1. Health

Treating Reflux in Premature Babies

Holding your baby upright after feeds can help reduce reflux in infants.

Gastroesophageal reflux is a common problem in premature babies. Learn the signs and symptoms of reflux, how to tell if your baby needs treatment, and what kinds of treatments may help your baby.

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Preemies Spotlight10

Keep Up With the Perkins Pack

Tuesday May 1, 2012

On April 24, 2012, Houson mom Lauren Perkins gave birth to sextuplets born at 30 weeks gestation. After 18 months of infertility, Lauren and her husband Dave decided to try intrauterine insemination. Although there was only a 25% chance that the procedure would work at all, the couple got pregnant with sextuplets! The babies are currently in the NICU at Texas Children's Pavilion for Women and are doing well. Lauren posts updates on the babies on her blog - be sure to check it out!

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Social Security Benefits for Your Premature Baby

Sunday April 29, 2012

A social security card.

Did you know that many preemies qualify to receive social security benefits from the US government? The US Social Security Administration pays supplemental security income (SSI) to babies who weighed less than 2 lbs 15 oz at birth regardless of gestational age, or for low birth weight babies based on their weight and gestational age at birth.

If your hospital didn't offer to help you apply for SSI benefits for your baby, you may still qualify. Medical care for preemies can get very expensive, and any help the government can give is a welcome sight.

Read More: Social Security Benefits for Your Premature Baby

FAQs About Preeclampsia

Friday April 27, 2012

A pregnant woman having her blood pressure checked.

One of the leading causes of preterm birth is preeclampsia in the mother. Preeclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy that causes high blood pressure and other symptoms in the mom, and can cause the baby to grow poorly. Preeclampsia, also called pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) or toxemia, can get very serious and can even cause death to both mom and baby. Because the only cure for the disorder is delivery of the baby, doctors may sometimes decide that preterm delivery is what's best for mom and baby.

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Preemie Moms Wanted for Study

Monday April 23, 2012

I received an email last week from About Preemies reader Jenny Burkholder, a doctoral student at St. Mary's University. Jenny is looking for parents of premature babies to answer a survey as research for her dissertation. If you have time, she'd love your help!

I'm Jenny, mother to 4 ½-year-old son, Henry, who was born a preemie at 34 weeks. Now, I'm a doctoral student at St. Mary's University investigating mother's activities in the NICU and the mother-infant relationship that develops for premature infants.

If you are the mother of a premature infant who was cared for in the NICU, I invite you to participate in my dissertation study. Participation involves a 20 minute, anonymous, online survey for those meeting criterion.

Your exploration of these topics may help researchers and mental health professionals better understand which NICU interventions are most strongly related to mother-to-infant attachment and educate NICU professionals and parents about the importance of these practices.

To begin the NICU & Attachment Survey, please select the link below or copy to your browser:

http://stmarys.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_1BrIyBJAimilBxG

Thanks,

Principal Investigator Jenny Burkholder, MA, LMFTA, LPCintern

Discuss in my forum

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