Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center supports the American Heart Association’s 2019 Little Hats, Big Hearts program. The American Heart Association program hopes to raise awareness about family heart health and congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the country, with support from The Children’s Heart Foundation.
This effort aims to help new moms to take charge of their own wellbeing while creating a healthy lifestyle for the entire family.
As part of the Little Hats, Big Hearts program, babies born at Lourdes receive a handmade, knitted or crocheted red hat. Each mom receives a health packet which includes tips on raising a healthy family, ways Mom can take care of herself, heart-healthy recipes and information on children’s heart health.
“The health of our moms and their babies is our top priority,” said Trish Cerveny, nurse manager of Women’s and Children’s Services at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. “We are proud to partner with the AHA to help empower moms with the information they need to live a heart healthy life for themselves and their children.”
In New Jersey alone, over 6,700 kits were handed out across the state, almost double the amount distributed in 2018. Lourdes is distributing kits during American Heart Month (February) which includes Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week (Feb. 7-14).
Congenital heart defects are structural problems with the heart present at birth. They result when a mishap occurs during heart development soon after conception and often before the mother is aware that she is pregnant. Defects range in severity from simple problems, such as “holes” between chambers of the heart, to severe malformations, such as complete absence of one or more chambers or valves.
According to the American Heart Association, it’s possible to repair most congenital heart defects (CHD). There are an estimated 2 million CHD survivors in the United States.
The Little Hats, Big Hearts program started in Chicago in 2014 and has expanded to more than 40 states. Since 2016, over 10,000 hats have been distributed in the Garden State.
For more information about the Little Hats, Big Hearts program in New Jersey, please visit www.heart.org/littlehatsbighearts
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
