Steroid shots

gilbrech

I went in for my 32 wk non stress test and it turned out i was having contractions 5 mins apart.  To the hospital I went. I was given medicine to stop the contractions and a steroid shot to help the baby's lungs. How much does this shot help?

ssg73

My personal experience is that the shots do wonderful things.  My daughter was born at 30 weeks and I got 2 shots but was not able to wait the full 48 hours. Even with the limited time to work I think they made a huge difference.  E was only on the vent less than 12 hrs, on cpap for 3 day and never had breathing issues.  We think it was the shots that made the difference for us.  From what I have been able to gather babies who get the steroids do so much better in terms of their lungs.

jehprb

I got the shots and had my 32w3d son 72hrs later - I think they made a difference for sure even though he was born with RDS.  He had a nasal cannula for a couple of days and did end up with a CPAP for the better part of one day before going back to the cannula.  But in less than a week he was on room air and never had any breathing related problems again.

Sweets2005

They can help a lot!

I hope the medicine worked to stop your contrax. I know that medicine is no fun so hoping the side effects wore off as well. Good luck!

TaraJV

I feel like they were helpful.  DD was born at 29w2d - 40 hrs after the first shot.  She was on cpap for 5 weeks, but always on room air (no supplemental oxygen) and has had no long term respiratory problems.

sarahsunshine777

I had that happen too at 31 weeks!  I got the two shots and had my son at 32 weeks.  He's not had problems breathing (knocking on wood) and the doctors think it's because I got the steroids!  Hope your's will hang on inside you a little longer!!

ourkybaby

I agree, I think they are amazing. My water broke at 25W6D and got my first round of two shots then, then another round 4 weeks later and I was able to keep Mallory in for 7 weeks 2 days after my water broke and she was born at 33 w 1 d and although she's only been here 12 days thus far, she only had a cannula for like 2 days and it was just room air, I know those steroid shots made a huge difference for her being born at 33 w. She went straight to intermediate nursery instead of the full fledged NICU. I hope you can keep LO in the oven a bit longer!

ijack

I think they are amazing. My daughter was born at 29w4d and I had received the shots just prior to 24w. She only needed breathing assistance for 6 hours after birth (which I think was just because they expected her to need it, not because she actually did)! 

jnksmom

I think they are wonderful. I went into labor at 33w5d and was given meds to stop my labor(didn't work well though) and got 1 steroid shot. DS was born less than 24 hours after the shot at 33w6d and needed no help breathing and no NICU time. He went home with us 3 days later.

*LilaC*

I think they worked wonders for us. My son was born at 32 weeks 5 days and weighed 3 lbs 4 oz. He didn't need any breathing help after the first hour and even then they just held the little mask over his face every few minutes...according to DH not sure of what exactly happened when I was in recovery! 

southphilly

I don't think my baby would have lived without them!  are you havingn a boy or a girl?  as you've probably heard, boys can have a harder time with respiratory issues.  GL!