The word “miracle” seems just right for Alexa Ostolaza. Born at just 25 weeks, instead of the 40 weeks of a full-term pregnancy, Alexa weighed in at 1 pound, 4 ounces. “The doctors told us that she had only a 25 percent chance of survival,” says her mother, Jessica. “If she made it, they said she might never have a normal life.”

At just past the midpoint of a healthy first pregnancy with regular prenatal care, Jessica developed preeclampsia, a condition potentially life-threatening to both mother and baby. Tiny Alexa was delivered in an emergency cesarean section. “It was extremely scary,” says her father, Josue. “At 25 weeks, my wife was barely showing. And suddenly there was this little baby as small as my hand.”

As worried as the doctors were about Alexa’s low birth weight, they were more concerned about the premature infant’s underdeveloped organs. Because babies like Alexa are not ready to function outside the womb, they must often spend their first weeks in a specialized hospital nursery. “Alexa was in neonatal intensive care for four and a half months,” recalls Josue. “It was an emotional roller coaster. We did a lot of praying.”

That roller coaster had frightening dips in the form of setbacks like seizures and a brain bleed at six weeks, requiring the insertion of a permanent shunt in Alexa’s brain. But there were also encouraging high points. “Breathing problems can be very dangerous for premature infants, but Alexa’s lungs were successfully treated with surfactant,” says Jessica. “We found out that surfactant therapy was developed with funding from the March of Dimes, and that’s when we first became aware of the big role the March of Dimes played in the research that was saving her life.”

WALK FOR SOMEONE YOU LOVE
Since its founding in 1938, the March of Dimes has funded groundbreaking research to save children’s lives — and improve the quality of those lives. The efforts are supported by March of Dimes fundraisers, the largest of which is WalkAmerica.

The event’s tagline, “Walk for Someone You Love — Premature Babies Need Hope, Love, and You,” is a reminder of just how big a problem premature birth is in the United States “Prematurity is now the nation’s leading killer of newborns,” says Jennifer L. Howse, PhD, president of the March of Dimes. “It has reached epidemic proportions — 508,000 babies were born premature in 2004. Many people are specifically walking to highlight someone in their lives — or in the life of a loved one — who was born premature.”

Every spring, hundreds of thousands of these caring volunteers gather in nearly 1,100 communities across the country to participate in the nation’s oldest “walk” event. Walks are typically six miles long, and walkers can participate individually or as part of a group. Last year, some 24,000 company, organization, school, and family teams walked for healthier infants.

Volunteers ask friends and associates to sponsor their walk by making a donation to the March of Dimes. Since the first walk in 1970, this important fundraiser has contributed more than $1.5 billion to help prevent or treat prematurity, birth defects, and other threats to infant health. “The March of Dimes spends 75 percent of the

Larry Kellner, chairman and CEO of Continental, shares a laugh with Alexa Ostolaza.

money raised in WalkAmerica on research and other programs,” says Howse. “Besides surfactant therapy, recent breakthroughs include prevention of newborn jaundice and improvements in newborn screening.”

A SILENT CRISIS
WalkAmerica does more than raise money for significant research. According to Howse, the event helps spread the word about the alarming increase in preterm births. “The prematurity message has been in the forefront of every WalkAmerica since 2003, when the March of Dimes launched its multiyear campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth,” she says.

Since 1981, the percentage of infants born prematurely has risen more than 30 percent, affecting more than 12.5 percent of all births in 2004. An increase in prematurity among multiple births accounts for some, but not all, of the increase, says Howse. “In fact, in nearly 50 percent of all premature births, there is no known cause,” she points out. “Prematurity does not discriminate based upon ethnic background, where you live, or how much money you make.”

This increase in preterm births has devastating consequences. Infants who survive often have lifelong health problems like cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss. “It devastates families,” says Howse, “and we are determined to find the answers.”

The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign

Alexa Ostolaza (center) with her parents, Jessica and Josue.

is looking for those answers and also helping to give babies a fighting chance through education and awareness programs. “The March of Dimes goes so much further than people think,” says Josue. “From helping pregnant women to being there for families, they want to improve the odds for all babies.”

AMBASSADOR ALEXA
Those odds certainly turned in Alexa’s favor. Five years after her precarious start in life, you’d never guess the dramatic story of Alexa’s first months just by looking at her. “She runs around and plays like any other kid,” says Josue Ostolaza. “She’s a beautiful child who keeps up with her friends.”

But the health consequences of Alexa’s premature birth will always be with her. “We didn’t know much about prematurity in the beginning,” explains Jessica. “We thought that when she reaches five pounds, she’ll be fine. But she has a shunt in her brain that will be there forever. She will need long-term physical and occupational therapy for mild cerebral palsy. She’ll never outgrow the fact that she was a premature baby.”

This year, Alexa is helping to raise awareness of the growing problem of preterm births and their far-reaching consequences by serving as the March of Dimes 2006 National Ambassador. As the first Hispanic child to be an Ambassador, Alexa especially hopes to call attention to the growing rate of prematurity in the Hispanic community. In her travels around the country with her parents, Alexa will put a face on the March of Dimes’ mission of improving the health of all babies.

— Karen English

To learn more about the March of Dimes, go to marchofdimes.com. To find a WalkAmerica near you, check walkamerica.org. Continental Airlines is proud to be the official airline of the March of Dimes 2006 National Ambassador Program and a national sponsor of WalkAmerica.