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When I was 19 weeks pregnant, my husband and I got some devastating news. Our baby girl was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease in utero. We were so sad but had to be strong for her. My pregnancy continued and I was taking very good care of myself since I am a type 1 diabetic. at 35 weeks gestation, my water broke. I panicked only because now not only was my daughter going to have a heart condition but she was also going to be born prematurely. I was so scared. After 31 hrs of labor, Mia Alexandria was born weighing 5 lb, 6oz. She was taken from me and put in the NICU for 1 day until she was taken to the Children's Hospital for open heart surgery. My tiny girl endured open heart surgery at 2 days old. It killed me of course but wow... she was so strong. She spend almost 2 weeks in the hospital recovering and I was there every day. She is now 2 months old and normal as can be. Even though she is going to have to have a few more surgeries before the age of 25, she is my tiny hero. She is the strongest person thst I know and I love her so much. I have been blessed by the lord and I feel so lucky to have her in my life.

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Hello , My name is Ester I had my baby very early at 32 weeks she only weighed 14 lbs.5 onces. she was born early because I had preclamcia but I have to say that God is good she is now going on 4 mth. old and she was 13 lbs. she had no real problems at birth she didn't need oxygen or a feeding tube she is doing great .

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Our Second daugher was born at 25 and 4/7 weeks gestation. She weighed 1 lb 15oz and was 13 inches long. After a very noneventful pregnancy, I woke up one morning to so pretty serious spotting, went to the hospital to find myself in preterm labor with a placenta abruption and dilated to 7 cm. After and emergency c-section my daughter was flown to an NICU 2 hours from our home. After 79 days, heel sticks, blood gases, cbc's, x-rays, vitals, oxygen etc... my daughter came home weighing 6lbs 2oz. She is thriving at home gaining 1 lb after 3 weeks, but I have found that I still face the same worries and uncertainy as when she was in the NICU. I have always had a great respect for mothers, especially stay at home moms, but parents of premature children at angels from GOD! It is so hard to relax and enjoy you child. I have to make myself. I consider my family extremely lucky and I have decided to welcome the challenge of parenting a premature baby. I consider it a blessing that GOD feels we are strong enough to handle the task. Best of Luck to all parents Jamie

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I am a mother a of premature child. she was 26weeks 6days. she was 2lbs at birth. She is currently 11yrs old and doing wonderful. It took her 7yrs to make a growth chart at the dr office! She is blessing in every way.

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I was born a preemie on February 12th, 1981. I was 8 weeks premature. They had tried to stop my delivery but I was too far along and was born anyway. I was 3 lbs. 11 oz and 17 inches long. I spent two months in the NICU at two different hospitals. I was transferred to another hospital because I needed more advanced care. I was jaundiced and had trouble breathing consistantly on my own. They said I stopped taking a breath every ten seconds or so. I also needed to be tube fed during my stay in the NICU. I came home from the NICU after 2 months, when I reached 5 pounds but my parents had to keep a heart monitor on me for the first while after I came home. Growing up was difficult for me both physically and emotionally. Physically, I got sick a lot as a child, came down with strep a lot and scarlet fever. I had to be a quite a few medications due to my prematurity. Espically for breathing and my bladder. However I eventually got off of those medications. I tended to be more of a shy, quiet child who had trouble making friends and tended to be quite anxious at times. I always was a bright kid but did have some difficulty in school especially with tests and reading. As a teenager, I was healthy except for some psychological disabilities that were starting to become worse as I got older. Neurologists had noticed it when I was younger but no offical diagnosis was made until I was 15. I was diagnosed with OCD and Anxiety and from what I understand it was the result from 2 months premature. I am however on medication to correct it. Currently, I am 26 years old and I work in a hospital as a sterile supply tech though I would love to be a doctor or a nurse and work in the NICU. Sometimes in my job I have to visit the NICU to make deiliveries and every time I go there I always say a prayer for the babies and their familes. Every time I go in there, I feel such a bond with the babies even though I do not know them. I may not remember my time in the NICU but I know just like them I had to be strong and fight to stay alive. And this is why I want to work in the NICU, because I have such strong emotional ties there. I want to help create miracles by helping babies that needed help just like I did. I want to give back by helping babies make it out of the NICU so they can grow strong and healthy. For all of the parents who have premature infants/children, I pray that the babies/children live a long and healthy life. I also pray that any former preemie's (like me) live long healthy lives and to always remember how special you are to the world and that you are a miracle and inspiration to others.