Save a baby from a broken heart

Slater and Smith launched The Hudson Initiative at Fleishman Hillard, in Bryanston. The couple lost their newborn baby, Hudson Turkish Slater-Smith in May this year, and they do not want other parents to go through the same pain.

“He was only four months old when he died,” said Slater. “He died from a broken heart. Or to be more accurate, a congenital heart defect.”

The couple has asked the media, businesses as well as their friends, family and everyone to help them raise awareness about the importance of making pulse oximetry a compulsory test performed on all newborn babies.

“Pulse oximetry measures how much oxygen is in a baby’s blood after the baby is 24 hours old,” explained Slater. She said the results of a pulse oximetry test should be able to indicate whether an infant was at the risk of heart disease or not.

“We’re going to make sure that pulse oximetry tests are performed on all newborn babies and we’re going to make sure the term congenital heart defect is no longer foreign or misunderstood,” said Slater. “Ultimately, the initiative will realise the introduction of Hudson’s Law, which will see pulse oximetry testing becoming compulsory.”

Smith added, “Our journey with Hudson was a very real and painful, very testing and an extraordinarily fulfilling one. We’re going to change things on behalf of the boy who changed our world.”

Details: www.hudsoninitiative.org.