A Preemie Child
Scars of the NICU

By: Allison Martin, MPA; Preemie-Child Listowner

Vivian S. recalls a visit to the Emergency Room (ER) made all the more frightening by this problem:

"I took my son to the ER) numerous times for RSV and croup. He has some small, yet visible, scars from the various lines that were in his stomach. One of the first times that we were in the ER, the ER Doctor was very, very closely examining his scars - it was very quiet and everyone was watching. Anyway, the Doctor finally (!) asked us, his parents, what happened and I explained his 14 week premature birth, 3 month NICU stay, etc. That seemed to pacify him and he dropped any further investigation."

"A few weeks later saw an item on the nighttime news on how babies who are thought to be abused come into the ER. Topic was how the medical staff is addressing such suspicions of abuse. The Doctor that examined my son was the medical expert that they interviewed on TV... Whew!"

Arla V.’s experience in the emergency room was a revaluation:

"We took my son in to the emergency room once with difficulty breathing (later diagnosed as RSV). At first the Emergency Room staff actually thought he had cigarette burn scars! Even after we said he got them at the hospital. Finally someone checked his records and said oh yeah he is one of ‘OUR babies’."

We also discovered that personality plays a role as well in how well children cope with this visible reminder of their early birth. Some children have developed coping strategies for dealing with the questions of other children. However as they approach teenage years appearance and scars may cause more anguish in their lives.

Sheila B. describes how her daughter copes with her different appearance:

"Most of my daughter’s girlfriends have made comments about the belly button, and a few have come to me to verify the story that doctors really did it to her when she was born. My daughter shrugs off comments with "I was born too soon, had to stay in the hospital and the doctors did it" .... and changes the subject. So her naturally curious friends want to know if it’s true that a doctor really did that to a baby... I hope that she keeps the same nonchalant attitude in her teens."

On one level, these scars of prematurity are battle scars and they attest visibly to our children’s fight for survival. Scars are a worthwhile trade for the gift of life. However, sometimes scarring can be minimized or avoided altogether if special care is taken during routine handling and various medical procedures of the NICU. Some vary lasting scars come from techniques as simple as bandaids and tape. While the physical appearance of preemies when they grow up to be teens and adults seems almost unreal when these little babies are still in the NICU battling for survival, these children will live with their scars for all their days. It is worth taking a moment of extra time to protect their fragile skin in the NICU.