A team of international researchers led by Dr Sarah Wayland from the University of New England recently explored the experience of premature birth, during the Covid-19 pandemic, via Twitter.
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Every year, worldwide, approximately 15 million babies are born premature. In Australia alone the number is more than 27,000.
While giving birth to a child is generally a positive, joyous experience, having a baby born prematurely and admitted to a neonatal unit can result in significant trauma for families and additional stress on health care systems.
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The team, including Dr Kathy McKay from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, analysed 3161 tweets between October 24 and November 30 last year, to learn more about the narrative around premature babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) in real time.
"Tweets are a useful way to gain real-time insights into stressful and emotionally charged experiences as they do not take long to craft and can be written spontaneously at the tweeter's convenience," said Dr McKay
"Further, the global nature of Twitter means that a person's story can be shared across time zones and countries, which can lend strength to voices that may otherwise not be heard.
The timing of the study was also important. World Prematurity Day is annually celebrated on November 17 to raise awareness on the complexities surrounding premature birth.
"By analysing tweets around World Prematurity Day and during pandemic-related restrictions we gained understanding of the additional stresses that resulted because of the pandemic as well as the 'everyday' experiences of having a child in NICU."
A birth is labelled premature if the gestation period is less than 37 weeks. It is a common occurrence, affecting about one in 10 live births.
The study paints a stark picture of the complex challenges faced by parents, healthcare workers and the babies they care for. The pandemic further complicated an already difficult situation with tensions between the requirement for infection control to protect the safety and survival of infants and the wish to promote infant wellbeing through parental contact amplified.
"Our research highlighted a Covid-19 'baby blind spot' where the needs of these vulnerable infants and their parents were often neglected. This is concerning given that they already face so many challenges," Dr McKay said.
The team hope that their findings will result in a greater understanding of the lived experiences of preterm birth and the additional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and that improved understanding will inform better support for families, babies, and the healthcare workers involved in their care.
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