Viral Preemie Breastfeeding Photo Offers Hope After Heartbreak

On April 22, Keri Barcellos-Putt gave birth to her daughter Dahlia at only 28 weeks. Her baby was moved to the NICU, where she will remain for at least another month, so the postpartum period has been difficult. But the mom found unexpected hope through a special aspect of motherhood: breastfeeding. Two weeks ago, Keri sent a powerful photo of herself nursing her preemie for the very first time to the Facebook page, Breastfeeding Mama Talk. Founder Kristy Kemp posted the photo on the page, where it is resonating with thousands of parents across the social media sphere -- with over 37,000 likes and nearly 2000 comments. The viral photo shows Dahlia breastfeeding at four weeks old -- when she would have reached 32 weeks gestation. "They told me she wouldn't be able to until 34-36 weeks gestation," Keri wrote in the photo caption, adding, "She's proving everyone wrong!" As the mom explains in the Facebook photo caption, Dahlia's journey into the world has involved a lot of challenges. Keri told The Huffington Post that she learned she was pregnant with her third child around Halloween 2015. Things were going smoothly until Christmas Day, when she "had a large bleed," and after spending a day in the emergency room, undergoing blood tests and an ultrasound, she was diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma.  "I continued to bleed, but doctors were not concerned because these tend to resolve without complication," she recalled. At her 18-week ult...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news