Utahns take part in March of Dimes Walk in hopes of finding cause of premature births

SALT LAKE CITY — The first breath of life of a newborn infant has always marked the beginning of parenthood.

But for some parents, that first breath signifies the beginning of their child's struggle to live.

Crystal and Vincent Diaz have such a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital. Their son, Jacob, was born May 8, one day before he reached the 24-week mark.

Roughly 40 percent of premature births in the U.S. have no known cause, according to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that works toward improving babies' health by preventing birth defects and premature birth. In Utah alone, one in nine women gives birth prematurely.

Saturday marked two occasions — that Jacob had survived his first full week outside of his mother's womb and one of Salt Lake City's most successful March of Dimes Walks. The annual event had more than 3,000 people in attendance and a projected $400,000 raised.

Since 2003, the March of Dimes has funded research on what causes premature birth, while advocating for government-sponsored programs and helping to educate and support families like the Diazes.

Crystal Diaz's labor started as just an annoying throbbing. By the time she arrived at the hospital, she was well into labor and the doctors had to deliver. Jacob was born that night, weighing 1 pound, 7 ounces.

Now, Jacob's tiny body is hooked to a variety of hospital machines. One is for breathing because his lungs are not developed enough to let him breathe on his own. Another feeds him intravenously because he is unable to suck or swallow. A host of monitors constantly check on his vitals.

"You never think this would happen to you," Crystal Diaz said. "When you're pregnant, you worry about all the other things, the little things, but you never think about premature babies."

Like many families with babies in the NICU, the Diazes are in limbo, shuttling between long hours next to a fragile infant in the hospital and returning to home and work.

One family that passed those tenuous months in the hospital is the Cundicks, all of whom were participants Saturday in the March of Dimes walk.

The Cundicks have participated in the walk for three years in a row with Sydney, now 2½, in tow. Sydney is a smiling, healthy little girl today, and no one would guess that she was born at 27 weeks, right at the start of her mother's third trimester of pregnancy.