Premature Twin Boys' Fight For Life - One Mother's Tale Is The Story of Our Times

Proceeds of Book Sales to Benefit March of Dimes

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., MAY 3 -- Jenny Minton delivered twin boys, Sam and Gus, two months prematurely. For 64 days they struggled, critically ill, in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).  To cope with this trauma, she wrote The Early Birds, a book about of her quest to bring her sons home.

Unfortunately, the Minton family's experience is not rare. Half a million babies are born prematurely in the United States each year; the number has increased more than 30 percent since 1983.  Premature birth is the leading killer of newborns, and babies who survive may suffer lifelong disabilities.  Despite such prevalence, few women talk publicly about their often harrowing days and nights spent in NICUs.  Jenny Minton opens the discussion for women and raises questions about motherhood in the age of modern medicine that grew from her experiences.

Jenny has pledged 50 percent of her royalties from the sale of The Early Birds to the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign.  The March of Dimes is funding research on the causes of premature birth and ways to prevent it, educating families about risk factors and symptoms of preterm labor, and providing information and comfort to families with babies in the NICU.

Jenny Minton is an active participant in the March of Dimes online community, “Share Your Story,” where mothers and other family members of premature babies gather to support one another.

For more information about THE EARLY BIRDS: A MOTHER'S STORY FOR OUR TIMES and to read an interview with the author, please visit aaknopf.com: