World Prematurity Day

As it’s November 17th, and therefore World Prematurity Day, I just thought I’d tell a little bit about my experiences with a premature baby.  The Child was born prematurely as I had severe pre-eclampsia, and it was decided that to carry on my pregnancy could prove too dangerous to both myself and The Child.  I really don’t want to dwell on how dangerous as the whole thing still kind of freaks me out a bit if I’m honest.  And I really don’t want to go through it again, hence my decision never to have any more children.  Anyway, one thing I remember very clearly is that the midwives and doctors were all very surprised that The Child was the right size for her level of development given the complications.  And when she was born she was amazingly healthy for a premature baby.  She scored an eight on her first Apgar test, and any parent will know that that is rare even for a full term baby.  It was a huge relief, as even though the survival rate for babies born five weeks early is ninety-nine percent, that means that here in Britain, one in every hundred babies born five weeks early dies due to being born too early. 

Due to being premature, I was only able to hold The Child for a couple of minutes after giving birth before she had to be taken away and put in an incubator.  She looked so small, and we didn’t have any clothes that fit her as we hadn’t been prepared for her early arrival at all.  Only a couple of hours had passed between the doctors deciding that I needed to be induced so early, and me actually being sent to the delivery room.  And The Ex wasn’t particularly supportive.  I remember being terrified that something would happen to The Child.  It was even more scary as I was not entirely sure why it was even happening.  I had read a bit about pre-eclampsia before being admitted to hospital, as my midwife had been so convinced that I had it.  The hospital had always sent me back home though saying I was just dehydrated.  This was because I complained of bad headaches, like the migraines I used to get when I was a teenager.  I was unprepared for the hospital to suddenly start taking me seriously.  And I still wonder what might have happened if I had been given some treatment to keep my blood pressure under control.  Was it preventable?  I am just very grateful that The Child was, and still is very healthy. 

Others are not as lucky as us.