So Many Babies

Neonatologist Susan Landers, MD Shares in Memoir the Traumatic Life & Death Choices Parents Face When Their Sick or Premature Baby Needs the NICU  (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)

In the United States nearly half a million babies are born preterm (before 37-weeks of pregnancy), have an illness, low birth weight (under 5.5 pounds), a multiple (twin/triplet), a major congenital malformation, or other critical care scenarios when admitted to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).

Many of these children receive care and recover with the help of neonatologists and other specialists, and eventually leave the unit as healthy, thriving babies. However, for other babies who are extremely premature or those with an inoperable birth defect, there are traumatic and stressful times for parents – especially the moms – who are confronted with life and death choices for their babies.

In So Many Babies, Neonatologist Susan Landers, MD, shares the stories of the close relationships that NICU staff and parents develop during some of the most distressing times of their sick child(ren)’s lives. In addition, Dr. Landers’ memoir describes how the practice of neonatology shaped and influenced her life experience. (So Many Babies: My Life Balancing A Busy Medical Career & Motherhood; publication date: May 4, 2021 eBook ISBN 978-1-63195-451-1 $17.95 /September 14, 2021 Paperback, ISBN 978-1-63195-450-4 $17.95)

As a neonatologist for over thirty-five years and a mother to three of her own children, Dr. Landers describes how the full-time practice of neonatology influenced her experience as a mother. As a neonatologist, she survived and thrived during a lengthy NICU practice, and she relates her experiences of finding resilience and endurance, managing to postpone burnout until late in her career. The book describes many technological changes that she witnessed over decades in neonatal medicine and high-risk obstetrics, such as infertility treatments and multiple births. Also, her experience in the NICU is illustrated by many poignant life-and-death scenarios, including stories about complex, critically ill patients, and their worried parents, each one touching her life.

In So Many Babies, Dr. Landers discusses:

• Working in the NICU and the roles of various specialists who helped care for critically ill babies.

• Heart wrenching stories of babies who did not survive and how their parents continued.

• When physicians disagree about treatment decisions that affect the quality of life for a child.

• The roles of doctor’s counsel and parental wishes.

• The high costs of infertility and multiple births.

• The toughest clinical cases that provided challenging ethical dilemmas.

• Moms feeling guilt after having a preterm baby, after losing a baby, experiencing post-partum depression, and enduring other extreme stresses in the NICU.

• Vulnerable Child Syndrome and divorce rates among parents of NICU survivors.

• Advocacy for breastfeeding medicine and donor human milk banks.

• Physician burnout – with a warning for women in the medical field and tips for prevention.

• Every mother’s desire: to be a “good enough” mother.

• The American Mother Culture – can women ever REALLY have it all without motherhood guilt in their careers.

• And so much more …

Connect with Susan Landers, MD directly at

https://susanlandersmd.com/

https://www.instagram.com/susanlandersmd/

https://www.facebook.com/susanlandersmd

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-landersmd/

https://twitter.com/susanlandersmd

Susan Landers, MD

Dr. Susan Landers is a neonatologist, which is a pediatrician with extra training in the care of sick and premature babies. Her first book, So Many Babies will be published in May 2021. After attending Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, Dr. Landers graduated in 1973 and received two BS degrees, in Biology and Chemistry. Dr. Landers attended medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina. After completing medical school, she completed three years of pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. Next, she completed three years of neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine affiliated hospitals, in Houston, Texas. Dr. Landers practiced academic neonatology for fourteen years and private practice neonatology for eighteen years. While caring for patients full-time in private practice, she served as a speaker for the Texas Department of State Health Services. She was the Medical Director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin and served on the milk bank’s board of directors. Additionally, she served on the Executive Committee of the Section on Breastfeeding for the AAP. Together with her husband, Dr. Phillip Berry, she raised three children, one son and two daughters. Her family resides in Austin TX.

After attending Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, Dr. Landers graduated in 1973 and received two BS degrees, in Biology and Chemistry. There, she was elected to Mortar Board, the National Women’s Honorary. Dr. Landers attended medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina. There, she was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), the National Medical Honorary, and graduated in 1977.
After completing medical school, she completed three years of pediatric residency training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas, from 1977 to 1980. Next, she completed three years of neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine affiliated hospitals, in Houston, Texas, from 1980 to 1983.

Dr. Landers practiced academic neonatology for fourteen years and private practice neonatology for eighteen years. While in academic medicine she served on the faculty of two medical schools, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. She conducted clinical research, published more than twenty peer-reviewed papers, and taught medical students, residents, and fellows.

While caring for patients full-time in private practice, she served as a speaker for the Texas Department of State Health Services from 1997 to 1998. She was the Medical Director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin, from 2000 to 2004, and served on the milk bank’s board of directors from 2006 to 2009.

Even though she worked full-time, Dr. Landers continued to publish papers and worked for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). She was a nationally recognized expert in breastfeeding medicine and achieved elite status as a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (FABM) in 2002. She served as a major presenter at physician education programs at AAP and ABM national meetings for nearly a decade. Ultimately, she served on the Executive Committee of the Section on Breastfeeding for the AAP from 2008 until 2014. In that capacity she contributed to several policy statements and clinical guidelines published by the AAP, an additional four peer-reviewed publications, and a book chapter. In 2008, she received a national award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Quality Improvement from Pediatrix Medical Group (now known as Mednax).

Together with her husband, Dr. Phillip Berry, she raised three children, one son and two daughters. Her family resides in Austin, TX. So Many Babies is her first book.