About The Siveter Foundation

The Siveter Foundation was founded by William (Bill) Siveter and his wife, Anna Siveter. The Siveter’s mission is to help newborn babies with life-threatening issues.  William (Bill) Siveter‘s goal is to help the birthing parents/families, hospitals, researches, and caregivers find resources to help newborn babies who are in need.

Preterm babies can suffer lifelong effects such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, visual and hearing impairments, and poor health and growth. Babies born only a few weeks early (late preterm, 34-36 weeks) often have long-term difficulties such as: Behavioral and social-emotional problems. Learning difficulties; Infections, asthma and feeding problems are more likely to develop or persist.

Premature infants are also at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Premature babies are more likely to have chronic health issues — some of which may require hospital care. Some premature babies have to spend time in a hospital’s newborn intensive care unit (also called NICU) to get special medical care.

Premature babies can have long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities and problems with their lungs, brain, eyes and other organs. Finding and treating health problems as early as possible can help premature babies lead, healthier lives. A rapidly growing body of research indicates that preterm birth is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular, endocrine/metabolic, respiratory, renal, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric disorders in early to mid-adulthood.

Overall, intelligence quotient (IQ) tests typically completed sometime from age 5 to age 20 showed that preemies typically lagged behind their full-term counterparts. On average, preterm youth underperformed on the IQ tests by the equivalent of about 13 points. As they grow up, preemies may be more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than full-term babies. They’re also more likely to be shy or anxious. Breathing problems and asthma. Lots of preemies need help breathing when they’re born, since their lungs aren’t ready yet.

The Siveter Foundation is committed to helping these babies and many others to grow big and strong in order to live a thriving, fruitful life.

Helping One Child at a Time

Anna and William (Bill) Siveter founded this charity in the Spring of 2013 – 3 years after their first set of twins were born. Both Angelina and Eliana spent time in the NICU at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Their first child, Angelina Grace Siveter was born at 32 weeks and gestational age of 28 weeks. Angelina weighed 3.15 pounds and spent a month in CHOP’s NICU. Eliana Faith Siveter was 1.15 pounds at birth and spent Thanksgiving, Xmas and New Years in the NICU at CHOP. Eliana lived in the NICU for 3 months. Eliana and experience more of the symptoms of being mature then her older sister, Angelina.

What is the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)? William (Bill) Siveter understands very well, as all four of his children spent time there and visited new newborns every single day. The experience was life changing and led William and Anna to start their charity, The Siveter Foundation. Newborn babies who need intensive medical care are often put in a special area of the hospital called the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The NICU has advanced technology and trained healthcare professionals to give special care for the tiniest patients.

When babies are born early, have health problems, or a difficult birth they go to the hospital’s NICU. NICU stands for “neonatal intensive care unit.” There, babies get around-the-clock care from a team of experts. Most of these babies go to the NICU (NIK-yoo) within 24 hours of birth. How long infants remain in the NICU depends on the severity of their illnesses. The average length of hospital stay for newborns into a special care nursery is 13.2 days. However, infants born earlier than 32 weeks into pregnancy stayed for an average of 46.2 days.

Most babies admitted to the NICU are preterm (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy), have low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds), or have a health condition that needs special care. In the U.S., nearly half a million babies are born preterm. Many of these babies also have low birth weights. Once your baby achieves the following milestones, she’s getting closer to going home: Keeps herself warm. Sleeps in a crib, not an incubator. Weighs about 4 pounds or more.

The good news is, Some NICUs now have a handful of private rooms, where a parent can stay overnight next to their child. Babies who are close to being discharged may be placed in special apartment-like rooms, sometimes called “nesting rooms” or “launch pads,” so parents can stay overnight and get used to caring for baby on their own

William (Bill Siveter) and Anna Siveter were lucky enough to give birth to another beautiful set of twins in the summer of 2012 – William Joseph Siveter Jr. and Giuliana Sophia Siveter. William Jr and Giuliana were not born as preemies and were born at St Mary’s Hospital in Langhorne, PA. The Siveter’s lifelong goals are to help others in need and to one day, help with advancing technology so new born babies needing immediate attention can live a healthy, more balance and better life. These technologies can and will make the difference needed!