To want labour stopped at 35 weeks?

[FloralPrintFrame]

Went to triage at 35 weeks at risk of early labour and was told they wouldn’t stop it at this stage. Luckily it wasn’t early labour but if it was, would I be able to request them trying to stop labour, due to the risks to the baby of being born early? Is this standard procedure? Or is it something like the drugs they give you to stop labour become dangerous at 35 weeks?

I wouldn't just generally Google OP - Tommy's, Bliss, NHS are more reputable.
IF you deliver preterm the Tommy's app is excellent and has adjusted growth charts etc

Its odd, because when I tried to book my (medically necessary) ELCS, they absolutely fought me tooth and nail that I had to have it after 39 weeks.

Literally every single female member of my family has always given birth very early, but the team insisted that long term outcomes for 39 weekers over 38 weekers were significant enough to wait and perform EMCS on me if I did go into labour. They produced quite a lot of (good) research to support their view to be fair.

I'm surprised that they would be happy for your baby to be born at 35 weeks, surely outcomes must be even poorer at that gestation?

It was a while ago now, but efforts were made to stop labour when both of my sisters went into prem labour at 35 and 36 weeks respectively. Not sure about my DMum, but I was born at 33 weeks.

@ManorGreyhound this is exactly what got me panicking - SIL requested booking her c-section at 38 weeks for various reasons and it was refused because of increased risks to the baby to be born pre-39 weeks yet the doctor I saw was so casual that they wouldn’t stop labour at 35 weeks and it would all be fine, seemed like a massive contradiction

Hmm, I'm no doctor, but a pp has commented that labour might have started for a reason? i.e. the baby knows it is safer out than in and that should be 'respected'? (for want of a better word)

Can you ask for their evidence base for their decision? That's what I did and, taken together with my own research tbh I was quite surprised at the difference in outcomes certainly between early term (37 weeks) and 39 weeks. Especially school/exam performance, I had no idea!

Perhaps there are other factors with a natural labour though?

But your sister in law wasn’t in labour, so the risks for her were very different. Stopping a labour that has already started for some reason (and we may not know what it is, problem with the cord, blood supply, infection etc) is very different to not planning an early elective section..

@FloralPrintFrame comparing a planed csection with spontaneous labour is like comparing apples and oranges

@ManorGreyhound - Equally my consultant refused an elcs to be after 36 weeks due to my previous history of early labours and a neonatal death.

OP, your HCP will look at the whole picture which is completely specific to you and your baby when making their decision. Please listen to them and get your baby out safely.

I thought 36 weeks was considered full term, so any time from then was fine.

Massive difference between a planned c section with no medical problems as it's safer to wait until 39 weeks if there's no reason to do it earlier. Same with induction - if there's no medical reason to do it early then they won't.
As PP have said the drugs only delay labour a couple of days so you wouldn't get 4 additional weeks.

36 weeks isn't considered premature. I had both of mine that early naturally and neither of them required any intervention or had any problems. You are days away from not premature. Try not to worry.

@CatsMinion 37 weeks is considered term and 40 weeks is full term.

I was at risk of early labour in my pregnancy. I was told that they haven't really worked out how to stop labour for more than a few days once it starts. So personally I wouldn't see the point at 35 weeks.

You can’t compare “refusing to book ELCS before 39 weeks” and “won’t try to stop labour at 35 weeks” because the two scenarios aren’t comparable.

Of course it’s better not to evict a baby at 38 weeks if it’s not medically necessary, but when labour has started at 35 weeks, presumably the chances of keeping the baby inside until term are pretty slim? And, as someone says, there’s often an underlying cause (like infection, or failing placenta) which means baby is better out than in.

37 weeks is classed as term, so anything before 37 weeks is premature. Many babies born at 36 weeks are absolutely fine.

My first was born at 34 weeks, they said they wouldn't stop labour.we spent 9 days in special care but she's absolutely fine.

I had my youngest by Caesarean section on the day I hit 36 weeks, he had a few issues but they were because, he was a section baby, very big for his week 8lb 7oz and I had gestational diabetes. 36 weeks onwards is considered full term anyway so at 35 weeks no they wouldn't stop the labour, the body does what it needs to do, sometimes it's a little early sometimes it's late.

The risk of doing an elective section at 38 weeks is that the baby is more at risk of respiratory distress syndrome....section babies are at increased risk of this as they don’t spend hours being slowly squeezed through a small tunnel and are more likely to have “wet lung”.

With a vaginal delivery the mucus, fluid, etc is mostly squeezed out and the risk for RDS isn’t as high.

@CatPatrol I had twins by planned c-section at 37+5 and the consultant said they were full term (he definitely used the term full term) by then, they were 6lbs and 7lbs.

My sister had her 4th baby at 11pm and was 36w 6d. Baby was completley healthy, great weight etc. Based on the fact baby wasn't 37w they had an automatic 24 hour stay (which was more like 36 hours when she was finally discharged)....for the sake of one hour they had a completley unnecessary stay.

I guess there has to be a cut of point somewhere but this seemed insane?

I agree that it can be self contradictory, the advice. I was told all the way through that getting to 35 weeks would be amazing. At 35 weeks I had a load of complications that seemed to massively increase risk to the baby and desperately wanted to be delivered, at which point I was told I had to wait to 38 weeks. They had all reassured me that the prognosis was excellent at 35 weeks so I was very confused and quite upset. But I think it's simply that the baby is better in until 38/39 weeks - unless the baby decides it's coming a couple of weeks earlier in which case they will assume that labour has started for a reason?

*The risk of doing an elective section at 38 weeks is that the baby is more at risk of respiratory distress syndrome....section babies are at increased risk of this as they don’t spend hours being slowly squeezed through a small tunnel and are more likely to have “wet lung”.

With a vaginal delivery the mucus, fluid, etc is mostly squeezed out and the risk for RDS isn’t as high*

That's not the only risk though, cognitive development is actually quite seriously affected by early delivery.

Stormy your dates dictate whether you are full term, not size of baby. Baby may have been full term size but they were not a full term baby?

Mine was at 36 weeks due to a previous very large baby (10lb 10 ozs) full term who had to be delivered by emergency section, my scar wasn't holding up well either. It was the paediatrician who told me that 36 weeks+ is considered term by them.

Full term in the UK is from 37 weeks. Anything prior to that is preterm. Trying to compare an ELCS vs spontaneous Labour is crazy. Bare in mind any baby born via ELCS is more likely to have breathing problems than a baby born vaginally at the same gestation. In the majority of casss with spontaneous pre term labour when they try and ‘stop’ Labour all they’re doing is trying to delay the inevitable in order to get steroids for babies lung development into you. You pretty much can’t stop labour. If it’s happening it’s happening.

@NicoAndTheNiners baby will be born via c-section (emergency obviously in the case of early labour) which is part of my concern

Pre term labour is stopped by means of an atosiban drip. There are risks to this drug, it can cause the baby’s heartbeat to become too fast. So anybody is on the dip will need to have the baby’s heart rate monitored constantly. So at 35 weeks it’s thought the risk of pre term birth outweighs the risk of the drip. Plus any other unknown risk which as caused labour to start early.