Premie with Fluid in Head

After our son was born (tramitic birth....shoulder distocia....came out not breathing, no heartbeat...they did cpr....ambulanced him to a NICU at another hostpital...etc.) His head was swollen. I'm not sure if it was fluid or what. The docs never said. HOWEVER, we took him to a chiropractor and they did cranial sacrial thearopy (SP?) on him. IMMEDIATELY he just relaxed and moaned. You could tell it really took a lot of pressure off of something........ And the swelling started going down almost immediately when they did it.

My son was born at 32 weeks; my heart goes out to you and your family during this difficult time. I cannot speak to the fluid in the brain, however, one other issue for premies is that they often have a difficult time with formula. If you cannot pump breast milk, have you considered donor milk? A premie's system is so immature, breast milk is much easier for them to digest and has all sorts of wonderful antibodies. The composition of breast milk is even different for premies (our bodies are so amazing at how they can compensate) and you can even get premie donor breast milk (often moms of premies will donate their milk because they are producing far more than their child can take). Donor breastmilk is thoroughly screened. Just an option to consider that might make her path a little easier.

Best wishes,
J.

i have not any past ezxperance with that your story just caught my eye and being a mother of four set of premies all differents births i just wanted to wish your baby well and say a prayer for her and let you know we are here for you god bless and god luck

When I was pregnant with twins, the neonatologist did an ultrasound and found that one of the babies had an enlarged ventricle on one side of his brain. They called his condition "mild unilateral ventriculomegaly". (I am answering your question based on my belief that the excess fluid which doesn't drain properly is the cause of the enlarged ventricle.) I had to go in for frequent ultrasounds so they could monitor the ventricle. With the newest technologies (this was almost 12 years ago) they said that they can see so much more than ever before, that there are much more worries nowadays and that it probably would resolve itself. When he was born at 36 weeks, they did an ultrasound through his fontanel which showed that the ventricle was still mildly enlarged. They really weren't concerned but still wanted me to bring him back before his first birthday so they could do another ultrasound. At this point, the ventricle was slightly bigger than the upper range of normal. They didn't think there would be any problems, and in fact, there hasn't. He's now a cuddly bookworm, math whiz, history buff. (If the ventricle was larger, they said it could be rectified by a shunt which would help it drain. Supposedly there are lots of kids with shunts and they can even go swimming without any problems. Who knew?!) I know that only a piece of my story aligns with yours, but I hope it's helped in some way. This is a very difficult time for you, especially not having a diagnosis. Things will probably be fine, but in the meantime, my prayers will be with you and your precious baby. Blessings.

hi~
first of all, I can't imagine how you are feeling. my heart goes out to you and your family. Did the doctor mention "hydrocephalus"? ("water (fluid) on the brain"). here is a link that explains more about it ...
http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/info/neurology/...

hope it helps

hi, J.,
I had a 24 weeker, who is now 14 3/4. LIke another poster, I think this may be hydrocephelus . Here is another link to info
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/hydrocephalus/detail_h...

You are in CO - have you ever checked out the Parent to Parent of Colorado website - www.p2p-co.org ? We are a statewide organization offering support from parents of kids with special needs to parents of kids with special needs. We have an active listserv as well, where you can get this type of info, as well as be connected to other parents in your area. I hope you'll check us out - I am on the board. take care, S.