Getting There On Time

By Rick Rader, MD, FAAIDD, FAADM, Editor-in-chief, Helen Journal 

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” – Winnie the Pooh

Timing is everything.

In the 1964 movie, My Fair Lady the idea of “timing” was reflected in the song “Get Me to the Church on Time,” which went:

“I'm getting married in the mornin'!

Ding dong! The bells are gonna chime.

Pull out the stopper!

Let's have a whopper!

But get me to the church on time!”

We were reminded of the importance of timing in milestone events. Following marriage, the next significant “get me there on time,” event was the birth of the baby. The “timing” of staying in the oven until it was safe to come out and explore has not always been observed.

Preterm birth is when a baby is born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy have been completed. In 2022, preterm birth affected about 1 of every 10 infants born in the United States.

Babies born too early (especially before 32 weeks) have higher rates of death and disability. In 2022, preterm birth and low birth weight accounted for about 14.0% of infant deaths (deaths before 1 year of age). Babies who survive may have breathing problems, feeding difficulties, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, vision problems, and hearing problems. Preterm births may also take an emotional toll and be a financial burden for families.

While the potential health and developmental challenges among “preemies” is well known, members of this exclusive club have not only graduated but have made contributions that have impacted on society, science, and culture.

Below are a few people you might have heard of who were born prematurely:

·       Sir Isaac Newton. One of the world’s most famous and influential scientists, Sir Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642. He weighed just three pounds at birth and was not expected to live beyond a few hours. Not only did he survive, but he went on to describe the laws and gravity of motion.

·       Sir Winston Churchill. Although he wasn’t due to be born until January of the following year, Sir Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. Although he was born early, Churchill went on to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a gifted military leader, and a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

·       Albert Einstein, Physicist and Nobel Prize Winner in 1921, who was born two months early in Ulm, Germany in March 1879. Albert Einstein contributed more than any other scientist to the 20th-century vision of physical reality. At his birth, Albert’s mother was reputedly frightened that her infant’s head was so large and oddly shaped. His parents also worried about his intellectual development as a child due to his initial language delay and his lack of fluency until the age of nine, though he was one of the top students in his elementary school and then progressed rapidly from there.

·       Anna Pavlova, born prematurely in 1885, became one of the world’s most famous ballerinas. Her small size and stature, likely a result of her premature birth, set her apart from other ballet dancers of the time.

·       Mark Twain, the American novelist, was born two months early in November 1835. He weighed just five pounds at birth. His novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” has been called the Great American Novel.

·       Johannes Kepler, German astronomer, and mathematician. He was born in 1574 and had an estimated I.Q. 160. He had a bad start in life as he was a seven-month baby and seven-month babies at that time were proverbially thought “to be weak in body and mind.” As he grew, his body became strong, and his superior intellect evolved. He became the Principal Mathematician to the Emperor and a founder of modern astronomy and physics. He elucidated the Copernican concept of the Universe.

·       Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, son of President John F. Kennedy, lived for only 39 hours due to complications from hyaline membrane disease. This brought attention to infant respiratory distress syndrome which in turn resulted in advancements in neonatal care.

And you can also throw in the mix the likes of Pablo Picasso, Charles Darwin, Victor Hugo, Stevie Wonder, Michael J. Fox, Wilma Rudolph, and scores of HELEN Journal readers.

Starting a family has expanded from the traditional way known by our parents and grandparents . For example, many couples are now freezing eggs for later in life; and there also are many couples of the same sex that are charting their own paths to parenthood. There are people who bravely decide on raising a child solo.  Then there are those who struggle with infertility and may need to rely on surrogacy.  Any of these situations could result in more babies ending up in the NICU.

Prematurity is obviously not a blueprint for disability, incapacity, or deficits.

I think the Bible got it right, “There’s a time for everything.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

Rick Rader, MD, FAAIDD, FAADM, Editor-in-chief, Helen Journal