Anyone had baby at 34 weeks?

[Liliana07]

So I'm in hospital quite unwell. Have had numerous back to back infections since 20 weeks pregnant. Multiple courses of antibiotics and today infection levels got so high I passed out at work (should have phoned in sick but get major anxiety about that) and was rushed to AnE. Anyway I'm now on IV fluids and AB, they did a trace on my heart as it was going far too quickly and are keeping me in for a few days to try and fight infection.
I'm under consultant for slow growth which I'm absolutely certain is down to my illnesses not allowing baby to get what she needs. I'm seeing my consultant tomorrow, think they are saying they are bringing my growth scan forward from Friday to tomorrow. Do you think based on my situation they are thinking of getting baby out fairly soon? I know baby's are pretty OK from 34 weeks and other than slow growth I think she is OK as movements are as strong as ever. I have 3 other children at home and the thought of being hospitalised for a few weeks worries me but equally would need to consider risk vs benefit to me and this baby as well.
So if anyone has had a baby around 34 weeks what was it like and how long were you in hospital for?

I had my baby at 34 weeks exactly. I was perfectly well but she was growth restricted due to an issue with blood flow through the placenta. I had her by a very unwanted c section as the consultant didn't think she would survive a vaginal delivery.

I was discharged within 48 hours. She was in nicu for 3 weeks and one day. Initially she needed help breathing and the lamp for jaundice but after that it was just about her getting to their minimum discharge weight (which took longer than it should have due to her picking up two separate hospital acquired infections😡).

She was smaller than her peers up to around 5 but at 7 now seems to have caught up.

Good luck!

I had twins at 34 weeks - I was sent home after 2 nights twins stayed in NICU for 3 weeks so I had to travel to see them everyday which wasn't easy during lockdown with older child at home and after having had a c section

Thanks both. So at that gestation it would almost certainly be a c section? That's the other thing I was thinking. Must be so hard when you are to go home but the baby doesn't come with you. How do you manage that?

Doesn't necessarily mean a C-section. I had twins at 28 weeks and they were delivered vaginally.
It is hard to leave them in the hospital whilst you go home but you have to tell yourself that they are in the best place getting the care they need. I would recommend getting as involved as you can in their hospital routine...it helped me feel part of their care.
I hope everything goes well and you both get home soon.

Ds2 was born at 34 weeks after my waters broke early at 33 weeks. We were in hospital for 3 days before going home. He was a bit jaundiced but that's all

No, doesn't have to be a C-section.

My waters went at 26 weeks, and we hobbled along, with regular testing and lots of bleeds, until 34w exactly. Baby showed as healthy in the many scans, but the bleeds were becoming uncontrollable + the risk of a full placental abruption became much higher.

I was induced on 34w exact, and DS came on 34w 1d. He was taken to NICU immediately, but never needed any help to breath. He had IV antibiotics (a precaution due to how long prior my waters has gone), light therapy for a couple of days due to jaundice, and was tube fed.

Babies only learn the suckle reflex at around 35w, in utero. So he had to be tube fed, and as I wanted to breastfeed, he'd be put to the breast, whilst he was tube fed, so he associated suckling with getting food. We were also recommend to use a dummy with him. I have a glorious video of him asleep, at 35w 1d, and the huuuge dummy bobbing up and down in his mouth.

I was medically discharged 36 hours after birth, and our NICU had a little apartment (Travelodge style) that I was able to stay in, as they weren't to busy with desperately I'll babies, and because I was trying to breastfeed. As it was lockdown, my DH was able to be at home with our almost 4 year old DD, so I could stay.

However, there was another mum in the same baby room (ward) who had a toddler at home, so she came in once or twice a day, and baby was tube/bottle fed. She would express at home, so baby had a mixture of formula and breast milk.

DS was discharged at 15 days old, exclusively breastfed.

Good luck with it all. I hope everything goes well, and you

I didn't have a csection. Also had ds3 at 32 weeks, he was in hospital for 10 days. I did have a csection with him but only because the cord prolapsed and he was in the wrong position for them to get him out. I was 10 cm when they got me down to theater

I went into labour spontaneously at 33 weeks and delivered DD vaginally. Very straightforward (and quick) delivery really. I'm not sure whether they'd rather go for c section or induction if it's not a spontaneous labour, but in principle there's no reason you can't deliver vaginally.

At birth, DD has to be stimulated to breathe but was fine after that - didn't require any additional oxygen, etc. They put her on antibiotics for the first day as a "just in case" and she had a drip put in for the first few days as her digestive system got used to working. She had two 24 hour stints under the UV early on as treatment for mild jaundice.

She was tube fed at first, then mixed tube and bottle (expressed milk), then just bottle. She grew well in that time and had no serious complications. They put additional vitamins in her milk, and briefly a fortifier (concentrated milk powder to add calories), though this made her very constipated so was stopped. In the end it was a case of "she can come home after 48 hours of no tube feeds", which was achieved at 20 days.

She's now an 18 month old toddler and thriving. Constantly coming down with nursery germs but that's normal!

33 weeks. You wouldn't know looking at her now.

Thank you all so much for this. Sorry its taken a while to come back to you I just couldn't go on my phone, slept for almost a whole day and night in between being woken for obs and more meds. Those experiences are valuable to me though so thank you for sharing.
Baby is going on monitor morning and evening at the moment and all looks good. Got the consultant review on Friday to make a plan. I'm responding well to all the care now so they may just end up leaving her in for a little longer, depending on scan on Friday.

34.5 weeks here for my DD. I’d been having contractions since week 31 and they just let it go ahead at that gestation when it was “moderately safe”. Very fast natural birth. After being in and out of hospital from 31 weeks I think I was relieved she was out safe, but the nicu is a real rollercoaster, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone to be honest. I went home 2 days in and she didn’t for 18 days. The only thing I could do to help was pump as the colostrum was really important. The first 24 hours were good and then she nosedived which is apparently quite normal. Though the shock of coming in first thing and seeing a million tubes as a lung collapsed was honestly horrific. I had steroids pre birth to help lung development but I guess we still got hit with issues. Her breathing recovered, her temperature maintenance was never an issue, but her slow progress for eating was what kept her in so long. Eventually I had to advocate for her and say I’d happily bottle feed at home, as they were happy to keep her in until she was comfortably being bf and I just wanted her home. The nicu nurses are fantastic. I can’t praise them enough. There were massive ups and downs, and real frustration points, but my DD really does seem more advanced than most of her age group now and was caught up developmentally by 6 months. Her teeth came a bit late though. The longer your baby can safely stay in the better. Nicu plus covid times plus 3 kids just sounds tricky logistically so I hope you don’t go through it x