Published Sunday  |  February 25, 2007
Omaha World Herald
BY NICHOLE AKSAMIT

When it comes to keeping premature newborns alive, we’ve come a long way, baby.

Micro-preemie Jackson Schnieder weighed 1 pound, 1 ounce when born on April 18, 2005.

A remarkably tiny, supremely premature baby’s release from a Florida hospital last week tugs at the heart and raises the question: Can we go much further?

Medical advances in the past 30 years undoubtedly have helped raise survival rates for premature infants.

Doctors once considered those born at 28 weeks’ gestation the most-premature preemies likely to survive. The threshold is now closer to 24 weeks, depending on weight.

There’s even a new term that has surfaced for the less-than-28-weekers: micro-preemies.  Read rest of the story on Omaha.com.

Reposted from PREEMIE e-NEWS…

Each year, hospitals across the country eagerly await the first baby of the year. It seems the first baby is considered somewhat exceptional. The first baby born in 2007 was indeed special — she was a preemie!

Nalaysia Raymond was born to Shaquencia Raymond at 4:00 a.m. at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital in Savannah, GA. She was born a little over 2 months early and weighed only 2 lbs, 13 oz. Nalaysia is doing quite well, is breathing on her own, and is expected to go home in February.

Premature births are a growing trend throughout the world and it is estimated the number has risen by 30 percent in the past 20 years. This year, Nalaysia has reminded us all to focus on the needs of premature children.

No one told me about Kangaroo Care when my twin preemies were in the NICU.  I first heard the concept of placing the child’s ear on the parents bare chest above the heart a couple years later when a friend of mine had premature twins, and it seemed to prove beneficial.

So, I was reading my Preemie Magazine (subscribe for free) this month that offered Kangaroo Care Tips.  I thought I would share them online for others…

1. Ask your baby’s doctor, nurse, or healthcare provider when you can start Kangaroo Care.

2. Before you leave for the hospital, shower first, and then wear a button-down blouse.

3. Remove all clothing from your baby except the diaper and the hat.

4. Do not remove any wires, tubes or hookups to machines.  If your baby is intibated, ask the nurse for assistance.

5. Place the baby on your bare chest, between the breasts, with a blanket over your baby’s back.

6. Turn the baby’s head so that his/her ear is near your heart.

7. Dads can also practice Kangaroo Care by placing the baby on his/her bare chest.  Be careful baby’s fingers don’t get entangled in chest hair.

To order a free DVD on Kangaroo Care, send a self-addressed, prepaid, priority mailer:

Diane Spatz, PhD, RNC
Newborn Infant Center
2nd Floor, Main Building
34th and Civic Center Blvd
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia PA  19104

Big news on Capitol Hill… the much-anticipated PREEMIE Act - introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Chris Dodd - was passed last week in the Senate. The bill will expand research on premature births, improve education for expectant mothers, and provide better treatment for preemie babies. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation.

The PREEMIE Act calls for:

• Expansion of prematurity research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Studies on the relationship between prematurity and birth defects and developmental disabilities.
• A grant program to educate health professionals and the public on signs of preterm labor and to provide support for parents with a premature baby in a NICU.
• A Surgeon General’s conference on preterm birth which will establish an agenda for prematurity related activities in both the public and private sectors.

For more information, visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:S.707:

Preemie Communications, the parent company of Preemie Magazine, is proud to announce the first-ever Preemie Conference and Expo, to be held August 23-25, 2007 in Washington, DC, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. The 2007 Preemie Conference and Expo is the first of its kind - bringing parents, professionals and vendors under the same roof at the same time. Stay tuned to this newsletter and the January-February print edition of the magazine for more information. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for additional information about the conference, send an e-mail and provide your name, mailing address, phone number, and indicate whether you are a parent, professional or vendor. I sent my email! I’ve never been to DC, so this will be a great opportunity!

S. 707: PREEMIE Act: A bill to reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity.

US Senate has already passed this Act. Ask your State Representatives to Sponsor the “PREEMIE Act” as well. March of Dimes has created an easy letter for you to download and send. Once the House passes it, and the President signs it, it’s law!