Congratulations Dear Parents!

You have just experienced a wonderful miracle - the birth of your baby. Your miracle, however, arrived earlier than you expected - maybe weeks or even months earlier. Your baby is now being cared for in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). You probably are overwhelmed right now and have a lot of questions regarding your baby's health. For instance, when he/she will get to go home, and how you are going to cope with this unexpected situation.

This book has been prepared to answer some of the common concerns which most parents have. Although it is not easy, but try your best not to worry; we know you may feel completely helpless. But you can rest assured knowing that while your baby is in Cloudnine, he/she will get the best medical care available. Cloudnine has one of the highest survival rates of preterm babies in the world so far, due to its international standard of care. Do not hesitate to discuss any question you may have with the NICU staff. Let them know if you are scared or confused. Helping parents like you deal with their fears, feelings, and frustrations is an important part of their job.

This book has been planned for quite some time, the global action report on preterm birth 'Born Too Soon' provided us the first global estimate of preterm birth. The report shows the extent to which preterm birth is on the rise, and that it is now the second leading cause of death globally for children under five, after pneumonia. This hastened our efforts and resulted in the first edition, but now we are preparing this second edition after 7 years of various feedbacks from parents like you. Simultaneously, taking a cue from 'Born Too Soon', the Indian Foundation for Premature Babies (IFPB) have prepared a sequel on Preterm Birth in India. Neonatologists from across the country, including experts from Cloudnine, have contributed data and content on various issues related to India's preterm births in the report 'Delivered Too Soon - India Story' which was released recently.

I heartily thank Shri. U. T. Khader, Honourable Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka, under whose august aegis the first edition of "Arrived Too Soon" was launched. I also thank Dr. Arvind Shenoi, my colleague, for giving constructive suggestions and writing the preface for this first edition; Dr. Chitra Shankar for writing the section on follow up of preterm babies and all my other neonatal colleagues Dr. Nandini Nagar & Dr. S. V. Girish- for providing valuable insights.

We will constantly strive to improve our book, as with our services, so if you feel there is something we could have written better or could have added, or even deleted, please let us know. We will include your suggestions and comments in the next edition to make things better!