When Melissa Guillotin of Cary became pregnant in 2005, she did everything a mom-to-be is supposed to do. She had good prenatal care, took her vitamins and followed all the dos and don’ts that accompany pregnancy.

“I never thought once that it was a remote possibility that I could have a premature baby. It never even entered my mind,” said Guillotin, now 38. “I just didn’t feel well. It was a very nondescript vague feeling. It was kind of like I had a stitch in my side, like when you’re running.”

As that particular day progressed, Guillotin felt worse, although she tried different things to pull herself out of it, including sleeping. She finally decided to call her doctor.

“Just the week before the secretary at my office had made me promise that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to call if I have any questions,” she remembers.

At the doctor’s office, her blood pressure was 220/150 and she was having contractions even though she didn’t feel them. Guillotin had HELLP syndrome, a sudden and severe form of pre-eclampsia. The acronym stands for Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes and Low Platelet count. She was transferred by ambulance to WakeMed’s Raleigh campus.

At the time, Guillotin wasn’t aware of the seriousness of her condition. The pain in her side was her liver and it was enlarging incrementally, putting her at risk for both liver and renal failure. The only cure for HELLP syndrome is to deliver the baby. If doctors wait too long, eclampsia can set in and both mother and baby face serious complications or death.

Sebastien Guillotin was born that day, 11 weeks early. He was 29 gestational weeks old and weighed 2 pounds 4 ounces—the size of half a bag of flour.

Melissa and her husband Bertrand Guillotin have learned a lot in the past three years. Sebastien spent 50 days in WakeMed’s neonatal intensive care unit. He was at risk for Respiratory Syncytial Virus of the lungs, vision problems, respiratory problems and a long list of other complications.

Sebastien took steroid shots every month for a while to prevent RSV. Melissa and Bertrand, her husband, felt isolated and scared. How to care for this small infant? Like so many other difficult situations, the Guillotins took it one day at a time.

But this story has a happy ending. Sebastien will be 3 in July and is doing really well. He hasn’t developed any significant problems during his life and now weighs 27 pounds. He’s at risk for asthma later in life but so far hasn’t developed any symptoms.

Melissa Guillotin credits Sebastien’s success to the special infant care clinic at WakeMed and the March of Dimes. In just a few weeks, the March of Dimes’ North Carolina chapter will hold its annual Walk America event April 19 at Nortel Networks in RTP. It’s a key organization in providing both education and support to preemie parents. Premature birth occurs between 8 and 10 percent of all pregnancies in the United States; premature birth is defined as an infant born before 37 weeks gestation.

It’s been a long road for the Guillotins, but Melissa and Bertrand are so thankful for Sebastien, who will be an only child. Both hold a special place in their hearts for the March of Dimes, WakeMed Raleigh and a Web site called Caringbridge.com.

“Once you go home you’re left with ‘now what?’ Since you can’t go out and socialize with the baby, it’s really hard to feel connected to other people in your same position so those resources become really critical,” Guillotin says.

There are two things Melissa Guillotin wants people to know about preemies: The first is that premature births can strike any woman and, two, that it’s OK to be happy about a premature birth, even though the implications of that birth are sometimes a little scary. After Melissa delivered Sebastien, she and Bertrand were pleasantly surprised by a couple who visited with champagne to celebrate, just as if the baby had been born on time.

“That was a turning point for me,” says Melissa Guillotin. “I felt like it was OK to be happy. So go ahead and send flowers. Celebrate. Be concerned, but celebrate.”