Heart Week 2015

Bringing a new little person into the world is an amazing experience – but it can also be scary. There are so many things that can go wrong with their little bodies.

We were lucky – when Pumpkin was born, she was mostly okay. She was blue at first, but nothing a bit of suction and some time in a resuscitaire couldn’t fix. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t terrified for her – but she was fine.

I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be for families who have little ones with more serious issues at birth – such as heart conditions.

Tiny Tickers is a charity whose mission is to improve early detection and care of babies with congenital heart conditions.

I had no idea that heart defects were so common at birth – affecting approximately one in every 125 babies. What’s more, around 3,000 babies are born in the UK every year who need open-heart surgery or other procedures during their first year.

Like so many things in this world, however, early detection can make a huge difference to a heart baby. And that begins at the 20-week scan.

During the 20-week scan, the sonographer checks all the vital organs, looking for any anomalies. While bad news at this scan can be devastating, it also means that the family and medical team can be prepared to take live-saving action.

That’s what happened with little Robbie Hughes – he was diagnosed with tetralogy of fallot during the 20-week scan.

Thanks to the sonographer’s careful examination, Robbie’s mum was induced early at a hospital that was prepared to provide his treatment as soon as he was born. It also meant that they knew about his condition – otherwise, the family might have been sent home shortly after his birth, only for his condition to deteriorate rapidly after they left hospital.

You can read more about Robbie’s story on the Tiny Tickers website.

Tiny Tickers may be a small charity, but the work they do is massive. As well as working towards improving the standards of prenatal screenings, they also support other efforts to ensure that heart conditions are spotted as soon as possible after a baby is born.

That’s why Tiny Tickers is running Heart Week – it’s a chance to join together to help babies born with congenital heart defects and spread the word about this amazing charity.

What to do next?

There are a number of ways you can help Tiny Tickers with their work.

• Head over to their website to read more about what they do and make a donation.
• Like (and share!) their Facebook page and join their Facebook competition.
• Educate  yourself – if you’re pregnant, know what to ask at the 20-week scan and be aware of the signs of heart problems after birth. Check out Tiny Ticker’s Big Tick Campaign for more details – and if you know someone who is pregnant, please pass on this vital information.
• Join my little competition!

To support Tiny Tickers and help spread the word about their work, I’ve decided to hold a little competition.

All you have to do is guess how many Love Heart sweets are in the jar – leave your guess in the comments section below. The closest guess will win the jar of candy and I’ll also donate £20 to the charity in your name.

Please – only one guess per person – if you comment more than once, I’ll just take your first guess. The competition closes at 11:59 (UK time) on Saturday, February 14th.

Good luck! And don’t forget to go visit Tiny Tickers too.

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