Early Birds.

JANINE was thrilled to be pregnant; she had been trying for some months and was quite certain of her dates. She wanted to know if I thought the new arrival would deliver on the 5th, 6th or 7th of the month. In fact, only about one in 20 babies arrive exactly on the day the midwife or doctor predicts. This doesn't usually matter as any day between week 38 or 42 will do nicely. One baby in ten arrives before week 38 and is therefore defined as premature.

The outlook for premature infants has improved dramatically in recent years, babies born as early as 25 weeks now have a good chance of surviving.

Last week I met Ewan, he is already a couple of months old but his due birthday still has not arrived. Next time you are in the kitchen take out a 1kg bag of sugar, when he was born he was lighter than that and then lost a little more weight. He has spent most of his life so far in hospital.

These very tiny babies look so terrifyingly fragile, just a little scrap of a person hooked up to some spectacular medical technology. With their oxygen supply and incubators they remind me of tiny astronauts struggling to survive in a tough, new world.

Significantly premature babies are at risk of various hazards. They have difficulty breathing, keeping their bodies at the right temperature, feeding, they are often jaundiced and are at risk of infections. They boldly go where no babies ever went before. Ewan needed a ventilator to breathe for him at first and was jaundiced but, once he came off tube feeding, he certainly got the hang of swallowing.

With special feeds enhanced with vitamins will soon weigh almost as much as 2 bags of sugar.We will keep an extra close eye on the little chap as he grows up to make sure his development is not delayed. Mum and Dad are already developing a close relationship with our health visitor who will be a key support for the family.

I am very optimistic that he will do well; the outcome for such babies has improved greatly. I know how well this can all turn out, our first daughter, now a fine artist, (I know I am biased) recently married and living in Luxembourg celebrates her birthdays in January.

Her predicted date was March. Doctors eh ... what do they know?

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