In The News
The Miracle of Being Born before Due Time
Doctors and nurses face a delicate task to stabilize the life of premature babies since they arrive into this world
by Rubén Moreno, La Opinion
March 17, 2007
Read Spanish version in La Opinion...
For any parent, the birth of a child is one
of the happiest moments a human being can experience,
specially if it is the first one.
It is also true that the birth of a second, third or even fourth offspring is still an occasion when different feelings arise: tears for happiness, shy smiles and a lump in the throat that forbid the utterance of the right words to express the magic of the moment.
Nervousness and, in some cases, even impatience from waiting during nine long months, usually culminate in an explosion of joy and hugs when the new family member is finally in the arms of her mother, who is usually still lying in a hospital bed not yet fully aware that she’s being part of the miracle of life.
The need to confirm if it was a boy or a girl, choosing a name, buying clothes, preparing bottles and diapers are just some of the new world parents experience since the baby is just a little seed, where everyone expectantly follows its evolution during every single one of the 40 weeks gestation takes.
But it is even more surprising when nature or some complications force the baby to be born a few months after conception, as if he was in a hurry to come to this world and feel the warmth and protection offered by his parents.
This is the time when the most fragile, weak and in need of attention nature of human beings come to the surface, since even a doll seems to have more strength than a baby who fits in the palm of one’s hand.
La Opinión visited the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at White Memorial Medical Center, in East Los Ángeles, to witness the delicacy of a task where, every day, doctors and nurses try to complete the miracle.
"Any baby who is born before 37 weeks after gestation is considered to be premature. If they are born at 35 or 36 weeks they are usually stable and need no special care, but before that time, there are usually many complications because the babies are not fully-developed and ready to be in this world," explained Dr. Danielle Borut, chair of pediatrics.
Some are so small that they need a diaper the size of a facial tissue. Others weigh only 700 grams, while the luckiest ones need to be fed with a toy-size bottle.
They are babies who, depending on their premature condition, could show transparent skin, fragile intestines and brain, are prone to easily catch infections and run the risk of not being able to be fed.
"After so few months, the stomach is not ready to digest anything, and so they need to take special formulas," indicated Borut. "But not every premature baby has a natural delivery, sometimes it needs to be induced if the mother or the fetus is at risk and it would be better to have the baby out."
The cuddly toys decorating some incubators and the nametags are sometimes the only way to tell the sex of a baby. Without being aware, many fight to survive just a few hours after being born. The most striking picture is when a baby seems to hold on to life when the specialist takes his hand to make sure their vital signs are improving.
As precisely as when threading a needle, nurses must be patient and bare the nonstop beep that will fire an alarm in case of any problem. It becomes more complicated when, wearing their sterilized gloves, nurses need to assist a baby amidst the web of wire some of them require.
Droppers, artificial respirators or serum bags are just some of the instruments that hang from incubators where the babies in more critical conditions are, always controlled by a monitor that every second measures their heartbeat, blood pressure and even chest movements.
In between each beep and beat, a new life fights while it waits for the miracle of surviving in a world that welcomed him or her before his or her right time. Doctors and nurses make everything possible so each baby can feel, without risks, the warmth from parents who look forward for their hugs.
Read Spanish version in La Opinion...
Posted 3/17/07
