RSV Prevention and Awareness Premature Birth: Our Guy Is Now 4

Premature Birth Bracston

RSV Prevention and Awareness Premature Birth: Our Guy Is Now 4

We had our own up close and very scary experience with premature birth on November 14, 2008. Bracston Jay was born at 31 weeks. No lung function, a hole in his heart, heart murmurs ..  Well, you can see from the photo that it was not quite the joyous occasion having a new baby should have been. It was filled with fear, NICU ‘noises’, tubes, and medical terminology new parents should never have to hear. And a whole roller coaster of emotions. Ups and downs that everyone who experiences a premature birth goes through but is never prepared for. Going home after many months in the NICU, we assumed we were in the clear.

Premature Birth and RSV

RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) is a common and easily spread virus that affects thousands of babies and young children each year. According to the CDC

“RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children under 1 year of age in the United States. Each year, 75,000 to 125,000 children in this age group are hospitalized due to an RSV infection. Almost all children are infected with the virus by their second birthday, but only a small percentage develops severe disease.”

Premature birth and children less than 2 years of age with congenital heart, chronic lung disease, as well as children with compromised immune systems are at a higher risk. For most children, RSV only causes moderate to severe cold like symptoms. However, for preemies, RSV can be a very serious problem because of underdeveloped lungs. One of the things we had to be hyper-vigilant about once we were home. ‘Please don’t touch the baby’ is a hard thing to ask of friends and family, but necessary. ‘Please wash your hands before holding the baby’ again, don’t be embarrassed! Make sure those hands holding your little one are clean and germ free! Check out the infographic below for facts and tips on RSV.

Premature Birth Risks

Every year 13 million babies fall under the term ‘premature birth‘ worldwide. Approximately one million of these babies don’t survive. And sadly many  will also face lifelong, serious health and mental issues. Today, we are honoring Premature Awareness Day by sharing this RSV Prevention information.

We are very grateful and appreciate just how lucky we are that today, Bracston is a happy, healthy 4 year. Please visit       RSVProtection.com for more information about RSV Prevention.

Premature Birth

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of MedImmune. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Comments

  1. What a sweetie pie he is! This is really important information! My son was hospitalized at 1 month old with RSV 🙁

  2. Your son is so cute, and I am glad to know that he is a healthy boy today. My friend had a premature baby and the baby got RSV and almost died! This happened about 10 years ago, and not much was discussed about RSV. I am glad that the word is starting to get out about this. We need to learn about it in hopes of preventing this deadly condition.

  3. Oh – so glad he’s doing well now and is healthy!

  4. He’s a cutie! My mom was actually premature in a time when that was a death sentence in itself.

  5. what a handsome boy he is–glad he is doing well now 🙂

  6. RSV can be so dangerous. I have taken care of many children with RSV that have ended up in NICU and PICU>

  7. What a doll! Your post was enlightening, scary, hopeful! My hub was a preemie with tubes in his head and in PICU for 4 weeks.

  8. What an informative post, wow!
    Glad to see your boy is growing and healthy – makes me so happy!

  9. aww such a precious boy! Your article is very informative – I didn’t know anything about RSV before now. Thank you!

  10. I am so glad to hear that Bracston is happy and healthy today. It’s so great to see people like yourself bringing attention to RSV.

  11. Oh wow, so glad your little guys is doing so well now. That must have been the scariest! Thank you for sharing these facts!

  12. Krystle(Baking Beauty) says

    So glad to see he’s healthy now. As a fellow preemie thank you for raising awareness!

  13. What a cutie, I’m glad he is now doing fine and healthy.

  14. What a cutie pie. I’m thankful I haven’t had to go thru that with any of my girls. My youngest was actually the opposite of a preemie and came a week late. lol Glad to see your little guy is doing great now. 🙂

  15. Little miss Kate says

    I am a mom f a 32weeker, so I know all about RSV, 3 letters no preemie parent wants to hear. Luckily in Canada we have coverage for the shots.

  16. My son was a 32-weeker, so he received the RSV vaccine. This is definitely something that all parents, especially parents of preemies, need to be aware about. Love the pictures of your little man! My son 7 now, and you’d never know he was once a 3lb preemie!

  17. So glad he’s doing well and is healthy. What a true Blessing he is and sooooo handsome! :0) What a great post!

  18. How scary!! My Abby was born 3 weeks early – and had a pretty traumatic delivery. I thought she was stillborn when she arrived – white as a sheet, not moving, not a sound. But she pulled through, and is a crazy-active 2 year old now 🙂 What a blessing they are, right??

  19. I love survivor stories like these! My little brother was a preemie and developed RSV. It was a very emotional time for all of us, but thankfully he’s still here today 😀

  20. Your son is gorgeous and he looks so healthy now. I didn’t know much about RSV, so thanks for educating many of us.

  21. Having had a preemie for the first time last December, I have been educating myself on the risks of RSV especially since my daughter had some issues with breathing in the beginning. Thank you for sharing such valuable information!

  22. calichristy2 says

    I had a baby that contracted RSV as well he was 11 months old and was the scariest thing ever

  23. Leslie Galloway says

    Thanks for sharing your story. We were lucky enough to have 2 full-term babies, but I know that you have to be so much more careful with preemies. I’m sure it was hard to tell people not to touch the baby, but of course they know it’s for the best! I’d much rather not touch the baby than worry that I’d contributed to him catching RSV!

  24. Rachael Henzman says

    Yeah my baby niece has had RSV twice now and it is really scary.. Thank you for sharing.

  25. I never knew about RSV, thanks for sharing your story!

  26. What a handsome guy!!! Thanks for sharing.