Bartow March For Babies Helps Fight Premature Births

Photo: Kaiya Chastain, daughter of Ryan and Carrie Chastain, will serve as the 2015 Bartow County March of Dimes Ambassador. Credit: Cartersville Medical Center

The Cartersville Medical Center will host the 2015 Bartow County March of Dimes March for Babies campaign kickoff next week.

The kick off will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 in the hospital classrooms.

The kickoff is a casual, drop-in event open to anyone in the community who would like to support the March of Dimes by recruiting a team and serving as that team’s captain.

Premature birth is the leading cause of death during the first month of life. Funds raised from the 2015 campaign will help improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Though commonly associated with babies who are born prematurely, the March of Dimes actually impacts the health of every baby born in the United States, through discovery of the benefits of taking folic acid during pregnancy, educating pregnant women about the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and through development of the heel prick test for all newborns, which screens for 28 different metabolic diseases.

According to the March of Dimes, a baby born even a week or two early can have serious long term health problems.

Cartersville Medical Center supports the March of Dimes 39+ Weeks Campaign and was just recently recognized for its efforts by the Georgia Department of Public Health in partnership with the March of Dimes Georgia Chapter and Georgia Hospital Association.

“We’re proud to support an organization whose mission is for every baby to have a healthy start,” said Kathy Coleman, RN, director of perinatal services at Cartersville Medical Center. “We hope area businesses and individuals will form teams and join us at the 2015 March for Babies in May.”

Featured at this year’s kickoff will be the 2015 Bartow County March of Dimes Ambassador, Kaiya Chastain, daughter of Ryan and Carrie Chastain. Kaiya, now 2, experienced life threatening seizures as an infant and benefited from resources made possible by the March of Dimes.

The kickoff will also include information, assistance with team captain registration, door prizes and light refreshments. The 2015 Bartow County March for Babies is scheduled for Friday, May 8 at Dellinger Park.

In addition to the need for teams, area businesses are encouraged to consider corporate sponsorship of the 2015 March for Babies.

For more information about the kickoff, team registration or corporate sponsorship, contact Deborah Sexton, 2015 chair, at or 678-640-2692 or d-sexton@comcast.net or Debbie Childress, March of Dimes community director, at 914-536-6728 or dchildress@marchofdimes.org.