Anyone know anything about suffactant (spelling may be wrong)

[woodge]

When my dd was born she was flat and needed to be ventilated etc. She was also given suffactant to inflate her lungs because this hadn't happened even though she was 42 wks. The reason for this is still unknown.
I'm now 30 wks with the next one and know that this is about the time that suffactant kicks in. However there doesn't appear to be anyway of telling if the lungs are maturing properly. If I was to go into premature labour at this stage I would be given certain drugs to mature the lungs and my midwife said that this might an option as a preventitive measure. Has anyone got any experience of this? I'm in a bit of a dilemma, in all probability this baby is perfect and so I could be taking an unnecessary drug but I'm very worried about a repeat performance of dd's birth. Your advice please...

[MABS]

Have had 2 children prematurely who would, very likely , not be here if it wasn't for the surfactant drug. The docs would not recommend it if it weren't necessary , as I believe it's hellishly expensive.

You need to have it at least 48 hours before delivery to get maximum benefit. Anyway, that's just my personal experience. Good luck.

[lou33]

I've had it too, when I had threatened labours at 30, 34 and 30 weeks. It was a hard choice to make the first time round, but in the end I decided to have it to ensure that the baby had a better chance if I went into full labour. From what I can remember I think I was told that it is a synthetic form of a naturally occuring steroid that they inject, and it is given in two doses, about 12 hours apart. I managed to hold on a few more weeks with mine, so the effect wasn't tested, but I thought it was better to be safe in my case.

[hmb]

I don't know about the drug, but I do know a little about pulmonary surfactant. It is a mucous like liquid that is produced by the lungs and allow them to function. It stops the tiny bubbles that make up the lung (the alveoli) from sticking together. It also makes it easier for the oxygen to pass into the blood stream, and the carbon dioxide to pass out of the blood stream into the alveoli and then get breathed out. Without surfactant we couldn't breath.

Women are sometimes given steroids to help spped up the natural prduction of surfactant by the baby. This has save huge numbers of babies lives. As others have said it wouldn't be done unless necessary, and could very well save your babies life. I would have it without a second thought. Better safe than sorry.

Hope eveything goes well.

[aloha]

I was given the steroids because I had placenta praevia and had a couple of bleeds around the 30 week mark, which could (but didn't) lead to premature birth. The steroid injections which help mature the baby's lungs are simple and painless and I was grateful for them as they gave me great peace of mind. As it happens ds was delivered by cs at 37 weeks with splendid lungs. I would have them if they are offered. They don't harm you or the baby but could be of huge benefit.

[pupuce]

Interesting about the painless effect on you Aloha... I think you are a very strong woman as you do not seem to find either that or a section a painful event (and I am not being rude/snooty/argumentative here)...
I was a birth doula to a woman who had the steroids injections at 33 weeks and she had MASSIVE side effects, she said the injections were quite painful, like a massive beating on the bum ! She was red (like a bad blush for days, she had very strong braxton hicks.... and I am sure I am forgetting some !
And if you think she is a wimp... she delivered vaginally at 39 weeks (so not early!) without ANY pain relief... except a doula - that's what the MW put under pain relief in her labour notes.

[MABS]

Just to add ... I have had the steroid injections 6 times now, and the pain was minimal. No bruising or anything for me, maybe I was just lucky, but for me it was no big deal in the scheme of things.

[lou33]

Same here Mabs.

[PamT]

I had a steroid injection with DS2 but it was a bit pointless because he was born about 2 hours later. I have got to say that it is the most painful injection I have ever had, it left the injection site stinging for hours afterwards.

Knowing now that the injection had to be given 48 hours prior to delivery makes me really cross. The hospital knew that I had placenta praevia but failed to tell me and I had two minor bleeds a couple of days before the big one but it wasn't until the eleventh hour when I had lost so much blood that I went into shock that they gave me the steroid injection. DS2 was born kicking and screaming though and made his feelings known all the way to the SCBU where he was ventilated for 3 days.

[aloha]

Pupuce - you have never been rude to me!

[aloha]

PamT, I am shocked. At Kings, where I had my first 'minor' bleed - seemed a lot to me, but wasn't really - I was given steroids straight away.

[MABS]

Terrible PamT, awful they did it so late, did they ever say why they delayed? My dd 'may' have made it without them as she was a 31 weeker. Although she was quite poorly and had to be ventilated for a week also.

My 28 weeker ds would have been at massive risk without them . Even with them he had 2 wks ventilation and in fact , on delivery, they had 4 attempts to rescucitate before suceeding. Thank goodness I didn't see it as i was under GA.

[PamT]

Yes MABS, seven years on I still feel very bitter about the way I was treated and I really should have done more about it at the time, maybe I wouldn't feel so badly now. I'd had two minor bleeds and not been scanned when the flood gates opened at 11am in the morning. The situation was quite funny really because the delivery suite was being refurbished and the temporary one was miles away - up 2 floors in the lift, along a sort of overhead tunnel to another building and down a main corridor into the other ward. Meanwhile there were other women screaming in labour agony on the anti-natal ward but being told "you'll have to wait this is an emergency" and I had 3 midwives all running at top speed with me in a full sized bed half way across the hospital. Then they got me there, handed me over and there I lay, bleeding away until they decided I wasn't going to stop bleeding, was now in shock, needed a transfusion and had to get the baby out. A spinal was out of the question due to the blood loss and possible complications (I had already signed a consent form for a hysterectomy if necessary) so they wheeled me kicking and screaming for a General at 5pm.

I was convinced that I was almost 34 weeks but because the 20 week scan didn't agree they said I was only 31 weeks. Maybe I was further on than they thought and that's why DS did so well but I'll never know the answer to that and many other questions.

Sorry to hi-jack this thread but every so often I have to let rip with my frustrations.

Woodge, I would definitely plan ahead as much as possible, get all the information you can and then make an informed decision, things don't always go to plan but fore-warned is fore-armed. At the end of the day you want your baby to come out healthy and you may have to compromise your own desires to achieve this - but it is a small price to pay. Better the injections beforehand than long term breathing difficulties later on.

[Brod124]

Hello people I've recently just found out I'm pregnant 5 week I already have a 2 year old I'm with a new partner and my partner as high pertention on lungs were it makes him look older too not been nasty but does anyone no if this could travel to my new born I've recently searched and says it travels in woman not men how true is this thank you