Bookshops have shelves of guides about pregnancy and baby how to’s–what to expect, how to plan, and how to cope with different situations. But information on having a premature baby isn’t so readily available. Kylie Hodges of Not even a bag of sugar reviews an informative, reassuring new guide to having a premature baby, produced by Tommy’s.
Today is the launch of “Having a Premature Baby” produced by Tommy’s thanks to a grant from the ASDA foundation, this guide is to help parents who have been told their baby may be premature, or have had a premature baby.
In 2009, at 26 weeks + 6 days I went to hospital, completely expecting to be told I was an overanxious, neurotic, depressed pregnant woman. I had a headache and felt a bit strange. It was hard to describe. I had my blood pressure done, urine samples taken, bloods drawn and a scan. With each procedure I felt more and more uneasy. It became apparent that I had severe, rapid onset pre eclampsia. I was very poorly, and my baby was in deep, deep trouble.
The sonographer estimated my baby to weigh 800 grams, when he should have been around 1000 grams. I had an emergency caesarean section at 27 weeks, the day after my diagnosis. I wish that I had had access to a book such as this in that 24 hour period, I would have felt so much more reassured and prepared.
When my baby was delivered, he weighed just 650 grams. We named him Joseph, which means “Jehovah will enlarge” I couldn’t see him until he was 10 hours old, I was too sick to be moved. When I saw him, I loved him. I felt immediately bonded, but it was a very long road. After 76 days in the Special Care Baby Unit, we brought him home. Once home, although Joseph was well, and grew in strength every day, I found it very hard, and wasn’t prepared for all the emotions that I would experience. I think this book will help a lot of parents who find themselves lost and alone after a lengthy hospital stay.
The 94-page full-colour-book has six chapters:
- Explaining premature birth
- Reducing the risk of premature birth
- The birth – before, during and after
- Your baby’s time in hospital
- Taking your baby home
- Looking after yourself – parents’ wellbeing
I am very proud to have been involved with this guide from an early stage, and am proud that the experience we had has been included in the book.
Having a premature baby is a life changing, often scary, experience, and I very much welcome this guide, and wish very much that we had had access to such a guide from the moment we were told we would be parents of an extremely premature baby.
What I love most about the guide is that it is reassuring, as much as it is informative. The pictures included are strong, but to me, are also reassuring. Nothing is more depressing that looking through your baby books and magazines and seeing fat, chunky babies, and yours looks absolutely nothing like that.
Most beneficial, I feel, is chapter 6. Taking care of yourselves as parents is so essential, and often we neglect our own needs because we are busy focussing on our new baby. In times of stress self-care is so important.
I think the guide has another application too, and that is that friends and relatives can request and read this too. Often it’s really hard to explain the medical side of the early weeks of a premature baby, and the guide does it perfectly in plain English.
Now Joseph, that tiny little baby, is 2 and a half! He is cheeky, happy, smiley, loquacious and very clever, and has pretty much caught up, although a little on the dainty side. I am proud that we can share our story, and help other families who are starting their journey with their precious premature baby or babies.
Kylie Hodges — Not even a bag of sugar
Well done for helping with this Guide – I certainly was in complete shock when I had an extremely premature baby – and it would have been great to have all this information back then: and in 1996 there was nothing on the internet either!
I cannot imagine what it must have been like 10-20 years ago.
We had 82 days in hospital, Freddie features in the book and on Tommy’s website/latest videos. He was 1lb 9ozs!