Sow hope, one baby plant at a time!

"Laurent has no aftereffects—he embraces life! Thanks to research, he was saved by the CHUS medical team," says Mélanie, deeply grateful for the support she received.

She hopes that the thousands of baby plants growing in her greenhouses will help cultivate hope for thousands of parents of premature children. Without scientific advancements, Laurent likely wouldn’t have survived his pulmonary complications. "One of President Kennedy’s sons was born prematurely in the 1960s with the same issue. He didn’t survive. Today, these children can be saved!"

Aware of the importance of research, Mélanie donates half of the proceeds from baby plant sales throughout March to scientific advancements. The other half goes toward improving neonatal units in Quebec, including at CHUS. "We are lucky to have such high-quality care in our region. I could tuck my eldest into bed at home in the evening and then return to spend the night at the hospital with my baby. I saw other parents who were hundreds of kilometers away from home during such a vulnerable time," she recalls.

Difficult to Talk About

Mélanie also finds strong motivation to continue this initiative in another, somewhat unexpected, aspect of the Mois des bébés plantes. "It’s incredibly painful to talk about your child’s premature birth. It took me time before I could speak about it without being overwhelmed by emotions. Very few people want to open up about it," she notes. "More and more, I receive messages or am approached by parents and grandparents who need to share their experiences. I want to continue for them too because we need to talk about prematurity," says the passionate horticulturist, who is grateful to be surrounded by dedicated volunteers who lend a huge helping hand for several weeks in the production greenhouses—the true cradle of baby plants.

More than 6,000 children are born prematurely each year in Quebec. Last year, 288 babies required neonatal care at theCHUS.

Want to contribute to this cause? Get one of the 50,000 baby plants available throughout March.