Tygerberg Hospital neonatal wards will be draped in purple during November in support of World Prematurity Awareness Month.
The colour purple represented sensitivity and exceptionality, said the hospital’s spokesperson Laticia Pienaar.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one out of 10 babies is born prematurely. A baby born three weeks or more before the due date is called premature.
Preemies have not grown and developed as much as they should have before birth and many go on to face serious lifelong health challenges.
Hannelie Louw’s baby arrived at 27 weeks, weighing 630g, on September 21 2016 after an emergency C-section. The baby’s parents named her Hayley Hope Louw after seeing her fighting spirit and determination.
Hayley spent over two months in an incubator with tubes connecting her to monitors. Ms Louw said those had been difficult days but she had been carried through them by kangaroo mother care, prayer, reading, and seeing her little girl gain weight.
Today, Hayley is 4, she weighs 15.8kg and is doing well.