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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Michael Sorensen" data-source="post: 689348" data-attributes="member: 1771">Actually I am curious about the adverse health effects on the baby from being born so premature. Are there any? If so, what are they?Generally speaking,  there are going to be problems from being born so premature.  The severity depends on the circumstances before and during the birth, and the quality of the doctors, nurses, and facilities after the birth.In my son's case, he faced serious challenges because there was no amniotic fluid in the womb for the month my wife was on bedrest.  However, among babies born that early it is common to have lung problems (require use of a ventilator or supplemental oxygen), vision problems (especially if the child is on a ventilator with high levels of oxygen, it is called retinopathy of prematurity), sensory overload (the nervous system isn't compeletely developed, this clears up with time), brain bleeds, and other problems.Please don't let this list frighten you (my son was a challenging case, even among premies) -- we saw at least one baby born even earlier than our son not even need oxygen -- they just kept her in the ICU as a precautionary measure, but it is almost always better to keep the baby in the womb as long as possible.I can say again -- ask every question you possibly can of the doctors and nurses.  If they are any good they will take the time to explain to you exactly what is wrong, what they are doing to treat it, why they chose that treatment, what side effects there may be, and possible alternatives.  If they get cranky ask for someone else to explain it -- you need to know.  Since so many people are usually involved in caring for patients in a situation like this the fact that you know everything that is going on will help prevent mistakes or misunderstandings, even by the best doctors and nurses.</blockquote>

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