When does you child lose the Premmie label

[lisaandshaun]

Hi,

my DD wasnt all the premmin 36 +6 so she only just made it. She is 6mths old now and when we see the Maternal health nurse and the pead they always make reference to her being a premature baby and thats why she is this and thats why she is that blah blah blah.

She was 3.1kgs when born although there were lots of complcations with the birth she is thriving now.

My question to other mums who have older babies is "when did your child lose the premmie label"?

[Kazbah]

I'm still referred to as Prem!!!! And I'm 38 now!!!!

[*Beema*]

Generally it depends on how prem as to how long the Premmie label lasts...

Most prems are referred to as prem in medical terms until they are about 2 years of age, by then mos thave caught up and are inline with their age.

But micro prems and very early prems the "term" lasts a lot longer, and they often are still under programs like DAP, Early Interventions etc.

DD is still referred to as a prem, and I am not sure if that will finish when she hits 2, she isn't under DAP etc but she is still seen by Paeds when she needs to and has some ongoing respiratory issues, but she is catching up, as she was very delayed in Gross Moter skills etc. But we stopped correcting her weight against her age at 1 year of age. Yet every hospital vist the first thing they have noted is ex prem

So a mixed bag really.

Some friends wee litte ones (micro prems) are still under programs at 4 years of age.

But DD will probably be referred to as a prem for a long time yet, as she will never actually stop being prem just like Kazbah said

[Pandora]

My cousin is still referred to as prem by her family and shes in her late 20's
She was very prem though (28 weeks I think)

[Amity]

My son was born at 34+6. He's now nearly 7.

I think it depends on the situation - if prematurity is a relevant factor, then it is noted. If it is not a relevant factor, it's not noted.

For example, in his basketball team, nobody knows he was premmie - his fine and gross motor skills are right up there with kids his age.

But at the doctor, with his severe asthma, it's always noted he was premmie - as this is a factor relevant to his asthma and treatment.

So I guess it depends...

Good luck!

[Early Kids]

I was going to say something similar to Beema and Divvy.

It all depends on how the baby/child is and if their "problem" is impacted by prematurity.

Brendan is 3 (born 30+1) and is still being referred to as a prem, he is also still being corrected. He is average height but everything else is well below average for his age. Brendan is still on a Follow-Up Programme which starts off through the hospital of birth, he is now through the State Child Development Centre, but the same team.

Tristan is 9 months (born 34+3) and is referred to as prem. He was 3.09kg born but at 9 months is only 7.04kg. He has a small problem with his leg which gets him some physio appointments every assessment she's done he's been corrected for, even though he is well above the average (50th %ile) for his actual age (for gross motor skills).

They will always be prem, nothing will change that and should a problem arise later on they will most likely still be noted as being born prem.