To raise awareness of prematurity this month I am posting a preemie fact every day. I need help though, I am running out of ideas! So bring on the facts ladies! I still have a LONG month ahead of me so nothing is too big or two small.
Today is the start of Prematurity Awareness Month... did you know that in the United States, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely??
Prematurity awareness fact #2- the cause of
prematurity is unknown in up to 40% of all cases. Please be cognizant of this if you ever ask why a baby was premature. Many mothers feel guilt
despite it not being within their control.
Prematurity awareness fact #3- the rate of premature births increased by more than 20% between 1990 and 2006.
Prematurity awareness fact #4- the smallest
surviving preemie was only 9.2 ounces when she was born... How's that
for a miracle???
prematurity awareness fact #5- a baby does not
start to develop their immune system until they are approximately 33
weeks along. Babies born before this important milestone are highly
susceptible to illnesses that a full term baby can fight off. The
baby's immune system will generally "catch up" by 2 years old barring
any other complications... so bring on the sanitizer!
I'm also planning on doing a top 10 things not to say to preemie parents... starting with "he'll be home before you know it" ummm yeah that would have been the day I left he hospital and followed by "you are SO lucky you didn't have to be 9 months pregnant in August"... Oh yeah and spending a good part of my summer driving back and forth to the NICU was so awesome! people just do not think!
I always enjoyed reading about famous preemies. It was an encouragement to see how far small babies could go. Here are some famous preemies:
Pablo Picasso
Thomas Hardy
Franklin Roosevelt
John Keats
Mark Twain
Napoleon Bonaparte
Renoir
Sir Winston Churchill
Johann Goethe
Stevie Wonder
D H Lawrence
Thomas Hobbes
Victor Hugo
Voltaire
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Anna Pavlova
Carol and Mark Thatcher
Issac Newton
Charles Darwin
Albert Einstein
I'm also planning on doing a top 10 things not to say to preemie parents... starting with "he'll be home before you know it" ummm yeah that would have been the day I left he hospital and followed by "you are SO lucky you didn't have to be 9 months pregnant in August"... Oh yeah and spending a good part of my summer driving back and forth to the NICU was so awesome! people just do not think!
Please add - but at least you got to enjoy your sleep to that list.
No, not really, I was up pumping every 2-3 hours though the night. Thanks.
And worrying. I said the same thing when people would say that to me !
Re: Prematurity awareness help!
I've hit a few of those... so far I've done
Today is the start of Prematurity Awareness Month... did you know that in the United States, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely??
Prematurity awareness fact #2- the cause of prematurity is unknown in up to 40% of all cases. Please be cognizant of this if you ever ask why a baby was premature. Many mothers feel guilt despite it not being within their control.
Prematurity awareness fact #3- the rate of premature births increased by more than 20% between 1990 and 2006.
Prematurity awareness fact #4- the smallest surviving preemie was only 9.2 ounces when she was born... How's that for a miracle???
prematurity awareness fact #5- a baby does not start to develop their immune system until they are approximately 33 weeks along. Babies born before this important milestone are highly susceptible to illnesses that a full term baby can fight off. The baby's immune system will generally "catch up" by 2 years old barring any other complications... so bring on the sanitizer!
I'm also planning on doing a top 10 things not to say to preemie parents... starting with "he'll be home before you know it" ummm yeah that would have been the day I left he hospital and followed by "you are SO lucky you didn't have to be 9 months pregnant in August"... Oh yeah and spending a good part of my summer driving back and forth to the NICU was so awesome! people just do not think!
I always enjoyed reading about famous preemies. It was an encouragement to see how far small babies could go. Here are some famous preemies:
Pablo Picasso Thomas Hardy Franklin Roosevelt John Keats Mark Twain Napoleon Bonaparte Renoir Sir Winston Churchill Johann Goethe Stevie Wonder D H Lawrence Thomas Hobbes Victor Hugo Voltaire Jean-Jacques Rousseau Anna Pavlova Carol and Mark Thatcher Issac Newton Charles Darwin Albert EinsteinAnd worrying. I said the same thing when people would say that to me !