Great News: Mother and daughter are doing well!
Annika Ingrid Hall was born on Friday (03-04-05) at 1:19 in the morning (The first A in Annika is pronounced with a short O – “on” sound). Annika was born at a gestational age of 29 weeks and 1 day (11 weeks premature). My wife’s water broke at the end of the 25th week. She was given Magnesium Sulfate to reduce contractions, steroids and antibiotics, and put on bed rest in the hospital for the next 3 ½ weeks. We were extremely fortunate that Annika got an extra 24 days to grow and mature inside her mother. It is very rare that delivery can be delayed after a preterm premature rupture of membranes as long as Annika’s was. Babies that are born extremely premature are at a high risk for a wide variety of disabilities; every day that they can stay in mom reduces that risk. Survival rates also improve greatly with gestational age.
Annika weighs 2 pounds 11 ounces and is 14 inches long. Annika’s head is exactly three inches in diameter and is covered with dark hair (Her sister Svea had dark hair at birth as well, so Annika’s hair may also turn blond.) Her APGAR scores were 8 and 8, which is pretty good for such an early preemie. Annika was intubated, given surfactant and a gavage tube and put on a ventilator soon after birth. She was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital about an hour after birth. She has some jaundice and noticeable bruising (I have already seen her bruising dissipate quite a bit already however). Not long after her birth the neonatologist started reducing her ventilator and oxygen settings step by step. By the afternoon of her birthday, all breathing assistance had been removed. She was breathing room air on her own without difficulty. This is a very good sign that she is strong and an indicator that she will do well. We are not out of the woods, however. Certain problems with preemies do not always appear right away at birth but are more likely to be found after 3 to 4 days, 5 to 7 days and even around or after the first birthday. So far the only problem that has arisen has been one instance of apnea; she forgot to breath for a while and her heart rate lowered. This set off an alarm, which prompted the nurse to stimulate her (with a tickle or wiggle), which in turn caused her to “snap out of it” and breathe again. As frightening as this sounds, it is par for the course for early preemies. Most preemies do this often.
My wife, Joan, is recovering from a cesarean section with complications. Her prognosis is good and she is due to come home on Tuesday.
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