The photo above was taken nearly three years ago when our twins were almost 3 years old. This coming January, they will be turning six. I remember taking this photo and thinking how quickly the first three years had gone by and now I am amazed at how quickly the next 3 years have flown by. Looking at them now, it is difficult to believe that our two kindergartners were born 9-1/2 weeks early.
Saturday, November 17th, is Preemie Awareness Day or World Prematurity Day. With the increasing number of twins and other multiple births, RSV awareness (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) in regards to preemies is of growing importance. In fact, 13 million babies are born premature around the world each year. I have to admit that I knew little about RSV Protection until our twins spent 2-1/2 weeks in the NICU and then another 3 weeks in the Special Care Nursery during the months of January and February, which fall into the time labeled as "RSV season."
I had learned from the nurses in the NICU that there is no cure for RSV, which causes up to 10 times more infant deaths than the flu. That is why we did not mind taking extra precautions to keep our preemies safe. We always scrubbed and sanitized our hands and forearms thoroughly before going near our twins or anything that they may touch. When my husband felt like his throat was scratchy, he refrained from visiting the twins in the NICU for 3 or 4 days until he was sure he was not sick. He did this with their best interest in mind even though he missed them terribly. Another preventative measure is to not allow anyone to smoke near your baby, which is something we would have done whether the twins were born early or not.
(Click on graphic to enlarge)
Being educated about RSV and taking all the necessary precautions were completely worth it. We have beautiful healthy boy-girl twins who will be turning 6 soon.
To learn more about RSV prevention, visit RSVPrevention.com and talk to your pediatrician.
I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune and I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
