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Family-oriented Care

Supporting Families With Premature Babies

By Teri Brown

Giving birth to a child is a time for rejoicing. Phone calls are made, announcements are sent and family members gather to celebrate the new arrival. When your baby is born premature, these traditions are tabled, as worry, confusion and fear take their place. Parents are often overwhelmed by the new reality of their life and are unsure where to turn for information.

Jennifer Hans from Fort Wayne, Ind., gave birth to her twins five weeks early. One of the twins spent 10 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) while the other was there for two weeks. "Before our babies were born, my husband and I didn't spend a lot of time learning about all the what-ifs," says Hans. "I don't think either of us expected them to have such a rocky start, and in hindsight, I wish we had better prepared ourselves for that possibility."

Hans says the doctors and nurses in NICU were very accommodating, and they were able to visit their twins whenever they wanted. This made a difficult time much easier. Though the hospital where the Hans twins were born was very supportive, the Hans' may have been better served if a formal support program were in place. Having a baby in the NICU is overwhelming enough – not knowing what is going on or what to expect can be even more confusing.

Sharyn Mathews, an editor from Storrs, Conn., felt that educational and emotional support was essential to making it through the five weeks her daughter was in NICU. "She was our first baby, so we had no experience at all, and both hospitals worked to get us the info we needed," says Mathews. "The Windham Hospital, where she was born, provided videos to watch and tons of literature as well as amazing nurses who came to chat fairly often."

The baby was sent to another hospital and as soon as Mathews was released, they headed to where their baby was struggling for survival. At eight weeks early, little Sara was only 14 inches long. "They had tons of literature and truly dedicated nurses who kept us going," says Mathews. "They encouraged us every step of the way and included us in lessons on how to bathe her and how to attach and remove the various electronic monitoring leads. They taught us how to respond to any alarms that rang and how to feed her with a tiny little 1-ounce bottle of milk."

Want to see more?

• Are You Prepared for a Preemie? A Guide to Preterm Babies
• Going Home Alone: When Preemies Need to Stay in NICU
• Nurturing Your NICU Infant: Comfort for Both Mom and Baby
• Talk about it!

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