Customer Reviews

The Premature Baby Book: A Parents Guide to Coping and Caring in the First Years

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a Intensive Care Nursery Nurse, as well as the parent of a former premature baby, Helen Harrison's book is extremely outdated. It was a bible when it was first published in 1983, but the field of neonatal medicine is constantly changing and any book written over 5 years ago is probably outdated, not to mention 20 years ago. My hat is off to Helen Harrison for her pioneering the field of premature parenting,but there are many other more recent books which will be far more useful to premature parents than this one. Linda Cole RN

As the father of two identical twin girls born at 26 weeks andaveraging 2 pounds each -- I found The Premature Baby Book to be veryhelpful in gaining an understanding of premature care and treatment. Iordered the book written by Helen Harrison and Ann Kositsky (as wellas several others) and found their book to be the most comprehensiveof books on the market addressing premature birth. My only criticismof the book is that many of the statistics utilized within the bookare out-dated and present a somewhat pessimistic view regardingpremature survival and disabilities. I highly recommend this book ifyou have a premature child.

Note that my daughter, Laurel, did notsurvive. After 24 days of making steady improvement, Laurel contractedNEC and rapidly deteriorated. Laurel's identical twin sister, Caitlin,is now 2 1/2 years old and is both health and happy. However, in manyways my mind and feelings still live the trauma of my children beingmicro-preemies. In Laurel's memory I wrote a booklet (distributed forfree) just for parents of micro-preemies. The booklet is not intendedto replace the book length treatment of the issues addressed in ThePremature Baby Book, rather the booklet is designed to give parentssome basic information pending the arrival of their Amazon order...that you have the need to order The Premature Baby Book. You and yourfamily will be in my thoughts.

Laurel's Dad

This book is considered the NICU/preemie bible. Anyone with a child born prematurely would find the information in this book helpful -- although the book is rather old, it contains information that can lead you to ask the right questions, to ask for the right tests, etc. etc. My son was born prematurely but I didn't find this book until months after he was released from NICU. The moment I got it I absorbed everything I could and wished I'd had it when my son was still in NICU. It answers questions that doctors tend to dance around. The author is a very nice woman -- I've talked with her online in preemie support groups and I understand she is working on an updated version. The stories of various "outcomes" of preemies was especially moving for me. If you know someone who has a child in NICU or who recently had a preemie, this is an excellent book to recommend. I think every NICU should have a copy to loan to parents.

This USED to be the bible of premie books. Twenty plus years later we have made tremendous strides in saving babies. Even 15 years ago I found many of the scenarios to be too depressing and no longer realistic. I do hope the author will come out with an update since so many people are directed to this book. In the meantime, I highly recommend (and use often when helping parents understand the crisis of their babies premature birth)Newborn Intensive Care: what every parent needs to know by Jeanette Zaichkin and published by NICU Ink. In 1983 we were just beginning to involve parents in their babies care and seeing them as an integral part of "the team". This newer book (1996) focuses on those things that parents can do to maximize their babies outcomes. Don't distress yourself over medical problems that are more easily treated today. Instead, empower yourself with positive information!!!

This book was a tremendous help when coping with the birth of both premature sons. It has very easy to understand definitions and provides wonderful life stories. My only discontent was that the book could be even better if they updated it. It really needs to include 90's and 00's technology. It is a little outdated.

I agree with the other two reviewers regarding this book. A friend of mine recommended this book to me after I had my son prematurely. It answered alot of questions that the doctors didn't or couldn't sufficiently answer. I would recommend this book to anyone who has had a premature baby. The information is clear, understandable and written for the parent-not a medical clinician. My only fault with the book is that some of the information is outdated because it was written in the '80s and there have been great advances in the care of premature babies since the book was published.

As a mother of two micro-preemies (1 pd 11oz & 1 pd 14oz), this book helped to educate me, and it helped me through the emotions. Becuase it was such an asset to me I have recommended it or purchased it for other preemie moms for the past 17 years. It details all of the preemie medical language; identifies the ominous equipment and assisted me with the myriad of emotions that accompany this journey. It is an excellent book, well-written and easy to follow.

I am a Mom to a former preemie. My daughter was born nine years ago and this book helped me understand with what was going on with our little girl. This is a great book and I give a lot of credit to Helen Harrison, Ann Kositsky for writing such a great book.