World Prematurity Day: November 17

Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for MedImmune. I received compensation for participation but all opinions and ideas are my own.

  My sister was born when I was 14 years old. Being so much older gives me a unique perspective - I was old enough to know what was going on, for better or worse.

  She was born 9 weeks early. It had been a difficult pregnancy. A twin boy didn't survive and presumably the complications caused her early birth, but it's difficult to pinpoint in most cases what causes prematurity. The first time I saw her she was the size of a doll, in the highest level neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We were painfully reminded of the precarious situation when one of the babies beside her didn't make it. The danger she was in was palpable. 

  But she did pretty well. Since she was only 3 pounds at birth, she had to spend a month in the NICU, much of it in an isolette, an enclosed bed with a monitored temperature because preterm infants have difficulty maintaining their own body temperature. There were two holes in each side to allow us, after several days, to touch her, to hold her tiny hand, to read her a story or talk to her.  She was jaundice and had to lay under special lights to help her bilirubin levels. Her sucking reflex hadn't kicked in yet, so she had to have a feeding tube for nourishment. Every day we would come in and the nurse would say, "She pulled it out again".  It was a sneak peak into her personality-to-come!

  For several years after she came home, we visited the NICU, where she had spent her first 4 weeks of life and consequently so did we, every year. We'd bring a cake with her age on it. They were thrilled to see a happy, healthy little girl in the place of the itty-bitty baby they had known. 

  Later, she had speech delays, but she was remarkably lucky that her early birth didn't lead to the many complications that can arrive and linger throughout life. 

  One of these we knew about at the time and feared (among many other things) was RSV. RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus (don't worry - there won't be a quiz!) is a viral disease that can infect a person's lungs and breathing passages. It's a common, seasonal virus that spreads rapidly among young children.

  Nearly all babies get RSV disease by the time they turn 2 years old. Most will recover with no problem after a week or two of mild to moderate cold-like symptoms, but some babies, like those who were born prematurally, are at an especially high risk for complications. There is no cure for RSV, but there are ways to lessen the risk:

• Wash your hands before you touch the baby and ask others to do the same
  
• Don't let anyone smoke in your home or around the baby
  
• Keep toys, clothes and bedding clean
  
• Avoid people who are sick or who have been recently sick, crowds and young children during RSV season
  
• And of course, always talk to your pediatrician with any concerns or questions.

  Check out this easy-to-read infographic for more info.

  Babies, especially premature infants, seem so fragile and in need of protection against the big bad world. We can only do the best we can, caring for them, loving them and hoping for the best!