Surprisingly, the US is not the best when it comes to infant survival after premature births. There are many organizations that raise money to research why some babies are born early and what can be done to stop it, but premature or early births are happening much more often than you think. Babies can survive born at younger ages (some as young as 21 or 22 weeks gestation), but that is not the answer. The answer is to find out why some give birth early and what can be done in the future to prevent some babies from coming into the world far to early via premature birth.
There are many ramifications of premature births. The baby is going to struggle and the parents are going to be emotional wrecks. There is nothing easy about giving birth early, and some babies simply are not strong enough to survive. Others come out of it with medical issues that are going to follow them for a very long time. Other infants are very lucky, and they have little to no long term problems because of their premature births. However, that does not make the experience pleasant for them or their parents.
Premature births are scary for the parents because they have no idea why it is happening (in some cases), and they have no idea what is to become of their child. The babies are thrust from the womb far too early and into a world that in not nearly as pleasant as the one they were just in. They are going to have to go through some painful procedures needed to save their lives and to allow them to thrive. There is very little that can be safely done for them to alleviate the pain involved. Parents can only stand by and wonder why this happened to their baby.
Not only are premature births traumatizing, they are also expensive. A baby born three months early can easily have a bill of over a hundred thousand dollars by the time they are well enough to go home. If they have problems from the premature births, they can have higher medical bills throughout their lives. Parents lose work income because they must make time to be in the NICU with their baby. Without insurance, parents that have a premature baby may have huge medical bills that they can never hope to pay off.
Premature births can have very happy endings. Many babies today overcome the odds and upon meeting them, you would never know they were born early. They are happy, healthy, and well adjusted. The trauma associated with premature births can often bring a new level of love between parents and child. These parents know they are looking at a miracle each and every time they hold their baby. Those first smiles, teeth, steps, and words are a little bit sweeter for them. Most parents love their children more than anything else in the world, but there is something sweet about knowing you are holding a miracle in your arms. It makes the world a different place.
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