Do preemies have chances of emotional problemes as adults?

Question

Do they have chances of ADHD, PTSD. I have a 7 year old and she was born at 28 weeks, I have noticed that she seems to have a much more pittiful opinion about herself. I wonder if her hearing that she almost died is as hard to deal with as remembering it.

Answer 1

If you use google and do a search online then you'll find that there are plenty of studies that show that premies have more problems of just about any type, including mental health problems. I remember reading recently that their risk of depression in adolescence is way larger than that of full term kids, especially girls.

I don't think though that your daughter's problems have anything to do with her almost dying at birth. A more likely hypothesis would be that she was separated from you in the NICU and hence didn't get as much parental love/attention as normal kids. Also, her brain wasn't developed far enough yet when she came out, and who knows what kinds of effects that has.

Do you pity her? If you do then perhaps she's kinda started to see herself that way too. Anyway, I don't know how you treat her or any other circumstances... all kinds of things could be wrong. If you can't find anything wrong with your behavior or with the rest of her environment (school, etc), and this is a problem, then perhaps a psych appt would be a good idea. Even though premies are at an increased risk of (mental) health problems that doesn't mean they can't be fixed.

Answer 2

Sure, premies have emotional problems at times. So do kids born after full term.

I'm thinking that hearing 'poor girl born a premie' all the time has given her the notion that she is somehow defective.Or perhaps she has the idea that if she harps on that, she will somehow get things.

She might really have ADHD, but she needs to learn to buck up now: She might have been born a premie, but she's not an infant any more.

Best of luck to you and your daughter! I know I sounded pretty hard for a bit, but this is the voice of experience talking.

Answer 3

aww. poor girl. i dont know if its much to do with actual birth, more genetics and things like that - do you or your partner suffer from any of these problems?

are you sure she isn't being bullied or anything?i was bullied at the age of 3 in nursery school, so dont think it's too young for that to happen!!!!!

if the problems are serious and last a long time you should maybe go see a GP who will refer her on to someone if they think its necessary.

my boyfriend was given a week to live when he was a few days old - he had meningitis - and it doesnt upset him, hes actually quite proud of himself for "defying death" lol but everyones different.

you should try talking to her. good luck!

Answer 4

I don't think she remembers her experiences in the delivery room, any more than I do!