Educational Media Reviews Online

This excellent DVD series provides a good supply of much needed information for parents of newly born (or expected) premature infants in terms that are straightforward, easy to understand, and reassuring. While not necessarily addressing every concern the parents of preemies might have, the series does seem to cover their major anxieties. Incorporating testimonies of the real life experiences of parents in their own words, including the diary of one mother who appears with her healthy little girl in the film four years after her birth at 24 weeks gestation, the series addresses such common issues as concern about the baby’s appearance at birth, what the NICU equipment does and how to communicate with the doctors and staff, common medical problems, how to interact with and care for the premature infant in the hospital and at home and how to deal with emotional issues. Medical terminology is avoided where possible—for instance, in describing the developmental aspects of preemies, the “myelin” coating of the brain is simply referred to as a “white coating.” The length of each DVD in the series is short, and they are further divided into brief chapters focusing on specific aspects of the premature parenting experience. Thus the worries of an overwhelmed mother or father are addressed without the added burden of too much information at once. This will be an excellent addition to patient education libraries for maternity units and support groups as well as general health information collections.