Little Red Hats are Warming Hearts in a Big Way

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This initiative will provide approximately 650 newborns with a handmade, red infant cap in February, which is American Heart Month.
This initiative will provide approximately 650 newborns with a handmade, red infant cap in February, which is American Heart Month.

MANCHESTER, NH – The American Heart Association | American Stroke Association has teamed up with 11 of New Hampshire’s birthing hospitals for the “Little Hats, Big Hearts” program. This initiative will provide approximately 650 newborns with a handmade, red infant cap in February, which is American Heart Month. “Little Hats, Big Hearts” celebrates heart health while awareness of congenital heart defects (CHD), the most common type of birth defect in the country.

In addition to the handmade hat, new parents will receive information about CHD and the AHA’s Support Network for families affected by heart disease and stroke. CHD 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 very severe malformations, such as complete absence of one or more chambers or valves.

NH birthing hospitals are all in for the Little Hats, Big Hearts campaign. Can you help?

The American Heart Association put a call out to knitting and crocheting enthusiasts and little red hats came pouring in from all over the state. They will be distributed to babies born at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Catholic Medical Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Exeter Hospital, Lakes Region General Hospital, Littleton Regional Healthcare, Memorial Hospital, Parkland Medical Center, Southern NH Medical Center, Speare Memorial Hospital, and Wentworth-Douglass Hospital.

“The Little Hats Big Hearts program provides information to parents during one of the most crucial times – following the birth of their child,” said Dr. Jonathan Eddinger FACC,cardiologist at Catholic Medical Center. “Since CHD are the most common type of birth defect in the United States, we want as many parents as possible to be empowered with this information and resources when they leave the hospital.”

The American Heart Association is committed to raising awareness for CHD, and helping children live stronger lives through education, research and public policies. In fact, the organization’s funding for pediatric cardiac research is second only to the federal government’s. The American Heart Association also creates guidelines and trains parents, caregivers and medical professionals on CPR specifically for infants and children.

More information about the Little Hats, Big Heart program in New Hampshire, visit www.heart.org/littlehatsbighearts or contact littlehatsnewengland@heart.org.


About the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association

The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – the two leading causes of death in the world. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. We are the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. The American Stroke Association is a division of the American Heart Association. To learn more or to get involved, call the AHA in New Hampshire at (603) 263-8323, visit heart.org/newhampshire or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!