Five pounds is the target. Parents are told they can expect preemies to stay in the hospital until they hit their actual due date. Leaving the hospital is not just a matter of packing up teddy bears, diapers and the children. The staff must determine if the baby can survive a long ride in a car seat. Parents are trained in infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Parents even have to be taught something as routine as giving the baby a bath.
Baths must be done as quickly as possible to keep the infant from becoming too cold. I will effectively be in quarantine the first few months. Winter and early spring are times when the chance of contracting respiratory diseases is highest. Even with the restrictions, Meghan Dayka is ready to take her daughters home, which she would get to do the first week of March. She praises the staff for being so attentive and caring during her long stay.