Protect those little ones! #Sponsored #RSVAwareness #PreemieProtection #MC

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for MedImmune. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Let's talk about the smallest of the little ones... the preemies. Those precious little babies who came into this world too soon, and often fight a long difficult fight to stay here. A baby is such an exciting miracle, but it is so scary to have a child too early. 

I have been pretty lucky overall, the earliest any of my children have been born is 37 weeks. Some of you may remember when I had Luke at 37 weeks... although he wasn't technically premature, it was a very bumpy road. Luke's lung had collapsed entirely, and because of meningitis he was on antivirals and antibiotics. We were very lucky that he did well, but I can only imagine how it could have been made so much worse by RSV.

World Prematurity Day is on November 17, 2014. On this day it is great to raise awareness about prematurity and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). RSV is a common virus which nearly every child gets before they are two years old. The virus usually only brings common cold symptoms, but when a premature baby gets this virus, it can be devastating. 

RSV season is generally between November and March here in the US (it can vary a bit, but this is the typical time). Avoiding crowds with your baby can help prevent RSV, as well as frequent washing of your hands. Watching for symptoms can be very helpful, too... as early detection can really help those little ones.

 Check out this great infographic for more information (Scroll to get all the information):

Although Luke did not end up getting RSV, we have had two children who had it as young children. One was 18 months and one was 4 months old. It was definitely a scary experience! We had to have our children on breathing treatments and steroids- and there were many sleepless nights worrying about whether or not our children were breathing. RSV disease is the leading cause of hospitalization for babies during their first year of life in the United States, with approximately 125,000 hospitalizations and up to 200 deaths. That's something to be worried about... and yet around a third of new mothers do not know anything about this virus. 

Remember, there is no specific treatment (other than monitoring and praying) for this virus once it is contracted, so it is very important to try to prevent your child from getting RSV.

What's the scariest illness your child has gotten? Do you have any experience with RSV or premature babies?