Preemie Baby Help

Welcome to Preemie Baby Help! This site has been created for all families of Preemie babies. Having a baby prematurely is a very stressful time. The aim of the site is to provide a friendly environment for all parents. Often parents are overwhelmed by the medical jargon. Our articles attempt to provide good information for parents of preemies in an accesible format.

Why not join the Preemie Forums and ask anything you don't fully understand? There is no such thing as a stupid question.

Hopefully you'll find all the information that you need, we are adding to it all the time. So if you're anything from the parent of a 22-week preemie to a fully grown adult who was born prematurely, we want to hear from you!

Kindest wishes

Scott & Jennifer Miller

Breast Milk Banks to Nurture Premature Babies and Critically Ill Newborns

Posted June 8, 2010 - 7:14am by Jennifer_Miller

You might have heard of the concept of a bank for the collection, storage and processing of breast milk. This milk is intended to feed premature or very unwell babies in NICUs where the mothers cannot supply breast milk for themselves.

A Parent's Guide to ... Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC)

Posted June 3, 2010 - 10:50am by Scott_Miller

What is NEC?

Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) are two of the scariest words you will hear in the NICU. Mostly, it's whispered as its causes aren't fully understood and its mortality rate is significant (20-30%). Unfortunately it is a condition that often affects preemies. "Necrotizing" or necrosis is the name for when something dies. "Enterocolitis" means the intestine and the colon. So, the disease means that the baby has a problem with sections of its digestive system failing. Babies suffering with NEC will fail to thrive and put on weight.

Raising Awareness for Prematurity

Posted June 2, 2010 - 6:18am by Jennifer_Miller

Some causes have excellent levels of awareness in the community and benefit from significant government and industry-sponsored funding. This funding supports medical research to assist our understanding of the causes and preventative measures, as well as continued progress towards finding a cure. As a result, the community benefits from a greater understanding of the causes and gains education on the need for early detection. If a diagnosis is unfortunately confirmed, there are extensive treatment options in place, combined with dedicated support groups.

A Parent's Guide to ... Weaning A Preemie (Part Two)

Posted May 18, 2010 - 4:54am by Scott_Miller

Earlier studies indicated that many allergies, eczema and other sensitivities in children were a result of being exposed to the wrong food groups too early in the baby's weaning process. More recent studies have found that lack of exposure to certain food groups is causing these complaints. That's very confusing for parents! Couple that with the problem of having to age-adjust everything for a preemie and you're in a world of confusion and misinformation.

A Parent's Guide to ... Weaning A Preemie (Part One)

Posted May 17, 2010 - 5:18am by Scott_Miller

Like so many other medical matters for preemies, there is very little consensus of opinion on this subject! Most preemie parents are left bewildered and Your local GP will tell you one thing, your pediatrician may well tell you another. In summary, there seems to be four schools of thought on what the ideal time to introduce solids should be. Most term babies will start being introduced to solids at 4-7 months of age so how does this translate to a preemie? If the recommendation is that babies are not given cow's milk before 12 months of age, what does that mean for a preemie?