Preterm delivery

Nurse : Good morning. I’m Maud, the neonatal nurse. Your wife has been admitted into the neonatal intensive care unit. I’ll be around her during and after childbirth.

Father : Good morning. We are a bit troubled, as my wife seems to deliver before term. She’s in her 36^th week.

Nurse : Well, she is only a month early. Most premature births occur in this late preterm stage. So you don’t need to worry for now. A premature birth means that the baby hasn’t had the usual amount of time to develop in the womb before needing to adapt to life outside the womb.

Father : But what causes prematurity? 

Nurse : Often, women who have a premature birth have no known risk factors. However, your wife has been suffering from high blood pressure and gestational diabetes.

Father : Will this affect the baby’s life ?

Nurse : It shouldn’t. We’ll keep monitoring your baby’s vital signs : blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and temperature. A ventilator may be used to help him breathe.

Father : Does that mean that we won’t be able to take him home soon ?

Nurse : We’ll have to keep your baby in the incubator for a while to watch over the grasping reflex, body temperature, breathing, and lack of reflexes for sucking and swallowing. We may then use a feeding tube before any breast or bottle-feeding. And we’ll do all necessary nursing care and show your wife how to care for him.

Father : Will our baby have serious health problems ? I heard that premature babies suffer from cerebral palsy, cognitive, vision, hearing, behavioral and psychological problems, don’t they ?

Nurse : Oh, these are long-term problems that might occur when the baby is extremely premature, that is when they are born at or before 25 weeks of pregnancy, which is not your baby’s case.

Father : But all preterm babies have health problems after birth, don’t they ?

Nurse : Not necessarily. There might just be some short-term complications. But preemies may develop lung diseases due to an immature respiratory system. They may also have heart, blood, temperature control, metabolism and immune system problems. This is why we’ll keep the baby in the incubator for surveillance. You don’t need to worry, we know exactly what supportive care to give.

Father : Supportive care ?

Nurse : It’s the usual specialized care : placing the baby in an incubator to help maintain normal body temperature ; monitoring vital signs ; giving fluids and nutrients through an intravenous tube. Breast milk may be given later through a nasogastric tube. And when your baby is strong enough to suck, breast-feeding or bottle-feeding is often possible.

Father : OK. I am now rather reassured. I’ll go check on my wife. Thank you.