How premature births leave Kenyan parents carrying silent emotional scars [Courtesy/iStock]
It is the wish of every mother expecting a child to walk out of the hospital ward with a healthy baby. But for families with premature babies, the sharp beeping of monitors and hum of incubators quickly replace the joy and celebration usually associated with childbirth.
Premature birth (delivery before 37 weeks) is a leading cause of newborn complications and deaths worldwide.
In Kenya, many babies are born each year prematurely and require long periods of specialised care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where incubators and monitors replace the expected joy of childbirth.
While medical attention is often centred on the baby's survival, parents also face a major but less visible struggle: the mental and emotional toll that comes with the experience, which often begins suddenly and without preparation.
