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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]20 weeks is not possible. 20 weeks is a fetus. [/quote]

Can survive at 22 weeks... that's just 2 weeks later,...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/health/premature-babies-22-weeks-viability-study.html?_r=0[/quote]

Yes. And 20 weeks is different than 22 weeks, is different than 24, is different than 26.

Trying to keep a 22 week micropreemie alive is an exceedingly brutal process.

Have you done the training to do so? [/quote]

No, I haven't; however, my adult nephew was a 23 week preemie. I'm very aware of all that's involved, and our family has always been so very appreciative of all the medical professionals who made a difference in those first months.[/quote]

It sounds like your nephew has done well. That is wonderful. I'm glad he beat those odds, and it sounds like he had a supportive family.

It's true that there are only 2 weeks between 20 and 22 weeks. Those are the most critical weeks of neonatology, and every single hour counts. That's the difference between 0% survivability and less than 5%. You cannot compare them to the weeks between 36 and 38 weeks gestation, and certainly not two weeks for you and I. It is the insurmountable mountain.

It's true and only one week between 22 and 23 weeks. That's the difference in survival rate from less than 5% to 30% -- survivability rates go up by 3-4% each day in the uterus. That is a huge difference, not even taking into account rates of serious disability. The difference is even marked then.

My frustration is that people see to believe that viability just goes from "baby dies peacefully because CPR doesn't work" to "baby makes it, and everybody cheers." They seem to WANT to believe that. The truth is that trying to survive at 22 weeks means the skin shreds under your fingers if rubbed -- and we had to, for this one -- so you try not to. It means the isolette is kept so wet that water is dripping down the sides, and inevitably fungus grows on the skin -- because otherwise this translucent membrane becomes a hard, brittle shell, and it cracks open and bleeds.

It means that you know you will have to turn the ventilator pressure high enough to blow out sections of the lungs -- this is a matter of "when," not "if" -- and you pray you are not the one with your hand on the dial when it happens.

Days matter. Hours matter. Weeks?[i] Weeks [/i]are the flipping Grace of God.

Don't talk about "only a couple of weeks." Those weeks are never "only."

[/quote]

PP here. I appreciate your thoughtful post and the medical info you've shared. I'll add that my nephew was extremely fortunate in that he was born in a hospital known for top-notch, quality NICU care; and we have nurses in our family for extra support. [/quote]

I think the PP NICU nurse's point is that it is extremely difficult for a micropreemie no matter the quality of care, and that having high level life support technology now is a mixed blessing for some babies. [/quote]

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