An Intimate History of Premature Birth

Inspired by Sarah DiGregorio’s harrowing experience giving birth to her premature daughter, Early is a compelling and empathetic blend of memoir and rigorous reporting that tells the story of neonatology – and explores the questions raised by premature birth.

‘A definitive history of neonatology, written with urgency and clarity, beauty and compassion. DiGregorio is at once a clear-eyed reporter and a mother who has lived through the reality of neonatal intensive care, and her balance of the two narrative strands is pitch-perfect. A popular science book that deserves its place among the best’ Francesca Segal, author of Mother Ship

The heart of many hospitals is the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It is a place where humanity, ethics, and science collide in dramatic and deeply personal ways as parents, doctors, and nurses grapple with sometimes unanswerable questions: When does life begin? When and how should life end? And what does it mean to be human?

For the first time, Sarah DiGregorio tells the complete story of this science – and the many people it has touched. Weaving her own experiences and those of NICU clinicians and other parents with deeply researched reporting, An Intimate History of Premature Birth delves deep into the history and future of neonatology, one of the most boundary pushing medical disciplines: how it came to be, how it is evolving, and the political, cultural, and ethical issues that continue to arise in the face of dramatic scientific developments.

Previously published as Early

Reviews

‘Sarah DiGregorio delves deeply into the fraught world of premature birth. With bracing honesty, she recounts her own story and the stories of other women who draw on the power of love and meld it with cutting-edge science as they struggle to save the life of their newborn. This book opens our minds and hearts to a world that is rarely seen with such clarity’ Jerome Groopman, MD, Recanati Professor, Harvard Medical School, author of The Anatomy of Hope

‘A must read for anyone interested in the science – or the experience – of preterm birth’ Emily Oster, author of the New York Times bestseller Cribsheet and Expecting Better

‘Fascinating. DiGregorio has strung together a riveting history, from carnival incubator shows to the possible future of baby ziplocks. At times shocking, heart-breaking and inspiring, the tension between technology and humanity is evident throughout, and DiGregorio does not shy away from it’ Jennifer Block, author of Everything Below the Waist

About the author

Sarah DiGregorio is a freelance journalist who has written for various publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Village Voice, Food & Wine, BuzzFeed, Parade, and Saveur. Her work has been included in the Best American Food Writing yearly anthologies three times. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her daughter and her husband.