It’s No Big Deal…

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At a luncheon event I attended today I briefly shared my story of infertility and premature birth. At the end of the meeting a woman puts her hand on my shoulders and says, “Having a premature baby is no big deal.” She went on to tell me that both of her children, born premature, are excelling in college and pursuing highly technical degrees.

But it is a big deal. My girls are 4 years old and they are doing good. They seem to be developmentally on track with their full-term peers. If you were to look at them today you would assume they are fine and the fact that they were born premature is no big deal. However, prematurity is the leading killer of newborns in the United States. Also, many premature babies have physical or learning disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, hearing loss, vision loss, etc., because they were born premature.

In addition, so much of the development of a baby occurs within the last 8 weeks of pregnancy. The lungs and brain don’t fully develop until the end of the third trimester. Besides, having a baby spend time in the NICU is a less than fun experience. Not to say the emotional, physical and possibly financial drain it places on the couple (and especially the new mom).

As National Infertility Awareness Week starts and National Prematurity Awareness Month approaches in November, we need to be sensitive to not only the issue of infertility, but also that of premature birth. Women who undergo fertility treatments are at a slightly higher risk of having a baby born too soon.

For free teleseminars offer by RESOLVE this week, click here. They have established a members only resource of great information, lists of doctors, and much more. To learn more, click here.