Kristie McNealy, MD

Jacqueline Honulik is not only Miss Connecticut USA 2008; she is also a 32 week preemie. Jacqueline was born weighing 2 pounds 14 ounces, and spent her first weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut. She recently took time away from her preparations for the 2008 Miss USA pageant to visit the hospital that saved her life.

She says her visit to the Bridgeport NICU was to show that “there is hope” for each of the babies there, and to draw public attention to the unit. Part of her pageant platform is to promote healthy pregnancies as a way to reduce premature birth. In addition to promoting prematurity awareness, she also recently donated a length of her hair to Locks of Love.

Honulik will be competing for the Miss USA title on April 11, 2008. The pageant will be broadcast live from Las Vegas on NBC. The winner of the Miss USA pageant will go on to compete for the Miss Universe title. Although the pageant scene isn’t my thing, I’ll be pulling for Jacqueline, and her promotion of healthy pregnancies. The question is, will Jacqueline’s beauty and success put a damper on recent efforts to raise awareness about the realities of the longterm problems so many preemies suffer with. I’m looking forward to hearing more from her, and how she approaches this issue.

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