Hello. I have just read where most bloggers are in their twenties. I'm in my fifties and am mom to premature twins who were born in the 1980s.
Most of the preemie blogs are about babies or young children, and many were born even earlier than mine! At 28 weeks, our twins, who were of normal growth for gestation, were given a 50-50 chance of survival. Now, I think that has advanced to something like 80 or 90 percent. Today, it is the micropreemies or those born before 25 weeks or so that are given such toss-up statistics.
Survival rates aren't the only things that have changed since our NICU days. Today's preemie moms have wide access to the Internet and to information that we did not have. We totally depended upon the medical staff to tell us everything we needed to know. Now, we know we were not well informed. Most of what we were told was revealed in generalities, such as...The eye exam will be done before your baby leaves the hospital, but since we no longer use such high rates of oxygen, ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) is very rare nowadays.
Whew! That was one thing we did not have to worry about!
We were clearly worried about brain bleeds, lung function and something called patent ductus arteriosis...as well as NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis). Shouldn't that be enough?
One thing I have noticed that hasn't changed is the devotion that today's preemie parents have to helping their children "catch up."
Uh oh! As a longtime member of a preemie Internet group, preemie parents are STILL being told that most preemies "catch up" with their peers by age two or three. Almost every time a new member joins the group, he or she relates that the preemie is now four or five years old and was supposed to have already caught up. But that hasn't happened, and they think the reason has to do with prematurity!
When we brought our twins home...one after only six weeks, the other after four months...we immediately enrolled them in Early Intervention. Therapists worked with them on gross motor, fine motor, speech, social interaction and self-help skills.
Now, when I view videos on other blogs, I see them doing the same play therapies and exercises that we did back then! I remember being so grateful for these therapies, which weren't even offered just a few years before!
Anyhow, I just thought I'd add our perspective to the growing section of preemie blogs. I can't say it will necessarily be all positive or even encouraging. It's just the way things went for us, and I just hope that someone can learn something from our experience.
Thanks for stopping by!
