Off the Vine

Written by Bakersfield Magazine

You may even know the organization’s history—how it’s the first nonprofit organization in history to complete its original mission. But are you aware that in addition to making sure that premature babies have all the medical resources they need, the March of Dimes seeks to ensure all babies are born healthy? It’s not only premature babies that are born sick; full-term babies can be born with metabolic disorders, birth defects, and other illnesses that also require the help of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit full of medical equipment suited for their little bodies.

Yet all that equipment is expensive—and more research needs to be done to help pinpoint the causes of not only premature birth, but of newborn anomalies.

The number of screening tests performed on newborns to rule out certain genetic disorders has increased, and research on folic acid and its role in fetal development has been furthered by the money the March of Dimes has raised across the United States in the past 30 years.

Still, more research is needed. That’s why the March of Dimes continues to host worth-while fund-raisers which offer more people the chance to understand that this is a mission we all need to get behind.

This year marks the third annual Signature Chefs Auction in Bakersfield, an extravagant evening full of decadent, savory food prepared by Bakersfield’s most renowned chefs; wines from around California; and a whole lot of heart.

In years past, the amounts raised by the community has been impressive, and the local chapter is looking to further increase that number this October 28th.

With a theme of “Off the Vine,” all the participating chefs this year will be focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables as part of their recipes. Lucky for them, Kern County is filled to the brim with fresh produce. And as most people know, fresh produce is an important part of a pregnant woman’s diet.

Supporting the March of Dimes for the third year in a row, Chef John McFee, head chef at the Bell Tower Club, couldn’t be more excited.

Not only is he looking forward to the collaboration between other chefs involved, but this year he is the Lead Chef.

“It was a mutual agreement after last year,” McFee said, laughing. “They were asking me to be the Lead Chef and I was volunteering to be the Lead Chef.”

For McFee, whose younger sister was born premature, being involved with the March of Dimes gives him a great feeling.

“It’s rewarding to know you’re helping these babies who need the extra support,” he said. “And the event is so exciting, and people have such a good time, it makes it easy to want to be involved.”

McFee regularly uses fresh fruits and vegetables in his recipes at the Bell Tower Club but says the challenge for chefs comes from trying to ensure the recipe they plan ahead of time will be seasonal come October.

“The March of Dimes has these wonderful goals for the community and it’s my job to help meet those goals.”

But because each chef is preparing something unique, the dishes are under wraps until the night of the event. So no hints on what McFee will be preparing; you’ll just have to buy a seat.

And the cost of that seat is small when one considers just what the March of Dimes and research institutions around the country can do with the money raised. For those folks who work with sick babies on a daily basis in our community, it’s especially wonderful to see the big turnouts. Because in addition to the money raised, the public is being educated on ways to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Grace Kwasman, the Director of Perinatal Services at San Joaquin Community Hospital (the presenting sponsor of this year’s Signature Chefs Auction), says “the nutritional status of pregnant women, along with good prenatal care, are keys to delivering a healthy baby.”

One of the most important factors in a healthy pregnancy is healthy weight gain. “Obesity in pregnant women can increase their risk for developing gestational diabetes and hypertension (pre-eclampsia). On the other hand, if the mother is not eating enough to meet the caloric requirements, a baby can be born with low birth weight.”

“Proper nutrition is the gold standard for optimizing chances of having a healthy baby,” added Renee Thomas, R.N. Thomas is the Clinical Coordinator for the Family Birth Center at Mercy Hospital. She says “optimizing chances” because no one knows why some babies are born premature. And further testing is needed to determine why some babies are born with birth defects. “The diet should be nutrient dense. Ideally, nutrition preparation should begin before conception.”

That’s because the baby’s health is determined on the mother’s health.

“Taking folic acid prior to and during the first trimester helps prevent [some neurological birth defects],” Thomas continued. “The fetus gets most of its energy from glucose, so moms need carbs, especially in the third trimester.”

But it’s very important not to eat too much.

“Women usually think they’re eating for two,” said Wendy Phillips, a Clinical Nutrition Manager for Kern Medical Center. “But it’s the quality, not quantity that they should be paying attention to. Pregnant women need a lot of vitamins A and C, a lot of DHA, and folic acid.”

According to Phillips, every woman of childbearing age should be taking folic acid. The amount of folic acid in your body affects the first 28 days of pregnancy, Phillips explained. And that’s when the neural tube develops, which becomes the spine. So a lack of folic acid in the mother’s body can sometimes cause neural tube disorders, like spina bifida, when the neural tube does not close all the way.

“Folic acid is in dark greens, but the synthetic form is more readily absorbed into the body,” Phillips added.

“It’s important to help mothers understand what they should be doing during pregnancy to ensure a healthy baby,” said Lynn Johnson, RLC, IBCLC, with Maternal Child Services at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital.

“A pregnant woman has total control over what she does and doesn’t eat and that makes a significant impact on the outcome of the pregnancy,” she added. “We want to help moms make good choices and see them through the end of a pregnancy. Because during the last few weeks, that’s when a majority of brain and lung development happens. That should be the time when mom is eating a lot of high-protein, high-quality foods. Like low fat meats, fruits, grains, and water.”

These are the types of details that are important to pregnant women...details that can help keep their babies out of NICUs; which is the mission of the March of Dimes. So much has been said about the impact the March of Dimes makes for babies in our area, but we can’t stop talking...

not until every baby is born healthy.

Article appeared in our 27-3 Issue - August 2010