AmericanPapist Comments
I guess the diocese of Richmond has alot to look forward to. I couldn't find a challenge amidst your rambling, so it can stay for now. :)
Personally, I'm more interested in reading substantive contributions, pro and con, to Thomas's essay. Ad hominem attacks and their variants are dull and say more about those who advance them than their targets, and I mean that in the most charitable way.
Now, I admit that folks who comment on things outside their field should be cautious. As a tax attorney with a degree in economics I understand the frustration of reading opinion commentary from people who wouldn't be able to distinguish price effect from horizontal equity. But ... "you're attending DHS ... not even CUA."? Now that is lame.
Thomas --
I'm not clear on what is meant in the WaPo story by "born slightly early." Are we talking about a few days? One week?
There may be a trend of inducing labor for purposes of "convenience;" does that pose any infant health threat when the baby is only a few days early or a week early?
My third daughter, Lily, was extremely premature, born less than a year ago. She made it just past 26 weeks gestation, then stopped growing.
At birth she was 1lb 6.5oz, 11.75" long. She spent 15 weeks in the NICU. 3+ months of nightly trips up to the NICU after the other 3 kids (1 boy, 2 girls) were tucked in bed.
Lily was delivered early because, quite frankly, if she wasn't, she would have died. In fact, it was by God's grace that the doctors discovered the problem. My wife wasn't due for a prenatal checkup for another two weeks, but she slipped and fell down a half-flight of steps, catching herself with her arm which she thought she broke. At the ER, they sent her for fetal monitoring, and the doctors detected heart variables...instant admission to the hospital, with lots of monitoring and excellent care. The fall didn't cause the problem, it just caused the doctors to look closely.
She survived the emergency C-section, PDA (patent ductus arteriosus), infection, surgery at 3 weeks to unstop plugged bowels, eye surgery to prevent ROP (retinopathy of prematurity), hypertension, something like 11 blood transfusions, and a bunch of other problems. She has BPD (bronchopulmonary dysplasia), which causes us concerns when she gets a cough. She came home on oxygen, had several medicines she was on (down to two, synthroid for brain development and growth, and zantac for reflux). By the way, Thomas, since you mentioned brain function, the neurologist told us that a lot of brain underdevelopment is due to improper thyroid levels, which is why my daughter is getting synthroid.
She has mild to moderate hearing loss in both ears. She'll need glasses at a young age. She has a host of doctors and in-home and out-patient therapists (occupational, physical, plus a deaf teacher). Weekly, she probably sees 2 doctors and 4 therapists. She's susceptible to RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), which has cold-like symptoms for adults but could kill her. She'll need monthly shots during RSV season (Nov-April) She's developmentally "behind" even her adjusted age of 8 months, just now starting to adjust herself when we put her in a sitting position, still not crawling or even getting up on her hands and knees. This is not going to end anytime soon...we can expect her to not "catch up" until 2 or 3.
Yet, even with all of that, it's better that she's alive.
My wife is now pregnant with #5, technically due Dec 10th. Because of the type of incision made for the emergency C-section last year, the doctors don't want her going into labor...at all. (For those interested, it was best for the baby to make the cut lengthwise down the uterus and lift the baby out, which means they cut across the muscles instead of between them.) Her C-section is scheduled for November 14th, 4 days after Lily's first birthday, and one month early.
We expect that this child will spend some time in the NICU, but at 36 weeks instead of 26 weeks, it'l
ack! It'd be nice if HaloScan warned about exceeding the word limit. To continue:
We expect that this child will spend some time in the NICU, but at 36 weeks instead of 26 weeks, it'll be a huge difference. He or she probably won't need a ventilator, have PDA, BPD, ROP, etc. Jaundice will be a concern, but all of our kids have had a problem with that (our first born, the only boy so far, was hospitalized and nearly needed a blood transfusion).
I, for one, am extremely thankful for the medical advances that have been made. The doctors are doing their best to protect both the baby and the mother.
All of that said, I have a huge problem with women who get C-sections for cosmetic reasons. Let the baby "cook" for as long as possible, keeping things safe for both the baby and the mother. Only when there's danger to the health of either or both should one consider early delivery. If my wife's doctors told her it would be safe for her to carry the baby to term, you can bet the farm that we'd be waiting for that baby to come naturally (or, at the very least, until AFTER Thanksgiving instead of before).
Rob Stein needs to be more clear about things...when he mentions "a week or two early", does he mean 35 weeks or 38 weeks? A pregnancy is considered "to term" from 37-42 weeks, with 40 weeks as the norm. Babies do a lot of growing in those final weeks, so there's a huge difference between a week or two before 40 weeks and a week or two before 37 weeks.
I don't know who Steven B. Morse is, but who in the world thought that preemies (especially extreme preemies) were basically the same as term babies? My guess is: only people who don't know one. Certainly not the doctors, nurses, therapists, or parents.
Yes Matthew, as I note in my first paragraph, sadly many uninvolved folks tend to hear "viability" and think "healthy" when in fact being able to survive outside of the womb does not preclude serious health complications. I wrote the essay primarily to make people aware of some of these dangers.
Brassband, agreed, there needs to be greater clarity. I'm sure websites provide the statistics for the likelihood of complications for infants born prior to full gestation. That task was a bit beyond my direct purposes in this essay.
Good point, Thomas. "Viable" and "healthy" don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. "Alive and unhealthy" is better than "dead", but "alive and healthy" is better than "unhealthy but mom doesn't have stretch marks".
I hope my long ramble from earlier can help people learn about some of the potential problems faced by preemies. The number of potential health risks my daughter faces is somewhat daunting, and I don't understand why anyone would choose to put a child at such risk without extreme necessity.
Brassband, the more time a baby has to develop, the better. Even a few days can make a huge difference in lung development, liver function (important for avoiding jaundice), thyroid function, etc. While some development can occur after delivery, some majorly important ones really ramp up in the final weeks...probably the biggest being lung development. Having a child on a ventilator, then CPAP, then an oxygen canula isn't fun (trust me). The risks definitely should be considered, and it's probable that they aren't in many cases.
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