However much you long for the homecoming when your baby is in NICU, going home can be a shock. No monitors, no nurses to consult. Suddenly it's just you and your baby, the way it was always meant to be - but adjusting can be difficult. I was wild about potential infections when my girls came home, to the point of mania; one friend picked up her floorboards to check for mould; another purified the air with a bag of charcoal. Sometimes it's only after a trauma that one allows oneself to feel the enormity of it. 

So how do you adjust? On this final episode of Mother Ship, both my guests were themselves born prematurely. I talk to journalist Sarah diGregorio, whose wonderful new book is called Early: An Intimate History of Premature Birth and What It Teaches Us About Being Human. Sarah's daughter Mira was born at twenty-eight weeks and so Sarah has been in NICU twice - once as a mother, and once as the baby in the incubator. And I also called my friend, award-winning Israeli writer, Etgar Keret. When I was pregnant with my twins I interviewed Etgar about his wonderful memoir of having and being a son, The Seven Good Years, and over coffee he told me the story of his own premature birth, in the Sixties. Barely a few weeks later I was in hospital delivering the girls and I clung to his story like a talisman. So I asked him to tell it again, for the podcast. That really is a happily ever after.

I have loved every moment of making this podcast, of hearing your stories, and knowing that you are connecting with me, with my friends, and with one another as you listen. Thank you for joining me on what has been an incredible journey. Francesca x

Mother Ship is brought to you by VINTAGE Books and produced by Leena Norms. We’d love to hear what you think – please rate and review to spread the word and follow us on social media: 

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Find out more about Francesca’s book at http://bit.ly/MotherShipBook.

If you need more information about prematurity, help and support is available at www.bliss.org.uk. 

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