Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies [Hardcover]

Kimberly A. Powell (Editor), Kim Wilson (Editor), Jeffrey Thompson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

Twenty-two engrossing stories of babies born prematurely, written by those who felt the agony and the elation the most--their parents.In painstaking and heartfelt detail, these parents share their ordeals: their fears, their joys, the stories of where they turned for help, their tips, and most importantly, their triumphs.Meet babies like:Samuel Warren, who was born at 1 pound 8 ounces when his mother went into preterm labor.Bo Smith, the miracle baby born at only 8 inches long after his mother suffered an antibody disorder.Sara Stromseth, born at 1 pound 15 ounces before modern advances in neonatology and given no chance of living to be the college student she is today.Ryan White, the ultimate proof that parents should never give up hope.Living Miracles includes a complete glossary of premature baby medical terms and is organized by the weeks of gestation of the baby at birth, from twenty-three to thirty-six.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Prematurity is a world you never know exists unless life takes you there"Athat's how one contributor to this volume, B. Lynn Shahan, the mother of twins born weighing just over one pound each, sums up her experience. Shahan is just one of 22 contributorsAall parents of infants born under 36 weeksAto Powell and Wilson's collection of short memoirs. Both mothers of former "preemies," the editors have compiled these testimonies in an effort to offer emotional support to other parents who have babies born before term. Technological breakthroughs have made it possible for infants born at 28 weeks of gestation to have close to a 90% chance of survival; still, the early weeks, months and sometimes years in the lives of premature infants may be very difficult. These essays go passionately into the deepest reaches of the experience of parenting a premature baby: Cori Layne Smith, for example, writes about how, forbidden to hold her newborn son for two weeks, she agonized as he went through 10 transfusions for anemia. Terry Tremelhick forthrightly explores the shock, grief and anger that overwhelmed him and his wife after their son was born at 28 weeks. Jayna Sattler writes of her premature son's cerebral palsy, epilepsy and partial blindness. Robin White feels that she and her husband have become stronger people as a result of parenting a premature infant and encourages parents to "never give up hope." This is an informative and helpful anthology for parents and other relatives of premature babies. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Go(es) passionately into the deepest reaches of the experience of parenting a premature baby." --Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312245505
• ISBN-13: 978-0312245504
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #729,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First of its Kind, January 11, 2002

By 

Holly Curtis of ThePreemiePlace.org (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies (Paperback)

Three years ago, I took a trip to my local book store in search of books about preemies. The selection I found was limited at best. I spent hours searching for a book with real stories about babies born prematurely-I found not one. I found some good informative books, which were also important, but none that gave me the kind of hope and inspiration I so desperately needed those weeks and months after my daughter was born at 25 weeks gestation. When I heard about this book, Living Miracles, Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies, edited by Kimberly A. Powell & Kim Wilson, I thought to myself, "Well, it's about time there came about a book like this!" I was very excited about the book as I sat down to read it, but nothing could have prepared me for how wonderful the book turned out to be!

The book is laid out by gestation from 23 weeks to 36 weeks, with 22 stories in all. They have various outcomes, just as in real life. Each story is written from the parent's point of view, which makes it that much more gripping. There are stories where the children come out virtually unscathed from their experience with prematurity, and also stories where children have severe complications due to their prematurity. There are also stories about children who have problems completely unrelated to their prematurity. However the stories end up, they are all very touching and inspiring.

This is a book not only for parents of premature babies, but for everyone. You can't help but feel inspired after reading the stories of these heroic children born with the deck stacked against them. It is good for new parents of premature babies to give them hope for the future and make them realize they are not alone in what they are feeling the hours, weeks and months after their babies are born; For families of people with babies born premature to help them understand some of what the new parents are going through and feeling; For the average person who doesn't even know that there are over 400,000 babies born prematurely every year. It is important for people to be more aware of the many babies who are born early, and also that there are a number of reasons babies are born premature. Hopefully this book will find it's way to those people who don't have a clue that the preemie world even exists-just as I didn't just a short 3 years and some change ago! But most importantly, it is a great book for new parents of preemie babies because there is so much uncertainty after their birth.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish we had this book available when our son was born..., April 5, 2000

By 

Bert Edens (Arkansas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies (Hardcover)

As the contributor of one of the stories in this book, I've been anxiously awaiting its arrival since I wrote the story. There's also no 'pocket padding' here in plugging this book since I receive nothing but intense pride for my contribution. The purpose of this book is not to make money (although more sales would allow more to be printed). The purpose of this book is to give hope to parents and family when they believe there is none to be had. This book definitely meets that criteria. From front to back, the stories are jam-packed with the full gamut of emotions, all of which we felt when Zak (Chigger) was born. So buy the book and read the stories, keeping some Kleenex handy. You won't regret it. And if you're touched by them as much as others, get an extra copy for your local NICU, ICU, pediatric office, school, parent of a preemie child, or whatever. Let others know there is always hope.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature B, March 30, 2000

By 

Jayna Sattler (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies (Hardcover)

This is a much needed book for parents just entering the world of prematurity. The families in this book do a wonderful job of allowing the reader to relate. Although there are many books on prematurity, none approach the subject quite in this light. Reading the stories in the parents own words is refreshing and eye opening. The pictures at birth and later provide a lot of hope for those still tiny infants. I highly recommend this book to all parents of premature babies, and their families. This book would be particularly helpful to family members that do not understand the world of prematurity.