Did anyone get a terbutaline shot when they were pregnant?

GGirl310 · October 2012

I am in the early weeks of my third trimester and went in last night for cramping that had spread to my back. It turns out that was having contractions that were 2-4 minutes apart and they gave me terbutaline to stop it, which worked. I looked it up online today and so many things come up that relate the drug to problems in infants and also learning disabilities and autism in older children.

I was wondering if anyone received this shot during your pregnancy and how your child is doing now, being older. I'm scared now and am looking for stories, both positive and negative about your experiences.

Thanks in advance.

sara785 · October 2012

No experience, but it is very commonly used for PTL. Being that you're in your 3rd tri, I'd be less worried than if it were earlier in your pregnancy. Try to avoid Dr. Google, listen to your doctor, and take care of yourself to keep LO cooking.

groovygrl · October 2012

I would read those articles more closely, particularly since you had a single injection (many women are on terbutaline pumps for PTL). Were you reading lawyer websites? If so ignore those. Stick to reputable websites. GL & try not to stress.

and yes, I also had the single injection at about 25 weeks. If anything should happen to my kids related to learning disability it will never even cross my mind to blame that injection.

lite-bright · October 2012

I had some minor PT contraction issues and re-hydrating me was enough to stop them before getting to the point of meds. I didn't have terbutaline, and my DD1 still has autism. For every anecdote you read where people blame a specific cause, there are many autism cases that don't have anything in common with whatever is being blamed. And many, many kids who are perfectly fine after terbutaline.

There are dozens of suspected/correlated/possible causes for autism, the most plausible of which include a genetic tendency + an environmental trigger which is likely different for different kids on the spectrum. Correlation does not equal causation.

You just have to do what is medically necessary and the best decision at the time, which you did. While terbutaline may be linked with autism, remember that premies are also at higher risk for autism, developmental delays and learning disabilities in general. So skipping the terbutaline and maybe having a premie puts a child at increased risk as well.

The linkage could also be accounted for b/c premies are more likely to be exposed to terb in an attempt to stop labor. If it doesn't work and they're still born premature, like I said, that puts them at higher risk for various issues -- but it may be because of the prematurity, not the terbutaline.

I'm just trying to say that yes, it's scary to think about various causes of autism, but nothing is certain and you can't second-guess every medical decision.

Lariah14 · October 2012

Yes, I did with my son, and then was on nifedipine. No issues to speak of. Don't worry!

AmandaP678 · October 2012

I did with my first son and no issues. My mom also had it with my brother 25 years ago and my brother is fine. But I did hear the same thing about it causing Autism. I think people are desperate to find are reason (understandably) as to what caused their child's Autism and will blame anything they can

outnumbered · October 2012

I received terb and my son is fine. Autism can be associated with pre-term babies. Most likely the moms received terb, it did not stop labor and the baby was pre-term. The autism would be linked to gestational time, but lawyers want money and say it is the terb.

GGirl310 · October 2012

Thanks for all of your feedback! I definitely do need to stay off of Google.

Ardmhs83 · October 2012

I started having contractions when I was like 5 months pregnant due to an infection I was unaware about it. They gave a shot to stop them...thank God it worked. I didn't even ask questions about the shot...it didn't matter to me b/c anything to stop contractions that early was more important. With that being said my son was perfectly fine. :-) I am sure you are ok...good luck!

aandg · October 2012

I had two shots around 33w with my son and he's 2 1/2 now and just fine.

Jessys_Girl · October 2012

GGirl310:

I am in the early weeks of my third trimester and went in last night for cramping that had spread to my back. It turns out that was having contractions that were 2-4 minutes apart and they gave me terbutaline to stop it, which worked. I looked it up online today and so many things come up that relate the drug to problems in infants and also learning disabilities and autism in older children.

I was wondering if anyone received this shot during your pregnancy and how your child is doing now, being older. I'm scared now and am looking for stories, both positive and negative about your experiences.

Thanks in advance.

I had 2 shots of terbutaline at 31 weeks because I was in pre-term labor. They considered giving me a third, but my contractions ended up stopping.

My DD is 2 1/2 now and is fabulous! She is so smart, no learning difficulties, no developmental issues at all. In fact, she is on the higher percentile end of the curve.

More background to help put this info in perspective: My DD was born at 36 wks (so was still a preemie, but she's still ahead of the curve developmentally),

Also, my DD's older 1/2 brother has Asperger's, and generally the risk of a child having an autistic disoder is higher if an older sibling has it.

So despite 2 shots of terbutaline, being born 4 weeks early, and having an older sibling with an autistic disorder, she is STILL doing fantastic.

Please don't be worried about the T shot.

dunvilles · October 2012

I had 2 shots due to PTL and DS is just fine!

Always been ahead of the curve.

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