Events

WE GIVE THE START IN LIFE – INTERNATIONAL MARATHON SIBIU 2017

Starting life is difficult for preterm infants, babies arrived to soon on this world. The warmth, quiet, and peace of the maternal womb, so much needed for defining their little bodies disappears. And doctors and nurses must ensure the best conditions for their continuing development. The incubator is that miraculous place that can offer at least part of what is needed for survival – the warmth. The incubator is the “house” where the preemies are spending sometimes weeks or even months until, with the help of modern technologies and surrounded by the love of the parents and medical staff, they manage to overcome all the difficult moments of the too early start in life and are sufficiently developed and ready to go, finally, home, in their family.

 

Same as people, the medical machines, the equipments “are getting old”. Neonatology is one of the medical areas where modern technology and equipment are indispensable to ensure the most efficient, best and safest therapy. The old machines must be continuously replaced by newer, more modern, more performing, and safer ones. The incubators, the transitory “little houses” where preemies are fighting for their life starting the first moments after birth, are essential for survival. The Premature Infants Department still has incubators as old as 20-30 years, most of them donated, already outdated when they were received. These incubators are not performing anymore, have frequent technical problems, and must be replaced as soon as possible with newer, more modern, more efficient, and safer incubators. Newer incubators that can help the preemies to grow faster, to develop better, and enjoy sooner their family.

 

Thermal comfort, the warmth, is essential for the survival of the preterm infants starting from the first minutes of life and during almost the entire period of hospitalization, weeks or even months. Modern incubators are offering not only warmth but also humidity, better simulating the intrauterine environment and helping, in an essential way, the optimal development from the first days of life. Modern incubators are mandatory for reducing neonatal morbidity and mortality. We want to decrease even more the mortality rate (one of the lowest in the country) and the rate of the complications associated to prematurity by endowment of the Preterm Infant Department at international standards.

Beneficiaries

Annually, around 300-350 premature infants form Sibiu, Alba, and Vâlcea counties are cared for In the Preterm Infants Department.

Objectives

Aquisition of 3 modern incubators for the Preterm Infant Department.

Budget

90.000 lei = 3 modern incubators (30.000 lei/incubator)

Partners involved in the project

1. The main objective of Baby Care Association Sibiu is to support the best care of the newborns admitted in the maternity ward of the Clinical County Emergency Hospital Sibiu.

Projects developed in 2016:

• “We give the start in life” – Sibiu Semimarathon 2016
• “ABC – Let’s learn about children. Parenting School”, started in 2016; partnership with Save the Children Romania, Maini Unite Association, Unii pentru Altii Association, Gong Theater Sibiu
• “Library for Mothers of the Preterm Infants”
• “Congenital heart defects screening by pulsoxymetry”, financed by Red Bull Romaniacs
• “World Day of Prematurity” – 2016, November 17

The projects developed during Sibiu Semimarathon were partnerships with Maini Unite Association Sibiu and E.M.M.A. Organization and resulted in the acquisition of the following: ultrasound machine, 20 respiratory circuits (2013), a modern incubator (2014), neonatal pulsoxymeter with 200 pulsoxymetry sensors (2014), cerebral and somatic oxymetry monitor with sensors (2015), a modern neonatal ventilator, and two phototherapy lamps (2016).

2. The main objective of Maini Unite Association Sibiu is to ensure the children’s harmonious physical and psychical development through various actions: from education, legal assistance to charity events.

Main projects developed in 2016:

• “Holding Hands for Pediatric Hospital”
• “Warm meal”
• humanitarian projects for children found in difficult situations.

3. E. M.M.A. Organization is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-political, and non-religious organization, developing voluntary activities for supporting the families during the drama of losing a child, mainly those losing an unborn child.
4. The scope of Unii pentru Altii Association is to finance projects promoting health, including training parents and medical staff and offering financial and social support to children with health problems from poor families.