For parents of the nearly 300,000 babies born prematurely each year, Susan L. Madden has written The Preemie Parents Companion .

Everything you need to know as your premature baby grows. All new babies need love and attention. Premature babies, the finiest and most fragile of infants, need extra care. The Preemie Parents' Companion is a comprehensive guide for parents along every step of what is sure to be a journey full of challenges and rewards. Completely up-to-date and immensely reassuring, it covers: How to he informed partners with the healthcare team in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU); Coping with possible medical complications and their treatment; Ways to hold your baby, including kangaroo care, and how to interpret a premature babies' unique body language; The special feeding and nutritional needs; Getting the most from follow-up visits with your paediatrician; Weight, height, and other growth milestones; What to expect as your premature child progresses through toddlerhood and into preschool and school. With real-life stories from parents, easy-to-understand summaries of the latest research on pre-term children, and a wealth of reliable day-by-day, month-by-month guidance, this is an authorltative book full of wisdom and encouragement.