PEDIATRICS Vol. 88 No. 5 November 1991, pp. 925
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BORN TOO SOON—THE STORY OF EMILY, OUR PREMATURE BABY

Elizabeth Mehren

JEROLD F. LUCEY MD

I bought this book with the hope that it might help parents deal with the problems of having a premature infant. It doesn't. The author is a talented reporter and a very articulate, angry parent. Her story and that of Emily, her 760 gram daughter with NEC, is tragic. Once again, neonatologists and others are cold distant figures who inhabit NICU-land. They are about as friendly as a high frequency ventilator!

Mrs. Butterfield's (E. Mehren's) views of our strange world are fascinating. One can learn a lot from her about our many failures in communication. Her description of a father's ordeal in NICU-land is particularly moving. He's a famous author under pressure, trying to do his best to be a good father. He nearly fails in Mrs. Butterfield's eyes. In my eyes he was nearly heroic!

This book will give you some insight into the incredible problems parents face in dealing with the NICU environment and its staff, other parents and visitors.

Neonatologists, house staff, obstetrical nurses and social workers will cringe when they read this, but if they can take it, they can learn a lot.

Most of the parents of premature infants are very young, frightened and completely overwhelmed. Do many feel like Mrs. Butterfield? I hope not. I'd like to think that the painful things described don't happen very often in NICUs. If they do, we're in more trouble than I realized.

After you've read this book, give it to your house staff. Its painful but educational.