Breathe, Baby, Breathe!: Neonatal Intensive Care, Prematurity, and Complicated Pregnancies

by Annie Janvier, Phyllis Aronoff (Translation), Howard Scott (Translation)

Every year in the United States, 12% of all births are preterm births, 5% of all babies need help to breathe at birth, and 3% of neonates are born with at least one severe malformation. Many of these babies are hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit. Annie Janvier and her husband, Keith Barrington, are both pediatricians who specialize in the care of these sick babies and are internationally known for their research in this area. In 2005, when their daughter Violette was born extremely prematurely, 4 months before her due date, they faced the situation "from the other side," as parents. Despite knowing the scientific facts, they knew nothing about the experience itself. "Knowing how a respirator works did not help me be the mother of a baby on a respirator," writes Annie. She did not know how to navigate the guilt, the uncertainty, the fears, the predictions of providers, and the responses of friends and family. In a society obsessed with goals, performance, efficiency, and high percentages, she discovered that the daily lack of control that new parents of sick babies face changes their lives. And that, for physician parents, it also changes the way they practice medicine.

Most of the articles and books written about premature babies and neonatal intensive care units examine the technological and medical aspects of neonatology. Breathe, Baby, Breathe, however, is written in the voice of a parent-doctor and tells the story of Violette and her parents, alongside the stories of other fragile babies and their families with different journeys and different outcomes. With the story of Violette at the core of the book, the interwoven stories and empirical articles provide essential insights into the medical world of premature birth. This original clever blend of narratives and evidence provides a new, experiential view of the way forward during a parental crisis. The book ends with practical recommendations for clinicians, parents, and families.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2015

Reviews

[GONZALO MARIANI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annie combines her intelligence, humanism and excellent training in bioethics and neonatology with her experience as a NICU mother. Fortunately for us, she has written this fantastic and moving book. It is always a pleasure to read her, I am always learning from her texts (and her conferences and talks which I miss!). Thanks, Annie!

[Audrée Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livre qui permet de bien comprendre ce que peuvent vivre les parents qui ont donné naissance à un bébé prématurément. J’ai bien aimé le ton humoristique et convivial.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie Janvier is uniquely positioned to write a book on the subject of premature infants. Not only is she a pediatrician specializing in neonatology, but she has also experienced the NICU as the parent of an extremely premature daughter. She can speak with authority from both perspectives. This book primarily documents the many ups and downs of her daughter Violette's first few months. She offers up recommendations for both the parents and the medical caregivers of these fragile patients, especially on the subject of communication. I was drawn to this book because of my own family's experience with an extreme preemie. We were so grateful for the excellent medical care she received and the prayer support of many people. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review Breathe, Baby, Breathe.