One of my friends has had an extremely premature baby?
He is 12 weeks premature and obviously in the special care nursery. She has just been discharged from the hospital and has to go in every day to visit him and express milk, etc. What are his chances? Has anyone had such a premature baby who has survived and not had any problems later in life? What can I do to support her? Cheers.
First of all, give her lots of support! You can do this not only by being there to talk things out with her, but giving her help around the house, cook some meals for her etc.
I know that does not sound like much, but her mind my be so preoccupied that important things like her health and diet suffer. This is especially important now that she is nursing.
My sister gave birth last year to her little boy at only 27 weeks due to an incompetent cervix. He was born on April 3rd and did not come home until July 20th. My nephew was quite lucky as he did not have the health problems that a lot of preemies had.
He has been a little slow at doing all the things full term babies do (slow to sit up, crawl, etc.) but is making amazing progress! He’s been in physiotherapy for quite sometime now as his right side was a bit weak. These exercises help him to loosen and build up his muscles.
Because of his weak right side, his head had become misshapen due to only laying in one spot. He now wears a helmet 23 hours a day to reshape his head. Doctors have said he may have to wear this from 4-7 months. (Depending on how quickly his head reforms its self and how big his soft spot is at that time.)
He is such a happy and alert baby though. He was born weighing only 2 lbs, and then went down to 1lb,5oz.
At the age of 1 now he is 21 lbs. and is into everything! He is such a curious little guys and is very vocal.
My sister had trouble with her milk supply and had to take medication to increase this. Eventually, she had to supplement with formula. She was very hard on herself during this time with feelings of guilt and she had such a feeling of helplessness. Give her lots of hugs and kind words.
Because my sister gave birth via cesarean and far earlier than expected she had trouble bonding with the baby. This just about destroyed her emotionally and added to the negative feelings. She loved this little baby, but her mind had a hard time regarding that this child was hers. She was unable to hold him for weeks after the birth as he was in an incubator. Needless to say, this does not make bonding easy.
My sister and her child are doing amazingly well and all is pretty much normal, apart from more doctor visits than the average child will experience in it’s first year of life. This is all just precautionary though.
I truly wish you friend and her child the best of luck! Well done to you too for being such a thoughtful friend!
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:29 am
my 3 grade teacher was 2 weeks premature and shes just fine healthy and everything
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August 3rd, 2009 at 11:55 am
My husband was born at 28 weeks and of course he had to stay in the hospital, but he is perfectly healthy. 6′1 and 175 lbs.
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30 weeks 2 days
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I worked with a woman whose son was barely two pounds when he was born severely premature. She was told it takes a year to catch up for every month premature. Her son was about 6 when I worked with her, and he had some issues and needed some additional services in school, but he was relatively OK.
Edit: My younger sister was born almost 6 weeks prematurely back in 1966 (5 lbs.). She had no residual effects, was always very healthy as a child and went on to get a Ph.D. in physics.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 12:39 pm
my niece had a premature baby last January (was actually due in May). While she had to stay in the hospital for quite a while to allow her lungs to develop, the only other problem (due to the oxygen) was with her eyes, which they have fixed with surgery. She is slightly small for her age, but fine.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I had a friend who had a baby which was born 13 weeks early. She was in the hospital for almost 3 months and now she is a healthy, thriving, 7 year old. Just be there for your friend. Lend an ear when she needs to talk. If she has other children, offer to watch her children or drive her to the hospital to see her baby.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
http://www.health.state.mn.us/wrtk/handbook.html
With modern medical advances almost all babies born at 28 weeks survive. This does not mean s/he will not have special challenges due to his/her prematurity but will most likely make it.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 2:04 pm
my aunt’s best friend had her son on thanksgiving and he wasn’t due until late February. he is now over one and he is really behind in learning stuff, like walking and saying mama and dada. the doctor said to expect that though. since he was so early, it’s gonna take longer for him to develop. pray for her and her baby. there is a great chance of him surviving. technology is great these days.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
My daughter was 6 weeks early and was 3 pounds 1 ounce when she was born. She only needed to stay in the NICU for 2 weeks but it was very taxing on me. I drove back and forth to the hospital every hour and a half to feed her and each time I left my heart broke. My friends and family were very supportive and visited her in the NICU almost as much as I did. That was very helpful for me. Also, friends made dinners for us and even helped me clean the house. It was an emotional roller coaster because the doctors prepare you for the worst. My daughter is now 2.4 years old and is perfect.
Also, my neice was born at 24 weeks (16 weeks early). She was 1 pound and 5 ounces. She went through every surgery you can imagine. She is now 13 years old ans she needs to wear glasses. Other than that she is perfect! Hope this helps.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Doctors can perform miracles……Stay positive. Wishing your friend and her son the best of luck and happiness xxxx
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August 3rd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
my sister in law went into labor with my nephew FOUR months early!!!!!! they told her that she has an incompitent uterus. he has cleft lip and pallat and he only weighed 1 lb 6 oz. and was almost 12 inches long. he has sleep apniea and had alot of problems with his lungs. to give you an idea of how big he was think of a regular size safety pin, his arm from tip of fingers to elbow was almost that long!!!!! his skin was tranparent, he stayed in the hospitol in the nicu for 4 months and came home on thanks giving. they only gave him a 10% chance of surviving. all of this being said my daughter was born two weeks later at full term so they are two weeks apart and they are 9 mos and 9 1/2 mos and he weighs almost as much as my daughter. he has had two surgeries so far one on his eyes and one on his lip. so if he made it and he was MUCH more premature than your friends baby i imagine he will do just fine. i hope my story has reassured you let your friend read it it will give her hope. best of wishes and god be with you…..
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August 3rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
It is a worry but there have been so many more technical advances in premature deliveries. Babies have been known to have made it successfully and only weighed but a couple of lbs! My DIL’s sister was one of them. He’s a perfectly healthy 4 year old boy. Having said that, every case is unique. Just be there for her, hug her and cry with her when she needs to let it out. Pray with her. That would be the best support that you could do. Offer to drive her to the hospital or help do some errands. I am sure what ever you do will be extremely appreciated.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 4:11 pm
be there for her…..It is the hardest thing to go through. I had twins premature @ 27.5 weeks. I unfortunately lost both of them within 7 days of their birth (they had twin to twin transfusion syndrome) I cannot even begin to explain the pain and heart ache of not being home with your baby, seeing him/her hooked up to machines, etc. I would make sure that your friend seeks a support group with other parents who have babies in the NICU. encourage her to go and take pictures of her little one. NICU babies are not just small they are very sick….everyday is a battle, there will be good days and bad.. my father in-law was a preemie and he has a slight learingin disability (he was born at 29weeks in 1956 and they said he wouldn’t live) Please jsut be there for your friend…she needs you.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Most babies born early are absolutely fine. The major risk is infection at this stage - depending on why he was prem and what they have found so far, will depend on how well he will do.
In terms of supporting your friend, tidy up for her, buy the baby clothes, adore any photos and have tissues and tea ready for when she needs it. If he does have special needs, get on the blower and request information and support from the organisation dealing with that difficulty.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 4:28 pm
My nephew was born at 28 weeks (also 12 weeks premature) and he is fine. He spent about 8 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit and his mom and dad had to do the same thing. He is perfectly fine and healthy now (11 1/2 months old). You can help them get things done they won’t have time for due to being at the hospital, like laundry or cooking meals. His chances are very good. For more info, look at the March of Dimes website.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 5:11 pm
The things they can do in neonatal intensive care today are just amazing! Even such an early preemie has a very good chance of being nurtured to a healthy state.
To support your friend, perhaps you could occasionally make a casserole for her and her family, or offer to run errands for her. If she is going back and forth to the hospital every day, she is probably exhausted and having trouble keeping up with the other things in her life. A little help with dinner and running around would probably be much appreciated!
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August 3rd, 2009 at 5:24 pm
First of all, give her lots of support! You can do this not only by being there to talk things out with her, but giving her help around the house, cook some meals for her etc.
I know that does not sound like much, but her mind my be so preoccupied that important things like her health and diet suffer. This is especially important now that she is nursing.
My sister gave birth last year to her little boy at only 27 weeks due to an incompetent cervix. He was born on April 3rd and did not come home until July 20th. My nephew was quite lucky as he did not have the health problems that a lot of preemies had.
He has been a little slow at doing all the things full term babies do (slow to sit up, crawl, etc.) but is making amazing progress! He’s been in physiotherapy for quite sometime now as his right side was a bit weak. These exercises help him to loosen and build up his muscles.
Because of his weak right side, his head had become misshapen due to only laying in one spot. He now wears a helmet 23 hours a day to reshape his head. Doctors have said he may have to wear this from 4-7 months. (Depending on how quickly his head reforms its self and how big his soft spot is at that time.)
He is such a happy and alert baby though. He was born weighing only 2 lbs, and then went down to 1lb,5oz.
At the age of 1 now he is 21 lbs. and is into everything! He is such a curious little guys and is very vocal.
My sister had trouble with her milk supply and had to take medication to increase this. Eventually, she had to supplement with formula. She was very hard on herself during this time with feelings of guilt and she had such a feeling of helplessness. Give her lots of hugs and kind words.
Because my sister gave birth via cesarean and far earlier than expected she had trouble bonding with the baby. This just about destroyed her emotionally and added to the negative feelings. She loved this little baby, but her mind had a hard time regarding that this child was hers. She was unable to hold him for weeks after the birth as he was in an incubator. Needless to say, this does not make bonding easy.
My sister and her child are doing amazingly well and all is pretty much normal, apart from more doctor visits than the average child will experience in it’s first year of life. This is all just precautionary though.
I truly wish you friend and her child the best of luck! Well done to you too for being such a thoughtful friend!
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August 3rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Well i was extremely premature when i was born also, 3 months early i believe and like your friends baby i had to stay in the hospital until i was 2 months old, also i was born with pneumonia so i was very sick, i made it obviously. I was behind in age, height, learning skills and so on but that is to be expected with all preemies. I also had ADHD growing up but I’m not sure if that had anything to do with how early i was being born along with some female problems which i do not believe has anything to do with being premature. Everything will be fine and your friend needs to know her baby will be fine, she needs to believe that. Tell her to stay positive, the world works in mysterious ways, they will both be okay.
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My daughter was also 6 weeks premature
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:20 pm
My son was born 11 weeks early in November 07… he was tiny and spent a little over 5 weeks in the NICU.. thankfully he is a perfectly healthy 5 month old already weighing 14lbs…
Its not an easy experience and at times can be very tough but try and be as supportive as u can as she will be going through highs and lows…always stay positive for her
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