By Margie M. Palmer

After years of trying to conceive, Patrizia “Trish” Guidi and husband Anthony were overjoyed when they learned she was pregnant with a baby girl.

But then Madelyn Grace was born prematurely on Oct. 25, 2014. She was only 1 pound 9 ounces, and just 14 inches long.

Trish credits the March of Dimes with helping save her daughter’s life.

“Madelyn’s prematurity meant that her lungs were severely underdeveloped. Her immature lungs did not produce enough surfactant, a protein that keeps small air sacs in the lungs from collapsing,” she said. “We were told that Madelyn’s lungs were like two pieces of wet tissue paper stuck together.”

The Guidis have been named as a San Diego March for Babies Ambassador Family. Trish said the March of Dimes has impacted her family in the best way possible, and she is only happy to give back through the charity’s major fundraiser.

The San Diego March for Babies will take place on Saturday, April 23, at Balboa Park. The 3.5-mile walk will help raise much-needed money to help prevent premature birth and birth defects; all funds raised will benefit the March of Dimes.

More than 7 million supporters are expected to participate nationwide in a total of 650 organized marches this year.

Local event chair Dr. Lance Prince, who is Division Chief Neonatologist and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at UC San Diego Health, said he is proud to support the March of Dimes in making a difference in the lives of mothers and babies.

“I’ve been associated with the March of Dimes for many years; it’s one of the charities that has helped support reach early on within my career,” Dr. Prince said.

“I’ve always felt an attachment to their mission; one in 10 babies is born too soon, which can lead to serious and lifelong health consequences. While the work of the March of Dimes has led to extraordinary advances, challenges related to premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality remain,” he said.

“The challenges that we face in prevention of premature birth are still there. We continue to make progress each year but we still have a long way to go,” he added. “The reason to have the March for Babies and raise money for the March of Dimes has not wavered, it’s just as important as ever. Our goal is to heighten awareness that prematurity is the number one killer of babies worldwide because the more people that become involved, the more money we can raise to support grants and research in this field.”

That kind of research was vital for baby Madelyn. After receiving surfactant therapy, which was developed in part due to research by the March of Dimes, her condition improved greatly.

“If she hadn’t received [this therapy] her lungs may never have been able to develop or breathe properly. The ability to have this treatment established and a part Madelyn’s protocol was a true lifesaver,” Trish said.

“I just really want to bring the point home about how what these babies, and us parents, go through when a child is born premature; I watched my child fight to live. She had a brain bleed, collapsed lungs, was on a ventilator, had an extra-large hole in her heart, almost lost her eye sight and on and on,” she said.

“And while we all survived and are stronger people because of it, I want less people to experience this. I also want to point out that we were the lucky ones. Our little girl survived and is doing very well. There are many, too many, parents that lose their child. And for those reasons, we need to raise money and we need to fund the research to stop prematurity.”

Registration for the San Diego March for Babies will begin at 7 a.m. on April 23 for the 8 a.m. walk. Those who are interested in signing up in advance can do so at marchforbabies.org.

—Margie M. Palmer is a San Diego-based freelance writer who has been racking up bylines in a myriad of news publications for the past 10 years. You can reach her at [email protected].