An article today in the Birmingham News described factors for the survival of preemies. If you have a moment check it out. It absolutely upset me, so I decided to stand up for my tiny miracles!! I wrote a letter to the editor and sent it over. It may or may not get published, but I thought that I could at least publish it here and get my feelings out on the matter. So take a look at the article and then check out my letter below. I hope that this doesn't offend anyone.
Kelly
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/120842018024750.xml&coll=2
"Your story today on "Factors for the survival of preemies” had me absolutely apalled and teetering on the brink of anger. I am surprised that The Birmingham News would run such a story just days away from the city’s annual March of Dimes March for Babies. This event and organization is dedicated to preventing premature births, among other things, and to raising money for the research necessary to provide the “fruitless medical technology” you mention in your article. The article describes research data to help parents of preemies decide whether to provide medical care to their tiny infants. Pardon me, but I could care less about research data as I stare into the beautiful tiny face of my 14 ounce baby born at 24 weeks. At that point I continue praying that I can hold onto the hope that she will be just fine. In the second paragraph, you generalize that parents are making decisions about subjecting their babies to "fruitless medical technology when the infant is expected to die." I'd like to invite you to my home so that you can see that preemies beat the odds every day. I have a beautiful 4 year old red head (a 3 pounder at birth) and an amazing 9 month old (a 14 ounce baby at birth) who are both living proof that miracles exist. Last but not least, you mention that these statistics will give new parents "objective" information they can use to make decisions about the care of their premature baby. If you were to ask new parents of a preemie if they would like some "objective" information on the statistics of their baby's survival, I feel certain that your question would be ill received. I pray that you never have to face the experience of 6 months in the NICU, but if you do, I hope that you can have the same peace about it that we did."
3 comments:
Go you!!!! The person who wrote that obviously never has never experienced the difficulty (mild word) of having a preemie!
Great letter!! I hope it gets published for other families to read.
Amen! I read the article yesterday. I thought it was very cold and thoughtless! Props to you letter! I hope they publish it. Let us know if you hear anything.
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