Monday is World Prematurity Day, and families are invited to take part in a tea at the QEII hospital on Sunday in honour of that.
Alison Martens is a member of the Canadian Premature baby foundation, and says families of premature babies sometimes need a reminder to celebrate, because premature births tend to be very stressful.
“We kind of miss out on the opportunity to celebrate, because it’s often accompanied by a prolonged hospital stay or perhaps some invasive medical procedure to help maintain our babies until they can do things like breathe and eat properly on their own.”
Martens says the QEII hosted this event for the first time just last year.
“We had a decent turnout, the weather wasn’t very nice that day, but I think it felt like a celebration, it felt like a birthday party. There was babies and toddlers and children all born premature hanging out together, and as moms we got to network and learn about each other’s stories and what we’d been through.”
The tea will be held in the auditorium at the Hospital Sunday afternoon from 2 until 3:30 pm.