Having a premature baby can be very disconcerting for parents. It is difficult to assume an event as unexpected as the anticipated birth of a son who still had to remain several more weeks in the womb.
In the face of premature birth, feelings of all kinds such as worry, insecurity, fear, but also hope and superhuman strength to protect and help the baby to get ahead arise in the parents.
Prematurity is not an easy trance, of course. In these ten tips for parents of premature babies I have summarized some recommendations that will help you cope with it as well as possible.
1) Get informed
Good information It is the first step towards the recovery of the baby. Nowadays it can be easily accessed through various sources: specialized books, internet, forums, associations, projects, etc.
It will be very useful for parents to become familiar with issues such as the stay in the intensive care unit, the special care of prematurity, the stages of its development, etc.
2) Communicate with doctors
Sometimes, deepening the baby's health status implies more pain and the desire to know is inhibited, but a fluid and clear communication between parents and doctors will impact on the benefit of the baby.
It is very important for parents to feel that they are being informed correctly by the doctors and staff who take care of their baby. Do not be afraid to ask all the necessary questions.
3) Seek family support
Right now family support is essential so that parents can dedicate themselves exclusively to their baby, whether they remain hospitalized or take care of it at home.
4) Kangaroo method
The best thing parents can do in relation to the care of prematurity is to provide contact through caresses, massages and skin-to-skin contact.
The kangaroo method, supporting the baby in the mother's chest, has proved very advantageous for its development. Among other benefits, it helps regulate breathing and body temperature, reduce stress, better tolerate pain, facilitate breastfeeding and establish an emotional bond with parents.
5) Breastfeeding
Whenever possible, breastfeeding is the best food for premature babies. Both from him nutritional point of view for its immunological and antiallergic effect, as from the emotional thus favoring the emotional bond between the mother and the baby.
Breast milk for premature babies is a health treatment that the mother can provide, preferably directly through breast suction or with extracted milk.
It is not easy, you have to have a lot of patience because sometimes the baby makes a great effort to suck, but there is the possibility of extracting the milk and giving it with a syringe or probe. Good information, emotional support and practical help are three keys to successful breastfeeding of prematurity.
6) Contact with the baby
Although the baby does not show signs of response to the presence of the parents, the early contact Between the newborn and the parents (especially the mother) is a stimulus as important as the food.
It is normal for the parents of a premature newborn to feel afraid to touch him because of his fragility, but he does not let a baby with a great need to be in contact with his mother, like any newborn. Premature babies they are not unable to receive affection through caresses, massages and skin-to-skin contact.
7) Send you positive messages
In addition to contact language, or when this is not possible, verbal language is a way to stimulate a positive relationship with the baby.
The soft words of his parents They will convey to the little love, security and tranquility. It is a way to make him feel that he is not alone and will gradually recognize the voice of dad and mom.
8) Parent groups
Sharing experiences with other parents of premature babies can be very positive. It is advisable not to isolate and exchange sensations and concerns both in the hospital, as through face-to-face or internet groups such as Share your story of March of Dimes, Prematuros.info or Prematuros without borders.
Parent associations are a valuable help to cope with the first months, as feel identified With other people who have experienced similar situations it is very comforting and positive for parents.
9) Think about the present
Many parents feel overwhelmed by the frailty with which the baby is born and this makes them lose perspective. They invade negative thoughts about the baby's future, when the important thing is focus on the now.
10) The decisions are yours
Doctors, nurses and the rest of the healthcare staff are trained people who put all the necessary means for the premature to evolve properly, but they are not their parents. Neither are relatives or friends.
Although the situation is special, the parents are you and the decisions you must make as parents are yours.
