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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

33Weeks + 6 Days premature and home within a week. Is this right?!

20 replies

Rich1979 · 14/06/2011 14:47

Hi..

Just thought i'd ask some opinions on this...

My girlfriend has just given birth by emergency cesarean (10:27pm 11/06/11). She had not felt the baby move for getting on 24 hours so we went in. The doctors didn't like the heart trace (it was too constant and had the occasional deceleration when its meant to fluctuate a bit more in the 130-150 bpm range - ours was pretty steady at a constant 150 odd).

After about an hours or so of observation it was decided he was coming out!!! This was at 7pm and he was out by 10:30pm. He was breathing straight away, just a quick check and a blast of oxygen and I found myself holding him as the op on my girlfriend was finished up.

Now, not even 3 days later he is doing well. Still in and out of the incubator although I think after tonight he no longer needs it. He is feeding through nasal tube and has just gone on to mothers milk as she has started expressing properly now.

The Dr that saw us earlier said that at the current rate of improvement it might be possible to go home by Friday (Yes Friday this week!!!)...now i'm not complaining, infact after the initial worry i'm ecstatic that he's doing so well...only thing is i've done search after search online and can't find many stories of a 34 weeker being home less than a week after being born. Most stories seem to be anywhere from 2 weeks up to approaching the original due date...

Should I be worried?!!!

Your comments welcome. Thanks.

Rich

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Buda · 14/06/2011 14:50

I know in some hospitals it depends on the weight of the baby. And if he is doing well and is a good weight and feeding well there may be no reason to keep him in.

Congratulations on the birth of your son!

Original poster

Rich1979 · 14/06/2011 14:53

I forgot to say he's 4lb 2oz...This is not exactly huge. I've read in a couple of places that they usually set 5lbs And feeding properly as bench marks for being sent home.

I would have to argue that he's under weight and still using the nasal tube as 2 reasons not to go home yet? (not to mention that i've not cleaned the house top to bottom yet haha)

OP posts:

Mabelface · 14/06/2011 14:55

You'd be surprised how quickly these little ones come off tube feeds once they get started on normal feedings, and the weight thing isn't always true - my daughter was still only 3lb2oz when she came home, but she was weeny when she was born. These next few days will make a big difference to his feeding.

Now, get cleaning and congratulations.

HairyMaclary · 14/06/2011 14:59

Well my 29 weaker came home the day he would have been 35 weeks at under 5lbs. He was feeding well though. We did a 24 hour feeding trial where we both stayed at the hospital to check that he had the energy to fully breastfeed before we came home, but the ng tube was only taken out as we were discharged.
A week does seem like a short time but if all is well there is no reason why not.

HairyMaclary · 14/06/2011 15:02

Weeker, sorry, autocorrect!

mum2JRC · 14/06/2011 15:05

My neice was born at 33 weeks exactly and went home after 10 days. I think once feeding is established and they are not getting jaundice and they are regulating their heat they can be discharged.

mum2JRC · 14/06/2011 15:06

Oh and she was only 4lb

Original poster

Rich1979 · 14/06/2011 15:07

Thanks, feel a bit better now.

Probably too much Holby City and storylines of people being sent home too soon for bed space haha

OP posts:

libelulle · 14/06/2011 15:15

My DS was c.36 weeks and just over 3lbs when he came home, with feeding tube still in place. He'd been in hospital ten weeks by that point. There are mostly no set weight criteria - in your case it sounds perfectly reasonable for him to be at home if he is regulating temperature by himself and able to breastfeed or take a bottle at least some of the time. No advantage in staying in hospital longer than he needs to, not least because he is much more vulnerable to infection there.

Original poster

Rich1979 · 14/06/2011 15:17

that makes sense I guess. i'm probably suffering from first baby anxienty or something :o)

OP posts:

Wafflepuss · 14/06/2011 15:24

My DD was 4lb 2oz born at 33 + 2 and came home under 5lb. We were in scbu for 17 days but 3 days after she got her sucking reflex and was able to feed without a tube she was sent home. It's a funny thought though isn't it, to be home with a baby which is still weeks and weeks off it's due date. Scary! But honestly you will all be fine, and you'll get lots if extra visits and support from nurses and HV's.

harrygracejessica · 14/06/2011 22:32

We could bring our twins home once they were fully bottle feeding and no tube feeding. In fact I refused to bring them home on tubes as we had a 15 month old child too.

emmanumber3 · 14/06/2011 22:44

Firstly, congratulations on the birth of your son!

We were in hospital for a total of 6 weeks just before & after DS1 was born and, at the time, the criteria for being discharged was feeding well, gaining weight (even if slowly & remember all babies lose a little straight after birth), no breathing problems & no jaundice. They did seem to "like" a prem baby to reach 5lbs before going home, but, if the baby met all the other criteria & was otherwise healthy they could go sooner.

I hope mummy is also doing well . Better get cleaning then!

charlottery · 15/06/2011 09:40

Congratulations!
If you've got any worries, I'd talk to the SCBU staff. Where I used to work there was a home care team who would visit recently discharged babies, to make sure parents were managing, or babies could be brought in for review.

Beveridge · 15/06/2011 20:46

DS was born at 32+4 weeks, 5lb 5oz, no issues apart from not being able to feed by himself (breathing, temps, all fine). By 35+1, we were doing overnights to check he could breastfeed by himself (which he could )so it was tube out and home at 35+3 (we wouldn't have been allowed home with a tube still in).

As the nurses said to me re: feeding 'when they get it, they really get it' - I wouldn't have believed it in the slightest if you had told me on the Monday he would be home by the end of the week.

Hope you're all out of there soon!

scaryfairy28 · 16/06/2011 09:54

My friend has had 5 prem babies only thing she has ever said is limit visitors as visitors bring infections and use the antibacterial hand stuff though breast feeding should help the baby fight off infections. Congratulations and enjoy the sleepless nights!!

sc2987 · 18/06/2011 22:43

I can't find where I read it now, but I saw an article recently which said premature babies were much more likely to be rehospitalised and/or die because they often get sent home too early. Even if they are acting like a full-term baby when discharged, they are not, and it does make a difference. So yes, be concerned.

clarejane · 19/06/2011 01:27

Congratulations! Our son was born at 33 +5 weighing 4lb 1oz. Couple of days in an incubator with a feeding tube but always breathing on his own, a few more days in an open cot with expressed milk and breastfeeding. Home on day 8 after he was born and has done absolutely fine ever since. Our SCBU told us to call them whenever we needed to and we actually had a visiting nurse come a few times to check he was doing OK - which he was, I think it was more to reassure us! Don't be scared to ask any questions you need to but try to relax and enjoy the fact that you get to take your little one home so soon! Good luck :)

clarejane · 19/06/2011 01:31

Oh and PS - our home was a total mess with him arriving early, we paid a cleaner to do it for us while we were at the hospital - best money we ever spent! ;)

serendipity16 · 19/06/2011 08:15

My son was born at 33+4 weighing 5lbs 6ozs, born on the Wednesday & home on the Sunday. He lost a fair amount of weight in the time he was in hospital & although they were concerned he'd lost so much they still allowed him to come home.

Other 2 sons were born at 33+4 & 34wks, their weights were 6lbs 4ozs & 6lbs 1oz & they were both out of hospital 5/6 days.

They were all tube fed for a couple of days then started sucking and taking milk from a bottle. With each of them they made me do a feeding chart & they had to be drinking a certain amount every 3 hours before they were happy to let them come home.

Congratulations

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