Reason for premature birth? (Long)

pnwmama11

First off, My son was born at 35 weeks and is doing great. I still sometimes wonder why he was born so early though. I started having preterm contractions at 30 weeks which were stopped by a shot. Then all of a sudden the day he was born I was just having menstrual type cramps, ended up being 3cm, 80% effaced when we got to the hospital.

We would love another child someday, but I can't help but wonder if this will happen again. They really didn't give me a reason behind why this occurred. My blood pressure was fine the entire pregnancy until the day before I gave birth it was pretty high. I was also extremely stressed most of my pregnancy, which was unfortunate.

I worry about IC or possible preeclampsia that had begun. Anyone else have an unexplained premature birth?

laragabrielle

Hi--

I have never posted here but I lurk a lot.  I, too, still struggle with the "why?"  In May, I had my little girl at 33 weeks and 5 days.  My water started slowly leaking and, when tested at the hospital for strep-b, was found to be positive.  I have no idea whether the strep b caused my membranes to break or whether the rupturing itself caused the strep b.  If the former, at least I could have a "reason,"  which might make me feel more confident about future pregnancies. I love my OB, but she has had no explanations for me.  She has simply told me that sometimes we never know.  Other than my water breaking unexpectedly, I had an uneventful pregnancy.  The baby was breech, but my blood pressure was good, I had been exercising regularly, and all my sonos looked great.  I too was stressed during much of my pregnancy, and I still beat myself up about whether anxiety could have contributed. 

It's certainly scary to think about other pregnancies in mystery cases, isn't it?

boolos2B05

I had my DD at 34wks-35wks (OB had meat 35, Neos had DD at 34). Had no problems my entire PG, blood pressure was fine, felt pretty awesome most of the time, I had headaches and back pain. Then my water broke, no clue, no contractions, just broke. Had DD almost 24hrs exactly later.

I still wonder why. Doctor's has no idea if this will happen again, told me that it could and they would watch me more closely, next time.( I changed OB/Gyn after DD.)

I just have come to terms with the fear and we are TTC #2. But I am still wooried that it can happen, just not letting it stop me.

msalinardi@live.com

I think the fact that you made it to 35 weeks the first time is pretty positive. What a lot of women do, who have had preemies, is to have a pre-conception consultation with a MFM or their OBGYN. They can assess your risk for having future preemies and maybe give you some peice of mind. I know when I got KO'ed with DS my OBGYN ordered a ton of blood tests to see if I had any underlying clotting issues that may have led to my DD have IUGR and me have sudden severe Pre-e.

Bippy798

As far as I understand Pre-E does not cause labor. When you read here that women gave birth because of Pre-E it is generally because our lives were at risk and we were either induced or c-sectioned. Pre-E does sometimes happen to occour with labor but (once again) as far as I know is never the cause. It sounds like you do need to have an appointment with an doctor though to discuss your concerns. Hope that helps a little.

sucrets4

I had DD at 33w5d and have no idea why.  My water broke at 6:20am and she was born at 6:33pm via csection since she was breech.  I had gotten to 7cm on my own before they called the section. 

I had some bp issues, but nothing severe, just that my ob wanted me to keep an eye on for a few weeks prior to that.

No placenta problems, no infections.  My mom is a DR nurse and asked the dr about all of the technical stuff, and he said everything was fine.

I asked him about #2 and if having DD early would change my treatment and he said no, which kind of upset me.  Aside from that, I really loved my ob and am sad that we moved out of state and that I can't use him for #2, when ever that will happen.

pnwmama11

laragabrielle:

Hi--

I have never posted here but I lurk a lot.  I, too, still struggle with the "why?"  In May, I had my little girl at 33 weeks and 5 days.  My water started slowly leaking and, when tested at the hospital for strep-b, was found to be positive.  I have no idea whether the strep b caused my membranes to break or whether the rupturing itself caused the strep b.  If the former, at least I could have a "reason,"  which might make me feel more confident about future pregnancies. I love my OB, but she has had no explanations for me.  She has simply told me that sometimes we never know.  Other than my water breaking unexpectedly, I had an uneventful pregnancy.  The baby was breech, but my blood pressure was good, I had been exercising regularly, and all my sonos looked great.  I too was stressed during much of my pregnancy, and I still beat myself up about whether anxiety could have contributed. 

It's certainly scary to think about other pregnancies in mystery cases, isn't it?

That's really interesting because I was/am also colonized with group b strep. It was found in my urine throughout my pregnancy. Hmm.

pnwmama11

Thank you ladies for all your replies! Sorry to post and run.

carmanb

Kimber314:

laragabrielle:

Hi--

I have never posted here but I lurk a lot.  I, too, still struggle with the "why?"  In May, I had my little girl at 33 weeks and 5 days.  My water started slowly leaking and, when tested at the hospital for strep-b, was found to be positive.  I have no idea whether the strep b caused my membranes to break or whether the rupturing itself caused the strep b.  If the former, at least I could have a "reason,"  which might make me feel more confident about future pregnancies. I love my OB, but she has had no explanations for me.  She has simply told me that sometimes we never know.  Other than my water breaking unexpectedly, I had an uneventful pregnancy.  The baby was breech, but my blood pressure was good, I had been exercising regularly, and all my sonos looked great.  I too was stressed during much of my pregnancy, and I still beat myself up about whether anxiety could have contributed. 

It's certainly scary to think about other pregnancies in mystery cases, isn't it?

That's really interesting because I was/am also colonized with group b strep. It was found in my urine throughout my pregnancy. Hmm.

 

Me, three.  I started contracting (I thought I was just having pain from constipation) exactly one week ago.  While making breakfast Sunday morning, I finally felt like I could "go".  I started pushing, and all of the sudden a huge gush of water was let loose...yup...my water broke.  After speaking to my doctor and arriving at the hospital an hour later, I was 4cm dialated and 90% effaced.  I was also 22w6d, although DS seems more developed than expected for that gestational age.  The only possible explanation I've got so far is that I tested positive for Group B Strep, as well.