Mission Awareness Activity

What does prematurity look like?

Mission Awareness Activity for pre-school, elementary and middle school students to talk about the impact of premature birth

Time: 10 to 15 minutes


Objective: To visually demonstrate premature birth and why being born too soon is a problem


Mission materials: Please choose one, some or all of the following:

  • Ring
  • Paper clip (regular, not jumbo)
  • Preemie-size diaper and newborn-size diaper (Your March of Dimes staff partner can provide a preemie diaper for you)


Activity materials (optional):

  • Crayons, markers or color pencils
  • World Prematurity Day Coloring Activity Sheet


Material instructions:

  • Ring: Pass around or show students a ring and ask them to imagine a baby so small that the ring fits around a whole arm or leg.
  • Paper clip: Pass around paper clips and ask students to imagine a baby so small that its foot is the size of the paper clip.
  • Preemie-size diaper and newborn-size diaper: Show students both diapers, explaining that the newborn diaper fits on a baby who was born

Questions/explore

  • Ask students to find out from their parents how much they weighed when they were born.
  • Ask if anyone in the room was born prematurely (too soon) or knows someone who was — and to tell their story, if they are comfortable talking about it.
  • Ask students born prematurely to bring in photos.

Additional Resources