Doctors Can Now Save Very Premature Babies. Most Hospitals Don’t Try.
From the Wall Street Journal
After her water broke early, doctors told Fatima Goines to prepare for her newborn’s death.
Goines was 22 weeks into her pregnancy, just past the halfway mark. Doctors at Methodist Hospital in suburban Minneapolis said they couldn’t save such a premature baby and that no hospital could. They told her that once the baby girl was born, Goines could hold her until the infant died.
Goines didn’t want to give up. She checked herself out of Methodist Hospital and, on the recommendation of a fellow mom on Facebook, went to a birthing center connected to Children’s Minnesota hospital, 7 miles away from Methodist. After Goines gave birth, doctors there immediately intubated the baby to help her breathe and placed her in an incubator.
Me’Lonii is now a healthy 4-year-old, and has surpassed all the developmental milestones for her age. “She’s doing wonderfully well,” said Dr. Thomas George, who directs the Children’s Minnesota neonatal intensive care unit.
How many babies have died because doctors don’t try?
If you or someone you know is pregnant and likely to give birth prematurely, check the policies of your local hospitals. This map, compiled by the parents of 21-22 week babies that survived, can give you a starting point with hospitals that have been willing to save these tiny babies.
