At risk for PTL... thinking ahead - advice appreciated

lolob45 · July 2013

I am at risk for PTL and hoping to get to 33 weeks .. I can't help but feel anxious that she may come earlier and the complications that can occur.

I was wondering if anyone who delivered between 27-36 weeks with a c-section might want to share their birth story? I know everyone's situation is different but i'd love to have a little peak into the possibilities.

I'm also hoping to breastfeed and am worried I may not be able to if she is early and in the NICU.

Thank you in advance!

Throw3ks · July 2013

Hi lolo. I just saw your post in oct 13. I've been lurking this board since I came into the hospital at 23w2d with PTL. That was last week. We have made it a week and that's huge! Everyday minute, every day is a huge milestone. I would recommend touring the NICU at your hospital. DH and I did that the second day we were here. They answered all sorts of questions and it was nice to see where our baby girl may be. I can tell you a few things I learned, girls have a much better chance than boys who are born to early anywhere from 23 to 28 weeks and the 48 hours past your first dose of steroids is crucial. This ensures your LO will get full effect of meds given. Feel free to PM me and we can chat more. It would be great to swap stories especially being so close in dates. Just stay positive!!!!!!! I am praying for you and your family.

jbranden12 · July 2013

Anna was born at 26w3d due to unexplained IC. I didn't know I was in labor but had some bleeding and went immediately to my OB's office only to be checked and find out I was 2-3 cm with visible membranes. Got up to L&D right away and they tried to stop it with mag and positioning but it was too late. I started funneling and she was breech so they decided to do an immediate c-section. I got one dose of steroids about an hour before delivery. She weighed about 2 lbs, 6 oz.

I started pumping/hand expressing colostrum about 6 hours after delivery and was eventually able to establish a good supply using hospital grade-pumps.

We spend 12 weeks in the NICU. Unfortunately odds were not on our side and DD suffered severe brain bleeding but that is the only major issue we have. She came home on no oxygen and breast and bottle feeds wonderfully.

Good luck to you and your LO. Keep us updated!

Mrs. Alice · July 2013

I had twins at 28w4d by urgent c-section. I was on hospital bed rest starting at 24w1d because of placenta, blood flow, and growth issues with my babies. My c-section was anticipated given my closely monitored situation and like you we had hoped to just get as far along as we safely could. My full birth experience is on the preemie stories section on blog link at the top of the page. Check out the blog for lots of good preemie and NICU info: https://www.preemiemomblog.blogspot.com/

I was able to successfully breastfeed them both until they were a year old. Most preemie moms have to pump their milk in the beginning until baby is ready and able to take it from the breast. Good luck and hope your LO stays put for weeks to come.

KTZ17 · July 2013

My DD was born May 17 at 31 weeks 3 days due to my high blood pressure and elevated liver enzymes. I was in the hospital on bed rest for a week before my liver enzymes became a concern. I had two shots of steroids and they put me on magnesium before they took me in for the csection. She was 3 lbs 11 oz and was on CPAP for a week. She also needed light therapy for 2 days for elevated bilirubin levels. She took to her bottle feedings quickly and came home after one month in the NICU at 4 lbs 10 oz. Now she's about 7 lbs! We are having issues EBF because I am not producing enough milk, but she breastfeeds very well and we supplement with formula using a supplemental nursing system. Best of luck to you! I hope you make it even beyond your goal, but if you don't be assured that the NICU takes such excellent care of their babies. It's hard but ultimately your baby will come home and you'll get to keep her forever!

Brummy14 · July 2013

My twins were born at 29w3d due to pPROM -- I ruptured sometime around 28w5d (we think), and was able to hold on for five more days (just enough time to get in the steroid shots and all of that lovely mag sulfate).

The evening I was at 29w2d, my water broke (although, no one said the gushing was abnormal with ruptured membranes -- it definitely broke), and shortly thereafter I started having contractions. They didn't want to do internal checks at all to try to avoid introducing infection, but I was uncomfortable enough that night that they did -- and I was still only 1cm (same as I was when I ruptured). They decided to go ahead and give me an epidural, but it wasn't a great one -- I was highly uncomfortable ALL night. I slept absolutely zero. By the next morning, I was REALLY really uncomfortable, struggling to breathe through the contractions, so the new nurse pulled them in to do another check (the doc's demeanor suggested he thought I was just some whiney first time mom unable to handle the discomfort...) -- at that point, I was fully dilated, and they could see one of the girls' feet. ::facepalm::

I was on the OR table within minutes -- they had to put me under since I could still feel all of their belly pinching, and there wasn't enough time to increase the meds to try to keep me awake and numb. All said and done, I was actually glad I had to be put under - I was so freaked out about what was going on (and how fast it had gone down), that being awake for that might have just been too much.

Thankfully, we had a long, but uneventful NICU stay -- the girls came home just shortly after their due date, and are trucking along according to their adjusted age pretty well. DD2 has low muscle tone, which they're watching, but not expressing any major concerns about as of yet. We'll see!

As for breastfeeding -- I'm an EPer -- the girls were tube fed for 5-6 weeks before we started introducing a bottle. And, they were AWFUL bottle feeders. DD1 was over eager and would have awful choking episodes on a regular basis, while DD2 was a sleepy baby and just couldn't stay awake to eat (and then, she'd choke, too). While we did some nuzzling in the NICU, we had so much trouble getting them off of the tube feedings that we focused only on that to help get them discharged and home. For me, the actual act of breastfeeding wasn't super important (and with, two -- ultra complicated!) I just wanted to ensure the girls got the BM -- I didn't really care the method by which they got it.

GL to you -- and hopefully you can continue to bake muuuuuch longer!

Want a personalized experience?

At risk for PTL... thinking ahead - advice appreciated

Re: At risk for PTL... thinking ahead - advice appreciated

Choose Another Board

Search Boards