About 12% of all babies born in the U.S. are born prematurely, say Bill and Martha Sears, a husband-and-wife, doctor-and-nurse team of pediatric experts and authors of the Sears Parenting Library (which includes The Pregnancy Book, The Baby Book and other bestselling guides). They co-wrote this book on the essentials of premature births with their two oldest sons, Bob and Jim, who are pediatricians, and the result is a comprehensive, authoritative guide to understanding why babies are born prematurely, what the ramifications of such births are and what parents can do about it. The authors address parenting a preemie in the hospital and parenting a preemie at home, all the while providing an astute combination of statistics, Q&As and first-person notes from "Dr. Bob." Employing an honest but reassuring tone, the Sears family addresses all manner of medical questions, as well as parents? frustrations and feelings of helplessness.
