having another preemie?

sapicochung1

Did you ever hear that a mom will have another preemie if they gave birth to one already? So many ladies that I work with when I went for a visit not to long ago said that I will most likely have another preemie if/when I get pregnant again. Did any of you ladies hear of this?

 

TIA 

AFwife1106

I think it depends a lot on why you delivered early.  

My OB told me that I probably wouldn't, especially if I had the P17 shots.. my water randomly broke.  I didn't have pre-e or PTL or anything.. I lost my MP about a week before my water broke, so she thinks that when I lost it, some bacteria were able to get in and weaken the membrane.  So there wasn't any anatomical or diagnosable medical reason why I pprom'ed.  

Since you already had a preemie, they would know what to look for.  I would think that would reduce your chances of having another, or at least allow the baby to stay in longer.  I would talk to your OB or MFM if you are worried about it, since they know your history, they would be able to give you a better idea of how likely another preemie would be. 

sapicochung1

I started cramping while I was at work so I guess I had PTL. My water didn't break and my MP didn't come out. Thanks for the advice. I will talk to my OB in the spring when I see her for an annual exam.

JenniferHolly

What an odd thing for them to say to you! It really depends why you had a preemie in the first place. 

AFwife1106

I would feel pretty comfortable with the chances if I were you.. but I already want #2 so my opinion might be slightly skewed.  

clyoungsey

It is something that I worry about, if we were having a 3rd, but 2 is good for us.  My first was FT but small...he was only 5lbs 12 oz (my preemie weighed more than him going home from the NICU) so I don't know.  But I really think it depends on why you had a preemie.  And of course your doc knowing your situation could best answer that question.

lemen99

It depends!
I have an IC and will they said.

Andrewsgal

I posted my success story below, statiscally if you have a history of  PTL then you have a great chance of having another preemie, however things like PROM  in your first pregnancy does not increase your chance for another preemie.

dmblack

Having a preemie the 1st time around does increase your chances of having a preemie the 2nd time.  However like the others have said a lot of it depends on why you had a preemie in the first place.  I had my DD at 26w3d and my son at 37 weeks.  I also had the 17P injections with my son so I think they did help prevent the PTL.

sapicochung1

Thanks for your advice ladies. My DD was born at 35 weeks weighing 6lbs and 3ozs so she was a good size. 

 Sorry for asking what exactly is PROM? 

goblue

sapicochung1:

Thanks for your advice ladies. My DD was born at 35 weeks weighing 6lbs and 3ozs so she was a good size. 

 Sorry for asking what exactly is PROM? 

 

PROM stands for Premature Rupture of the Membranes - essentially your water breaks before contractions/labor starts.  This is a dangerous situation even if you are 40 weeks.  pPROM is Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes, which means your water breaks without labor AND you are not yet 37 weeks.  This is obviously an even more dangerous situation.  My MFM told me that if you pPROM, you have about a 15-20% chance of pPROMing again with your next pregnancy (of course, that % goes up or down depending on why you pPROMd).  Hope this helps.

sapicochung1

I'm not sure what happened with me. my water didn't break but I was 3 cm when I got to the hospital. I'm going to talk to my OB about P17 shots when I have #2 

albertabride06

I've been told that I will most likely never have a full term pregnancy. However, reading what others have posted on here have given me some hope that I might be able to get to the same gestation again or better. At this point though I don't know if we will have another one (even though we really want to)  right now the thought of another preemie scares me to death.

sapicochung1

albertabride06:

I've been told that I will most likely never have a full term pregnancy. However, reading what others have posted on here have given me some hope that I might be able to get to the same gestation again or better. At this point though I don't know if we will have another one (even though we really want to)  right now the thought of another preemie scares me to death.

I agree with you on this one. I'm scared I may have another preemie. After reading about the P17 shots I think there is hope for me to have a full term baby. My doctor never said anything about me having a full term baby. I should ask my OB in April when I go see her for my physical.

It's good to see you here albertabride  

jene4413

I had preeclampsia.  They said that chances are it won't affect me in future pregnancies.  Hope they are right...I'm sure that I'll still be monitored pretty closely just to be safe...