Born Too Soon [Paperback]

Elizabeth Mehren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

With stunning candor, Mehren tells the gripping, poignant story of her experiences in the world of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, after her daughter Emily was born prematurely.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born to 40-year-old Los Angeles Times East Coast correspondent Mehren ( Overcoming Infertility ), Emily was among an annual American crop of 275,000 pre-term babies. While the dramatic, often poignant story centers on the author's chemically induced conception of Emily, the six-month gestation and birth of the 1-lb., 11-oz. baby--and the infant's 53-day valiant but vain struggle to live--Mehren discusses in detail the medical technology to which, along with the exceptional skill of nurses, she credits the miraculous survival of many premature babies. However, she notes that hospital bureaucracy and what she denounces as technicians' insensitive treatment of the newborn (and parents) as laboratory experiments within a hermetic but crowded and noisy environment, impede bonding between child and powerless, stressed parents. Mehren's second pregnancy ran full-term and resulted in a healthy son.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Every year 275,000 preterm babies are born in the United States. Emily Eaton Butterfield arrived 15 weeks early, weighing one pound eleven ounces. Active and alert, Emily fought to live but developed necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) that destroyed her intestines. She lived 53 days. This moving story written by Emily's mother shows that courage can come in very small packages. In addition to describing conditions on the neonatal intensive care unit, Mehren looks at the intimate, intense relationships that develop between parents and their very low birth weight (VLBW) babies, between parents and their doctors, and between husbands and wives. For readers desiring more information on premature babies, Robert and Peggy Stinson's The Long Dying of Baby Andrew ( LJ 2/15/83) describes a family's similar experience. Recommended for consumer health collections and public and health science libraries.
- Janet Coggan, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 325 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575663155
• ISBN-13: 978-1575663159
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,865,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very True to Life, May 20, 2000

By 

robin blanchard (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born Too Soon (Paperback)

I thought this book was very well written and very descriptive. I reviewed this story after my own experience with my slightly premature baby. Lucky for us, his NICU stay was only for one day, and for us, we had a happy outcome. When Elizabeth conveyed her thoughts and feelings on leaving her baby in NICU and not being able to hold her, I could very much relate to her feelings. I remember well how I cried when I had to leave my own baby. Elizabeth, if you read this, I applause you for getting your story out there, to share with others. It really gives other people a perspective on having a baby that was "born too soon". Of note, I am a HELLP syndrome survivor and wish I could have done like Elizabeth and used the type of media she did.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Misleading but well written., February 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Born Too Soon (Paperback)

I made the mistake of reading this book while my daughter (born 15 1/2 weeks early) was still early in her hospital stay. Ms. Mehren, as a NICU mom herself, really helped me come to terms and put words to some of my feelings. The big warning I think is needed is for parents who are in the middle of (or the beginning) their NICU experience. Why? The book cover talks of "one infants extraordinary fight to survive" and "miracles". Nothing to prepare you for the unhappy ending. I found out,and read it anyway, but forewarned is forearmed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One excellent book, October 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Born Too Soon (Paperback)

I am not very big on reading- in fact, this is one of the first books i have read in a LONG time for fun. I am still quite young, so i really dont know what it is like to have a baby. Elizabeth Mehren is by far the best author i have EVER read, and the book was fabulous- i couldnt put it down. It teaches you what she had to go through with her premature child, the struggles she had, and how her life changed. Her child went through many ups and downs, and she was there to experience it all. The ending was quite sad, and i cried for a while after it, but i would definitely reccomend reading this book to anyone- especially someone experiencing having a child in the NICU.