It was at her 19-week check-up that Bronwen Weis found out there was a possibility she could lose her baby.
With the aid of cervical sutures to hold the baby in, thankfully that didn’t happen.
But seven weeks later, at just the 27-week mark, Demi arrived, weighing only 942 grams.
Ms Weis was left “empty and scared” at the thought of having a premature baby.
Juggling her time between looking after the baby in hospital and her toddler at home has been Ms Weis’ life.
She said the experience of Demi being in the NICU had been tough.
“It is terrifying not being able to hold the baby all the time and, even though I know she is in safe hands, it is so hard to leave her there every day,” she said.
Demi has been a part of an Australia-first study during her 11 weeks at the neonatal unit at King Edward Hospital.
The Emubird study, led by neonatologist Rolland Kohan, is using detailed images of a baby’s eye as a window into their developing brain.
It has been made possible thanks to Telethon funding for a handheld retinal optical camera that gives researchers a three-dimensional view of the retina behind their eye.
Dr Kohan said the aim of the study was to identify signs that could predict developmental concerns and therefore alert clinicians to a need for closer screening as the baby grows.
“Early detection and early intervention are key to good outcomes in children, so it would be exciting for us to contribute to the existing suite of screening tools to help give these babies the best possible start to life,” he said.
“This camera, which has been used to screen adults for macular degeneration for more than a decade, is incredibly powerful, because the images it provides of the retina are 10 times clearer than images from an MRI scan.”
For Ms Weis being a part of the study has reassured her about the future.
“The information I’ve received from the retinal scan has been positive and I feel very informed about how Demi is doing,” she said.
“Everyone involved does such a great job and I couldn’t be more happy to have been living in this area in this part of the world to be a part of this study.”
Participating babies will continue to be monitored for their first two years of life to compare their developmental data with the information detected from their eye scans as a newborn.
.