First, Drake’s surgery went very well. He had no indications of respiratory distress and is recovering well after 1 week. He did seem to lose some weight as it was hard to ramp his feeds back up. He had some mouth swelling due to the hemangioma injection and sounded hoarse from the intubation.
November is prematurity awareness month, culminating in World Prematurity Day on November 17th. I encouage everyone to take this month and learn more about the impact premature birth has on our country and the world.
In the US alone, 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely each year. That’s over half a million preterm infants. The effects of preterm birth are wide ranging from being the leading cause of infant death to developmental issues that continue throughout life.
How can we help reduce the number of babies BORN TOO SOON?
Take the time to review information at the March of Dimes and their research into prematurity and birth defects.
Here are some great resources and preemie parents’ blogs.
March of Dimes – supports research, parent information while a child is in NICU
Kentucky Special Born Too Soon Report – Kentucky has one of the highest rates of prematurity in the US. I am fortunate enough to live in the Cincinnati metro area with amazing resources like Cincinnati Children’s and Good Samaritan Hospital, but many areas of our state are rural. Let’s work on 39 weeks Kentucky!
Life with Jack – the journey of a 23 week miracle micropreemie and his family
Ain’t No Roller Coaster – the journey of Owen, a 24 week miracle micropreemie and his family
Hand to Hold – A preemie parent support resource
Life After NICU – A preemie parent support resource
Sincerely,
A Proud Preemie Parent