Sophie Foundation

Our mission is to help prevent premature birth, and to support both prematurely born babies, their families and their caregivers. We do this by supporting research into healthy pregnancies and perinatal health, and helping premature babies and their families during and after their time in the NICU. Sophie was born prematurely at 30 weeks in December of 2015. At 1,5 kg she had an above 90% chance of survival. After 48 hours her chances looked even better, thanks to the dedicated care of the wonderful team in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) of the VUmc Amsterdam (now Amsterdam UMC), under the leadership of Prof. Dr. M. Van Weissenbruch. But then a GBS infection shattered our hopes, and Sophie died in our arms at just 3 days old, after having bravely fought for her life. Sophie inspired us with her immense fighting spirit, and by establishing the Sophie Foundation, our hope is that her death was not in vain. In her memory, we want to contribute to further improving medical research and care – in the hope that less babies are born prematurely, and that those who do have an even better chance of survival. Thank you for your help! Marco, Birgit and ‘big sister’ Marie