Run – save the little preemies lives! Nadia Meikher

Nadiya Meikher is Ukrainian singer, poet and TV presenter and former singer of the group VIA Gra joined the team of CF "Svichado" to participate in Charity halfmarathon Kiev, which runs under NovaPoshtaKyivHalfMarathon 2016. Within the half marathon Nadiya fundraises 56 540 UAH for the purchase of systems of oxygen therapy for the intensive care unit of "Maternity house №2" of Chernivtsi.

Kids born prematurely before 37th week of pregnancy, unfortunately, have numerous health problems, due to the immaturity of all organs. First of all – a variety of lung diseases, and therefore they need oxygen therapy in a delivery room and during the subsequent long-term nursing.

Safety of the Oxygen therapy depends on certain conditions: the concentration of oxygen, moisture and temperature of oxygen mixture. Conducting a safe and useful oxygen therapy can be carried out only with the use of special systems for oxygen therapy, which have a humidifier with a camera, heater and device for adjusting the concentration of oxygen.

Oxygen is a "double-edged sword." On the one hand, oxygen protects all cells of the immature organism from pathological effects of hypoxia, promotes proper growth and development of brain cells, heart, kidneys and other organs. On the other hand, if oxygen gets into the body of the baby in excessive quantities, it can provoke an "oxygen burst" with a lot of toxic substances that damage and kill cells, causing the development of severe lesions of the central nervous, respiratory and immune systems. Oxygen, which is not heated and not moistened, devastatingly affects the cells of the lung tissue, reduces the production of vital substances – surfactant violates vascular tone and blood supply of lung tissue changes. This provokes the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and therefore the kids remain dependent on oxygen for several months and have to stay in hospitals for a long time. In addition, excessive amounts of high concentration of oxygen in the mixture, which a child breathes, leads to retinal vascular lesions, followed by partial or complete blindness of the child. Heating, humidification and precise control of the oxygen concentration to prevent the development of serious complications in premature infants, improves their development and quality of life.

Department of intensive care of Clinical Maternity Hospital №2 of Chernivtsi, which specializes in helping kids born prematurely, has an immediate need for special systems of oxygen therapy – humidifiers, heaters and devices for adjusting oxygen concentration so that doctors can prevent the development of serious consequences of uncontrolled oxygen therapy.

Taking part in the Charitable Marathon allows all to unite for saving lives of little preemies, since children are our future and our hope. I will run in NovaPoshtaKyivHalfMarathon and i am cofident that every kilometer, every meter and centimeter of the distance brings little children closer to being healthy and their parents to rest.

Even 1 UAH is a huge help! Run for little Preemies!