Celebrating Andrej and his fighting spirit: Lets prevent preterm birth

ANDREJ'S STORY

Discovering you're pregnant is something you never forget. From that moment, you know you will forever have your heart walking outside of your body. But losing our little angel Andrej to premature birth was something nobody could have prepared us for.

At 23 weeks, I was admitted to King Edward Memorial Hospital on strict bed rest. Despite all the efforts to prolong my pregnancy, I delivered our little boy at just 26 weeks. Our little fighter fought so hard for the 5 days he spent on this earth.

The 13th of March would have been Andrej's first birthday and my reality is very different to what I had imagined. But I have invested my emotions and efforts into his legacy through raising awareness and funds in honour of all the precious lost little angels.

In memory of my little boy, I have created a new make-up product called 'Angel'; a Highlighter to give light to every mother who has ever lost. The word highlight means "an outstanding part of an event or period of time". Although we didn't get our perfect ending, Andrej's birth was a highlight of our lives and he ignited feelings inside me that every mother understands. You can find this product on my website: https://www.veracoleskimakeupartistry.com.au/

Although our memories of this traumatic time are challenging, being reminded of his strength is what pushes both my husband and I forward. Sharing this very personal story is not easy for me, and it has taken me an entire year to get to where I am today.

Sadly worldwide, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm each year. In WA alone, nearly 3000 babies are born preterm each year and approximately 1 in 12 pregnancies ends preterm, so I have decided to support the work of the WA-based Women and Infants Research Foundation and their pioneering Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative which has already reduced the rate of preterm birth by 8% in its first year.

If you can, I ask you to please support this extremely important work and help remember Andrej's legacy.

Thank you