PENG GUOFEN put her hands on the glass wall of a nursery at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, where her premature daughter was being given medical care. She could barely see where her baby girl was because she almost lost her eyesight after giving birth to the girl, according to the Shenzhen Evening News.

    Peng married her husband Zhang Zhilong in 2012. As Peng suffered from pregnancy hypertension syndrome, her first child was born prematurely when Peng was 36 weeks pregnant. “My son was too ‘small’ when he was born. He only weighed around 1.8 kilograms,” Zhang said.

    The couple wanted to have another child so that their son would have a sibling and they could look after each other while growing up. The 30-year-old mother got pregnant again in May last year, but doctors warned that her blood pressure was a bit high after antenatal examinations.

    When Peng was in her 31st week of pregnancy, doctors at Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital suggested that she have a cesarean section, because the fetus couldn’t absorb enough nutrients due to Peng’s pregnancy hypertension syndrome.

    Peng’s daughter was born at a gestational age of 33 weeks Jan. 10. The preemie only weighed 1.3 kilograms, and Peng almost lost her eyesight following her daughter’s birth. A doctor said that Peng’s poor eyesight might have been caused by the pregnancy hypertension syndrome.

    “I never thought that pregnancy with high blood pressure could lead to such a consequence,” Peng said, adding that she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to take care of her children or see them with her own eyes again. If given a second chance, Peng said that she wouldn’t want a second child.

    She said that women with physical illnesses or of an older age should think twice before having children and be serious about having antenatal examinations after getting pregnant.

    Another mother, Shen Xiaojun, gave birth to a boy and a girl Aug. 3, 2014, when she was just 27 weeks into her pregnancy.

    Shen didn’t give up on her children even though the doctors told her that the twins might suffer from other diseases even if they could survive. Her son and daughter were discharged from the hospital after being hospitalized for 84 and 107 days, respectively.

    Shen has spent all of her time taking care of her children over the past two years. She is delighted to see that both of them are healthy and growing up like other children.

    According to Shen, parents should be confident in their premature babies. “Maybe they couldn’t learn things as fast as other children, but parents can play a positive role in helping them make progress,” Shen said.

    (Zhang Yang)