Labor of Love: Mead Johnson Employees Create Homemade Blankets for Newborn "Preemies" in Honor of World Prematurity Month

Mead Johnson employees in Glenview handmade just over 100 keepsake blankets for preemies born at three area hospitals – Edward Hospital, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital and Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

When preemies emerge into the world, their parents often find themselves caught in a whirl of doctors, strange-looking life-saving machines and helplessness. It may be days – or in some cases months – before parents can cuddle their little bundles of joy for the first time.

November is World Prematurity Month and November 17th is World Prematurity Day. They were established to help educate people about the challenges premature newborns – and their families face to encourage support for them.

As an extension of our longstanding partnership with the March of Dimes and its many education and support efforts relative to prematurity, Mead Johnson’s Glenview-based employees created more than 100 keepsake swaddling blankets to provide pops of color and warmth to these precious newborns. Due to the limited ability of these tiny babies to generate and maintain body heat, the blankets will help keep them ones warm and comfortable while also helping facilitate important bonding time with their parents. The blankets are being donated to two area nurseries – at Edward Hospital & Health Services in Naperville and Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park.

Each year, one in 10 – or more than 15 million – infants around the world are born too soon. These babies are born after less than 37 weeks in utero and weigh less than 5.5 pounds or 2.4 kilograms. They face a number of challenges that require special care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) – also known as special care nurseries – that can span from a few weeks to more than a year.