Baby Arthur goes home in time for World Prematurity Day

Karen, Michael and Arthur go home finally after an extensive period in the RBWH NICU.

While pre-term birth rates remain relatively unchanged over the last decade, almost 1 in 10 babies born each year in Australia will be ‘premmie.’

A pre-term baby is born at less than 37 weeks, and will often require extra care in a hospital neonatal unit until they reach full term and are developed enough to go home. In this time, parents will make the daily pilgrimage between home and the NICU, spending their days with bub before returning home at night without them – a challenging experience 33 year-old first-time-Mum Karen now knows all too well.

Karen was shocked when she went into labour on 2 September at just over 28 weeks with her baby Arthur.

She experienced some bleeding and was rushed to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where he was born just four days later, weighing a tiny 1374 grams.

“We were not prepared at all, and I cried when I first saw him,” Karen recalls.

“He was so tiny, his hand was the size of the top of one of my fingers and we were so scared for him, even though they said he was doing great.”

Arthur’s parents Karen and Michael endured five long days before they could give him his first cuddle on the 7 September, and many more weeks until they could finally take him home on Saturday, coincidentally in time for World Prematurity Day.

The trio will be supported at home as part of the RBWH NeoHOME initiative, where they will continue to get medical care for Arthur for a little longer in the comfort of their home in Lawnton.

Arthur, who went home at 38+5, is doing better every day, with his parents just thrilled to all be together.

“I’m very, very happy that we got to go home. It makes me feel a lot more comfortable to know we are going to be in the NeoHOME program and that the team will be there for us when we need them,” Karen said.

Since the trial in late 2021, NeoHOME has supported many families to enjoy safe and effective care for pre-term neonates outside of the hospital environment, with significant benefits including enhanced bonding between mother and baby.