very low birthweight question x-post

[Lucy]

Hi! We are adopting and are considering a child who was 2.8 lbs at birth. Do any of you have a very low birthweight child, and if so, what have been the affects? Thanks, Rondi

[Heathermomster]

Hi! We are adopting and are considering a child who was 2.8 lbs at birth. Do any of you have a very low birthweight child, and if so, what have been the affects? Thanks, Rondi

 

How many weeks early was the baby? Was the birth mother drug or alcohol dependent?

[FLDebbie]

It really depends on why the baby was such low weight as Hearthermomster said. My son was just slightly over that at birth (born at 30 weeks), but was healthy. He has no lasting effects that we can tell.

[Samiam]

As FLDebbie says, alot will depend on the WHY of the low birth weight. My DS9 was just over 2lbs, due to prematurity, born at 29 weeks, due to twin pregnancy.

 

He doesn't necessarily have "health" issues, meaning he's pretty healthy. When he was younger, a baby through toddler years, his immune system was weaker, I'd say, because when he got sick, he got SICK. Meaning a little sniffly cold that we would get, would knock him on his tush for a few weeks, feverish, miserable, etc.

 

He did have lots of therapies as a baby/toddler...OT, Physical, Speech.....pretty common things for a preemie though...they are typically slower to develop on baby "milestones" because their body is not in tune with their birth date...meaning their body is 1 year old, but their mind is only 9 months old.....so that's common to have some delays but most will start to catch up about 3-4 years of age (when milestones stop being measure so much on month to month but more about general age), and for many, you would never know they were born early and small. You would never know it by looking at my DS9. He's tall for his age, (Daddy's DNA). And thankfully his immune system is pretty healthy too now....no more sick than the rest of us (knocking on wood, we're pretty healthy)

 

Now on the flip side, he does have some learning issues....we are in the process of getting testing done so no official labels, but I'm betting dyslexia. Now is that because of being a small preemie? Maybe...after all, the brain was not fully developed when he was born, and I personally think that it having to develop out-of-womb perhaps caused it to "wire" a bit differently. Then again, there's plenty of children who have learning issues, dyslexia, and a host of other things, who were born full-term, normal weight, so......yeah, not sure it could be pin-pointed to his birth circumstances alone. Maybe a bit of genetics....I'd bet my last dollar that DH had some learning issues when he was a child, IF that type of thing was diagnosed back 30-odd years ago like it this day and age.

 

But overall, we are blessed and happy that our 29 week, 2 lb, 4 oz surviving twin preemie, after spending 3 1/2 months in NICU is a thriving, healthy 9 year old.

[Kaleidoscope]

two of my children were under 2lbs at birth. But like the others said it's the rest of the picture that has more to do with their current issues than the birth weight. Both were 15 weeks early. They were both also exposed to drugs and alcohol prenatally. One has hydrocephalus. She spent 8 months in the hospital. The other only spent 2 months.

 

Currently both have medical problems, obviously the hydro is still an issue. They both have some emotional issues. Both have learning issues. But overall they are happy healthy and normal girls. If you met them at the park you wouldn't think twice about them as being special needs.

[courtney.byrum]

As others said it really depends on why she was low birthweight. DD7 was a 29 week preemie weighing 3 lbs 1 oz. She had her issues in the NICU but since coming home has been fine, very healthy (probably more so than her normal weight non-preemie brother). She has done very well and we are quite pleased but we know things could have been very different.

[texasmama]

How old is the child now? Some issues do not exhibit until school age so if the child is very young, it can be difficult to know the long term affects of low birth weight. Also, as others have said, prenatal environment is relevant.

[Cynful]

One, my 15yo ds was born at 30 weeks at 2lbs. 14oz. and the other, my 2yo ds was at 35 weeks at 4lbs. 5oz. Both were due to pre-eclampsia with me. This is the hardest question for us - Are my 15yo ds' issues due to his prematurity and birth weight or other factors and how do we treat them? He had several issues as a baby and was in the NICU for 6 weeks before coming home. He had hydrocephalus, heart issues, lung issues, eye issues, gastric reflux, small kidneys, sensory issues, and learning delays. Like another poster said though, we're quite happy he's alive and healthy right now.