Until I was told I'd have a premature baby I had not considered the possibility of my baby being premmie. I was a bit naive and accepted it without really knowing what it meant or what to ask.
I should've been asking, 'What is a premmie baby? What does premmie mean? What is considered premmie?'
The current World Health Organization definition of prematurity is a baby born before 37 weeks of gestation, counting from the first day of the Last Menstrual Period.
All my babies were born premature based on this definition - 35 weeks gestation for my eldest and 32 weeks gestation for the boys. Interestingly, historically, the definition of prematurity was 2500 grams (about 5 1/2 pounds) or less at birth. (source: medicine.net)
Though this is the dictionary definition of prematurity, premmie - to me - has meant a whole plethora of things. If I can whittle it down to 3 words it would be these; tiny, intense and challenging. However, from these three words I can say it has changed to; an amazing journey.
What does premmie mean to you? Comment below.