Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a place made of stories—where humanity, ethics, and science collide in dramatic and deeply personal ways, as parents, physicians, and nurses grapple with sometimes unanswerable questions raised by premature birth. When does life begin? When and how should life end? And what does it mean to be human? For the first time, journalist Sarah DiGregorio explores the fascinating evolution of neonatology and its significant breakthroughs—modern medicine can now save infants at five and a half months gestation who weigh less than a pound, when only fifty years ago there were few effective treatments for premature babies.