A Valley photographer is on a mission to raise awareness about premature births with a special photo shoot.
One of every ten babies is born prematurely; photographer Malorie Kelley was one of them. That’s why this project is very close to her heart.
With November being Prematurity Awareness Month, Kelley is hoping to spread the word about this statistic.
"I want to show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Kelley. "I was born 32 weeks. I was four pounds."
And now, to raise awareness, Kelley is starting the preemie project. She takes pictures of kids with their original preemie photos, like Adalynn, who was born at just 23 weeks.
"It really is a rough road," said Adalynn's mom Kaitlyn Wilson. "We got very lucky because we had a baby who walked out of NICU. A lot of them don't."
Adalynn only weighed about one pound. She spent 93 days in the NICU. She defied all the odds and made it out.
"Just so that people know, if it does happen, and it may, that you can get through it," said Adalynn's dad Paul Macintosh.
And what's their advice to other parents? It's OK to hurt and have a bad day.
"Have your bad day and wake up the next day and you push," said Wilson. "You push hard and you need to have so much hope in these babies because they are way more powerful than any human I know."
About 30 families showed up for the special photo shoot — all working together to shed light on a battle worth fighting.
"Your baby might be covered in tubes," said Kelley. "They might be so teeny, tiny they can only hold onto your pinky, but they can grow up to be this amazing little person or big person!"
