Having a premature baby is a crash course in both medicine and health economics. Parents face complex information, a daunting environment, difficult decisions, and overwhelming grief and worry. As an OB/GYN I have delivered hundreds of premature babies, but I really understand the heartbreak and challenges of prematurity because I am also the mother of triplet boys born extremely prematurely. Sadly, one of my sons died and my surviving boys were hospitalized for months.

What do you do when you have four filing cabinets full of research on prematurity, notebooks full of observations and therapies, the keen eye of an experienced physician, the inside scoop on the health care system, the experience of a mother who has been there, and breathing space now that your premature children have not been admitted to the hospital for 18 months and counting? The decision was easy: to share my unique insight into prematurity and provide a complete and practical resource for parents - a step-by-step guide through the premature baby experience from pregnancy through kindergarten and beyond.

The birth of a premature baby is like being dropped in a foreign country without a guide, a map, or language skills. The Preemie Primer: A Complete Guide for Parents of Premature Babies is the guidebook every family with a premature baby should own. It is the book I wished I could have read when my boys were born.