Mission Pharmacal and March of Dimes® Working Together for Stronger, Healthier Babies

Amber and her husband Travis were eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child. Amber was healthy, doing everything right, and even teaching Zumba three times a week throughout her pregnancy. However, on the morning of February 26, 2015, Amber would learn that her blood pressure was dangerously high and her ultrasound had revealed blood clots and a torn placenta.

Later that day Brinkley Elizabeth was born – nine weeks too soon. She weighed just two pounds, 13 ounces.

For nine days, mom and baby were separated due to an infection Amber had developed. These days were filled with anguish for Amber. She describes, "The pain in my body was nothing like the pain in my heart. I was supposed to be holding my daughter and loving her. Instead, Brinkley was spending her first days in an incubator." She adds, "I felt like I had done something wrong."

But on the 10^th day, while being wheeled down the hallway to finally reunite with her baby, Amber saw several prominent March of Dimes posters that listed the organization's corporate partners, including Mission Pharmacal Company, Amber's employer. "That's when I realized Travis and I were not alone in this journey – we had the March of Dimes and my Mission work family to support and comfort us. I learned how premature births happen, despite doing everything right," says Amber.

Brinkley was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit for six weeks due to respiratory distress. Today she is a loving, thriving, happy one-year-old who is learning to walk.

Amber and Travis continue to support the March of Dimes and will take part in their local Oklahoma City March for Babies® walk on May 14. She happily states, "I am so proud to be a March of Dimes mom. It has been an experience filled with hope and gratitude for the March of Dimes and my Mission work family."

Like Brinkley, more than 380,000 or 1 in 10 babies are born too soon in the United States each year. Preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy) is the number one killer of babies, and babies who survive early birth often face an increased risk of a lifetime of health challenges, such as breathing problems, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and more.

The Imbodens' story is just one of the many reasons Mission Pharmacal is once again teaming up with the March of Dimes to raise funds that will help improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. This is the seventh year that Mission will be partnering with the March of Dimes as a national sponsor of the March for Babies walk. To further its involvement with the walks, teams of Mission sales representatives and employees, along with their families and friends, will be participating in several different walks in cities around the country, with the first walk happening on April 9. At some of the walks, Mission representatives will staff information booths, offering participants March of Dimes educational materials, information about products that promote infant health, and other giveaways.

"Mission and its employees are proud to support the March of Dimes and these incredible families," says Natalie Sirjuesingh, Mission Pharmacal Senior Vice President, Marketing. "At Mission Pharmacal, we are a family. We know that our employees' lives have been touched by premature birth, and we are proud to support Amber and her family and continue our longstanding partnership with this tremendous organization."

About the March of Dimes
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and birth health. For more than 75 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines, and breakthroughs. For the latest resources and health information, visit the websites marchofdimes.org and nacersano.org. To participate in the annual fundraising event, visit marchforbabies.org. If you have been affected by prematurity or birth defects, visit the shareourstory.org community to find comfort and support. For detailed national, state and local perinatal statistics, visit peristats.org.

About Mission Pharmacal Company
Mission Pharmacal Company is a privately held pharmaceutical company based in San Antonio, Texas. For nearly seven decades, the company has been improving the lives of people through every stage of life by identifying unmet healthcare needs and delivering innovative, high-quality prescription, over-the-counter, and dietary supplement products to meet these needs using only the purest ingredients and FDA-approved methods of manufacturing. Mission is recognized as a pioneer and leader in the therapeutic areas of women's health and urology and also offers leading products through its pediatric, dermatology, primary care, and long-term care service lines. Using an innovative business model, Mission has created wholly-owned subsidiaries, BioComp Pharma®, Inc., a generic drug marketer; Alamo Pharma Services®, Inc., a specialized contract sales organization; ProSolus®, Inc., a transdermal drug developer and manufacturer; and BexR Logistics^TM LLC, a logistics and fulfillment arm, to diversify its offerings and build forward-thinking partnerships with other pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Mission Pharmacal is a proud national supporter of the March of Dimes Foundation®, whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. To learn more, please visit missionpharmacal.com.

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SOURCE Mission Pharmacal Company

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