Tag Archive: Preterm birth


World Prematurity Day

Filed under: Home, iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
August 13, 2012

As we get closer to the big ride at Hotter n’ Hell, we get closer to pivoting and gearing up for World Prematurity Day, which is on November 17.  If you haven’t heard about this day and this campaign, it’s a great opportunity to connect globally and heighten the awareness that there are families who mourn the loss of a child.  Born too soon, gone too soon is my theme for that day.

Special activities will take place worldwide on that day and I’m working to put my 2 cents in the fray.  I’m working to coordinate a 17 mile “bike ride of silence” to give a voice to the invisible tears and silent joy experienced by parents, friends, family members who move forward without their loved ones.  As I’ve always said, cycling gives a complete perspective of moving forward, staying present, and overcoming challenges, which is what we do to honor our loved ones.

I’m so appreciative of all the many folks who have donated money and pledged miles; the shared stories and experiences have all been heartwarming, as well as the encouraging voices.  I’m truly humbled by the outpouring of support.  But we aren’t done and I know you will join me on this important and exciting new venture for World Prematurity Day 2012.  We have another opportunity to ride!

Please check back for more information, or leave your email address and I’ll forward the location, roll-out time, etc.  This is going to be BIG, and I invite you to jump on your bike and rollout with me.

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Roll Out

Filed under: iRide News by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
April 2, 2012

MOD walk shi garden pic The iRide4Shiloh campaign is my BIG idea for 2012 to raise donations for March of Dimes and raise awareness to the Infant Mortality Rate.  My son, Shiloh Stone Maxwell Adams was born January 10, 2007 (16 weeks before his scheduled due date).  We celebrated Shiloh turning 5 this year and thought this campaign would be an amazing way to honor his memory and celebrate his life. 

 Many of you may be familiar with March of Dimes and it’s role in fighting pre-term births.  You may also know about the 1 in 8 pre-term birth statistic, and you’ve probably heard that for more than 70 years, the March of Dimes has saved millions of babies and children from death and disability through it’s lifesaving research and innovative programs.  However, what at times is lost in the headlines or pushed to the back page of the news is that not every child born prematurely will survive.  In fact, nearly 7 of 1,000 births end in death, with the number increasing almost twofold for minorities.  Studies indicate premature birth is a factor in more than two-thirds of infant deaths and the U.S. preterm birth rate has gone up since 2000.

 When I read the medical and social studies, the common theme seems to center on women and health.  Obesity among women continues to rise and we’ve all read about chronic diseases and the link to obesity.  A baby is at risk of being born early when the mother suffers from high blood pressure, stress, diabetes, etc.  Research and technology is great when it comes to the fight against pre-term birth, but so much of it is designed post birth in an effort to keep your child alive.  Unfortunately, for my son, it was not enough. 

 Losing weight goes a long way to helping not only you, but the unborn child.  This brings me back to March of Dimes and its Prematurity Campaign.  The money that you donate will help educate women about risk-reduction strategies and advocate to expand access to health care coverage to improve maternity care and infant health outcomes.  The information that you share will help bring someone to realize that choosing a healthier and more active lifestyle could not only save a life, but the life of a child.  Oh, don’t forget to mention how getting in shape makes it easier to run after that toddler or take them to the park.    

This campaign is for everyone and of course, everyone who takes part, as well as completing a personal challenge ride/walk/run pledge, will be helping us raise awareness about health and fitness can reduce the Infant Mortality Rate and helping us to raise funds to fight pre-term births.  

The sunrise is making it’s way through the night, the wind is non-existent, it’s a cool 67 degrees, and a wide-open country road.  Let’s ROLL OUT!!!!!

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Infant Mortality and Women’s Health

Filed under: Health & Fitness by iride4shiloh — Leave a comment
April 2, 2012

Chronic diseases in the mother, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and asthma, have been associated with poor birth outcomes. There is growing evidence that periodontal disease, which affects many women of childbearing age, can increase the odds of preterm delivery.  The time before conception is the optimal point at which these conditions can be identified and managed in order to improve a woman’s chances of giving birth to a healthy child. Such measures might also lessen black/white discrepancies in infant mortality, since African American women are more prone to suffer from some conditions that affect birth outcomes, such as high blood pressure (Johnson et al., 2008).

It’s important to increase awareness among prospective parents that good decision-making begins before their babies are born.  Drugs, and some medicines can compromise their babies’ well-being. They also need to know about positive behaviors that can promote their babies’ health, including good nutrition. For example, some birth defects involving the brain and central nervous system, including anencephaly and spina bifida, may be prevented when the mother takes a vitamin that includes folic acid prior to and early in her pregnancy (March of Dimes, 2008).

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in rates of preterm birth and infant mortality are among the most widely recognized but least understood aspects of infant and maternal health. In particular, the persistent black/white differential requires intensive study. At any age, and at any income, education or socioeconomic level, an African American mother is more than twice as likely to lose her infant as a white woman. Compared with white babies, black infants are at greater risk for three leading causes of infant mortality: congenital malformations, low birthweight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (Mathews & MacDorman, 2008).

The time is now!!!!!!!

An intubated female premature infant born prem...

An intubated female premature infant born prematurely 26 weeks 6 days gestation, 990 grams. Photo taken at approximately 24 hours after birth. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Diet Soda is part of the problem!

Filed under: Health & Fitness by iride4shiloh — 1 Comment
March 5, 2012

reprint from Yahoo!

Surveys show that people who drink diet sodas rarely stop with just one.  People are drinking diet sodas at an average of more than 26 ounces per day.  The more hardcore you become, the closer you begin to look like a fiend.

Does an artificial sweetener trigger the brain’s reward system, thus making you an addict to diet soda?  In a study of women who drank water sweetened with sugar or Splenda, the women couldn’t taste the difference between the two, but functional MRIs showed that the brain’s reward system responded more strongly to sugar.

Beyond the addiction issue, diet soda has been linked to increased rates of heart attack and stroke, kidney problems, preterm deliveries, and, weight gain.  The emerging evidence is a bit disturbing. Here’s a rundown:

  • Heart Attack and Stroke: Drinking diet sodas daily may increase the risks for heart attack and stroke and other vascular events by 43 percent, but no such threat exists with regular soft drinks or with less frequent consumption of diet soda. These results come from a study including more than 2,500 adults published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine on January 30, 2012. So far, no one knows what it is about diet sodas that could explain the added risk. 
  • Kidney Trouble: In 2009, researchers at Harvard found that drinking two or more diet sodas daily could lead to a 30 percent drop in a measure of kidney function in women. No accelerated decline was seen in women who drank less than two diet sodas daily. The drop held true even after the researchers accounted for age, high blood pressure, diabetes and physical activity.
  • Preterm Delivery: A Danish study including more than 59,000 women found a link between drinking one or more diet sodas daily and a 38 percent increase in the risk of giving birth to preterm babies; the risk was 78 percent higher among pregnant women who drank four or more diet sodas daily. No such risk was seen with regular soda.
  • Weight Gain: Wouldn’t it be ironic if instead of helping you lose weight, diet sodas had the opposite effect? A study at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio found that compared to those who drank no diet sodas, study participants who did had a 70 percent greater increase in waist circumference; worse, drinking two or more diet sodas daily led to ballooning waist circumference that was 500 percent greater than those who drank none. This doesn’t prove that diet soda is to blame since the study was observational – it could be that participants began gaining weight and then started drinking diet sodas.

 The bottomline, have a nice tall glass of ice water!

Day 68/365 - Hello, my name is Victoria and I'...

the problem!

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cyclotherapy

Filed under: Reflexion by iride4shiloh — Leave a comment
February 9, 2012

People have asked why I chose to ride my bike as a way to honor Shiloh.  I start my explanation with a story someone shared with me when I first started riding 3 years ago.  I won’t bore you with the details, but the moral of the story is there are 2 types of cyclists, those riding away from something, and those riding toward something, and from time to time, those cyclists are the same person. 

For me, cycling has become a great way to get away.  It keeps me grounded and allows me to focus on what’s important.  There are days when being on my bike mirrors days when I was in the NICU.  You can’t loose your focus, you can’t let the pain stop you, find support by talking to those around you.  The bottom line, cycling is a training ground for living life.  Why am I writing about this?  I came across a great article written by Marv Zauderer that talks about strengthening your mental skills.  While we would all like to believe that “life is what you make it”, the reality is that “life is how you manage it”. 

Goal setting, positive self-talk, managing emotions, concentration, and communication are skills we use on a daily basis for a number of things, including taking care of a child in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  They are also the skills you need to be successful when cycling, running, or eating healthy.  Every athlete I’ve ever talked to says the same thing…being successful is more mental than physical.  Motivation means everything.  My reality is that, I’m riding away from and toward something.  Same ride, same effort, same cyclotherapy.

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