The Miracle of Life
By; Brett Szostak
Date; 2/25/2013
I.Introduction
Was anyone born premature? I weighed 1 pound 2 ounces and I was supposed to
be born in October but, I was born in July. I received individual care from nurses
at the NICU where I was born at Lutheran General Hospital. According to
researchers from Harvard Medical School, premature babies who are born with a
low birth weight may benefit from individualized care in the neonatal unit. Some
interesting facts about preemies include; “premature babies cost the U.S. at least
$26 billion dollars each year” (Landau). “The average out of pocket costs for
premature babies with a low birth weight are around $2,000” (Landau).
1. My story, show pictures
2. Machines that premature infants are hooked up to
3. One Interesting fact about Incubator
II.First Main Point:
My story how I was a preemie.
A. Born 1lb 2oz at birth
1. Born 3 months premature: Show pictures
a) Insurance cost and extra costs of me being
premature at birth.
(1) Insurance for the 1st year was close to 1 million dollars.
(2) Out of pocket costs were around $50k
B. Transition: I was in an incubator for 3 months and I was on breathing
machine because my lungs didn’t develop. I was on heart monitor too. I also was
given intervenes as well. Those are some examples of the care that premature
infant’s needs.
III.Second Main Point: Premature Infant Care
A. Machines/ incubator definition
a) Machines Preemie babies are hooked up to or in
(1) Incubator –“an enclosed apparatus in which
prematurely born infants are kept in controlled
conditions, as of temperature, for protection and care.”
(Dictionary.com)
(2) some equipment that premature babies are hooked
up to in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are; Cardiac
monitors, Respiratory monitors, IV equipment,
ventilators, etc.
B. Premature births general information
1. According to Elizabeth Landau, “About 12 percent of
all pregnancies in the United States result in premature
birth, according to the National Institutes of
Health”(Landau).
2. “The amount of premature babies in the U.S. has
increased 36 percent since the early 1980s” (Landau).
C. Transition: Despite the technological advances that have
helped premature babies survive, with the invention of the
incubator, who knows when it would have been created.
B. One interesting fact
D. “The First incubator station in the United States was
introduced by Joseph DeLee in 1899 at Chicago Lying-In
Hospital” (Farhat, Zm).
IV.Conclusion
A. Being born 1lb 2 Oz has allowed me to look back on my life
and see how far I have come, and to predict into my future as
for I am a hard worker, and I strive to set the goals I have.
Premature babies are tiny and vulnerable to outside elements
so that is why they are in incubators to stay warm, and benefit
from individual care from NICU nurses. Last, premature babies
are more expensive to care for and cost the United States
Whopping 26billion dollars each year.
Works Cited
"Care For Preterm Infants." Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter 10.11
(1994): 3. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.
Landau, Elizabeth . "Study: Average Preemiee costs $49,000 in first year." CNN.com.
N.p., 17 Mar 2009. Web. 22 Feb 2013. <http://kcbiomedix.com/Study_ Average
Preemie Costs $49000 in First Year.pdf>.
Ehsan-ul-Haq, Sadiq-ul-Rahman M, Javed H, Khan MSA, Farhat ZM. A low Cost Digital
Infant Incubator. Pak J Med Sci 2011;27(4):862-865
Bird , Cheryl . "NICU Equipment and Procedures ." About.com Premies . N.p., 05
August 2011. Web. 23 Feb 2013.
University of Montreal. "Babies Placed In Incubators Decrease Risk Of Depression As
Adults." ScienceDaily, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.