Premature birth is the biggest killer of newborn babies, yet almost 15 per cent of babies are born before the 40-week mark every year.
Cary and Jon Hammond’s first daughter, Evie, was born 10 weeks premature and weighed a mere 1275 grams.
She spent the first eight days of her life in a neonatal unit and the next 45 in special care. Two years later, Cary gave birth to twin boys, Billy and Sonny, who weighed just 698 and 1150 grams respectively.
While their children are now relatively fit and well, “all three of our kids are still impacted by their premature birth”, Cary says.
The Hammonds’ long involvement with the Life’s Little Treasure’s Foundation, which supports families with children born premature or sick, made the Kealba family a natural choice to be the ambassadors for the Walk For Prems 2014 charity run on October 26.
Details: www.walkforprems.org.au