Walk to support parents of premature babies raises $40,000
Aspecial walk was held on Saturday morning at Sherbrooke’s Jacquescartier Park to mark the Journée Québécoise pour les enfants prématurés, the day set aside by the National Assembly to recognize and raise awareness about the issues facing the parents and families of babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy. The walk, which was held simultaneously in Saguenay, Longueuil, Quebec City, Rimouski, Rouyn-noranda and Sherbrooke, is also a fundraiser for Préma-québec, an organization that works to support parents of premature babies across the province.
The six walks had a combined objective of raising $40,000 and surpassed that goal by over $2,000. All of the funds raised will be used to help support families in different parts of Quebec.
According to Préma-québec, there are different degrees of prematurity, ranging from mild prematurity (A birth at 33 to 36 weeks) to severe prematurity (a birth before the 28th week of pregnancy). Although a baby stands a good chance of surviving a birth as early as 24 weeks into the pregnancy, premature babies often face additional health challenges and developmental difficulties as a result of their early arrival. The organization estimates that an average of 6,000 babies per year are born prematurely in Quebec, and hospital stays for these children and their parents can vary between 30 and 120 days, with some surpassing a year.
In 2017, 473 premature babies were born in the Estrie region.