Well, to be fair, that woman who delivered at 21w+ /is/ taking her baby home soon... but do not believe the articles that say she will have no long-lasting effects. When I worked in Early Intervention I worked with a number of micropreemies (the earliest being 21w6d) and there are ALWAYS effects - maybe not obvious ones like heart defects, etc. but any baby that's had bleeding in its brain (aka a stroke, but in babies they call it interventricular hemorrhage) has lasting effects like sensory problems, weaknesses, etc. And I doubt that any baby being sent home on oxygen is not going to have long-lasting lung issues.
But yes, it IS possible to have a pre-term baby with happy endings but that doesn't mean that it's not scary to someone who is 21w1d and measuring a couple of days behind. The likelihood that my baby would survive if I delivered today is very slim. I know I will feel better when I get closer to a time of higher viability but these folks who have lost twins and now their surviving babies hit a little too close to home for my liking.
There is something really unsettling about carrying a dead baby around. I really feel close to these women because we all had something really awful in common. I feel like we can get over losing one child but I'm not sure about two.
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Date: 2007-02-22 02:40 pm (UTC)But yes, it IS possible to have a pre-term baby with happy endings but that doesn't mean that it's not scary to someone who is 21w1d and measuring a couple of days behind. The likelihood that my baby would survive if I delivered today is very slim. I know I will feel better when I get closer to a time of higher viability but these folks who have lost twins and now their surviving babies hit a little too close to home for my liking.
There is something really unsettling about carrying a dead baby around. I really feel close to these women because we all had something really awful in common. I feel like we can get over losing one child but I'm not sure about two.