Worried about having another prem

[principessa76]

Hi Everyone,

DH and I are going to start TTC #2 in October this year. Right now I've got a bit of anxiety about having another prem. DS was born at 35w1d. There was no reason for his early arrival - infact I'd had a growth and development scan 48hrs before his birth and his head was not engaged and my cervix was still 3cm long (no dilation).

Despite the early arrival DS was absolutely fine. No trouble BFing and we took him home after 6 days in the SCU. I guess I could handle another 35 weeker but what if it was even earlier.... I've heard of this happening to people.

I'm just wanting to hear some of your experiences with subsequent births after your prem. Did you have another prem or did you manage to go full term?

I know this is all out of my control but I'm just thinking about it a bit at the moment and I'm hoping you guys can put my mind at ease.

TIA

[leesa]

Don't fret hun - my first was born at 31 + 4 wks, (so I would be stoked to have gone to 35 wks second time around ....). I had severe pre eclampsia.

I'm almost 38 wks pregnant with number 2 now - so I've baked my first full termer and I'm stoked.

I guess it can sometime depend on the reason why your first born was prem. The old tale for PE is that it 'usually' only affects the first pregnancy with the same partner (if it will affect the pg at all) - but in saying that a friend of mine had two full termers first, then number three was born early due to my friend getting PE! Go figure

I know its easier said than done, but try not to worry about it - and let nature take its course!

Good luck.

[black_rose]

DD1 was born at 34+1, with DD2 I went into labour at 35+1 but I was put onto medication to halt it as my waters hadn't broken, I lasted two weeks so she was born at 37+1.

I felt more in control this time and because I knew the warning signs I took myself off to the hospital as soon as I felt the contractions getting stronger and they were 5 minutes apart. In hindsight I would probably have let the contrations progress, as I had constant contractions and spent two weeks on the couch but in the end I managed to have a VBAC with gestational diabeties.

I am sure you will be monitored more closely towards the end and if you know its happening there is a good chance it can be prevented for you too.

[principessa76]

Thanks for your responses. Unfortunately I feel no less anxious about things. I think I'm destined to have another prem. From what I've heard from a few others and seems to be the pattern from you guys is that if there's no reason for the prem (eg PE) then you tend to go early again.

Like I said before there was no reason for my labour and what's more I had no idea it was coming. The scan 48hrs before DS's arrival gave absolutely no hint. I hadn't even had any braxton hicks. I didn't even know I was in labour for most of it - grand total from the first twinge to delivery was 3.5hrs. When I arrived at hosp I was fully dilated and they could see DS's head. (My water had broken at home but it was such a small amount I hadn't really realized what had happened.)

So I'm worried cos I don't think that even with close monitoring there would even be a clue I was about to deliver if things went the same way 2nd time around. Scary......

[~Sally~]

I totally understand, I posted similar threads before TTC #2.

Brendan was born at 30+1 due to PPROM (waters broke at 28 weeks) and most of the info was given gave me a high chance of it happening again around the same time, if not earlier.

During my pregnancy we celebtrated Brendan's 2nd birthday and it really hit me hard, around the same time I was told he had a sensory issue. I ended up on med's due to depression and anxiety.

Tristan's pregnancy was fairly easy as far as the pregnancy goes until I hit 25+5 weeks.... I had this sudden feeling that something terrible was wrong... I started losing my plug and it was blood stained... I decided after 2 days of worrying myself sick (literally) to head up to my local hospital. I was 26 weeks exactly and they put me in an ambulance and straight off to Perth, I was threatening to go into labour with regular tightenings coming with back pains and some mild period like pains.

I then spent the next 8+2 weeks in pre-labour and threatening... Tristan arrived safely at 34+3 after going into spontaneous labour at 34+2.

I was sceptical of making it past 30, but to get to 34 I was rapted, he's so perfect and the experience is so totally different than a 30 weeker.

My advice is to be aware of your feelings and trust your instincts. You know you best, if something doesnt feel right get checked. You CAN do this, You CAN make it further

All the best

[Sarah_H]

My friend had her first little one at 32wk 3d (had PPROM at 30wk) and her second little one two weeks ago at 39wk 3d

[Sararose]

My dd1 was born at 36+1 due to PPROM and sponaneous labour, she came about 18hrs after my waters broke, dd2 was born at 36+1 PPROM then cx started within about 5 mins of my waters breaking. There was no infection or any reason found for my early labours. When I went for an ob appt with dd2 to get the ok for going in the midwifery group practice program (had to have an ob's 'permission' to have a midwife) she told me there was a 30% chance I'd go early again but was fine with me having midwifery care.

While my girls weren't terribly premature they both came early with no major problems, dd1 was in the scn for 6hrs until she could maintain her temp. DD2 and I went home 24hrs after the birth. Aimee, my youngest, was only 1 day earlier (I was certain about my dates with dd2). With both dd they engaged then I went into labour within about 12 hrs. I had no special monitoring as they said there was nothing they could check to see if I would have PPROM again and they would manage things if and when it happened.

Good luck, I hope you go to term or at least past that 35 week mark,

[Liz]

DS was 37 wks and DD was 34 weeks. No particular reason for DD being that prem.

I am going to look into acupuncture to prevent preterm labour. Here's a thread where I asked the professional panel here on BB for advice: Acupuncture etc to prevent preterm labour? Gosh.. that thread is so old now! Took me a while to negotiate going for #3 didn't it hahaha. Anyway, it's something to think about, for me at least I'll feel like I'm trying something to prevent it, whether it works or not, at least I tried, if that makes sense.

[black_rose]

I agree with Sally, trust your instincts! If you feel any twinges/back aches around 35 weeks go to the hospital to be checked. They won't mind, I was going three times a week in the end to be monitered. I had a checkup on the day the meds finally stopped working and my cervix was still closed, it all just progressed really fast laster that night.

I didn't know I was in labour either with DD1, it was only when my waters broke that I realised I had more than a sore back!

[principessa76]

Thanks so much everyone. I really appreciate all your words of wisdom.

I'm trying to remember now if I'd had any contractions before my waters broke. Its so hazy and to be honest as I didn't realize it was my waters breaking and I didn't realize they were contractions so its hard to recall the timeline. All I know is when I got to hosp about 2 hrs later I was fully dilated. It sounds like it was possibly a fairly similar situation to your DD2 Sararose.

I've just got to not think about it I guess but its really hard. I just have that feeling that #2 is going to be early too and it certainly does seem to be a pattern from your responses.... I would just love to get over that 36 week mark.

The main thing I took out of being pg is that its all really out of my hands and I've just got to go with it and take it as it comes...... I wish I could put my words into action and just chill out.

[~Sally~]

thats the hard part hun... and its ok to feel how you are. No-one expects anyone of us NICU mums to just 'get over it' and if they do I'd slap them down!

It takes time to heal, but I believe that a lot of us will always hold a little bit of guilt over our children's early arrivals. Thats what makes the forum such a great place, we are not alone

[Janie]

Hun, I had an almost identical situation to you! DS was born at 35 weeks exactly, waters broke, contractions started, no real reason for it. He was healthy, we took him home from hossy with us, although we did run into some problems a couple of weeks down the track that were related to him being prem.

I too am worried about my next baby. My Ob says that I have an increased risk of preterm labour again, but it's not so high that I should worry about it. I'm trying not to

Sorry I can't offer you any help, just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

[Liz]

Had a bit of a google about preventing pre-term labour, and yep, most of the advice is to be aware of any niggles and reporting it to your care provider and getting checked out.

There were some interesting ideas there tho, like using probiotics - not proven, but would be a harmless thing to take, so why not?

Looks like they're studying the use of progesterone therapy to prevent preterm labour.

And one page said that even dental health could be related! LOL. So look after your teeth & gums!

The main thing I took out of being pg is that its all really out of my hands and I've just got to go with it and take it as it comes.

I don't like the thought of it being completely out of my hands... I'm sure there are things I can do, if only to make myself feel better for trying. *shrug*. The recommendation is to have more than 18 months between pregnancies, so that's something I can control (except for woopsies I guess hehe) and other things.

Funny tho, my OB didn't say anything about my risk for preterm labour if I went again.. he was more concerned about the size of my next baby (DD was 3.5kg at 34wks) LOL.

[Janie]

I'm with you Liz, I would prefer to feel that there was something I could do to help, even if I don't have total control of the situation. We will be worried about our next baby's size for the opposite reason, DS had some IUGR. Didn't affect his head though LOL, just his little body . Shouldn't laugh about it, it seems okay in hindsight though.

I've read a bit about that prog. therapy to prevent preterm labour, sounds interesting. As for the dental thing that's mostly related to gum condition. As we know, the gums are quite sensitive to pg hormones, and alot of women have pg gingivitis. As long as that's cared for, then no drama. But for women who have severe chronic gum disease, then that's where you can see problems with preterm labour. I don't think the link is very commonly made though?

[Liz]

Yeah, I didn't look into it in any depth. It was just in a list of suggestions of things to do. Said it has been linked before, so look after your dental health during pg. Easy enough to do I guess.

[principessa76]

Thanks for all the support. I can't believe I'm obsessing over this already. I'm not even pg yet! We're still 3months off TTC!

Quote:
No-one expects anyone of us NICU mums to just 'get over it' and if they do I'd slap them down!

Can you come and see my in-laws for me ~Sally~? Their reaction to DS's early arrival was "you should have a dozen children if you can pop them out like that" - direct quote from my FIL the day DS was born. That's their attitude about the whole thing. I was only ever an incubator to them anyway but they showed absolutely no compassion towards me at all. It was pretty tough and I still feel pretty resentful of that..... I know, I know, just another thing I should chill out about.

Quote:
As for the dental thing that's mostly related to gum condition. As we know, the gums are quite sensitive to pg hormones, and alot of women have pg gingivitis. As long as that's cared for, then no drama. But for women who have severe chronic gum disease, then that's where you can see problems with preterm labour. I don't think the link is very commonly made though?

Funny gums should be brought up. I'm a dentist so I can confirm that there has been no link reported between gingival health and preterm labour. Chronic gum disease (periodontal disease) has however been linked to a number of serious health conditions including heart disease and really impacts on your general health. Needless to say, my teeth and gums are in pretty good nick

Quote:
I don't like the thought of it being completely out of my hands...

I don't like it either. I'm a bit of a control freak by nature - I was actually booked in for an elective C/S. Unfortunately the only way I can not try to control every aspect of things (and stress over not being able to) is to just try to let go.

Thanks again for the support. It is nice to know I'm not alone. I think families find it hard to provide the support you need as they are so excited that there's a new baby. My family were obviously pretty good but as I mentioned my in-laws were horrendous. I think because DS was always healthy (just small) and now he's actually quite advanced they think the whole thing was no big deal. I may not make it to 35+1 next time.

[Janie]

Ah, that's so funny Principessa, fancy you being a dentist! There you go, I should have checked my facts , must have read about that supposed 'link' one too many times.....

I definitely believe that your teeth and gums are in good nick . Sorry to go OT, but have you gone back to work?

[Liz]

hahah... ahh well... strike that one off the list then! Still need to look after our teeth in pg tho hehehe

I'm still gonna check out acupuncture & chinese medicine tho.. TTC doesn't seem to be happening at the moment LOL but I really should contact the acupuncturist that's been recommended to me. I guess ideally I should do it before we get pg.