Premature births are on the rise. Many of our foster care infants are delivered early due to maternal drug exposure and failed abortion attempts by young mothers barely out of childhood themselves. This new population of tiny ones begins their lives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of hospitals across America. Our goal is to bring awareness, education and forever loving homes to these little angels. Your gracious donation will help us recruit qualified NICU Nurses to bring these little Angels home.

Methamphetamine use during pregnancy is believed to place the unborn fetus at risk. Methamphetamine causes increased maternal blood pressure and heart rate, which can result in premature delivery or spontaneous abortion. The drug also constricts blood vessels in the placenta that feed the fetus which results in reduced blood flow to the fetus and ultimately reduced oxygen and nutrient supply. It is known that Methamphetamine passes through the placenta that feeds the fetus and can cause elevated fetal blood pressure potential leading to prenatal strokes, heart or other major organ damage. It can also cause an increased or extremely variable heart rate in the fetus and slowing or alteration of fetal growth.

Increased teen pregnancies and epidemic drug use by pregnant women have resulted in an escalating number of premature births - children with medical and developmental complications. Concurrently, there are a growing number of cases where children become medically fragile at the hands of their parents and a return to their biological home is not in the child's best interest. The foster care system is heavily burdened with an influx of medically fragile infants and children who need our help.

Angels in Waiting is dedicated to moving these special little angels into loving homes with Registered Nurses as their foster parents and then on to adoptive homes in which they could recover or stabilize, grow and now flourish; their troubled pasts overshadowed by their hopeful futures.

Sammy is a true medical miracle! Sammy is not my biological son. I know the deep piercing bond a son from my womb can bring. I love my Sammy just as deeply. Sammy was born a full four months early at the fragile weight of 17 ounces when his birth-mother's placenta burst due to her addiction to methamphetamines. When he tested positive for methamphetamines, Sammy was taken into the custody of Children's Services To the amazement of hospital staff, he endured seven abdominal surgeries and survived

...Many states pay less to care for a foster child than a kennel charges to board and feed a dog. If a child enters foster care at age 5, studies show that foster child will be placed into 15 foster homes before he ages out at 18 years of age.

There are so many other little boys and girls just like Sammy. While us Nurses cannot adopt all of the little Sammy's in waiting, we have opened our home to heal as many and love as many as we can and help them move on to loving homes of their own; and so the birth of Angels in Waiting and our determination to affect as many little lives as possible.

Angels In Waiting (AIW) is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) established in 2005 to meet the needs of the most vulnerable population of America’s foster children, the forgotten medically fragile preemies, Infants and children. Our mission is “to move medically fragile foster care infants and young children into private residences under the care of Registered and Licensed Vocational nurses as their foster parents.” AIW helps to save a child and ensure a childhood by ending the child's time in the Foster Care System, finds permanent homes for them, and paves the way to better lives with continued resources for these vulnerable little ones.

Photo from Progress Report 'Preemie Foster Infants in need of adoptive homes'

Photo from Progress Report 'Preemie Foster Infants in need of adoptive homes'

Photo from Progress Report 'Preemie Foster Infants in need of adoptive homes'

Photo from Progress Report 'Helping Angels In Their Time of Need...'

Photo from Progress Report 'Helping Angels In Their Time of Need...'

Photo from Progress Report 'Helping Angels In Their Time of Need...'