Article on MSNBC about 22 weekers

danissa, LPN, LVN · Nov 27, 2006

preemieRNkate, have read all the guidelines etc, aware of the study for a while now, and I must say I am in agreement with their findings.

Not even going into the money issue, which is always there, 25 weekers have a hard enough journey, 22-23 is too wee, it's not fair to subject them to the torture they will require to keep them here!

off topic now a bit , but kate, where did you get the pic? it's so freaky, that it's cool, in a related to Chucky sort of way!! I'm a big scaredy, will have nightmares now where your wee thing will be going "eeh,eeh,eeh!" at me. :chair: :chuckle

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Nov 27, 2006

I think you guys solved the ridiculousness of all the fantastic 4lbs and screaming hard, was evaluated at 34-35 wks by exam. The mom was insistent; "he can't be 34 wks, no, no way". Yea, sorry lady for the "bad" news but your kid is going to be fine, will need days instead of months in the NICU. But not so good news to the "daddy" who was overseas at the time of the conception, but was around 10 weeks later.

preemieRNkate, RN · Nov 27, 2006

preemieRNkate, have read all the guidelines etc, aware of the study for a while now, and I must say I am in agreement with their findings.
Not even going into the money issue, which is always there, 25 weekers have a hard enough journey, 22-23 is too wee, it's not fair to subject them to the torture they will require to keep them here!
off topic now a bit , but kate, where did you get the pic? it's so freaky, that it's cool, in a related to Chucky sort of way!! I'm a big scaredy, will have nightmares now where your wee thing will be going "eeh,eeh,eeh!" at me. :chair: :chuckle

It's just one of the pics you can choose to put as your own avatar. I'm sort of just learning my way around allnurses.com now, otherwise I would be able to help you out a bit more! I think it's something you get when you become a premium member. I found it and thought it was kind of cute. (And I'll agree, a bit scary!)

preemieRNkate, RN · Nov 27, 2006

We actually did have 34 weeker that was about 4.5 kg last year! We were all like, no way! But he really was truly a 34 weeker. Something wasn't quite right with him, I never actually took care of him so I'm not sure what it was though.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Nov 30, 2006

I took care of a mom whose 32-weeker was 5lbs, and he really was 32 weeks. She had GDM so I shudder to think what that kid would've weighed had she actually gone to 39-40 weeks.

I am on the postpartum side of this & take care of many moms whose babies are in intensive care and if I had a nickel for every time one of them said, "Oh, she/he's fine," (at 26 weeks) I would retire to my palatial home in Bali. No ma'am, your baby isn't fine. He came out about 14 weeks before he was supposed to. He may be satting in the 90s while intubated and on O2 but that isn't "fine."

I know for sure that if my baby were a 23-weeker I would want to love him and hold him for the minutes or hours that he's breathing and/or with a pulse, not send him to be intubated, bleed, be needled and not left to rest. Bethany Schroeder is a nurse-poet who wrote that "we'd do better to make less noise about the life we will not let go gracefully back to God."

You guys and neonatologists make those decisions every day and you have my deepest respect & admiration for it.

strn96 · Dec 2, 2006

I agree about how distorted the general public's view is about preterm babies. I work predominantly L&D and I get so mad when pretermers come in refusing tocolytics because "I know my baby is going to be fine":uhoh3: As to the 3lb 22weeker, even due dates issued by doctors can be really far off. I had a pt (visiting from out of town and came to our OB in active labor) who according to her prenatal records was 34 weeks. Baby was 9#15oz and Dubowitz at 40+ weeks. People just don't realize how important those weeks of development are.

cathys01 · Dec 4, 2006

We admitted a 22-5/7 this weekend. Didn't make it. Of course, I don't think anybody expected him to, but the parents were BEGGING for everything to be done, so everything was done.

We admit if:

- infant makes any effort at respiration

- is at least 23 weeks (can be so iffy)

- is >500 grams

- we can intubate

This baby was 600 grams - but he wasn't weighed until after intubation, lines, fluid boluses, surfactant, iv fluids, dopa, dobut, morphine. We don't know what his actual weight was, but he was probably very close to, if not above, 500 grams.

danissa, LPN, LVN · Dec 4, 2006

[so sad!!!

danissa, LPN, LVN · Dec 4, 2006

We admitted a 22-5/7 this weekend. Didn't make it. Of course, I don't think anybody expected him to, but the parents were BEGGING for everything to be done, so everything was done.
We admit if:
- infant makes any effort at respiration
- is at least 23 weeks (can be so iffy)
Oh no, 22+5, poor wee soul, must be so hard being in the parents situation though,we all KNOW what babes under even 25-26 weeks are like, and (mostly) know what we are expecting by looking at the wee babe, but to be that parent, clinging on to the "Magic 23 (or 24) week point, thinking safety is just one or two days away, this breaks my heart!