News

House of Lords Committee on Preterm Birth

Adult Preemies of England! We need your help!

The House of Lords are currently holding a committee looking into preterm birth, and have opened the call for written evidence to be submitted – the deadline is 5pm on the 27th March.

The Committee will focus on the prevention, and consequences, of preterm birth in England. There are a wide range of risk factors associated with preterm birth but in many cases the cause is unknown. This inquiry will examine how preterm births can be prevented and how the adverse consequences of preterm birth for mothers, babies and families can be reduced.

It will assess whether current Government policy is adequate and how to close the gap in outcomes among women and babies from different backgrounds. This will include looking at primary and secondary prevention, neonatal care, and longer-term support for preterm babies and their families.

APAN will be submitting written evidence to provide an overview of our experiences and long term impacts across the life course, and we would really appreciate your support in doing so.

https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3346

The link below provides information on the topics covered and there are also links to the evidence that has already been given in person in the Events section.

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8208/preterm-birth

More posts to follow – to start with we would just appreciate everyone looking at the links and considering whether this is something you would like to contribute too.

Thank you! Lauren & Juliette

Peer Support

We are pleased to announce that Lauren has completed a Level 3 Certificate in Peer Support to extend the informal support we currently provide via our Facebook groups.

Peer support benefits

Realise you are not alone
Express feelings and share thoughts
Learn helpful information
Provides connection with others

This support can include;

Emotional support
Sharing experiences
Goal setting
Support with locating resources

Support can be provided one to one or group basis at regular intervals.

Peer support is not a substitute for professional assistance and sign posting will be provided where appropriate.

The Neonatal Warriors Blog

We have stumbled across this Blog created by Kathryn who is a lone twin and ex-preemie. She has posts about a wide variety of topics and has embedded a link to our website!

You can read their posts here.

Neonatal Update 2021

On the 30th of November Lauren and I were invited to speak on a panel for the 2021 Neonatal Update. Professor Neena Modi and Professor Michelle Kelly joined us to discuss the lifelong impact of premature birth prompted by the recent paper Michelle worked on “Recommendations to optimize life-long health and wellbeing for people born preterm”.

In the paper they reviewed the available literature which demonstrated that there are long-term effects of premature birth that can have an impact on the health and quality of life for those born preterm. Michelle describes that the goal of the paper is to encourage awareness among adult healthcare professionals of the importance of acknowledging and acting upon the risks associated with preemies past medical history. Read the full paper here.

During the live recordings for the Neonatal update, we were able to discuss this topic as a group and answer questions submitted by the professionals watching. There was lots of engagement and interesting questions! Watch the live recording below.

The themes included long term follow up, advocacy, mental health and the need to educate medical professionals about the risks and challenges we face.

Lauren and I remain in contact with Neena and Michelle, and also the patient involvement leads from Imperial College in London to take the next steps with all of the ideas and encouragement from the live sessions.

Risks identified within the paper

Preterm birth history increases an individual’s risk for:

1. Impaired school performance related to math, spelling, reading, receptive language, and decreased executive function (cognitive flexibility, working memory, and verbal fluency).

2. Behavioral and mental health concerns including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

3. Cardiovascular disease, specifically hypertension, which poses an increased risk for females.

4. Pulmonary disease, specifically wheezing, asthma, and reduced lung capacity. This risk exists even for those without a history of bronchopulmonary dysplasiaBPD is a chronic condition which results from damage to an infants lungs, usually caused by mechanical ventilation and long-term use of oxygen. Over inflation of the alveoli can lead to inflammation causing damage to the tissues of the airway, the alveoli sacs and the surrounding blood vessels. Symptoms can include laboured breathing, prolonged need for oxygen, more lung infections, and feeding difficulties. More.

5. Motor delay, visuomotor integration disorders, and coordination impairment

Neonatal Update 2021 recordings