Magnesium for Norodevelopment

Bergmomm · March 2013

Did anyone get magnesium during labor for nurodevelopment of the baby?

I ask this because I am on bed rest for preterm labor and I have already had mag to stop labor and get steroids to the baby at 28 weeks. The Drs are now saying that if I go into labor at this point they wouldn't try to stop it. But a couple of Drs at the practice have mentions low doses of mag to help the baby's brain.

I was just wondering if anyone else had gone through this. Did the mag male labor miserable? That is one of my fears because when they put me on it before I was so achy and groggy. And how did the baby handle it?

Mrs. Alice · March 2013

I never had it and it was never mentioned to me. I was admitted and got steroids at 24w and then had them again at 28w right before they were born. My delivery wasn't entirely unexpected either. Neither had any neuro issues or brain bleeds.

Brummy14 · March 2013

Yup, I was on mag sulfate for 48 hours initially...when my water broke for good 5 days later, they put me on it again in case I went into labor. Sure enough, I did. They didn't try to stop labor per se, but there are some studies that link the mag sulfate to reduced incidence of cerebral palsy.

I was an emergency c section, and they stopped the mag after surgery, anyway. I found the side effects of the mag wore off within hours of being off it. But, yeah, it's nasty stuff!

gault530 · March 2013

I was on it for about 8 hour before delivery, then 24 hours after. They put me on it to help the babies but I stayed on it because I had HELLP syndrome and it causes the issues from HELLP to go away faster.

It made me feel awful while I was on it. I'm sorry they're talking about putting you back on it.

vpr105 · March 2013

I was on it for about 36hrs to slow my contractions and labor in order to get the two steroid shot doses in 24hrs apart. They did mention that studies have shown it to help reduce the incidence of brain bleeds and cp like PP said. I also felt pretty miserable on it but did find the symptoms went away pretty quickly once it was off. Unfortunately, once my DD was born they told me a negative side effect is that it slows babies' bowels, which are already slow being pre-term. It took her several days and a suppository to finally have her first poop. She required suppositories daily for a little while to continue pooping and still needs them occasionally. Not sure how much of this is due to the mag and how much is due to being a preemie. So sorry you may have to go on it again

thishappyhouse · March 2013

I was on it 3 different times when they thought delivery was immanent. They described it to me as being beneficial for neuroprotection rather than neurodevelopment. They did caution me that a major side effect would be a decreased drive to breathe for the baby upon delivery. Because I was delivering so early they expected to be intubating the baby anyway so the risks outweighed the benefits.

Because I was on it 3 different times during a 1 week span I became a bit numb to it by the time I was actually delivering. Im not going to lie its a pretty miserable treatment, but well worth it for the benefits.

Pips09 · March 2013

I was on it for several hours, to try and stop my labor, and they kept me on it throughout my emergency c-section. It did make me pretty miserable. I felt very hot and sick. I had to get a catheter because they would not let me out of bed once they started the mag. It made me pretty out of it and I only remember parts of my c-section, and made me vomit a few times. I don't remember them saying anything about it being beneficial for the baby, but I do remember them monitoring her blood levels for several days in the NICU until the mag had dissipated from her system. I'm sorry you find yourself in this situation, and good luck to you.

KM2008 · March 2013

Ugh, mag was the worst. Nasty. I'm so sorry that you may end up back on it.

I got actually Indomethacin to slow my labor to enable the steroids to take, but mag for the neuro-protection. My kids handled mag labor fine - no issues to speak of (for 31 weekers). When the docs explained the benefit, I didn't really push back.

I didn't handle it well. I hated it. It was awful. I was sick, out of it, and couldn't even speak, really. I felt like I had a terrible flu and though I wanted to be "present" for what was happening, I was babbling like an idiot (when I could form words), passing out (but unable to sleep), and generally terrible. It took what felt like forever to leave my system after they were born.

That being said, for the mag's benefits, I had no problem doing it and would do it again. (Ugh, just thinking about it though....)

Good luck, mama.

lemen99 · March 2013

I was on magnesium sulfate from 24w2d to 26w2d to try to delay contractions/labor. I was not told about any link between magnesium sulfate and brain bleeds or the baby's health. My son did have a bad brain bleed, because he was born at 26w2d.

ektsmiles · June 2013

I was on mag for 50 hours before my c section and 12 after. We tried inducing for 2.5 days then did a c section because my baby's heart rate was being affected. It makes you hot and blurs your vision, I threw up, bc it also can give you a headache. You'll be hooked up to a catheter as a well. I know it was used to keep us safe preeclampsa but also meant my son was born not breathing and needed to be intubated . He had to do 24 hours away from us in the nicu, all of which I feel extremely guilty about. Just ask questions about how it can affect you and your baby if they say you need it.

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