Judi Venten - Just a Moment Too Soon: What to expect when you have a premature baby

JUST A MOMENT TOO SOON

What to expect when you have a premature baby

JUDI VENTEN

Never before has such informative, vital and comprehensive information been available in one volume to empower the parents of preterm babies throughout their journey through the Intensive Care and Special Care Nurseries to home and beyond. Includes a section on full-term infants admitted to the NICU.

First published in 2013 by Judi Venten.

Judi Venten 2013
The moral rights of the author have been asserted

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the author.

Text and cover design by Michael Hanrahan ( www.mhps.com.au )
Cover photographs of Jemima, born at 25.6 weeks
Main cover photograph by Joe Szabo, Dream Imaging Studio
Breastfeeding images Rebecca Glover ( www.rebeccaglover.com.au )

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Disclaimer: The information provided is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.

Dedication

As love is a synchronicity of both support and challenge along lifes journey.

I firstly want to dedicate this book to those whose unfailing support have encouraged and supported me in this venture. To you I am very grateful.

To those who have challenged me, sought to obstruct my path in various ways, I remain extremely grateful. It is you indeed who have been instrumental in the continued shaping of my character, encouraging me to be true to who I am regardless of what obstacles I face, tenaciously and steadfastly pursuing the vision and purpose that lay before me.

To the One who originally planted this vision in my heart, giving me a passion for prems, showing me I indeed have all the talent required to fulfill it, inspiring me and directing me so creatively as I wrote consequentially this volume became much larger, more comprehensive than I had originally planned it is to You directly that the success of this volume is attributed. And it is to You that I am remain most profoundly grateful.

Finally to the tiny prems and their families, I dedicate this book to you. I am both thrilled and honored to have had this unique opportunity to serve you in this manner. May this book inform, educate, enlighten, equip and empower you and above all, bring hope and understanding along the sometimes arduous journey.

Acknowledgements

I am ever so grateful for the team who has assisted me tirelessly in the pursuit of this finished product.

Firstly to Mikel Archer, for his encouragement, endless prompting and nagging for me to get that book done!

To those who have contributed with their knowledge and expertise: Dr Dan Casalaz, Dr Alyson Murray, Dr Jennifer Smith, Marisa Rizzuto, Ya Fern Ren, Tracey Smith, Lynette Smedley without your guidance this would still be a dream.

For Rachel Shannon, my starring model, and for the many families who generously and graciously gave permission for photos and stories to be shared, especially Brigita Szarbo, Karinda Ryan, Alessandra Marciano, Clare Schwal and Jessica Coghlan.

And lastly to my amazing editor Michael Hanrahan for his ability to make the seemingly extremely complex issues seem like a walk in the park and for his complete attention to every detail I am so grateful.

About the author

Firstly a Paediatric nurse, then a Midwife, Judi later became a qualified Neonatal Nurse and then also spent five years in the community doing Maternal and Child Health Nursing. She has been working in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Melbourne, Australia for almost 20 years where her passion for prems and educating and empowering their families has only increased. Judi has also personally experienced the pain and tragedy of extreme prematurity (during the writing of this book) when her daughter gave birth to little Matthew at 22 weeks, weighing 520 grams.

Contents

Foreword

I am a mother of a daughter who is coming to the end of our NICU stay. During our 150-day stay in NICU and special care, we were faced with many scary and unfamiliar situations. It would have been amazing to have such an informative resource as Just a Moment Too Soon to help ease our minds. Often in NICU there are so many things happening and everyone is so busy that as a parent you feel like you are getting in the way by asking questions. By having this information you are able to read through and find answers to many questions you may have.

I found it really hard when I would come to visit my baby and found she was asleep and was encouraged not to wake her. I didnt understand why. When I read the chapter about sleep and development I realised how important it is for these tiny babies to have uninterrupted sleep so they can grow and develop. As a parent, all you want to do is hold your newborn baby, but it definitely makes you feel better about it when you understand why you cant. I also found the suggestions about how to connect with your baby useful. When I would hold my baby I thought it was for my benefit, as every mother loves cuddles with her baby. When I read the section on skin-to-skin contact and kangaroo care my attitude completely changed. This section really explains all the benefits of this type of care and makes you realise how important it is for the parents and the baby.

Another part of this book I found particularly useful is the section on feeding. I didnt realise the importance of creating a positive feeding experience rather than focusing on the amount the baby takes. Once we stopped pushing our baby so hard to finish her bottles she started sucking more effectively and enjoying her feeding time.

I recommend every parent of a baby in NICU reads this book. It is full of factual information that is appropriate for so many aspects of the NICU journey.

Karinda Ryan
April 2013

Preface

W hile this book is fairly detailed in all aspects presented here, it is not intended to be an exhaustive treatise on the topic. Rather it is intended to be a guide, informing and empowering parents with knowledge for their journey through NICU or SCN. Often when more information is requested by parents on particular topics, it has been my experience that usually there is often no printed information available to disseminate upon request.