Pregnant after a preemie?!!

[julezboo]

Im 23 weeks today. after 5 mc's this is a real milestone!

Dp asked me at the weekend whether the baby would have a good chance of surviving if he was born now! I dont know tbh! We got talking about when my ds (now 4) was born. And tbh it put the fear of god in me!

He was born at 31 weeks weighing 2lb, i was poorly and he was in hospital for 5 weeks! Thankfully he is a very healthy active 4 yr old now!

But the thought that I may go through all that again scares the life out of me! My bags are almost packed just in case. But Im also scared of not knowing what to do with a full term baby, with ds we had routines to stick to because of medication he was on. I wont know whats "normal" and will be panicking over the slightest thing!

Has anyone else had a full termer after a preemie? How did you cope?

Im also feeling a tad bit guilty if Im honest, I know I will feel like I failed my DS if this one is born on time and healthy! Although Im not doing anything different this time round. Im getting myself into a right state. Im not having any extra checks at the hospital, next appt inst till 29 weeks. What if something goes wrong in between now and then!
Arrghh - any advice on how to cope would be great!

Thanks x x

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Hi
I had ds at 33 weight 2lb 15 my placenta had stopped working luckily he wasn't too ill and was home after 4 weeks. He is now 5, small but healthy!

I had dd in Jan 2004 I worried through the whole pregnancy that something like ds would happen luckily I had sympathetic midwives! I had her at 39 weeks weighing 19lb 50oz!

Congratulations! Do you know why your ds was born early? Is it something that is likely to recur?

My experience isn't quite the same, but may help a little bit. Dd1 was born (by elective section) at 36 weeks because I had placenta praevia. She wasn't particularly premature, but was quite small (4lb 12oz) because she hadn't been getting good nutrition from my crappy placenta . She was kept in and tube fed for a couple of weeks, although she was basically healthy. Dd2 was born at 37 weeks but naturally, and weighed a healthy 7lb 8 oz. The funny thing was getting to take her home straight away (I went home the same day she was born) and not having all that time in hospital to get used to the idea of being a mum. But once you have a new baby you get so caught up in the daily round of 'things to do' (nappy, feed, feed, nappy... ) that there isn't really time to compare the two experiences too much.#

You said that your ds is a healty active 4-y-o, so it's clear that you haven't 'failed him'. Just the opposite, you have obviously given him the best possible start in life. And you will do the same for this baby too.

The hospital clearly aren't worried about you, otherwise they would be asking to see you before 29 weeks. But if you are at all worried, give the hospital a ring and ask if you can go in for a quick check-up sooner.

thanks ladies

ellbell - my ds was born due to severe pre eclampsia, i ended up in ITU, since found out I have a blood clotting disorder and now on heparin injections daily, my cons refused to discuss the birth by just saying "if you get that far" so tbh they dont have much confidence i wont go early like last time!

Suppose every mum to be worries at oe point or other really!

Julez, your consultant sounds awful... very reassuring (not!).

AFAIK (not an expert, but did spend a long time in hospital before having dd1 and picked up lot of snippets of info!) pre-eclampsia doesn't necessarily recur with subsequent pregnancies. Certainly a friend who was in hospital with me with her ds1 had pre-eclampsia and was in and out of hospital for about three weeks before her baby was induced at 37 weeks (so nothing like as dramatic as what happened to you, but worrying enough for them to keep her in). But when she had her dd a year or two later she was absolutely fine and I think she even went overdue.

Can you ask to see a different consultant? Or can you just turn up at the hospital and say that you are really worried and get someone to check you out? If necessary I'd 'invent' a minor symptom to get them to take you seriously (e.g. say you felt dizzy or something and that got you worried).

Very best of luck.