Kaine opens VCU conference on premature births

In 1990, when Tim Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, had their first child, there was a problem: Their son was born six weeks premature. Fortunately, Kaine said, the birth took place at VCU’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, where the delivery was a success.

Kaine, now the governor of Virginia, returned to VCU Friday to kick off the 2006 Prematurity Initiative Conference aimed at highlighting and addressing premature birth.

“Being here today, you’re helping us grapple with the issues of our youngsters,” Kaine told the audience, which consisted of faculty and staff from VCU’s Neonatal Clinical Services, School of Nursing and Department of Psychology.

“If we focus on that, the rest will take care of itself.”

The Virginia Chapter of the March of Dimes, VCU’s School of Nursing and the Family Support and Research Center sponsored the daylong conference. It addressed the health problems faced by premature infants, as well as such issues as ethical dilemmas in neonatal intensive care and the effect of substance abuse on mothers and newborn babies.

Births in Virginia have increased 34 percent since 1990, Kaine said. Preterm births can lead to health complications including mental retardation, cerebral palsy and hearing and vision loss, he said.

“This is an important topic,” Kaine said. “What can we do differently?”

As the state’s chief executive, Kaine said his priorities include health care, education and environmental protection. He said he is seeking to improve the quality and safety of health care and promote healthy lifestyles for children and others in the community.

To aid Virginia’s children, Kaine said he helped create two programs:

Smart Beginnings, which focuses on children from birth to age 5, providing inoculations and health screenings.

Start Strong, which would expand pre-kindergarten programs for 4-year-olds.

Kaine was introduced at the conference by VCU President Eugene P. Trani, who noted the importance of the gathering.

“Universities should be relating to their community’s issues,” Trani said.

Speakers at the conference included Rita Pickler, chair of VCU’s Department of Maternal Child Nursing; Joann Bodurtha, director of clinical genetics; Michael Weaver, associate professor of internal medicine and psychiatry; Michelle Martel, a practitioner of obstetrics and gynecology; and Robert Boyle, professor of pediatrics at the University of Virginia Health Systems.

Pickler discussed the history of prenatal care and ongoing prenatal research.

“Knowledge is not infallible,” she said.

Although technology is advancing, Pickler said, there is always more to learn about prenatal care. She said preterm birth issues that exist like temperature control, feeding difficulties and disease still exist today.

Another guest speaker, Michelle Flynn, shared her personal experience as a mother who gave birth to twin boys 12 weeks premature. While reading her diary entries from the days following her sons’ births, Flynn showed pictures of her newborns.

Flynn said her sons experienced surgery, seizures and brain bleeding during their first few weeks of life. She said her experience with the neonatal intensive care unit was like a roller-coaster ride. She said mothers need support outside the hospital as much as inside the neonatal ICU.

“It can be very challenging for a parent,” Flynn said.

Flynn’s twin sons will be celebrating their fifth birthday next week.