Often mothers of premature infants feel that they are not complete women or mothers. You want to do so much for your baby, but there is little you actually can do while your baby is sick. It is normal for you to grieve the loss of the pregnancy and health baby, just as you would feel sorry if someone you loved moved away from you or died. Support from others can help you in your grief. It is normal to have this worry, but it is very likely that your baby already knows that you are its parent.
Babies learn to recognize their mothers voices while they are in the womb.
So a premature baby can already tell the differences between its mothers voice and the voices of nurses and doctors. It has been shown that the oxygen saturation of premature babies improves when their parents are close by. Unfortunately, the treatment of premature babies required painful procedures that are done by doctors and nurses. But this gives babies the opportunity to learn that their parents do not cause pain. So when you gently stroke your baby, talk softly.