Premature Birth Support Group
Premature birth is defined medically as childbirth occurring earlier than 37 completed weeks of gestation. About 12 percent of babies in the United States are born prematurely each year. The shorter the term of pregnancy is, the greater the risks of complications. Infants born prematurely are at a greater risk for developing serious health problems such as cerebral palsy,...
Hi all,
I was a preemie (26w, 760g) and grew up physically very healthy--I met all of my landmarks and milestones early, and was lucky enough to never have trouble with many of the things that preemies suffer (asthma, pulmonary problems, learning disabilities, etc).
However, I have been suffering from extreme anxiety and depression for a long time. My therapist thinks that this may be related to premature birth, which makes a lot of sense...birth as trauma, not being able to have skin-to-skin time, being surrounded by loud noises in the NICU...
I was wondering if anyone knew of any support groups particularly for adults who were preemies, either online or in the NYC area. I think it would be really interesting (and possibly very helpful!) to talk to others who have gone through similar experiences.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I was a preemie (26w, 760g) and grew up physically very healthy--I met all of my landmarks and milestones early, and was lucky enough to never have trouble with many of the things that preemies suffer (asthma, pulmonary problems, learning disabilities, etc).
However, I have been suffering from extreme anxiety and depression for a long time. My therapist thinks that this may be related to premature birth, which makes a lot of sense...birth as trauma, not being able to have skin-to-skin time, being surrounded by loud noises in the NICU...
I was wondering if anyone knew of any support groups particularly for adults who were preemies, either online or in the NYC area. I think it would be really interesting (and possibly very helpful!) to talk to others who have gone through similar experiences.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I'm a preemie (25w, 567g) who, like you grew up physically and mentally healthy, but emotionally off. Depression, anxiety, etc. Have you wondered about the brain's reaction to all the chemicals the body needed to release during surgery to protect against pain? I'm in CT, but my therapist and I have just started asking the same questions.
Hope to talk soon!
Having suffered from depression and anxiety and various other issues I was referred to a therapist who also suggested that early birth trauma may be at the rout of a lot of my issues.
Id like to investigate this further and I'm looking for support groups and further reading.
I too was premature and am looking for a support group. (or if one doesn't exist, looking to start one on this website)!
I have worked on myself and been in therapy for many years but I just don't seem to shake these feelings of detachment,rejection, and anxiety, I've just learned to live with them. sometimes these feelings are overwhelming and can feel as if they encompass my whole world - I feel detached and sometimes rejected by the whole world and at the time what was missing was infact mywhole world, my mother (I must stress this is through no fault of her own) it's just that that's how things were done at the time.
I'm really interested from hearing from anyone who knows of a support group or who would like to help me start one?
All the. best
Kate
I also was looking for adult preemie groups. I found the inspire one which was really helpful, but through it was missing the info element. Anyway long story short, i decided to set up my own facebook group and website.
It's all quite new, but is being well supported by health professionals. There are over 30 of us already in the facebook group, so everyone born premature over the age of 16 is more than welcome. Just to to www.adultpreemies.com to get in touch, would be great to know what you think, or how to improve it.