prologue
A spring Saturday morning, voices are heard from Ofri's room: "Mom, Dad..." I go to the room, open the door, and before my eyes I see my cute girl stretching out in her bed, smiling her captivating smile, waking up to another day of games and Shabbat fun. "Good morning, my sunshine!" I tell her, and a moment later her reply comes: "Good morning, Dad," as the poet says: "Sabbath morning is a beautiful day...".
Now you're probably thinking to yourself, what's the big deal here? A completely normal story, nothing special. So that's not the case, my sweet girl, three and a half years old today, a child who is developed for her age except for a speech delay, this girl was born premature, and not just premature, but tiny premature: 670 grams at 28 weeks of pregnancy.
And that is actually the reason for writing this column, to promote the issue of premature babies here in our country, through my personal stories and the stories of parents of premature babies and other people close to the issue.
Hello to all readers, my name is Gilad and I am the father of a premature baby, and premature babies, despite popular belief, usually do not end with the discharge from the hospital. In many cases, the struggle between parents and their child can continue for a long time.
This is where the Lahav Association - For Premature Infants in Israel (G'r) comes into the picture - a nationwide association established by parents of premature infants and those who were premature in the past, for the purpose of promoting and improving the situation of premature infants in Israel, their families, and premature infants in Israel, and to reduce the number of premature infants born each year and increase awareness of the dangers of premature infants. Among its many activities, some of them can be noted:
- Producing initial training booklets to support parents of premature babies during hospitalization and prior to discharge.
Renovation of parents' rooms in maternity hospitals across the country. –
Donation of life-saving equipment for newborns and useful equipment for parents.
Actions to establish a breast milk bank in Israel and encourage pumping and breastfeeding. –
Promoting the issue of preventive treatment against the RSV virus in Israel. –
Extending maternity leave for parents of premature babies and easing the situation of families in the first year.
An uncompromising fight to increase staffing standards in premature babies and expose government reports on the subject. –
Representing parents before the establishment and handling individual problems. –
-Media exposure to premature baby issues and production of surveys and petitions on various topics.
– Operating a network of contacts in premature babies throughout the country to assist the parents of hospitalized premature babies.
The Lahav Association is recognized as a public institution (recognition of donations according to Section 46), registered as a non-profit organization (NPO), and is based on volunteerism. The association was founded by parents of premature babies in 2004.
I am attaching links to the association's website, Facebook page, and Facebook group for parents of premature babies. You are welcome.
Lahav Association website: https://pagim.net/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Lahav-Society-For-the-premature-infants-in-Israel/109310799098179
Premature Parents Group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_40446991365&ap=1
I would like to take this opportunity to invite the members of the association to the association's eighth general meeting, which will be held on Friday, June 17th at 8:30 AM in the event hall at the Ariela House Library, 25 Shaul HaMelech Blvd., Tel Aviv. Those who can come and make an impact will be blessed.
That's it for now, and in the next column I will tell how I came to the organization, that is, my personal story.
Good health, and goodbye – Gilad
