Advice on Preterm Labor

Hi Heather! I was put on bed rest at 25 weeks and made it to 34 weeks and 5 days. Although my daughter was 4.5 lbs, she was perfectly healthy (just small) and is now 2 and you would never know anything was different. She's right on track with other 2 year olds. I can't imagine being on bed rest with a young one to take care of, but I guess my point is that my doctor said basically anything past 34 weeks is great. As far as how long can you make it. My doctor said that there is no way to tell. You can be dilated fully and still hang in for weeks or not dilated at all and then all of a sudden go into labor. I have heard that preemie boys don't do as well as girls, but you have to remember how far we've come. Babies are born every day at 24 (for example) weeks and make it, sometimes with no long-term effects. Good luck, you've already made it to a pretty safe point!

I don't know if it helps but I was 31 weeks pregnant with twins when I went into pre-term labor. After 4 days in the hospital and shots to stop contractions, my doctor sent me home for bed rest and he also prescribed pills that helped stop the contractions. I had a 3 year old active boy at home as well. It all worked out well. I had to be induced at 38 1/2 weeks. Just rest as much as you can and try not to worry to much. Good Luck! L. F.

Hi Heather,
I am sorry that you are going through all of this. I delivered my son at 35 weeks after spending eleven weeks in the antepardum unit at the hospital on bedrest. My son was 5 lbs 6 oz. He spent 11 days in the NICU with minor complications that are typically associated with early delivery... cardio - brady (heart rate drops), some breathing issues, jaundice, trouble staying warm. I know that it is hard to comply with bedrest (I have another child as well) with another one running around, but you don't want to get stuck in the hospital on bedrest or deliver this early. You can email me if you have any questions! Good luck to you!

I was actually not due till the end of March. I was a full time worker and mother of a very active 4 year old, when I was put on bedrest at the end of January. I'd been in and out of the hospital a lot with contractions. They stopped them the best they could, but come Feb. 18th, my water broke, so it was back to the hospital. I was in labor all night (comfortably, thanks to the epidural lol), and the morning of Feb. 19th, I gave birth to a very healthy 7 lb baby boy. The best advice I can give is to take it as easy as you can. The longer that lil one is in there, the better it is. I learned to relax and let the housework go and spend what time I could with my daughter, reading and doing other activities I could while reclinded with my feet up. It's not easy, but it's very much worth it in the end! :) Hope that helps and good luck to you!

I echo all the other moms' responses. Your womb is the safest place for that baby. Every day you stay pregnant is an accomplishment. Just think of it this way: your daughter's big sister role has already started, and she can be mommy's little helper by keeping you company in bed, grabbing the remote control, bringing you a magazine, etc.

I delivered my twins at 32 1/2 weeks. After I got beyond 30 weeks or so, I sort of let my guard down because the survival rate is much higher after that point. I figured it would all be fine, and, in the end (eleven days in the NICU at St. John's), it was. But in retrospect I ask myself, why did I shrug off a 10% risk of problems? Or any increased risk for that matter? Nothing could be more impactful to a child's health than going full term.

So I do encourage you to do the toughest thing possible right now: Nothing. Don't get up; stay horizontal; ask for help; accept help. let your husband and your daughter surprise you with their initiative. Pack a cooler of food items, drinks (LOTS OF FLUIDS), snacks to get you and your daughter through the day. Make your goal zero days in the NICU.

Best of luck to you!!

Hi, Heather.

Yes, please listen to your doctor. I know that it is really hard when you have a little one running around.

Is there anyone that can come in and help your hubby some? Even if it is just for a few hours each day, to maybe help around the house so he can give his full attention to your daughter. I don't know if you have family members that are near to you, that they can take turns. Or can your little one go and stay with Grandparents for a day or two here and there. Is there any older cousins that can come play with your daughter to keep her occupied while your hubby tends to the house?

Maybe someone can put together a Mommy and Me basket for you to keep near your bed of things that you and your little girl can do in bed together. Sewing Boards, Books, baby dolls, puppets, stuffed animals, a couple of bed trays so you can color together, things that she likes to play with. That are low activity and so you can stay in bed. She will LOVE the special time that she gets to have with Mommy.

I will be praying for you!

Do everything you can to take it easy!!!!!! Our little guy came early, I had been having contractions and did not realize it for a month (he is our first). I continued to work and lift and do way too much until my OB caught it. After a week and a half of bed rest in a hospital, our son came eight weeks early at 2.2 lbs. We were extremely fortunate that he only spent 5 wks in the NICU at OP Regional; and we can not say enough good things about the people there. However, if I would have had the opportunity and knowledge to slow down and bed rest at home, giving him a couple of more weeks...Best wishes.

I went on bedrest with my twins (first babies) at 32 weeks. I took something to stop contractions (can't remember the name) but the doctor took me off at 35 weeks and said it would be safe to deliver at that time but I stayed on a modified bed rest until I delivered at 37.5 weeks. They even had to give me pitocin to get the contractions to continue through labor. But, I wasn't dialated at all. I was only three centimeters when I begged for my epidural.
But, the doctor said 35 weeks was perfectly safe for us to deliver.
Good luck.

My first baby was born at 36 weeks so with my 2nd one I thought I was going to go early too. And I was pretty much having contractions all day every day even as early as 32-33 weeks. They never hurt or stayed steady like every 2 min for an hour straight but they were always there. At 34 weeks I was dilated 2 and 75%. They told me to just "take it easy" but I continued to have contractions every day up until I was induced at 39 weeks 2 days! lol. Even at 37 weeks I had lost my mucus plug and was 100% and dilated to a good 3. So I wouldn't get too worried about it. If you were to go into labor at this point the baby would probably be alright and just need a little oxygen for a couple days. My son who was born at 36 weeks was 6.3 and perfectly fine never had any breathing problems at all. It's just so hard to tell because all pregnancies are so different. Well good luck with your new little one and hopefully you can hold out for a couple more weeks.

I wish I had some words of advice for you on what to expect, or what the prospects are of going another 4 weeks without delivering...but I dont.
What I Do have is a suggestion that you ask a friend or family member to take care of that 21 month old little dynamo of yours, during the hours that your husband is at work. If you dont have family there in the area...could you contact your church and see if there is someone who would be willing to take care of her when you need to be at home alone? Every day that you can give that little boy of yours, in the womb, is a big bonus for him and can have a huge impact on how well he does after he is born...and for years afterward. Ask your OB/GYN if she/he knows any resources for affordable child care in an emergency situation like this.
My daughter of a mothers network online and I feel positive that they would step up to the plate and provide emergency child care for one of their members if it was needed....if you have networked with a group online maybe that would be a source of help.
Good luck...and God Bless
R. Ann

My heart goes out to you but I must agree with those who say you need to listen to your doctor. Bed rest is and should not be an option but a must. I am a single mom and grandma to a beautiful 7 month old baby girl. My daughter who is 19 and a type 1 diabetic was sent to the hospital at 34 weeks pregnant. We were told they would keep her there on bed rest until the baby was born. She only made it two days before labor began. We were very lucky that the baby was not born with breathing complications (but we were prepared for that possibility by her doctor). The baby was born with an inability to suck which we were told is common in premature babies. Our little angel spent almost one month in the NICU at St. John's (and I must say their doctors and nurses were amazing). She is a beautiful healthy 7 month old now but if I could save anyone from those daily visits to the NICU I would. Listen to your doctors and follow the best rest. It's a time to rely on others to help you. You have been blessed with the greatest gift there is.

Follow the dr.'s orders as best you can. The dr. always knows best. With that in mind, I delivered triplets at 34 weeks. They were (& still are) very healthy. I was hoping to make it to 35 weeks for my scheduled c-section, but went into labor at 34 weeks. The dr. can give you a steroid shot that will help develop the babies lungs at this early stage. My trio were in the hospital for 10 days, 10 days & 1 14 days. They all came home healthy. It is possible. Keep your spirits up & try not to worry. Your mind is a powerful thing.

I have several friends with triplets who all delivered between 25 weeks - 35 weeks. Babies can survive when born at 25 weeks with the proper care. The best advice I can give is to make sure you are near a level 4 NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit (MO Baptist Hospital, St. John's Hospital, etc.) for delivery. Good luck & hang in there.

Hi Heather,

I had a similar situation nineteen months ago before my son was born. My water broke at 31 weeks........no medical reason. ( I'm very healthy and was during my pregnancy, it was just one of those things.) I was already at 4 cm but had not been having contractions when my water broke. I had to stay on bed rest in the hospital. The drs. wanted me to get to 36 weeks, but our little guy (and the BIG GUY upstairs) had a different plan. Our son was born at 32 weeks 5 days weighing 4 pounds and 2 ounces. He never had to be on a ventilator which was wonderful news! He stayed in the hospital for 15 days in order to get stronger and a little bigger before we could take him home. He was in the NICU for 5 days and the special care unit for 10 days. He was fed thru a tube for a few days as his sucking reflex was not completely developed. We had some nursing problems because of that, but I pumped and he did really well from a bottle, just not at the breast. (I wasn't producing well either, tho, so that could have been part of the problem!) He came home with an apnea monitor that we kept on him 24 hours a day. He would have low and/or high heartbeats on occasion, which is very normal for premature babies. He eventually grew out of that. He is now a very happy and healthy 19 month old. In fact, he is in the 77th percentile for height, and people can not believe he was a preemie!!! He has had no lasting effects physically or mentally by being born almost two months early. At 19 months he has caught up with his peers. Obviously, this is just one story, and I know when you are in the midst of this, it is a very scary time. I wish you the best of luck and will keep you in my prayers!

Take care,
A.

I had my son at 34 weeks..no preterm labor, nothing! My water just broke and that started the labor. He spent a week in the NICU - he got jaundice, which is very typical when they are little and early. My little guy was 4lbs 14oz when he was born. To be quite honest I spent a week of HELL! (pardon the language, but there is no better word) I was the only one the NICU nurses would allow to hold my son as he had to be in an isolet (sp?) and tube fed. They would not allow me to attempt to breastfeed him because they did not want him to lose any weight. Plus, I was traveling from Lee's Summit to 123rd & Metcalf for every other feeding (Every 4 hours). It stunk! My son had nothing wrong with him except the jaundice...believe me when I say please do what the doctor asks you don't want to be put through anything like that (minor issues or not and nothing is minor in the NICU). The truth is that no doctor knows for sure if there will be complications after they are born early. My pediatrician made sure I understood that there could be potential harm at an older age. My son has been fine except that he has asthma and has had pneumonia several times (he is now 3 years old). The doctor fears that this could be from him being early, but there is no way to know for sure. Please listen to your doctor, you don't want to run any extra risk to your baby or put any extra stress on you and your family later. Goodluck and hang in there! :)

I would say that if your Dr told you strict bedrest then you need to comply - think about the baby that you have in you right now - your 21 month old will survive for a few weeks.

On another note, I delivered my daughter at 35 weeks - emergency C-section. We were very lucky - she was actually 6 lbs and never needed oxygen. They did keep her in the NICU for 2 weeks until she could eat on her own. I'm glad to report that at 14 months she is doing great. She's a little behind as far as development (just now starting to walk) but nothing we can't live with!

Do what's best for your baby. Good luck.

I delivered twins at 34 weeks, and they did great. I did have the steroid shot to develop their lungs. You're doctor may have already suggested that. Its just a precaution, and there is very little/no risk to having it. Our babies did spend a couple weeks in the NICU in order to grow and learn to feed, but they were healthy. My son had a little trouble breathing, so they put him on the cpap machine for several hours that first day. That was the only real medical intervention that was needed though. 34 weeks is a huge milestone, so if you can take bedrest pretty seriously for another week or two, that can make a big difference. Also, consider where you will be delivering. A hospital that has a level III NICU will be best equipped to take care of premature infants. I was able to speak with the neonatologist when it first looked like we might be delivering early (28 weeks), and found it very helpful to understand what we might be dealing with at that point. Best of luck to you!

Stay on your bedrest. Babies need their time inutero for full development. Its about giving him the best start possible.

At 32 weeks I was having contractions three minutes apart, went into the hospital for two days. I aslo have an older child. With rest, meds, and help from my husband I managed to make it to 37 weeks. You can do...we never thought I would make past 34 weeks...it can be done. Keep your focus and DO NOT get stressed, and definetely keep hydrated. I found that if I would drink water and rest I could help control it.

Good luck!

I understand what you are going thru. I began preterm labor at 21 weeks and fortunately made it to 36 weeks before I delivered. The last two weeks I was dilated to 4 and had contractions every 3 minutes. I can't stress enough how important it is to drink lots of water. Some how this helps with the contractions. I was given steriod shots to help develop her lungs beginning about where you are now. Our doctor told us that bed rest helps the baby grow. When we delivered at 36 weeks she did fine and was much bigger than they anticipated. It will be a hard few weeks, but hang in there. There's nothing more frustrating than sitting there not able to do a thing. Best of luck to you!

I would do everything in your power to listen to your Dr about bedrest, but I know that with a little one and a working hubbie that can be hard. I just wanted to let you know that 34 weeks is pretty far along, and if you were to have your little one early he has great chances for survival. My neice had a baby at 31 weeks in Nov, and there were no bad complications. That being said every baby is different, and the safest place for him is in your womb. Just do the best you can, that is all you can do!!!

Bed Rest is an OPTION...Call your friends, call your church, call your family. There are people you can call on even if it doesn't feel like it. Do everything in your power to keep that little one inside of you where it can grow and get everything it needs for a good start.

Do you want to try to deal with 21 month old and going back and forth to a neonatal unit? No, I have been there, done that. My second child was born at 36 weeks with Hyland Membrane Disease. (sounds scarier than it is, but it was very scary for us) His lungs were not fully developed. He was blue when he was born and had to be put on oxygen. He was taken away from me when he was just a few hours old and taken to a neonatal unit in a hospital in another town. I had a 33 month old at home. Christopher was one of the lucky ones, he never had to be intubated and he got to come home after 12 days. Some babies with this have to stay much longer. Every day for those 12 days, we would leave the 33 month old with a family member and go to the hospital to touch, cuddle and be there for the new baby. It was a long two weeks. But, 2 weeks would have made all the difference in the world, inside the womb.

I am not trying to scare you, I am just trying to show you how important it is for that baby to stay inside of you. It needs that time to grow and develop. You could possibly deliver now and be fine (especially if it is a girl). I just don't want anyone to go through what I went through or worse. My daughter is almost 3 and was born at 38 weeks without any complications, she is beautiful.

Hang in there, You CAN do this.

I just had a baby at 34 weeks and although things didn't work out the way we had hoped they would, I can tell you that if your baby does come now, he will be just fine unless there are other complications. My delivery was a scheduled procedure done by a specialist who I trust 100%. We we first talked about when we would deliver the baby, I asked if the babies lungs would be developed enough at 34 weeks. I was told that at 33 weeks, they would give you medicine to help the babies lungs open up but at 35 weeks, they are not concerned. At 34 weeks you are in kind of a gray area for the drugs so they probably won't give them to you. I have a friend whose little girl was born at 31 weeks and she is now a perfectly normal little girl. If you do go into labor, your baby might have to be in the NICU for a little bit but it is AMAZING what they can do for those little ones. If you can make it past 36 weeks, that is the best but at this point, there really isn't much to worry about.

One other thing, my dr gave me wonderful advice about how to tell if I really did need to go into the hospital. I had never been in labor since my two were c-sections. I started having contractions at about 24 weeks with this last one. He told me that if I had 6 contracts in an hour to go lie down and drink something. If they continued and I had 6 in the second hour after lieing down, then I should call them. At the end of the pregnancy, there were a couple of times that I was having them 4-7 minutes apart for 1 1/2 hours but they always went away (or at least slowed down to more like every 12-15 min apart) by that 2 hour mark. Good luck and try not to be stressed out about it all. Stress just makes those contractions worse.

Believe it or not 34 weeks is not bad. Of course every day you go gives your baby a better chance of no complications. But I was put on bed rest at 30 weeks and delivered at 32 weeks and other then being tiny (3lb 5 oz) my son had no problems at all. My doctors told me once you get to 32 weeks the baby has a 90% of being fine. So obvisiously listen to your doctor and rest, rest, rest but try to relax and not worry too much.

I had premature labor with all four of my boys. I went into labor at 29 weeks (0 dilation, but 100% effaced) with my oldest child and was on extreme bedrest until he was born at 37 weeks. The doctor said that he had never seen any other woman in my condition, not deliver! I took medication to delay/stop labor and had to lie down or sit at all times except to go to the restroom or to take a quick bath. I was not allowed to cook, do laundry, ANYTHING! It certainly was inconvenient, but worth every day of it to deliver a healthy baby! Meals and housework had to be done by others.
When I had my twins four years later, I went into labor at 22 weeks! I was once again put on bedrest and medication and had to have shots to develop their lungs. Fortunately, I made it to 35 weeks, but once again I had to depend on others to care for my son, meals, housework, etc. I was lucky because I got to stay in the hospital with my twins and bring them home at five days old. Unfortunately, as a result of their prematurity, they caught RSV and spent more time in the hospital (one of my twins nearly died of it at 15 days old; he "coded" 15 times!).
My "baby" was born at 37 weeks after numerous medications and a month of bedrest. Fortunately, all went well with him.
It is an inconvenience to ask others for help, but don't feel guilty about it. A baby is a very precious thing and not to be taken for granted. SO many babies are born with developmental issues, etc and can be "kept alive," but the consequences of early labor can last a lifetime. Do NOT sacrifice the health of your unborn son in order to care for your daughter. Get her a sitter to care for her needs. You can always read to her, cuddle with her, watch movies with her, etc. while the sitter takes care of everything else.
Contact your church, local college, even the hospital to learn of options for childcare. Sometimes, you can even get free care or pay on a sliding scale. Of course, you can always give back someday by helping another mom in crisis.
I am not saying this to scare you. Pregancy has enough risks and things to worry about without complicating it with concerned thoughts; however, I wanted you to know the risks. I am fortunate, my babies all survived and my "baby" is now 5! I will NEVER forget the doctor that told me though that there were no guarantees and that my baby may not survive if delivered too early. I also will never forget the candid discussion of complications if the baby were to arrive early and survive. PLEASE seek help in childcare/housework. It is so worth it for a few weeks of inconvenience to have a healthy child for a lifetime!
Take care and I will pray for you and your baby. Let us moms all know how it goes!
K.

Congrats on your new baby. My angel was 10.5 weeks premature and I was put in the hospital on observation at 29 weeks. So in my eyes you are really lucky to have made it this far. You may discuss lung development with your doctor and see if they recommend steroids to move things along in case you go into labor early (if they can get 2 daily injections in they are very happy!) I had my 2 injections and Taylor was only on the vent for 5 hours. I don't know where you live, but if it's in Kansas City area, Overland Park Regional has the best NICU in the city and we got excellent care there. Feel free to ask me any questions about preemies...mine is doing just super!! Good luck.

K.

I had pre-term labor with both my daughter (now 11) and my twin sons (now 8). Bed rest at 28 weeks with my daughter and she was born at 34 weeks and 1 day. She was the biggest baby in the "Special Care" nursery also know as a NICU. She was a whopper at 4lbs 6oz. I was very worried right up until i walked into the nursery and saw all those babies born at 24 weeks and 25 weeks. The little boy next to her weighed 1 lb 3oz. 34 weeks was a breeze! I would suggest bed rest as much as possible. She was two when I was pregnant with my sons bed rest by 30 weeks with them. Born at 35 weeks and 4 days (thats good for twin birth by the way). It is hard to stay in bed all the time but i limited the number of times i got up. I kept as much of her stuff with me as possible and we put gates up to keep her out of things she wasn't allowed into. I was on medication both times to help stop contractions. Good luck! Don't worry too much things should work out fine. I will pray for you and the safe delivery of your son!