March of Dimes

This past Saturday I participated in the 5 mile March of Dimes event. I hadn’t heard of this organization until entering the infertility world, but I’m so glad to know more and to have been a part of it for the past two years. March of Dimes was originally established by Franklin D Roosevelt to fight Polio and was called The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. However, the foundation changed and now looks for causes of birth defects, premature births, promotes newborn screenings, and educates doctors and mothers about healthy pregnancies.

The March of Dimes event is held in over 700 communities with 3 million people participating each year. $2.3 billion has been raised since 1970. Although I find their website a little hard to navigate there is a lot of good information. They have material ranging from needs of women who desire pregnancy to dealing with grief after losing a baby. Participating by walking or donating helps half a million babies who are born too soon each year. This link will show you when the next March of Dimes event is in your area.

I was grateful to be a part of such an important organization. It was also nice, especially after all the weekend races I have had lately, that this wasn’t a race! No chips. No bibs. No time. It was all about raising awareness and money for mothers and babies!