Online Resources:

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. The organization is committed to preventing premature births, birth defects, and infant mortality. For current information and resources, visit www.marchofdimes.com or www.nacersano.org.

Is your newborn in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)? Visit the Share website at www.shareyourstory.org. This is an online community for NICU families where you can have online discussions, start a blog, or just make some friends.

Local Resources and Support:

Mary Washington Hospital is now equipped with ante partum rooms where expectant mothers on bedrest receive special, appropriate care. The MWH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) unit Hospital received an AWHONN (Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses) and JOHNSON’s Childbirth Nursing Award in June 2008. Both of these units, as well as the regular Labor and Delivery wing and Mother and Baby rooms, are located in the Amy Guest Center for Women and Children of MWH and can be toured by expectant mothers and their families.

If you are expecting multiples, your pregnancy is considered high-risk and you should be knowledgeable about the signs of preterm labor and possibilities of bed rest. You may want to consider meeting other expectant moms who are carrying multiplies (or women who have successfully delivered them!). Contact Stacey Broughton at [email protected] to find out more about the Fredericksburg Area Mothers of Multiples Club.

Parents of Preemies Reading Recommendations

1. Days in Waiting: A Guide to Surviving Pregnancy Bedrest by Many Ann McCann

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2. The Pregnancy Bedrest Book: A Survival Guide for Expectant Mothers and Families by Amy E. Tracey

3. Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies by Dana Weschler Linden

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4. What to do When Your Baby is Premature: A Parent’s Handbook for Coping with High Risk Pregnancy and Caring for the Preterm Infant by Joseph A. Garcia-Prats

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5. Pregnancy Bedrest: A Journey of Love by Wanda Hale

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6. Bedrest by Sarah Bilton (fiction)

7. Mommy Has to Stay in Bed by Annette Rivli-Gutman (fiction)

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