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In Western Australia in 2011 - 2,757 babies were born preterm and a total of 3,141 babies were admitted to NICU or SCN. That is 9.8% of all births!
We want to see these statistics change! Help us to raise awareness by sharing with your friends.
You may also like these stories :
PTSD - One Woman's Battle
First Cuddle in Words
Babywearing
Tiny Sparks WA in the News
Guest blog post written by Lisa R.
Years ago before I had even fallen pregnant I remember dreaming about being a Mum and certain things I would do raising my child. Oh how things changed very quickly when I did become pregnant and started to read and research things in depth. I changed my views and ideas in regards to many subjects but one thing I never looked into was babywearing. Actually I didn’t know that babywearing was even a ‘thing’. While pregnant I was handed down a carrier and pocket sling and thought that would do, one thing to check off my list. I spontaneously went into labour the day I turned 23 weeks gestation. My son Wynter was born 3 days later and that started another journey filled with more reading and research for me, now into premature newborns. I soon discovered the importance of kangaroo care, bonding and keeping baby close. There were so many benefits for my son as well as for me to keep up my milk supply.
Naturally we want to be close to our babies but it can prove difficult in a NICU scenario when our babies might be too sick or weak to even be moved. Any pregnant woman that gives birth and has to face the gut wrenching reality of leaving the hospital without their baby knows all too well how precious those cuddles are when they do happen.
So fast forward a 117 day hospital stay for my gorgeous boy and I am home with a tiny baby. I can have cuddles all the time. Now how do I get things done around the house? I hated putting him down. We wanted to spend time as a family out and about now we were free from the hospital too. We used our pocket sling and front pack carrier a few times but found them pretty uncomfortable and bub seemed a little squished.
Thank goodness my sister who had just had a baby 4 weeks before I had started to look into the world of babywearing a few months later. Initially I was put off by the term Babywearing. I honestly didn’t like the sound of it but I could not deny the generous community and joy of carrying my son around in an optimal carrier. Wynter was around 10 months old at this time and keeping him close for breastfeeding and to be hands free to get the cooking, cleaning and shopping done was a god sent. It’s the ultimate form of multi-tasking which we as women are so good at because we have to be!
If you think you would like to carry your child but don’t know where to start the best resources are online. Websites based in Perth such as www.carrymybaby.com.au and www.karritreelane.com Perthbabywearers (facebook group) and BabywearingWA (facebook page) are all great resources that are a wealth of local information from experts, vendors and babywearing mums. Don’t be put off by the lingo and abbreviations (I thought I was reading a second language when I first started looking) everyone is willing to help you find the best carrier for your family. Then the next thing to do is to go to a meet in your local area. They are held most weeks around Perth and surrounds and are wonderful to get some advice and try different types of carriers. As long as you know about the TICKS guidelines to safe babywearing now is the fun job of choosing a carrier. The main type’s are-
1) SSC Soft Structured Carrier- Brands include Manduca, Tula and Ergo. These are buckle style and favoured by dads too. Easy to use from newborn through to toddlerhood. This is my go to carrier for quick trips.
2) Ring slings- Different to pocket slings these are easier to adjust. Nice and soft they sit over one shoulder and bub is positioned upright. Some brands include Sakura Bloom and Maya Wraps.
3) Stretchy wraps- This is a very long piece of fabric that you can wrap around your body and baby. Stretchy wraps are made of a stretch jersey usually and are great for newborns and babies till around 5 months old. Unfortunately you can’t back carry in a stretchy wrap. Brands include Boba, Moby and Hug-a-bub.
4) Woven Wraps- These are same as above but the fabric has been woven on a loom, it’s a little thicker and heavier duty so it can carry newborns to toddlers. There are so many ways to use the long piece of fabric in many different carry’s. The advantage is that the fabric can be very pretty and you can adjust it to your body for comfort. You can also back carry with a woven wrap. The disadvantage is it does take practice especially with back carries to master getting your child into the right position. It is so satisfying when you get it right though. Brands include Natibaby, Didymos, and Kokadi.
5) Mei Tai’s- These are a panel of fabric that sits over babies body and long wrap straps that wrap around you. Brands include Girasol and Babyhawk. These are from newborn to toddler too.
Now Wynter is 2.5 years old I still occasionally carry him on my back but he is very independent and wants to run around like most kids his age and I’m fine with that. If I am blessed enough I look forward to carrying my next baby in my baby wrap collection. You can buy carriers to use up till pre-school age though which can come in handy for traveling and around busy roads, car parks and shops.
This is just a start to the pile of information out there so I encourage you to look into the world of babywearing. Hope you will enjoy holding your precious babies close.
If you've enjoyed babywearing with your child please leave a comment to let us know which carrier you preferred.
Mother's Day will be here before you know it! For most NICU/SCN families I'm sure the day is super special to them, having a bit of extra love showered on Mum to show how much you really appreciate her after the journey she has been through. This year we have an exciting opportunity for you, we are hosting a Family Photo Evening.
The Family Photo Evening will take place in a garden setting in East Perth. Families will be allocated a 20 minute session on the 6th of April 2014 between the hours of 3pm and 6pm. Professional photographer Amber Bates will spend 20 minutes with the family capturing both family portraits and some individual or sibling images. Amber will then select the best family image which will be printed as an 8x10 gift print and mailed to you. This will make the perfect gift for Mum or Grandma! A Facebook Timeline cover will also be provided digitally. Additional images will be available for purchase via digital download. You will be notified once they are available for online viewing.
Family photo sessions will be $75. Additional images will be available for $15 per individual image file or $100 for all images in your gallery.
Please register through our online store.
Guest blogger - Tracy W
I am a mom to two preemie babies and i deal with PTSD almost everyday. It happened just over two years ago. You know those moments you see on TV when the world keeps going but you stand still, that's when it all started for me. My first baby came at 31+6 weeks. I went into spontaneous labour and it was so quick they couldn't stop it. My labour was normal and my son was born after just 4.5 hours. All seemed ok considering he was early. The paediatrician said to me he was fine, just needed a little extra help with his breathing and had to stay in special care nursery for awhile so he can get a bit bigger than his 2.2kg. A couple hours later I was living my worst nightmare. I relive this moment still to this day. I went to see my precious boy and as I walked in the curtains were drawn around the high care incubator with doctors and nurses rushing in. We were ushered out of there very quickly. They all looked terrified. That's my heart sank so deep. I just knew it was my boy even though I was still praying it wasn't him. After what seemed an eternity a doctor came to my room to discuss my son. I will never forget how calm he was when he was describing how my sons right lung had collapsed (pneumothorax). When they tried to fix it, he had a very rare complication from the procedure and it caused his other lung and heart to pull over towards the collapsed lung (tension pneumothorax). They had to put in a drain, get him stabilised and send him to the NICU at PMH. It took hours to get him stabilised and I still vividly remember watching them put him in the ambulance and take him away. He was only a few hours old and they were taking my baby away with all these tubes and wires hooked into him. This is when the world just stopped for me and in many ways it still has never really started back up.
NICU was a blur of emotions, mostly I remember feeling such guilt and absolute helplessness. I have so many flashbacks to this time of my life, strange things like taking a shower will send me straight back to the shower in my room at PMH. That feeling of helplessness washes over me with every flash back. Even though my son is now a happy healthy 2 year old I still have these horrible flashes. I suppose it's because of what I went through but also because in many ways I still blame myself.
I fell pregnant again when my son was just over 12 months old. I hoped this pregnancy would be different and boy it was, but not in a good way. My obstetrician was watching me really closely and at the first sign of anything happening she put me on progesterone. That was fine I could deal with that, until I started to go into labour at 28 weeks. I was put on bedrest, had steroid injections, numerous hospital stays/visits, heaps of medication and constant tightening pains for my last two months of pregnancy. Several times I was told I was about to have my baby and to expect that she will be going to NICU. However we defied the odds and made it to 36+3 weeks. This time my labour was only 1.5 hours and I nearly had her on the side of the road. We had 000 on the line and my doctor waiting at JHCs front entrance. She was born and thankfully she was perfectly healthy.
I had to face my worst fears during this pregnancy. I knew I was a ticking time bomb and I had time to prepare for another NICU journey. This was probably worse because I knew how hard it would be. I had 8 months of stress, fear, anxiety and pain but somehow I remained determined to keep her in. 5 months on and people expect me to be back to "normal" but they just have no idea. Unless you have given birth to a preemie and had a stressful high risk pregnancy you probably have no idea what I have gone through. Yes both my children are healthy but I have had to face the prospect of loosing a child. You never forget that feeling and I really don't know if I will ever get over it. All I know is that no matter how much I try I can not bottle these emotions up, I need to face my PTSD even though I don't want to. I now know I am not alone in this journey.
If you or someone you know may be suffering from PND or PTSD you can find more information on our website here.
