MILFORD – Eleven-year-old Andrew Libby is well-aware that he weighed just under 2 pounds at birth.

“I wasn’t even the size of a loaf of bread when I was born,” said the fifth-grader, who attends Lewis Libby School and is this year’s local March of Dimes Ambassador Child.

“Andrew’s a great kid,” said Gene Staffiere, director for the northern Maine division of the agency that works to prevent birth defects, premature births and infant mortality. “This is only the second time that we’ve had [an ambassador] at an age that they could speak,” he said. Most of the ambassador children have been young children.

Andrew and his parents, Doug and Laurie, and sister Rachael Libby of Milford, are a March of Dimes Ambassador Family, a program Staffiere describes as “a way to make the mission of the March of Dimes tangible to the community. There is a face and a real life story that people can relate to. These stories of hope and resilience are touching, powerful ways to motivate the community to action.”

After hoping for a child for 10 years, the Libbys decided to try fertility drugs and soon learned they were expecting twins. The first sign of trouble came when they sat down one evening to watch a movie and Laurie’s water broke – at 26 weeks gestation. At the hospital, when one baby showed signs of fetal distress, an emergency Caesarean had to be performed.

Born on Dec. 8, 1994, Andrew and twin sister Kayla were just 14 inches long. Cabbage Patch clothes were a perfect fit for the babies.

But both infants had problems – brain bleeds, breathing problems that required a ventilator and slow heart rates. Andrew had the most difficult time at first, having a hole in his heart. Doctors did not expect him to survive.

“They kept saying, ‘He’s pretty sick,'” Doug recalled.

While Kayla did comparatively well in the beginning, she developed an intestinal infection called necrotizing colitis and died at four weeks.

“It was kind of a shock. She was doing really good,” Doug said.

Andrew started to develop the same problem, but with early intervention he survived and slowly his health progressed. He was released from the hospital Feb. 14, 1995, weighing 41/2 pounds.

Despite his premature birth, Andrew progressed at the same rate, or even quicker than children who were carried full term.

“He was 12 months when he started walking,” Laurie said, and the little boy began to talk at six months.

Laurie, who is hearing impaired from birth, read books to her son a lot, exposing him to a language-rich environment, which facilitated his early language development. She described him as very talkative.

Andrew also was a very good baby, hardly ever fussing. Other than needing frequent check-ups his first year, Andrew’s health has been good since and he has never had to return to the hospital. When he turned a year old, the doctor told his parents, “He’s just really great.”

Andrew started preschool at the University of Maine at age 3 with no difficulties. He is small for his age, but has no learning problems. He enjoys activities from Play Station 2 to fishing, which he began doing at 21/2, swimming and running cross-country.

His favorite foods are bacon and deer meat, and he likes to hunt turkeys. “I want to try partridge hunting,” he said.

Andrew also enjoys learning about wars and loves history, his mother said.

“He’s a Civil War buff,” Doug said. He likes to learn about different battles and how they started and, in particular, has an interest in the invasion of Normandy in World War II.

Andrew thinks that later on he’d like to join the Navy or be an aeronautical engineer.

Confidentiality issues make it harder these days to find ambassador families, Staffiere said. “It’s very difficult to connect with families of premature birth.” The March of Dimes uses flyers in schools and day care centers, and newspaper articles to help identify children and families who have experienced premature birth.

An average of more than 100 Maine children die each year as a result of premature birth, Staffiere said, an increase that is disturbing. Too many families in Maine don’t have access to health care. Either their employers don’t offer health insurance, or the families can’t afford premiums.

Smoking and drinking before and-or during a pregnancy creates a risk for an early birth, Staffiere said. And the use of fertility drugs is a known cause of prematurity, because the medications can lead to multiple pregnancies which often result in premature delivery.

There are recommendations to help prevent prematurity, Staffiere said. A good first step is for both prospective parents to see a physician for complete physicals. Family histories can reveal potential problems.

Eating a well-balanced diet is also crucial, as is not smoking. The March of Dimes also emphasizes the importance of folic acid, because 70 percent of all neural tube defects such as spina bifida can be prevented by taking 400 micrograms of folic acid before and during pregnancy. Defects of this nature occur in the first month of pregnancy.

Even with a good diet, it is difficult to get adequate amounts of the vitamin, Staffiere said, so taking supplements is critical. Actually, folic acid is important for everyone, as it helps prevent some cancers and aids in maintaining a healthy heart.

January is Birth Defects Awareness Month, and Folic Acid Awareness Week was marked Jan. 9-15.

Several health and social service agencies are disseminating $101,000 worth of vitamins containing 400 mcg of folic acid. They are free of charge to those who meet income guidelines.

Staffiere hopes that more families who have experienced premature birth will volunteer to be Ambassador Families for the March of Dimes.

“The Ambassador Families are a way for volunteers to see the benefits of their hard work through a living example, because for every Ambassador Family that speaks at events, there are thousands of families that benefit from the research that the March of Dimes does,” he said.

For information, call Gene Staffiere at 989-3376 or e-mail gstaffiere@marchofdimes.com.

The Dime Drive, conducted by area schools to raise money for March of Dimes campaign to prevent premature births, will be featured on a live remote broadcast with Z107.3, Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Bangor Mall.