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34 weeks....

I have had labour stopped twice up to now and the doctors have said that after 34 weeks they wont stop it again and would just give me steroid injections as soon as things started for babies lungs and let him/her come.

I am absolutely terrified of hospitals, I have said all along that when baby comes I just want to go home ASAP. I know this wont be possible with a premeture baby, but how long would be standard for a baby born at this time after the steroid injections? xxxx

Replies

  • Hi Vickic. I had pre eclampsia and ended up having an emergency section at 32+2. I'd had the steroids on the monday and tuesday and had Grace on the thursday. She went to the high dependency part of SCBU.She spent a week and 2 days in an incubator then went into a cot. She had no breathing difficulties which personally I thank the steroids for. She was tube fed, gradually increasing amounts as the suck/swallow reflex doesn't develop until around 34 weeks. At 3 weeks and 4 days she was well enough to leave the unit and I went into stay with her in transitional care for 3 nights. She came home at exactly 4 weeks.
    I stayed in hospital (well I'd already been there a week prior to the birth!!) from the thursday she was born until the tuesday when they needed the bed. I could've had what they called a hospitality bed on another ward and paid for my meals but I decided to come home and visit daily instead.
    I wouldve thought that a 34 weeker wouldn't have been in too long but I suppose every child is different.
    I have everything crossed that you will get further than 34 weeks but if you dont I'm afraid that the easiest way is just to go with the flow and accept it. I'm sure you will cope-after all you'll be a mummy.
    Good luck honey.
    Helen.xxx
  • Hi there

    I went into spontaneous labour at 33+6 when my waters broke and my lo was born the next day at 34 weeks. I did not have ANY steroid injections as they said I was so near 34 weeks i didn't need them. Max did not need ANY help breathing when he was born and he spent his first night with me (he was born at 17.58) but he did have difficulties feeding and lost a lot of weight in the first few days as he was CONSTANTLY sick nothign stayed down at all so he was in SCBU from the morning after birth for 7 days and then the 2 of us together for anohter 3 so we were in 10 days in total.

    It was brilliant in SCBU though - have you been offered a look around yours? It might help put your mind at rest? At the end of the day it is not easy but if it is the best thing for you and bubs and I am sure your worries and fears will go to the back of your mind.

    Let us know how you go!
  • I had the girls by elective c-section at 32+3 so had steroid injections. I stayed in for 5 days (my choice so I could be with the girls, they would have let me go after 2 days).
    The girls were luckily only in Intensive care for 3 days. high dependency for another 4 days and then in cots growing and learning to feed. They were in SCBU for exactly 5 weeks but I spent the final 3 nights rooming in with them

    All the best and keep us posted xx
  • HIya, I had Reuben at 34+2 by emergency C section due to Pre Eclampsia. He was given steriods as a matter of precaution on the Sunday before he arrived early doors on the Thursday ... They could give you steriods now as precatuin and it won't harm your baby even if they don't arrive till 42 weeks!

    Anyway Reuben was in NICU for a day whilst they sussed him out, though he didn't need any ventiltion, and had phototherapy for a day (Premmies v prone to Jaundice), then he spent a week in a cot getting used to feeding, tube at first then very slowly breast and bottle combination feeding. We had 2 days of living in with him before we brough him home.

    I left the hospital after 5 days as I felt I was becoming instiutionalised! ;O) but it was great to get some sleep and rest before Reuben came home properly. I also really valued the support from the Neo Natal unit, everyone commented how confident a new mummy I was and I am sure that was because of all the help the lovely nurses gave me. Going home from hospital without him initially was heart breaking but I am so glad he was cared for so well.

    Let us know how you get on ... xx
  • Heya
    My DD was born at 33+2 and spent 3 and a half weeks in SCBU. About a week of that was in an incubator, and then she moved into a cot and was still tube feeding/trying to BF for about a week and a half after that before moving on to BF and bottles. I also had the steroid injections to mature her lungs and she needeed no help breathing thank goodness!

    I was in the hospital with my DD for 2 weeks after she was born, mainly because I was trying to BF her, and also because we were transferred 70 miles from home for her arrival. Once she got moved nearer to home I went home and visited her each day, spending most daytime with her, popping home for tea and then going back for the final late feed. I then spent 2 nights in hospital co-living prior to her coming home. it was so nice to come home at last rather than living in and out of hospital!
    Whatever happens I'm sure you'll do just fine when bubba arrives, everything else will just disappear into the background in camparison. I hope bubba stays put for as long as possible for you hun x
  • Hi there
    do you still have preavia??? I would push for steriod injections NOW just in case.

    I had Amelia by EMCS at 35 weeks due to heammorraging with complete placenta preavia. When she was born ( i wont lie) she needed to be bagged and they worked on her for a good 15 mins to get her stable. Her apgar was just 3 at birth, 4 at one min and 6 by 5 mins. They took her off to SCBU (this was a small hosp abroad that does not have NICU etc..) she was born at 12.45am and spent her first 2 days in an incubator getting antibiotics ( I am strep b and even tho a section they worried about her falling ill) and help with her temp and breathing. She was brought out for feeds as I was BF and luckily she had a great sucking reflex and took to it like a duck to water. She then went back into SCBU in a phototherapy crib as her bilibrun levels became critical and she was almost black/yellow. She spent another 7 days in the SCBU so that was about 9 days in all. We took her home on the 10th but had to go in every day for the heel prick test to make sure she was OK.


    On the whole babies born at 34 weeks should be fine to go home. Its only if they have other problems that they would be kept in. My friend had her baby at 34 weeks and took him hoe weighing 4lb 7oz 2 days later!

    Hope it all goes well for you!

    d x
  • i had dd at 32 weeks after my waters breaking. my waters went at 6.30pm went down to be checked as the hospital said i had probably just had a wee cos baby had kicked my bladder (hmmm i know the difference). i arrived at change of shift so had to wait for 30mins to be seen. in that time my labour had started, i was examined 15mins after my first contraction and i was already 3cm so was taken straight to labour ward it was about 8.45pm by then. i had the first lot of steroids at 9.20pm but was pushing at 9.30pm after about 60mins of contractions. dd was born at 11.19pm. so i had no time for the steroids to take full effect or to have the second lot.

    when dd was born she needed no help with her breathing and gave a good cry when she was born. she was taken immediately to the station at the end of the bed to be checked then within 5 mins she was wrapped and handed back to me for a 5 min cuddle before being taken to scbu.

    she was born on the thursday night and came out of the incubator on saturday morning and went into a cot. she had her first bottle on the sunday as in their words 'it was the only way to shut her up'. she had tto go under the lights for jaundice which meant that she had to be stripped so was back in the incubator for 24hrs just to keep her warm.

    she moved out of intensive care after about 36hrs into high dependancy. she was then moved to the nursery once there was room for her 10days later. then home on day 19

    oh and dd was 4lb 11oz
  • Kara was born at 34+4 weeks weighing 3lb 12oz. She had no problems with anything and didn't get the steroid injections. They were unsure whether they would give them at night time when I went in. They said that they will see in the morning. However Kara was born during the night so never got the injections. She was in SCBU for 2 weeks and was tube fed for about a week. She was off all her monitors in a couple of days as she was able to do everything on her own. She needed oxygen for 3 hours when she was born and that's it. I have never looked back at her being a prem baby. She is now almost 2 1/2 and she is doing everything a normal toddler should be doing. She is a great weight and is taller than an average toddler for her age.
  • Michael was born at 34+5 days. He was absolutely fine and did not go to scbu at all. He was 7lbs1 at birth. After a few days he did develope jaundice, but a week later he was completely better again.
  • i guess i was lucky, my waters broke at 34+5, 2 days later i went into labour, but after several problems i had to have an em. sect. one of which was an infetcion, so lo was born at exactly 35 wks, was a very healthy 4lbs 15oz, and spent a total of 5 hours in neo-natal his agpar was only 7 at 10 mins, i was allowed to take him home 2 days later. the only thing he really struggled with was maintaining heat so i had to live in a sauna for a couple of weeks lol not sure if he suffered any other complications initially after the birth as they treated him the opposite side of the curtain but it did take him a good 5 mins to cry. and to this day i think i would rather not know what went on. xxx
  • My lo was born at 35+4 so didn't need the steroid injections. He was 4lb7 and wasn't feeding properly so had to be tube fed so we had to stay in for a week then after begging to go home continued to tube feed for a couple days until he was feeding properly.
    Good luck. x
  • Hi vickic hope your bubba hangs on for a bit longer.

    I went into labour at 32+6 and it was off and on for 3 days!! I had 2 steroid shots and my son had no breathing problems at all. When he was born he was whisked over to the baby table for them to check him over. He was in good shape so I got a cuddle for 5 minutes before they took him to SCBU. He spent 4 days in an incubator to keep his temperature up then was moved to the cots in the nursery with an electric blacket. I expressed for him and was fed using a tube for 2 weeks until his sucking reflex kicked in. He came home at 3 weeks, still only weighing 4lb 9oz and was tiny in his pram.

    Good luck
    xx
  • Hiya hun George stopped growing at 33wks but was born via emergency c-section at 37 wks, I didn't have steroids and he was 4lb 10oz with an apgar score of 10. He was in scbu for a cpl of days and in hosp for a wk. I chose to stay there because we lived half hr away and I didn't want to leave him there on his own. Please try not to be scared, you will be in the best place for both of you. G dropped to 4lb 7oz, had probs with his temperature and got a bit of jaundice, If you have a c-sec you will have to stay in cpl of days but I couldn't feel my legs for 24hrs or so. You actually become institutionalised and don't know what day it is and have a routine of eating and feeding baby and everything rolls into one. I got a bit teary going home after everything I'd been through with George I was a bit scared in case anything happened but after 2 nights of sleeping with the light on I started to relax.
    Jen
    George 13wk +1
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