anti-partum ward
/an’ tee par’ tum ward/
This is a place that no noomom wants to wind up. It’s an area of the hospital where they are prescribed some level of rest before the baby comes. Women can end up in anti-partum for any number of reasons. Anti-partum is usually followed by delivery of the baby and can last for weeks depending on the situation. This would be favored over bed rest at home if the doctors felt that the baby or the mother would be in danger if not monitored.
APNEA
/Ap’ nee ah/
noun
A technical term for the suspension of breathing. Preemies can have varying degrees of Apnea. This is one of the reasons they are constantly on breathing monitors.
Betamethasone
/Bayta metha zone/
noun
Betamethasone is a corticosteroid used to stimulate fetal lung maturation, and to decrease the incidence and mortality from intracranial hemorrhage in premature infants. Huh? If you end up in anti-partum or are at risk of delivering a premature infant and still have more than 24 hours before it is likely to happen, doctors will recommend that you take this steroid for your baby’s lung development. This can greatly increase a baby’s chance of survival because it will help lungs and other organs grow at a faster rate, help them throw a 98 MPH fast ball and give them home run power.
Beta Complete
/Bay’ ta kum pleet’/
1. Received entire dose of betamethasone.
2. Initiated into Beta Theta Potata fraternity.
 CPAP
/see’ pap/
noun (acronym)
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. Preemies are often born with respiratory issues due to their lungs being underdeveloped. The CPAP machine opens the nasal passages at pressures high enough to overcome obstructions in the airway and stimulate normal breathing. If your kid is on a CPAP machine, the feeding tube is probably going down their throat instead of their nose.
feeder and grower
These babies have overcome all of their obstacles and are basically hanging out until they are strong enough to go home. They need to be able to consistently take their bottles, maintain a constant temperature and breathe effectively. We had to watch a CPR video before we could leave as well.
feeding tube
/you know how to pronounce this/
noun
The feeding tube is a rubber hose that allows a nurse to put food into the baby’s belly. Preemies for various reasons need feeding tubes. Eating takes a lot of energy and sometimes they do not have the juice to be able to drink or drink enough, so the feeding tube is used either to feed them or as a supplement. Babies hate them and they try to yank them out.
gavage
/ge vazh’/
verb
Gavage feeding is a way to feed babies who are not able to suck or swallow enough for good nutrition. A baby may have a problem with his heart, esophagus (feeding canal), or mouth-such as a cleft palate. They may also have problems with breathing or lungs. They may also just not have enough energy to finish their bottle. These may cause them to to not be able to suck and/or swallow well.
Gavage feeding is essentially a drip method from a bottle through a feeding tube into the belly. Usage: “Are we going to bottle her or gavage her? Let’s see how she does with the bottle and then if we need to, we’ll gavage her the rest.”
 isolette
/i’ so let/
Another word for the incubator. This box helps regulate the baby’s temperature.
RSV - Respiratory Syncytial Virus
/?????/
noun
RSV is a nasty virus for any kid under 1 year old. As my doctor said the only thing worse than a preemie is an infected preemie. RSV is spread from respiratory secretions through close contact with infected persons or contact with contaminated surfaces or objects. Infection can occur when infectious material contacts mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth, or nose, and possibly through the inhalation of droplets generated by a sneeze or cough. In temperate climates, RSV infections usually occur during annual community outbreaks, often lasting 4 to 6 months, during the late fall, winter, or early spring months. The timing and severity of outbreaks in a community vary from year to year. RSV spreads efficiently among children during the annual outbreaks, and most children will have serologic evidence of RSV infection by 2 years of age. This is why you want to keep your preemie away from people until the RSV season is over. They have weaker immune systems and viruses hit them hard. Keep people out of your house who have cold, coughs, fevers or exposure to the aforementioned. For more on RSV, see the CDC’s website. Some of the text of this definition was pulled directly from there.
SP02
abbreviation
Spot Oxygen Saturation or Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen
SP02 is a measurement of the amount of oxygen attached to the hemoglobin cell in the circulatory system. In other words, it is the amount of oxygen being carried by the red blood cells. SpO2 Is given in as a percentage. The “S” stands for saturation. O2 is the former sponsor of London’s top football club, Arsenal–wait– here it is oxygen. |
If you have a preemie in the hospital or are in the middle of an at-risk pregnancy, you could be barraged with new terminology. Not only should you know what they mean, you should be respectful of the implications they carry with them. For all you veteran preemie Noodads, please add to this list so the newbies can be prepared. Remember, foodad is not a doctor just a noodad like you. As the dad of a preemie, I know this can be rough and you cannot really prepare for it. Here are some terms to help you get an idea of the challenges faced by parents with preemies
January 11th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Don’t forget “brady” (short for bradycardia) in which the baby’s heart slows down. Usually a light (or sometimes vigorous) rub on the back will correct it. Sometimes a brady is associated with or happens alongside of apnea. And it’s often more pronounced when your baby is trying to take a bottle. Caffeine may be given to help correct bradys.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
We just had a 34 week preemie who got very ill as well.
Here’s a few terms we learned:
Total Parenteral Nutrition - vitamins and minerals through the iv, which is then combined with lipids or fats.
Fentanyl - an extremely potent pain killer in the morphine family that works great most of the time, but can cause apnea episodes.
Necrotizing Enterocolitis - a severe infection of the intestines that could result in perforation in extreme cases, requiring surgery. Most cases are resolved by stopping feedings for 7 - 10 days.
Nasogastric Tube - this is a tube inserted into the babies stomach through her nose or mouth. It serves both to suck air and residual fluids out of the stomach, as well as deliver feedings.
PICC Line - is a central catheter used to deliver TPN and Lipids and other things like antibiotics or other medications to the baby. It is a surgical procedure that takes the place of a traditional iv line. The good thing about it is that it can stay in for several weeks; the bad thing is that it could puncture veins and dump fluids into the baby’s body cavity.
We experienced all of these things with our new baby girl (and more). Hope this was a helpful addition!
June 11th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Whoah. The memories. We had a 32 week preemie in 2002. He’s nearly 6 now and doing great. Hope you won’t mind an “old-mom” piping in. (Jeremy just twittered this post)
Our big one that I would add are “Bradys”/Bradycardia. Which is the slowing down of the baby’s heart rate. In our case the problem was that our son could not suck, swallow and breathe at the same time, a fairly common thing with preemies and thus the milk would get stuck and his body would essentially shut down. His heart rate would plummet. Usually bradys are associated with apnea as well. And the NICU will not let you go until you are brady free for a certain period of time.
Best wishes,
Aimee