Inspiration for my co-author and I came from our 50+ years in both the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and in the community following premature babies and their families. We know the positive impact that post-discharge neonatal nursing guidance can have on the journey of families with premature babies. Families encouraged me to write a book to support the many families who do not have neonatal nursing follow-up. Without a reliable information source or informed health care provider, families feel “lost at sea”. A book was needed to help parents know what to expect, identify deviations from normal, and act quickly to reduce problems or better yet, prevent them.

The biggest misconception is that premature babies are small full-term babies. Premature babies do not look or behave like full-term babies for a long time. Premature babies will initially have special needs and parents can not simply treat them like a full-term baby. Parents need guidance to help navigate the first year with their special baby.

Another misconception about preemies is that prematurity guarantees life-long health problems. In fact, most babies who are born a month or more early will not have health problems. While it is true that the more premature your baby is, the greater the risk for health sequelae, the percentage of very premature babies with major health problems is low (20%).

Having a baby early is typically an unexpected beginning to parenthood; parents may experience feelings of loss, sadness, uncertainty, helplessness and even anger. Parents are very busy travelling to the NICU, taking on their parental role in the NICU, pumping breast milk, learning new skills and may even be juggling the care of other children. This baby work is on top of their other life responsibilities, such as home, other family members, career. Parents will neglect their own needs and may experience mental and physical health implications either now or in the future. Our book provides encouragement and tips for parents as to how to take care of themselves and how to develop their role with their baby.

It is not unusual for parents of premature babies to experience anxiety, postpartum depression and post traumatic stress. Many parents often don't realize the traumatic nature of their birth and NICU experience till they are home. Parents in our focus groups shared their lived experiences in our book. We dedicated a whole chapter to helping parents build a life preserver to support their physical, emotional and spiritual health. Our tips and strategies help parents identify signs that their life preserver is not enough and when and how to seek help.

● babies are often fragile feeders with low endurance, low intake, and trouble coordinating suck-swallow-breathing
● challenges with bottle feeding and/or breastfeeding or the combination
● low weight gain
● reflux, upset tummy, infrequent stooling
● weak head control or development concerns
● 30-80% readmission rate, usually for respiratory illness.

Our book is packed with strategies for parents to keep their baby healthy and ultimately AT HOME. Our strategies help parents prevent these common challenges, identify early signs of trouble and implement changes right away to prevent little troubles from becoming big ones. These strategies are based on our current day-to-day practice, parent tested and informed by recent research.