Do you ever wonder

where you and your child "fit"??

What do I mean??

Let me explain.

Michael is Autistic, he has learning difficulties, he has a brain stem injury which has left him with swallow issues and in amongst all this he was also premature, so he still has numerous issues that are hanging on from his days in NICU.

There are lots and lots of websites & forums out there for parents of premature babies, dealing with the issues that being in Neo-natal Intensive Care, then follow on to the first two years or so, and dealing with developmental delays and the other issues that come up with premature babies.

I have to confess that it was when Michael was 2, I started to wonder if I should really be posting in forums for premature babies.....would what I posted frighten new parents??? The issues that I struggled with were different to the things that they were experiencing.

But then where do you go? When you still need the support of other parents who walk the same road as you do?? When you still want to be with parents who understand how you got where you are today, parents who understand the concept of a 1lb baby?

Do you go to forums for children with Autism, do you go to forums for children with learning disabilities, do you go to forums for children with eating issues??? I've tried these and never really felt like we "fitted in"

Given the research, and the results of the EpiCure study, that 40% of preemies born between 23 & 25 weeks end up with long term issues, where do all those parents who once posted on premature baby boards go??

So having thought about it for a while, I have created both:-

A website :- http://www.prematurechild.co.uk/

A forum :- http://prematurechild.com

There is no age restriction on Premature Child, unlike one or two others I can think of, who set a lower age limit of 4....mainly because between the ages of two and four, I was floundering around in the dark, not knowing where to turn.

So if you are the parent of a premature child, and your reading this - please feel free to join us. I have to admit the forum is small at the moment, but up until now there was only a few people knew about it! But I am hoping that it will grow and by joining us, is one way to make sure that happens!!