Mia Moo Fund

Every 4.5 minutes a U.S. baby is born with a birth defect according to Coleen Boyle, director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Birth defects account for about 20 percent of mortality in the first year of life. In addition, babies born with birth defects have a greater chance of illness and long-term disability than babies without birth defects, Boyle said. "Most of us know someone affected by these conditions - a child born with cleft lip and palate; a young girl with Down syndrome; a co-worker who has lost a baby due to a severe heart defect," Boyle said in a statement.

There are 4437 babies born with cleft lips annually and 2651 babies born with a cleft palate. It is the fourth most common birth defect in the United States. Our son, Jonathan, was born with a severe bilateral cleft lip and palette. He is in the early stages of repairing it. Our goal is to brin awareness to this while raising funds to help other families through the Mia Moo Fund. Consider purchasing a t-shirt today. You can wear it when Jonathan has his surgeries. We will share his surgery dates with you on the blog.