SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 21, Discovery Health Channel will broadcast live the labor, delivery and birth of babies from hospitals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; San Diego, California; and Silver Spring, Maryland. The third annual BIRTH DAY LIVE! allows viewers to experience the miracle and drama of childbirth while gaining insight into the medical issues facing hospital births and the key roles doctors and nurses play in delivering healthy and premature babies. During the inaugural 2003 BIRTH DAY LIVE! marathon, a total of 19 healthy babies were born on national television, and last year’s remarkable broadcast witnessed the births of 32 healthy babies -- including twins!
BIRTH DAY LIVE! premieres Monday, February 21, from 4 PM-2AM (ET/PT). For the third consecutive year, Discovery Health Channel will partner with the March of Dimes to raise awareness of the common, serious and growing problem of premature birth in the United States. In January 2003, the March of Dimes began a five-year, $75 million “Prematurity Campaign.”
The unique Discovery Health Channel marathon event follows patients, doctors and nurses at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women in San Diego, California; and Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland.
BIRTH DAY LIVE! documents deliveries of all kinds, from Caesarian sections and natural childbirth to premature, high-risk and multiple births. As each pending birth unfolds, Discovery Health Channel correspondents and more than 50 cameras are live in the labor and delivery rooms as well as the operation rooms, chronicling the inspiring and intense experience of birth and revealing the intimate live reaction of the newborns’ families.
BIRTH DAY LIVE! is produced for Discovery Health Channel by Bard Enterprises. David Stern is the television director. For Discovery Health Channel, Mark Poertner is executive producer.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at http://www.marchofdimes.com/ or its Spanish Web site at http://www.nacersano.org/. For more information on the annual March of Dimes WalkAmerica, visit the Web site at http://www.walkamerica.org/.
Discovery Health Channel takes viewers inside the fascinating and informative world of health and medicine to experience firsthand, compelling, real life stories of medical breakthroughs and human triumphs. Currently in 54 million homes, Discovery Health Channel is the only 24-hour network and Web site -- discovery.com/health -- devoted to what matters most -- health.
Discovery Health Channel
CONTACT: Tahli Kouperstein of Discovery Health Channel, +1-240-662-2221,Tahli_kouperstein@discovery.com; or Tori Pugliese, +1-212-741-5106, ext. 20,Tori@rlmpr.com, for Discovery Health Channel