Baby born at 36 weeks

[lavenderfine]

Hi so I have pre-eclampsia and my blood pressure is being controlled properly with meds so they've booked me a section for 37 weeks but my consultant has said they may want to bring her earlier. If anyone's baby was born at 36 weeks can you tell me if they needed special care or not? I know this won't mean mine will or won't but I like to have stories and opinions on this sort of thing. Thanks everyone!

Meant to say blood pressure isn't being controlled by meds🙈 it's still high even after taking them

My twin brother and sister were born at 36 weeks and had no special care at all. Home really quickly after the birth. Good luck.

My eldest was born at 36 weeks and he was fine. No special care or any different treatment than 40 weeks.

Thank you both so much. I'm trying not to google because when I did it was saying things like she may have developmental delays and stuff. I already have 1 child born at 39 weeks so never had to worry about this before!

I work on a neonatal unit and we wouldn't expect to see a 36 weeker. If baby is a good weight and born in good condition then they should be fine.

My twins were born at exactly 36 weeks. One was in special care for 2 days due to low birth weight, the other had a few breathing problems and was in NICU for about 6 days. Neither have had any ongoing problems. Good luck!

Mine spent five days in special care as he couldn’t breathe very well. Born at 38 weeks but I think actually 36 as the scan at 20 weeks moved his dates forward (eg you are 24 not 22 weeks pregnant). So the c-section was planned for this.

My DS was born at 36 weeks, he was 5lbs 12oz but he was perfectly fine and we were home the next day. He is now 16 months old and has no developmental delays.

Congratulations and try not to worry

She'll definitely be a good weight she's measured 90th centile throughout but is now starting to dip slightly below. But they're still excepting a good 7.5lbs. Thanks for the positive comments it's made me feel lots better

I had to be induced at 37 weeks (so a week later). She certainly hasn't had any development delays/anything else to worry about. In fact, she's bright and has been much healthier than her friends growing up.

Hope it goes well. Try not to worry and focus on meeting your new baby.

My ds was born at 35.2. Weighed 5-7. Dropped to 4 - 12 and we still took him home! No special care. Bf the next day.

My youngest DC was born at 35 weeks, spent a couple of hours in SCBU being observed and warmed up but that was it. Now hes a strapping 16 year old.

Mine was born at 33 weeks and whilst he needed special care he is absolutely healthy and at almost 4 now has not had any developmental delays. 36 weeks isn't considered that early I don't think, although I understand the worry!

My eldest was born at 36 weeks. She had jaundice so we were kept in a week but nothing else. Try not to worry x

My eldest born at 34 weeks and went into NICU for 5 days then on the ward with me for a week. She is now 27 and very healthy and had no problems.
Sucking reflex apparently comes in at 35 wks, so you should be ok if you want to BF.
Don’t worry and enjoy your new baby 💐

Mine didn’t. Born at 36 weeks and weighed 5lbs. C section. In for 2 nights in the normal postnatal ward simply because of his low birth weight otherwise would have been able to go home after 1 night. His older brother born at 39 weeks needed SCBU and was in for a week after birth.

Thanks everyone! I know it's not super early or anything and I'm grateful to have carried her this long but I'd just prefer her to get to 37 weeks! I was planning to formula feed for various reasons but am now debating whether I can try and BF again because I want her to be as healthy as poss 🤷‍♀️

Dd2 35 weeks 6lb something struggled slightly with feeding but was absolutely fine no special care needed now a gorgeous 13 year old taller than me! Good luck x

Mine was 33 weeks, scored 10 on the scale 👍🏻 Had a night in neonatal unit as a precaution and then we were on the ward. 2kg weight

I was born at 35 weeks over 35 years and was fine! Good luck and enjoy the new baby squishes

Mine was born at 38 weeks due to pre eclampsia. She was 5lbs 13 and IUGR and born healthy but she had issues withdrawing from the labetalol and became hypoglycaemic so we had 5 days in NICU. I'm not sure how common this is but I wish I'd known it was a possibility before it happened to us. Good luck with your baby x

@kitkatsky thank you for this. I'm on labetalol and no one told me about withdrawals or anything!

My baby was born at 35+1 and required a few days of neonatal care due to low blood sugar issues and jaundice. He needed tube feeding, double phototherapy, and a heated incubator. He was then treated on a transitional care ward where he stayed with me until he was ready to go home at six days old.

One of mine was born at 36 weeks but still weighed over 8 lbs. He did get jaundiced and had to be under the lights for several days. He was reluctant to feed and combined with my blood loss I was advised not to bf. He soon settled . He is a strapping 6 foot 2 now.

Mine was born spontaneously at exactly 37 weeks, compared to my other kids (38 weeks and 39 weeks) he was very sleepy (did need to syringe feed him once or twice) and did need readmitted for jandice. Jandice is more common in earlier babies