For Fran (Francesca), being born at 28 weeks has impacted her life in some small ways. As an adult, Fran happily reflects on her Mum’s pregnancy experience 37 years ago and the extra efforts her whānau made to raise her to be the strong person she is today.

Fran’s early start in this world

Fran whakapapa’s back to Tūhoe and Ngāti Awa. She was born at 28 weeks at Waikato Hospital 37 years ago. Fran’s Mum had a stressful pregnancy, sick with multiple infections which led to the waters breaking at 22 weeks. She was admitted to hospital, given antibiotics for the infection and told she would go into labour and lose her pēpi. But weeks passed by and the pregnancy continued.

As Fran’s Mum continued to leak amniotic fluid the doctors stopped monitoring her as Fran was still considered ‘unviable’ (meaning too young and too small to survive if born at that time). But she did not go into labour, much to the surprise of the doctors (this was unusual all those years ago). By 26 weeks they saw a chance that Fran might survive and gave corticosteroids to her Mum (to mature Fran’s lungs) and began monitoring again. At 28 weeks Fran was born by a caesarean section. During the surgery the doctors found a broken piece of an old intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD), which was responsible for the infections. Fran then spent 10 weeks in the neonatal intensive care (NICU) until her parents were finally able to take her home.

Being born preterm affected Fran’s childhood in a few ways

Having sisters on either side of Fran highlighted some differences. Growing up Fran remembers being the only one made to wear a woollen singlet all year-round and a wetsuit even in summer. Fran says this made her feel ‘like a dork’ because none of her sisters or the other kids at school had to do this. But these were just a few of the many efforts Fran’s Mum made to keep her from getting sick. Fran also had to learn ballet and play the piano in effort to improve her coordination, something kids born prematurely might find more tricky than most.

Fran had some extra help with reading and writing during school, but it wasn’t until she was in her undergraduate studies at university that she realised she could have a learning disability. Fran was diagnosed with Dyslexia and was told that it was amazing that she made it through high school and her undergraduate degree with an undiagnosed learning disability. Fran says she is so grateful for all the bedtime stories that her parents read to her and for nurturing her interest in learning, she realises now how much it helped to set her up to succeed!

Fran’s message to others born preterm and their whānau

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“The message that I would like to share with whānau experiencing preterm birth is that preterm babies are resilient and can achieve a lot – given the right support. I managed to get a Masters degree in Forensic Science, despite my early start and some bumps along the way. My journey hasn’t been the easiest but I’m good at adapting to change quickly – a skill that all preterm babies learn from the start.”

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