Our fight for full-term
Donation protected
Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn deaths in the United States and can contribute to life-long problems in health and development among survivors.
My name is Emma Davis, I live in Kimberling City, Missouri and I am raising a survivor of preterm birth. On February 6th, 2013 I was admitted to the PICU due to bulging membranes. One of my primary doctors had told me, "I have never seen anything like this before and I have been a doctor for 35 years". For 160 hours I laid in a bed in the trendelenburg position. I was not allowed to sit up, not even for a drink of water. I ate upside down, drank upside down, and slept upside down. All of this was to try and prevent the inevitable, Gravity. Each day I had an average of 3 contractions each hour. In-between and during contractions I would dilate from 0-5 centimeters in a matter of minutes. I am a white female age 23, I have never smoked in my life, I do not drink. I am drug free and live a healthy lifestyle. When I found out I was pregnant, I had a plan. Day by day, I knew how everything was going to play out. All of that changed the day that my son was born, 16 weeks early. My son Xander turns 4 on February 13th, 2017. As a survivor, he has suffered through more than I can bare to explain. He spent 105 days in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cox South hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Xander was born at 24 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 13 ounces. It was 8 days before I was given permission to hold him for the first time, 68 days before I was able to feed him for the first time and 105 days before he was able to sleep under the same roof as my husband and I. Today he is still considered disabled due to low birth weight and a delayed development. He has unbelievably conquered all of the odds and is now a spunky and smart preschooler. Dawson, our second born child, was born on December 12th 2013. He was born 17 weeks early, and unfortunately too soon. We recently celebrated what would have been his third birthday, three years without our son.
My husband and I both come from large families. Growing up, we could've never imagined being an only child. That's something that we want for our son. It has been three long years of heartache and discussions. We have considered every option available in order to give Xander someone to grow up beside. Adoption and surrogacy have been a major considerations. Unfortunately, everything we have explored doesn't fulfill our hearts like having our own. That will not come easy, and the price we will pay for a higher success rate is costly.
Dr. Haney is the Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at The University of Chicago Medicine. He has been Identified as one of "Chicago's Top Doctors" in Chicago magazine. He will be performing my transabdominal cerclage to prevent pregnancy loss due to my cervical insufficiency. This surgery has a 99% success rate among even the most challenging cases of cervical insufficiency.
I am raising money for medical and travel costs. We are using many efforts to cover the medical costs. Please help us with our journey to a healthy pregnancy and give Xander a lifelong friend. You can follow me on instagram and see my story @davismommy_
I will also be posting updates on donations and my surgery. You can also contact me through gofundme for any questions, concerns, updates or other donations.
We appreciate every person who reads our story and shares our word. Thank you for your support, and prayers for our success are always appreciated.
-Cory, Emma & Xander.
![]()

My name is Emma Davis, I live in Kimberling City, Missouri and I am raising a survivor of preterm birth. On February 6th, 2013 I was admitted to the PICU due to bulging membranes. One of my primary doctors had told me, "I have never seen anything like this before and I have been a doctor for 35 years". For 160 hours I laid in a bed in the trendelenburg position. I was not allowed to sit up, not even for a drink of water. I ate upside down, drank upside down, and slept upside down. All of this was to try and prevent the inevitable, Gravity. Each day I had an average of 3 contractions each hour. In-between and during contractions I would dilate from 0-5 centimeters in a matter of minutes. I am a white female age 23, I have never smoked in my life, I do not drink. I am drug free and live a healthy lifestyle. When I found out I was pregnant, I had a plan. Day by day, I knew how everything was going to play out. All of that changed the day that my son was born, 16 weeks early. My son Xander turns 4 on February 13th, 2017. As a survivor, he has suffered through more than I can bare to explain. He spent 105 days in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cox South hospital in Springfield, Missouri. Xander was born at 24 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 13 ounces. It was 8 days before I was given permission to hold him for the first time, 68 days before I was able to feed him for the first time and 105 days before he was able to sleep under the same roof as my husband and I. Today he is still considered disabled due to low birth weight and a delayed development. He has unbelievably conquered all of the odds and is now a spunky and smart preschooler. Dawson, our second born child, was born on December 12th 2013. He was born 17 weeks early, and unfortunately too soon. We recently celebrated what would have been his third birthday, three years without our son.
My husband and I both come from large families. Growing up, we could've never imagined being an only child. That's something that we want for our son. It has been three long years of heartache and discussions. We have considered every option available in order to give Xander someone to grow up beside. Adoption and surrogacy have been a major considerations. Unfortunately, everything we have explored doesn't fulfill our hearts like having our own. That will not come easy, and the price we will pay for a higher success rate is costly.
Dr. Haney is the Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at The University of Chicago Medicine. He has been Identified as one of "Chicago's Top Doctors" in Chicago magazine. He will be performing my transabdominal cerclage to prevent pregnancy loss due to my cervical insufficiency. This surgery has a 99% success rate among even the most challenging cases of cervical insufficiency.
I am raising money for medical and travel costs. We are using many efforts to cover the medical costs. Please help us with our journey to a healthy pregnancy and give Xander a lifelong friend. You can follow me on instagram and see my story @davismommy_
I will also be posting updates on donations and my surgery. You can also contact me through gofundme for any questions, concerns, updates or other donations.
We appreciate every person who reads our story and shares our word. Thank you for your support, and prayers for our success are always appreciated.
-Cory, Emma & Xander.
Organizer
Emma Davis
Organizer
Kimberling City, MO
