NICU Survivors NICU Survivors are amazing. No matter how long or how short your stay, getting to go home is a momentous occasion. That homecoming day is one you will always remember. But, what comes next? How do you go back to "normal" life with NICU survivors? Is it possible? Perhaps, not right away. When we got home from the NICU, we had a nurse visit our house … [Read more...]
A Different NICU: A Different Experience
A Different NICU From layout to policies to staff, every NICU, or Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, is different. What may happen in one hospital, may not happen in another. In each different NICU, each family can have a very unique experience. Some hospitals have private rooms, some are organized in pods of a few beds, while others are entire rooms filled with … [Read more...]
PTSD: A Very Real Complication of Premature Birth
PTSD The term PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a condition people associate with experiences in the military or surviving a catastrophic life-experience, like a natural disaster or an accident. It is not always associated with pregnancy, birth, and prematurity, but it is a very real condition for women who experience those life-changing events. Worrying every day of … [Read more...]
An Emergency C-Section and a Premature Birth
Emergency C-Section I had my tonsils removed when I was 19. Before that, the only thing close to surgery was when I got my wisdom teeth removed at age 17. I'd only stayed overnight in a hospital one time before my emergency c-section. Scared and alone, with the exception of those 2 small babies in my belly, I had my first major surgery. While my life wasn't in danger, It … [Read more...]
Growth Restriction in Single and Multiple Pregnancies
Growth Restriction Growth restriction during pregnancy is a very serious condition. It is called IUGR, Intrauterine Growth Restriction, in single pregnancies, and SIUGR, Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction, in twin pregnancies. Unfortunately, it is also a condition that I am very familiar with, as one of my twins suffered from it. According to WebMD: Intrauterine … [Read more...]
