March Of Dimes Convention In Rosemont Connects Mothers Of Premature Babies
(CBS) -- They've been supporting each other online, now a convention this weekend in Rosemont gave parents who've lost a baby or have a child with birth defects a chance to help one another in person.
Karri Friedenberger of Aurora says she has made great friends through the March of Dimes website, women who understand her situation of what it's like to have teen girls still dealing with the repercussions of being born 15 weeks premature.
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She says her daughters were born at only 25 weeks and are now freshmen at Waubonsie Valley.
One has alopecia and the other is autistic, but Friedenberger is grateful for how far they've come.
She says the March of Dimes recognized how beneficial the charity's online forums were for parents and held their first ShareUnion convention ten years ago.
The organization says 540,000 babies are born prematurely in the U.S. each year and it's the leading cause of death among children under the age of one.
