Clinique Brundidge Jingles and her husband Brager have had an unexpected journey as new parents, as Clinique went into labor and gave birth when she was just 24 weeks pregnant. At the time, their daughter, Sienna, weighed just one pound nine ounces.
Sienna experienced some medical challenges due to her early arrival which resulted in an extended stay in the NICU at Rady Children’s Hospital in southern California.
Clinique told KPBS that the experience of having Sienna in the hospital for so long — over 100 days — had been an emotional rollercoaster.
“It’s been fear, it’s been love. It’s been apprehension, it’s been excitement,” she said.
“Because she wasn’t doing well — I wasn’t doing well,” Clinique added. “I was emotional, I was sad. I could see her struggling to breathe and she was fighting and fighting and there was nothing I could do about it but watch her fight.”
She also spoke of the stress of navigating the NICU, especially as a first-time parent. “Trying to figure out what’s the medication, what are these procedures, who are you, why is there a different nurse every day, who is the doctor, what time do they come,” Clinique said.
At one time, survival rates of infants born as young as little Sienna were slim, but now she and others like her have a fighting chance at life, thanks in part to advances in excellent medical care. According to the National Institute of Health, the survival rate of infants born at 24 weeks is now more than 70%. Sienna is one of those survivors and was recently discharged from the NICU to go home with her family.
After Sienna’s extended NICU stay, Clinique offered hope to other parents in similar situations.
“From parent-to-parent I would tell someone: hang in there,” she said. “It may take longer than you expect, but every day is important. Still have hope. Bring positive energy to the room as much as possible. And if you’re having a bad day just compose yourself and get that positive energy because your baby can feel it. They tell you that, but it’s real, let me tell you, our baby is a miracle and it’s real.”
