Caesarean at 34 weeks

[hoppyfarmer]

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

[elliejjtiny]

Congratulations on your pregnancy OP and sorry for your losses.

My 5 year old was born at 35+3 in a semi planned c-section after my waters broke early. I had both steroid injections. He was very loud when he came out and had good apgar scores so he was weighed (7lb 2oz) hat on, wrapped in a towel and given to dh for cuddles. After about 30 minutes or so he was grunting and struggling to breathe a bit so the Dr said he needed to go to neonatal. I asked if I could have a cuddle first so I had a quick cuddle and he was taken to nicu and put on cpap. He was in neonatal for 4 weeks.

[SparkyBlue]

Delighted things are going well for you OP. Enjoy this stage. It's lovely getting the baby stuff sorted.

[hoppyfarmer]

I'm now 28+5 and feel like there's light at the end of the world's longest tunnel. Baby is kicking well and my consultant and midwife are pleased with progress. At my 26 week scan baby measured 2lbs 3oz and on 93rd centile so I hope that is correct and we will have a 6lb sprog at 34 weeks but we will see. Starting to get a few bits ready at home now which is exciting, weird & terrifying all rolled into one as I remember doing it all for our son who was stillborn. Very nervous about going into theatre again but I know I'll be fine once I get there. It's just not natural to say "yes please cut my belly open"!

[hoppyfarmer]

Thanks ladies. Big kiss to you all. X

[lollypop13]

My sister's DS did cry when he was born. He was 5lb 10oz so god knows what he would've been full term, she was measuring big. He was an IVF baby and she's had a terrible pregnancy and ended up going into labour early.

[lollypop13]

My sister had one and her DS was absolutely fine. He needed phototherapy for jaundice but they did this on the ward rather than taking him to scbu. He also needed an NG tube as he was a sleepy feeder. He's been in a couple of times with bronchiolitis but apart from that he's treat. I hope all goes well for you and I'm so sorry to hear of your losses

[AnnoyedByAlfieBear]

Sorry for your losses. My almost 6 year old was born by emergency section at 34+5 after my waters broke. I only got one dose of steroids. He was 5lb 1oz and we were only in for 3 nights (at my request, they said we could go after 2). NICU.

Good luck!

[Loyaultemelie]

Oddly enough that cry in the delivery suite was her last for 10 days, SCBU staff used to laugh and say she was just overly polite! (Made other noises etc though) Boy did the unit come to a shocked standstill the night she cried for a feed.

[Loyaultemelie]

So sorry op
My dd1 is a 32 weeker by emcs. She wasn't growing and after high blood pressure hospitalised me a few times throughout pre eclampsia kicked in. I had steroids at 31 and 32 weeks and then had a placental abruption. The staff were great and warned me not to expect her to cry etc but she did, although tiny she didn't need ventilated or oxygen surprisingly and was allowed home after 3 weeks weighing 4lbs on the day she came home.

[ArfArfBarf]

My dc3 was born at 34 weeks (not cs though and I didn’t have steroids). When he was born he was exactly like my dc1 and dc2 both born at 38weeks just smaller. He cried and even had a small bf when he’d been checked over. They took him to NICU as a precaution and he stayed in two weeks because his blood sugars were a bit all over the place (I’m diabetic). Wasn’t in an incubator and didn’t need help with breathing though.

Despite a later spell in PICU for a further two weeks, he has always been a terrible sleeper when at home, so not convinced that it guarantees a good sleeper!

[katycb]

Mine cried very loudly!!!

[hoppyfarmer]

One more question.... When your babies were born early did they cry or not? I can imagine total silence in theatre and being worried by that but if it's normal then that's fine.

[hoppyfarmer]

Thank you all. Xxx

[JustSeeingHowManyCharactersWeC]

My first was born at 33 weeks and was in NICU under 2 weeks. Now a fit and healthy nearly four year old who, whilst they have had some health niggles, nothing serious.

Apparently babies that spend time in NICU are great as they learn to sleep anywhere, through any hustle and bustle and in my limited experience of one premmie and one term this is very true!

[katycb]

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

[katycb]

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!

[welshweasel]

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.

[SirVixofVixHall]

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.

[HeyDolly]

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.

[KoshaMangsho]

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

[KoshaMangsho]

Parents of Preemies Support UK.

[user1493413286]

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

[user1493413286]

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

[hoppyfarmer]

What's the name of the Facebook group please?

[SleepingStandingUp]

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