Induction on Thursday at 34 weeks, any advice?

[Primafacie]

Hi all, I'm currently pregnant with DC2 and my waters broke unexpectedly on Monday at 33+4. I've had two shots of steroids, lots of monitoring and a scan, the baby is estimated to weigh about 2.2 kilos, which isn't bad for this stage. I will be induced on Thursday unless labour starts naturally tomorrow - no sign of that happening though, as I'm not having any contractions. We visited scbu today and got given lots of info on preemie babies and what to expect if the baby needs special care.

Anyone got any experience of an early induction, or advice on caring for a slightly premature baby? DC1 was born naturally at 38 weeks so full term and I feel slightly out of my depth.

Many thanks

Have a look at the Bliss website. It has lots of info about premmies. They do a booklet about what to expect in SCBU and all the different machinery. Good luck.

Hi,

I was induced at 36 weeks. The whole labour lasted 10 hours, but as this is your second DC I expect it will be quicker for you. Remember all the advice to keep as mobile as you can and try different positions etc. DD had apgar scores of 9 and 10 and was delivered by forceps. She stayed with us for two hours before they took her away. I am not sure what will happen with your DC, but there is a chance they won't need to go to SCBU.

Once in SCBU we could visit her as much as we wanted. I would try to get as much skin to skin as you can once in there (I didn't get any and never thought to ask). The nurses will try to let you do as much as you can ie change nappies, feed them (whether through tube, bottle, cup, or breast).

The main problems we had with DD was that because she was jaundiced and early she was a very sleepy baby and was difficult to feed, other than that she was fine. I'm not really sure what else to say...DD was 8lb so didn't seem as tiny or fragile as other prem babies, but she was. Don't feel out of your depth, the nurses are there to help you and answer any questions for you. A friend of mine recently had her DC 4 weeks early and he didn't even have to go into SCBU......Hope this has kind of helped I'm a bit of a babbler....Good Luck

Hello
I think its more than likely your baby will need SCBU but hopefully for a pretty short time. Babies born at this gestation tend to do very well. Nurses in SCBU are great, ask them as many questions as you need to.
Good luck!

Can't offer much advice but wanted to wish you lots of luck. That is a good weight though, my DD2 was born recently at 37+4 weighing 2.3k.

SCBU are fantastic and the staff a lot more attentive than the post natal ward (obviously because they have to be). DD2 had to go into SCBU for a few hours (jaundice scare which turned out to be an incorrect test!) and they were absolutely fantastic.

DD1 was born at 36+2 and weighed 2.6k. Only only problem with had with her was she was very sleepy and had tongue tie, but no other problems.

I would keep really positive, you baby has been estimated at a good weight, you've had the steriods to help with the lungs. I also believe the sucking reflex starts at 34 weeks, so I would keep positive. Lots of skin to skin though.

Anyway - best of luck and let us know how you get on.

DS2 was early at 35+5 and weighed 2.6kg. He only had to go to scbu for anti-biotics, rest of the time he was with me. We didn't have little enough clothes ( you know, the early baby ones) and DH had to really hunt around to get the tiny nappies, only Boots had them near us. He got put on the Bili-bed for jaundice for 3 days, was in my room though. Oh, hats, needed lots of little hats cos they get cold so quickly esp. if they end up on the bili-bed cos they have to be naked on it.

It's hard having a healthy early baby as there's not much info out there. The best I can describe it is your baby really will be -5 weeks old! You only start 'counting' once they reach edd, so it will be terrible at feeding and want to sleep constantly - you have to wake them to feed so you might end up having to do a routine even if you don't want to.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your positive stories and advice, I'm taking everything on board. The induction has already started as there is blood in my waters, so they've given me prostaglandins and I am now on the synto drip. Still no contractions though! I placed an order for early baby clothes last night and read all I could from the Bliss website. It's a waiting game now. I am hoping to post again with more progress made!

Good luck and I hope BabyPrimafacie is well when s/he is born.

Thank you everyone! Our baby boy was born in the wee hours of Thursday morning. The growth scan was spot on and he weighed 2.25 kilos. He is receiving antibiotics as a preventive measure, and was slightly jaundiced so spent a day on a bilibed, but his levels are now back to normal. We've established BF - yay! We're now waiting for his blood culture results and the end of his antibiotics tx and hoping to go home with him within the next few days. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I know there can be set backs, but so far so good!

That's a very positive story - I'm sure others in your situation will be glad you posted an update.

Congratulation, I hope everything continues as well and you're home soon.

Congratulations! Hope you get him home soon and so glad it went well Xx

Congratulations .