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Krzyś was born in the middle of the 26th week. It weighed 737 grams and measured only 33 cm. Each day began with the question – will he survive? Today I am studying computer science. Ania, a premature baby less than 27 weeks old, lighter than a sugar packet, was not supposed to survive a week. 30 years have passed since these dramatic moments. Premature babies yesterday and today – medicine has moved on, the love and fear of parents is still the same.
9 months interrupted
Sources say that the 22nd week of pregnancy is a turning point in the child’s life, after which it is able to survive – but this chance is still almost a miracle (approx. 5%). Each subsequent week and an additional 100 grams increase the probability of survival. 85 percent – even this is what the statistics give when the 26th week of pregnancy is completed. However, it is still a fight not only for life, but also for its quality in the future. But such babies were rescued in Poland 30 years ago.
– Ania weighed 930 g, she was 37 cm long and she received 5 points on the Apgar scale. It was a shock, my water suddenly broke, then the ambulance and the hospital – 3 months too soon. Nothing announced that, it was my second pregnancy, the first was without complications. At first, no one gave us a better chance, not only the doctors, but also the environment. I remember when my husband went to register his daughter, the lady in the window wondered if she could give her husband sugar cards for the child, because: “You know that it can be different”.
The 500s were a turning point in saving the lives of premature babies, thanks to the Japanese scientist Tetsuro Fujiwara and his synthetic substance – surfactant. Its application accelerating lung maturation significantly decreased the mortality rate of premature infants suffering from neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Huge scientific progress in these and subsequent years has increased the survival rate of children weighing 40 g by up to XNUMX percent.
– Fortunately, my daughter was born in Warsaw, in the hospital in Bródno, which at that time had modern equipment and methods of treatment. Ania was a premature baby with significant features of immaturity – especially in terms of the respiratory system and lungs. She was extremely anemic and underwent three transfusions. But when the worst was over, we heard that she is strong and has a great will to live. She was discharged from the hospital after less than 3 months. During this period, we saw her only once, through the glass. It is good that today parents of premature babies can accompany their babies, that they can be fed with mother’s milk. I haven’t experienced it. I picked up the baby for the first time when it was less than 3 months old. It was a strange feeling – on the one hand, joy combined with fear of what will happen next.
Like a chick
The lives of premature babies had already been fought a hundred years earlier. One hundred years before Ania’s appearance, in 1880 the French obstetrician Stephane Tarnier (inspired by a chick hatching heater) introduced a prototype of an incubator at the Maternité hospital in Paris. It was a water-insulated box with glass lids that was ventilated with air. Three years later, the first ward for premature babies was opened, and thanks to the use of an innovative invention, the mortality rate of newborns weighing approx. 2 kg. decreased by 28 percent.
A medical miracle
Childbirth before the 28th week of pregnancy is considered premature and continues to pose a great challenge for doctors. Sources say that extending pregnancy by one week between 23 and 26 weeks of pregnancy may increase the survival rate of children by 3%. daily! Each success is called a miracle.
Such a miracle was experienced by Krzys’ parents – today a twenty-year-old computer science student at the University of Texas. After giving birth, the boy spent 4 months and 6 days in the hospital:
For 2 months he was on maintaining breathing, for a long time on oxygen. Due to very weak lungs, in the second week of life, doctors had to use a high-frequency ventilator, it is good that such specialized equipment was available in this hospital – recalls Ms Marta.
From about day two we could touch him. To take on your hands only after a couple of weeks. When he was one month old, we could start «kangaroo care», we put him on our chest, and it gave him a feeling of closeness.
– Mother’s milk was even recommended. As far as I know, each mother of premature babies was encouraged to express their milk. At first he couldn’t suck from the bottle. We even learned how to feed him through the tube straight into the stomach, but just before going home, Krzyś started eating alone without any problems.
– Before returning home, we could spend the whole night with Krzys in a separate room next to the ward, to get used to taking care of him, to have a nurse / doctor nearby. After leaving the hospital, Krzyś had a heart monitor for several months, in case his heart suddenly stopped beating, so we had to learn how to use it.
Consequences of prematurity
Modern solutions in the field of neonatology increase not only the chances of survival of a premature baby, but also help to reduce the risk of threats, which are many with such a short stay in the mother’s womb and low birth weight. Preterm retinopathy (about 15%) is one of the most common complications that can lead to serious vision impairment, and even blindness. The risk increases in babies born below 28 weeks of pregnancy.
– Christopher Robin had two retinal laser surgeries to stop the development of retinopathy, and then a sclera clamp was performed on his left eye. There was also strabismus, but the doctors corrected him with an operation when he was one year old.
In premature babies born (especially before the 25th week of pregnancy), complications may also damage other organs: lungs, heart and intestines. The central nervous system and the organ of vision can also be damaged. Nervous system disorders, such as cerebral palsy, may occur as a result of a child’s hypoxia and ischemia.
– We found out that my daughter had cerebral palsy when she was one year old. She developed intellectually like other children, she was cheerful, sociable, babbled nicely, crawled, and then crawled – just like other children. The problem arose when she was unable to stand on her feet for a long time. We were told that it was due to prematurity, that there was still time. But in the meantime, spasticity of the feet appeared. We were afraid that he would never start walking. Thanks to intensive rehabilitation, incl. with the Vojta method, operations, hippotherapy, acupressure, Ania moves and is independent.
Outside the hospital
Parents of a premature baby after leaving the hospital have to get used to the new reality, which is not easy, because the toddler often requires intensive care combined with a number of nursing, rehabilitation and activating treatments for the child to develop as best as possible. Today, the individual aspect of development is also emphasized.
– Today a lot has changed, we think about the disabled and amenities, although it is still a difficult topic. It also all depends on the degree of disability – for me it was important that Ania mentally develops normally. Today she is independent. But the prognosis was not always so optimistic – Ania’s mother recalls.
– In the 80s, there were no amenities in Poland. Crooked sidewalks, no driveways, buses or low-floor trams. Rehabilitation meant an expedition – driving with changes; you did not always reach the bus with a child in your arms. Taxi was a luxury, let alone own car.
For Krzys’ parents, his birth marked the first confrontation with American hospitals and the local health service. Although it was a difficult time for them, they emphasize the cordial atmosphere of the hospital, where they could visit their son every day, taking part in feeding, changing and even bathing the baby – when his condition allowed it. After leaving the facility, they could still count on support.
– When we left the hospital, we could count on the help of specialists. There was a lady who helped us teach Krzys how to deal with poor eyesight (e.g. how to choose educational toys). Krzyś did not say anything until he was 3 and it was not known why, because he understood everything perfectly and was able to communicate with us in his own way. Then he suddenly unblocked and started chatting hard. At age 3, he began attending Preschool for Children with Disabilities, a public school kindergarten where children who need special help receive various forms of therapy
– When he was 5, he went like any other five-year-old to a regular school, which provided him with all possible amenities, for example books with large text, special magnifying glasses, access to a computer – he quickly learned to write on the keyboard and at the same time could be among his own peers.
– Krzysiek achieved a lot despite his poor eyesight. He is now in his sophomore year at the University of Texas in Austin, studying Computer Science. Yes, he’ll probably never be able to drive, which is not easy in Texas, but he can handle it too; there is Uber, friends, parents, and in Austin, where he studies, there is some public transport, and GPS along with Google maps – they will take him everywhere, even if he cannot see where the next street is.
Prematurity is a more difficult start in life, and the adversities of premature birth can also arise. Despite their health problems, many children can live normally, despite their disabilities, by taking advantage of technological development. The social attitude is also important – here you can see improvement, for example by leveling barriers, but there is still a long way to go to the ideal.