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Childbirth

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

Original poster

Caesarean at 34 weeks

39 replies

hoppyfarmer · 01/05/2018 16:05

Hi ladies, I am in the early stages of my 5th pregnancy. No 1 resulted in a now 3.5 year old daughter. No 2 I fell pregnant with a copper coil in and miscarried. No 3 was stillborn son at 36+5 due to knot in cord. No 4 had chromosomal problems and miscarried at 15 weeks.
During delivery of my son he got stuck and I had to have emergency caesarean under general as my womb ruptured. Fortunately I escaped a hysterectomy.
Consultant says will delivery next baby at 34 weeks to ensure we have a live baby and my scars in womb are kept in tact.
If you had a baby at 34 weeks how long were they in neonatal care? This will be planned so I know I will be given steroids in advance.
Also if anyone has reassurance about a planned caesarean following a terrifyingly quick trip to theatre for an emergency one I’d be glad to hear it!
Thanks ladies. X

OP posts:
mommybear1 · 01/05/2018 16:24

Hi so sorry to read your post Thanks. I was due for a planned cs at 39 weeks went into spontaneous labour at 35 plus 2 and ended up with an emergency cs the following day. Baby was taken straight to neo natal and we couldn't see him for a day he was on cpap due to breathing issues and stayed in neo natal for 10 days. The advice I was given is that they usually stay in neo until their birth date or effectively as close to it as possible subject to any amazing recovery etc. The neo nates staff and unit are amazing and you'll be able to stay with your LO all the time ie no restricted visiting hours ( they used for have to make me go back to the ward for meds Grin!). I hope that helps I know I'm not strictly a 34 week bod feel free to pm me - best of luck OP ThanksCake

SparkyBlue · 01/05/2018 17:02

So sorry to read your post OP. My little boy was born by caesarean at 34 weeks after I went into labour but there were other complications so had an emergency caesarean in the end. He was tiny but my daughter had been four weeks early so I was used to tiny newborns. He was brought to nicu but he was in the recovery room alongside me in his incubator as he wasn't considered an emergency so he wasn't rushed off. He was in nicu for three weeks in the end as he wasn't feeding well so he did end up having a few more setbacks than expected. He is currently a hale and hearty two year old. I wish you the very best of luck with everything.

Lndnmummy · 01/05/2018 18:51

Hi OP, just to let you know that I was born at 33 weeks nearly 40 years ago and have had no problems at all in life. Well I have obviously but not as a result to being a premmie.

SleepingStandingUp · 01/05/2018 18:56

My 35 weeker won't be reassuring at all but he was always going to come out poorly. What I would say I'd that on my prem mom group on Facebook i know there's lots of babies who were out before their due date at similar gestations. Might be worth joining if you're on FB.

So sorry for what you've been through to get here xx

Stickmangate · 01/05/2018 18:59

I had a c section at 34 weeks. Was a planned emergency as in blood pressure went up due to Cholestics was taken in had 2 lots of steroids and c section 2 days later.

Dc was 3lb 11 was ncic for 2 weeks came home less than birth weight now a happy 4 yr old.

Was on cpap at first and had slight jaundice but was fine and is fine no other complications. Pm if you want to know anything else good luck with everything

GlitterRollerSkate · 01/05/2018 19:05

Mine was born later but I had an emergency section under a general anaesthetic with my first and a planned section for my second. I have to say the second c section was a much better experience. I was up and about within hours of the spinal. We were also discharged just over 24 hours from my admittance. The recovery hasn't been too bad either. Much less painful than with the emergency. It was so much calmer and you get to meet all the theatre staff.

DropZoneOne · 01/05/2018 19:05

Sorry for your losses Flowers

My DD was an emergency section at 34 weeks due to placental abruption, and needed to be resuscitated. A week in NICU due to her lungs and needing a blood transfusion. Another few days on HDU sorting out her blood sugar. Then two weeks in SCBU trying to get her to feed and gain weight. Because she was so little she would get tired feeding so kept having to be topped up via tube. Eventually they supplemented her feed so she was getting extra calories, she gained weight and just overall got a bit stronger. She grew pretty quickly once we got her home too. Stayed smaller than average for s couple of years but now age 10 is taller than her classmates! No obvious difficulties as a result of her tricky start in life.

Hope it all goes well OP xx

KoshaMangsho · 01/05/2018 19:08

I suspect I am on the same Preemie Group as a PP.
Do come and join us. Yes your due date is a good yardstick but it depends on a lot of factors. AND some are home in 10-12 days.
For guidance my 26 weeker spent 9 weeks in neonatal care and came home at just under 36 weeks.

bobstersmum · 01/05/2018 19:31

I have no experience with early babies or csection but I wanted to say I wish you the very best for this pregnancy op!

Original poster
hoppyfarmer · 01/05/2018 20:00

Thank you everybody. I really appreciate the good wishes. X

OP posts:
Zioanna · 01/05/2018 20:06

So sorry for your losses. My DS was born at 34+0. It was an emergency c section under GA due to a cord prolapse but no other known problems. We’d managed to have the 1st set of steroids but not the second.

He was skinny rather than small (4lbs 12oz) and was in special care for 2.5 weeks, but would have been allowed home sooner if he hadn’t developed jaundice. He’s now 4 and has no lasting health problems.

Best of luck, I hope it all goes well.

monkeychickenpig · 01/05/2018 20:08

I had a son at 35 weeks with a GA and C Sect

My son was really small however he was well but I took him home against their advice at 4 days in there I was going nuts and felt it wasn't needed for him

If you can establish feeding and feel safe take them home when you're ready you don't need to be a hostage to their suggestions

But make sure he will drink from a bottle before going or you have established breast feeding and have a sufficient milk supply

Mammyofasuperbaby · 01/05/2018 20:12

Most likely another member of the preemie group mentioned by pp, they are amazing and so supportive so give us a look.
My son was born at 33 weeks due to a lot of issues and he was in 5 weeks but he had a lot of weight to gain and feeding issues so his stay was quite long. The average stay for a 34 weeker is less than 3 weeks.
Good luck

FinallyARainbow · 01/05/2018 20:34

DS was born at 35 weeks and stayed in NICU for just under 2 days then SCBU for a further 2 weeks. I had 2 doses of steroids which made a massive difference as he had no breathing problems etc. He was just very small (3lb 14) and so needed to be tube fed and on a preemie formula until he developed the suck reflex.

Hope all goes well.

SleepingStandingUp · 01/05/2018 21:07

Hey you're all welcome to come and join us at the FB group hehe

Original poster
hoppyfarmer · 04/05/2018 17:29

What's the name of the Facebook group please?

OP posts:
user1493413286 · 04/05/2018 17:46

A bit earlier than yours but hopefully a positive/hopeful story - my DD was born at 32+5 and spent 2.5 weeks in special care mostly to establish feeding as she breathed on her own from birth (had steroids while pregnant) and could maintain her own temperature fairly quickly
At 34 weeks feeding might be quicker to establish and it probably partly depends on your unit as ours was very pro early discharge and had an outreach nurse who came and weighed baby every other day for the first week then every week until around her due date
I’d request to visit the special care unit before you deliver so you can talk to staff about what to expect and know what it’s like as that really helped me

user1493413286 · 04/05/2018 17:49

Also my next baby will be a (hopefully planned) section and after hearing from the consultant and friends how a planned one is different to an emergency one I feel a lot calmer about it after my traumatic first experience

KoshaMangsho · 04/05/2018 18:20

Parents of Preemies Support UK.

KoshaMangsho · 04/05/2018 18:20

You’ll be asked a few questions by the admins to verify your identity.

HeyDolly · 04/05/2018 18:24

My DD was born at 34 weeks and I had time for the steroid injections. She surprisingly didn’t need NICU or SCBU and was 5lb. We had to stay in hospital for a week (partly because I was so ill) and she needed incubator phototherapy for jaundice when she was 2 days old but apart from that all was fine.

SirVixofVixHall · 04/05/2018 18:25

I was born at 35/36 weeks, as my Mum had severe pre-eclampsia. I was just under four pounds, and spent six weeks in hospital, but other than that no issues, and this was in the 1960s, when care for prem babies was much more basic. So wishing you all the best for this little baby, you’ve been through so much.

welshweasel · 04/05/2018 18:26

DS was born at 35 weeks on the dot, with the benefit of steroids. He didn’t need to go to special care, we were discharged home together 3 days later.

katycb · 04/05/2018 18:34

My twins who were also born after a loss arrived at 35w but were small for dates as there were 2 of them. The didn't need any help breathing etc and I held them after birth but then they had to go off to scbu they basically needed help keeping warm and feeding we spent just over a week in hospital. I also had a planned section due to them sharing a placenta and twin 2 being in a silly position. Good luck o.p I remember how stressful it all was!

katycb · 04/05/2018 18:36

Just to add we just had a few days in scbu then we were on transitional care together for the rest of the week.

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