World Prematurity Day - What It Means To Me

Saturday 17 November is world prematurity day.  60,000 babies in the UK are born too soon and in 2010 one of these babies was my youngest son.  There were no indications anything was amiss with my pregnancy.  It was just the same as his older brothers but, for no reason, he was born 9 1/2 weeks early.

My waters broke early so we had a few days to get our heads round the idea that he may arrive soon but, on the other hand, we were told he could stay put until he was full term.  Unfortunately this wasn't the case and 5 days later he arrived.  We missed the birth as I had to have a general anaesthetic and we then had to wait to hear how he was doing.  Thankfully he was a strong little fellow and we were told he was breathing for himself, with a little help.

For the following 4 weeks and 2 days he was under the fantastic care of Buscot Ward and the Royal Berkshire Hospital.  We visited everyday, watching him grow bigger and learn to feed.  The support from the staff was great, as was the information from Bliss and when I should have been 35 weeks pregnant we took a tiny 4lb 9oz baby boy home with us.

World Prematurity Day is to raise awareness of the support early babies and their families need, not just in the UK, but cross the world.  Please take time to check out the Bliss website, share your story or donate if you can.  There is also a World Prematurity Day Facebook group so you can keep up to date with what's happening across the world.

 We were lucky but sadly 1 million premature babies die across the world every year.  Other babies survive but need lifelong support.  Please do what you can.