Growing Your Baby - Parenthood from Pregnancy to Pre-school » Premature Babies

Preemie Profile: 24 Weeker Johann

Shannon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:07:37 +0000

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. In honor of this, some parents who have had babies prematurely have offered to tell their stories to create awareness about his important cause.

Our second preemie profile is an amazing little boy named Johann.

Johann was born on October 23rd 2004 at only 24 weeks and 3 days, weighing a mere 698 grams(1lb 9ozs). Mom Adrienne, believes that an amniotic infection may have caused her to go into premature labor.

Adrienne says that while Johann was never the sickest child in the NICU, he did go through every preemie complication on the list. It was one thing after another and it seemed like forever for things to resolve.

Johann had a PDA(Patent Ductus Arteriosus) that resolved after receiving three drug treatments. He also had metabolic imbalances, hypoglycemia, stage 1 ROP(Retinopathy of prematurity) of his eyes, suspected NEC (Necrotizing enterocolitis), chronic lung disease, jaundice and leaky kidneys.

After 221 long days in the NICU, Johann ended up coming home on a nasal cannula (oxygen) and with a NP tube for feeding.

Since that time, he has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy (spastic quad, dystonia) and is non verbal.

If Adrienne had one piece of advice for a new preemie mom it would be to take things one day at a time. The future will unfold in its own way for your child. Looking too far ahead into the future of you baby can make things hard. And worrying about what has happened to others will not be necessarily what will happen to you and your child. Every child is so different.

I asked Adrienne to describe Johann is one word. He said DETERMINED.

I agree! Any baby born this early has to be determined and he has proved this over and over in his five years of life!

Woman Delivers Baby Prematurely On An Airplane

Lisa — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:20:34 +0000

There was excitement aboard a flight from Islamabad to Britain when a six-months pregnant Pakistani woman spontaneously gave birth to a premature baby, forcing an emergency landing in Warsaw.

“The pilot had to make the decision to land as quickly as possible. Warsaw’s Okecie airport was the closest,” Jakub Mielniczuk said about the Pakistan International Airlines flight.

“The woman was six months pregnant. The airport doctor had to revive the premature baby who was immediately taken to a Warsaw hospital in a serious condition,” he said.

While few details are available, the baby is said to be alive, but receiving care at a local hospital.

We wish both mom and baby well. Delivering a baby in a hospital is hard enough. I can’t imagine doing it on an airplane. This woman is a trooper!

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24 Weeker Born In Toilet Is Thriving After Low Odds Of Survival

Lisa — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:40:26 +0000

If is not traumatic enough to be born at 24 weeks, little Latiya arrived 16 weeks early while her mom was going to the bathroom.

On arrival, Latiya’s mom thought the little fighter, who weighed just a pound, was not alive.

Reliving the dramatic moment Marie, 38, said: “Latiya wasn’t breathing and her body was blue. “My brother called 999 and the call taker Graeme Maylor gave instructions to him.

“Graeme reassured him that the ambulance was on its way and within minutes a rapid response vehicle arrived.”

Steve Clarke was the first paramedic on the scene.

He resuscitated Latiya, who was no bigger than the palm of his hand, before paramedics John Mitchell and Danielle Bond rushed her to Liverpool Women’s hospital.

Just moments after arriving at the hospital paramedics ran the baby up to the NICU and put the baby in incubator, hoping it could help save her life.

The one pounder remained in the incubator for 10 days before being transferred to Alder Hey hospital for an operation on her bowel.

She then remained in an incubator for another three-and-a-half months and then probably to a crib when she was old enough to control her own temperature. Latiya has been diagnosed as being deaf in one ear, but that is currently the only problems she is believed to have.

This could change when she starts to walk and talk but the fact that she is able to breathe independently and doesn’t need assistance being fed is definitely a good start! Seconds after my son was born, he was wrapped in plastic and rushed into a room where there was a team of 7 people waiting to work on him

The fact that this baby did not benefit from having a Neonatalogist look after her moments after birth AND she still survived is amazing!

SOURCE

Mom Goes Into Labour Prematurely Dressed In A Bee Costume

Lisa — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:00:18 +0000

A UK woman, who didn’t even know she was pregnant, was out for a friends stag when she went into labour dressed in a bumblebee costume.

Ally Ashwell, 30, was out celebrating her friend’s upcoming wedding when she began to feel sick.

She then returned to her hotel room on her own because she “didn’t want to spoil the fun”.

There, a few minutes later, she began to give birth and delivered her son 14 weeks premature.

As soon as her water broke she dialed 999 (our equivalent to 911) but her baby, who she named Owen, was born very quickly, weighing just 2lb.

Baby and mom were transported to the intensive care, where Owen survived the crucial first few days and is now said to be making good progress.

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