*SWAK

It’s another glorious spring day in the San Francisco Bay area. Although the weather is warmer and the cold and flu season has ‘officially’ ceased, take heed: if you kiss your premature baby on the lips there could be dire consequences.

Preemies need lots of extra protection from the infectious diseases they cannot withstand. It may be April Fools Day but it’s no joke. Some are living on you! Just as you know to make sure you and your visitors take extra precautions around your preemie baby(ies), ie, wash hands before touching and after a diaper change, so you should guard your baby’s lips. When those adorable little peachy pouters make you want to kiss them back, aim for the cheek or the neck or the head–just about anyplace except a direct portal of entry into the body. (Okay, that goes for ears and noses too.) Do this and save your baby from a host of infections, notably respiratory syncytial virus RSV (a common cold in adults) which can be fatal in premature and micropremature babies.

Continue to monitor your little one’s environment by not allowing cigarette smokers to fume indoors, nor to hold the baby immediately after having done so. Secondary inhalation carries with it a number of toxins which also can compromise the immature immune system of a preemie.

It may seem like a lot to impose these rules on your friends and family, but you’ll be glad you did.

*SWAK= Sealed With a Kiss