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Original poster

Baby born at 36 weeks

83 replies

lavenderfine · 28/01/2022 10:17

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!

OP posts:

GuidingSpirit · 28/01/2022 11:55

@lavenderfine My DD was born at 38w but i had developed pregnancy hypertension the day before she was born and was also given labetalol like @kitkatsky. Labetalol crosses the placenta and can affect baby's blood sugars so he or she will be monitored after birth for 24hrs. If baby's sugars are fine then you can go home as usual. My DD developed hypoglycaemia - she also had GBS sepsis and we spent 3 days in NICU and 7 days in SCBU but even without the sepsis, she would have had to stay on SCBU because her sugars were so low (0.8 at 24hrs post birth). The midwives will should explain all this to you after the birth. The nurses were all fab - i stayed on the postnatal ward and when i was discharged, i was able to stay in a little room on a camp bed next to the SCBU ward. Not all hospitals have this but it is an option in some so you can be close to baby and do the night feeds. Good luck - hope all goes well

GuidingSpirit · 28/01/2022 11:57

[quote GuidingSpirit]**@lavenderfine* My DD was born at 38w but i had developed pregnancy hypertension the day before she was born and was also given labetalol like @kitkatsky*. Labetalol crosses the placenta and can affect baby's blood sugars so he or she will be monitored after birth for 24hrs. If baby's sugars are fine then you can go home as usual. My DD developed hypoglycaemia - she also had GBS sepsis and we spent 3 days in NICU and 7 days in SCBU but even without the sepsis, she would have had to stay on SCBU because her sugars were so low (0.8 at 24hrs post birth). The midwives will should explain all this to you after the birth. The nurses were all fab - i stayed on the postnatal ward and when i was discharged, i was able to stay in a little room on a camp bed next to the SCBU ward. Not all hospitals have this but it is an option in some so you can be close to baby and do the night feeds. Good luck - hope all goes well [/quote]
Just to add, DD was 5lb 12oz so maybe she was more affected because she was small?

GuybrushT · 28/01/2022 12:03

My eldest was born at 35 weeks, 6lbs 11oz and didn't need any special care. Good luck and enjoy the new baby cuddles!

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mistermagpie · 28/01/2022 12:04

My daughter was born at 37 weeks so a little bit older but I was nearly induced at 35 and they said she would be absolutely fine. My BIL is a neonatal consultant and he said she likely wouldn't end up anywhere near their ward and she didn't.

Try not to worry, 36 weeks is very close to fully cooked.

Katela18 · 28/01/2022 12:07

I have mine at 32 weeks due to pre eclampsia and even she was only there for 2 weeks!

Also worth remembering - lots of babies born at full term end up in special care, so being born at term doesn't mean no assistance is needed. Fingers crossed for you, you can get a few more days with baby inside and they are born safe and well when they do come :)

MrsGHarrison87 · 28/01/2022 12:22

I had one of my kids at 37 weeks. She didn't go into special care but was born not breathing, struggled to feed, lost weight and ended up with in hospital with bronchiolitis at a week old, then steadily lost weight and went under 5 pounds. Looking back she should have gone into special care but because 37 weeks is classed as full term she didn't.

MrsGHarrison87 · 28/01/2022 12:25

And my first was born at over 40 weeks and did need special care. He was an emergency section and they thought he had caught an infection during the birth so they put him in there as a precaution.

SilverontheTree · 28/01/2022 12:28

DS was a 36 weeker, 6lb 15. Home after 2 nights. No developmental problems at all, he’s tall and healthy and passed the exam to a selective school (proud mummy!)
He struggled to wake up enough to feed and therefore had to be FF so be prepared for that.

RussianSpy101 · 28/01/2022 12:29

My nephew was born at 36+2 last week and is already home. No special care needed. Good luck xx

PattyPan · 28/01/2022 12:51

I was born at just before 36 weeks and was in neonatal unit for 5 days as I was quite small at 5lb 14oz. I’m a normal adult now! I was even weaned onto baby custard at 3 months apparently so I wouldn’t stress if BF won’t work for you

MrsAustin1507 · 28/01/2022 12:55

My little boy was born at 36 weeks and was 4lb 12oz he had 12 hours with a feeding tube to help expand his stomach so he could take big enough feeds but was with me the whole time. I stayed in 3 nights with him. He's 6 months now and doing great.

SleepingStandingUp · 28/01/2022 12:59

My twins were planned C Sec at exactly 36 weeks. If I hadn't been booked in, I would have had to have them as my BP was high and meds weren't bringing it down. They were 6lb 12 and 6lb 13, straight onto me and home soon as I was well. No problems at all x

ShowOfHands · 28/01/2022 12:59

I was a 36 weeker 40yrs ago and weighed just over 5lbs. No special care needed and I was exclusively bf. I had my own DS 30yrs later and he as a 6lbs 13oz 36 weeker and needed no special care. He was a bit sleepy, covered in thick vernix and didn't want to engage in the first couple of weeks really but I exclusively bf. I expressed a few syringes in his first couple of days as he was so sleepy but he had no formula at all and gained weight quickly.

BoodleBug51 · 28/01/2022 13:01

My DD was born at 36 weeks and was fine, they monitored her closely for the 4 days I was in post section......... she got tired feeding, but not enough to cause an issue and she came home with me.

She was 6lbs 2oz.

OhCarolinaReaper · 28/01/2022 13:02

I had twins at 36w+1. There was an army of medics on standby in the theatre at the start of the c-section in case the babies needed assistance but they soon departed after the birth as both babies were doing well.

They had about 48 hours in hot cots in transitional care until they could regulate their own body temps, but were ready for home much sooner than I was (I took about 5 days post-op for my blood pressure to come down to safer levels due to the pre-eclampsia)

BoodleBug51 · 28/01/2022 13:03

Also very waxy, like a PP said. She looked like she'd been slathered in a pot of sudocrem.

abbs1 · 28/01/2022 13:08

My DS was born at 38 weeks via induction due to pre eclampsia (but had stopped growing at 32 weeks but not picked up until 37 week scan). He was diddy but didn't need to go to SCBU.
Wishing you all the best hun and you'll soon have baby in your arms.🤗

ramonaquimby · 28/01/2022 13:23

My youngest was born at 36 weeks, I had been in hospital for about a month beforehand with complications. She was perfectly healthy and did not need any special care. Good luck, I hope you and baby will be the same!

kitkatsky · 28/01/2022 13:33

@lavenderfine hope I didn't scare you but I wasn't prepared for the reality at all. I still would've taken the labetalol because otherwise the outcome could've been worse but my prenatal docs just told me she'd need a few heel prick sugar tests and would wear a little red hat so they knew she needed monitoring. I had no idea about any of the other stuff. I don't think this happens to all babies but I haven't been able to work out how many babies are affected and I think it's important to know what could happen so you're prepared. Happy to tell you more if you want to get in touch x

MuchTooTired · 28/01/2022 13:37

My DTs were born at 36+5, like you I had pe. We were trying to get me to at least 37 weeks, but my body had other ideas! I’d had the steroid injections just in case.

They weighed 6lb 6oz and 7lb 3oz at birth, and didn’t need any time in SCBU. We were in for two days after the elcs to monitor their blood sugars, but otherwise home with no further monitoring or appointments needed.

Babynames2 · 28/01/2022 14:24

I had preeclampsia in my first pregnancy. DD was born at full term and 7.5lbs but like pps she had issues with her blood sugar for the first couple of days, due to the labetalol. All fine after a couple of days though.

betwixtlives · 28/01/2022 14:29

Be aware that the hospital might want to keep you in for 72 hrs as she’s early

betwixtlives · 28/01/2022 14:30

As in, baby on postnatal ward with you as normal (not scbu) but with more observations than a >37 weeker would get

Kpo58 · 28/01/2022 14:32

My first was born just before 36 weeks and was 4.5lb. She does have developmental delays, but TBH I don't think that a slightly earlier birth caused them as we were already being monitored due to lack of movement.

BookFiend4Life · 28/01/2022 16:18

She will be just fine!! You might want to get a few preemie outfits (maybe 3, you can always donate them) just in case she's a little smaller than expected. Also we urgently needed a preemie sized swaddle (the baby straight jacket kind) and it was awful waiting for it to arrive because our daughter was too strong to safely use blanket style swaddles.

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