Life in the NICU

What's up with my friends and the NICU? I don't know that many married couples, much less that have had babies, but two of the couples have had babies born 6+ weeks early. It's infuriating. These are couples who had done everything "right" - good prenatal care, no alcohol/ drugs/ high-mercury fish/ cold cuts, etc. But still, two have ended up with babies in the NICU. It's disheartening. On the plus side, one of the former preemies is now a perfectly healthy 3 year old with no lingering effects, and the other just graduated from the NICU. She's still <4 lbs (do you have any idea how *tiny* a 4lb baby is?!), but she can regulate her temperature, breathe on her own, and eat without problems, which are the requirements for the baby to get out.

These feelings also combine with some guilt about me complaining - my friends and I are really sitting in a position of privilege. We have 2 NICUs in town. We have good doctors that we can afford to go to (thanks to our health insurance). The health insurance is great, so the babies' extended stays in the NICU haven't hurt the couples financially. We have access to fresh, healthy food and know enough that even on our grad student salaries, paying for it is important. We're all (over)educated. We aren't immediately cowed by our doctors. The list goes on and on...