bit and always OURS. This year, we also proudly celebrated the fact that “our Alice” had been chosen for the annual poster of the NIDCAP Federation International.
As a tribute to the families, professionals and institutions that provide care for premature babies, NIDCAP created a poster with photographs of premature babies to represent and commend the work of 47 neonatal care units spread throughout the world. This is how “our Alice”, who hasn’t even left the Algarve yet, has already travelled across all of the continents.