Might be a possible early delivery at 29 weeks.

[Mummytotwo21]

I'm currently 28 weeks and 5 days pregnant. A week ago today I had a growth scan which showed baby was small and my placenta flow wasn't great but still present. I went for a Doppler Monday and the flow had gotten better and was still present, today however I have intermittent absent flow so I've been admitted and have to have steroids. Babys heartrate is perfect and she's having lots of movements.

I have two other kids at home I cannot stop crying because I just want to be home with them and I have no idea how long I'm.here for. I have to go for a specialist Doppler but if they cannot get me an appointment then the plan is early delivery in which I have to be moved to a different hospital because our NICU is closed so that's making me feel worse knowing I have to deliver in an unknown hospital and then stay at that hospital for however long the baby needs to be in for😞😟 I don't know the point in my post I'm just finding things really hard at the moment.

I had the good fortune to live in a major city so I was allowed home between the steroid jabs, which started at 28 weeks for me. At 29+1 I had a morning when I felt no movement so I went in for a scan and they delivered my son seven hours later; it would have been sooner but I had lunch before I went in!

I didn't stay in for the full time that DS was in NICU. I stayed in for two weeks, slightly longer than they anticipated due to issues with my c/s scar healing. DS was on the unit for the full eleven weeks, he came out just after his due date. I lived close enough that visiting every day wasn't an issue. The cost of travel was a bit of an issue but the NICU social worker put in for a travel grant for us.

If your baby comes early, celebrate their birth. Then deal with everything afterwards. But don't lose sight of the fact that a birth is a joyful thing 😍And keep talking on here. Over the last couple of days, I've learnt that online support can be really helpful.

I’m sorry, it’s so stressful when things don’t go as expected.

In your shoes I would push and push and push for that specialist doppler as it may show you can safely stay pregnant a little longer. Every little helps at this stage. I wouldn’t want to deliver earlier than might be needed, just because they couldn’t squeeze me in with the right equipment. Of course it may show that the flow is really compromised and you do need to deliver, but at least then you know it was necessary.

As Jennifer says you don’t need to stay in the whole time your baby is in NICU. I tried to as it was my first baby but it sent me a bit nuts and I wouldn’t recommend it, I went home before she did and although that was strange I actually felt much better. Most parents came for daily visits sometimes in shifts with their partner. I hope the other hospital is not too far away?

Best of luck with everything.

My son was born at 31w3d and he had the 2 steroid injections and thank goodness was completely fine just small. I was only in hospital for one night as I was fine after the birth. He was in for 33 days. I was in with him for the last 10 days in transitional care before he came home. He was my first so I caught the train everyday to spend the day with him. There were a lot of other mothers who weren't able to as they had older children. You will be able to figure out a routine to spend time with your baby and your older children, it will be tough but you will find a way to make it work. Fingers crossed for you that your pregnant can last a bit longer.

I think because it's happened so quickly I'm trying to get my head around the whole situation.

They aren't even sure on what hospital I will deliver it could be 40 mins away or it could be hours I think that's what I'm struggling with the most, it's just difficult.

Sorry to hear this, it’s an extremely anxious time to be in especially when you have children at home already.

My DS (now 16m) wasn’t premature as he was born at 40 + 1 via planned C Section however he was in NICU for 8 weeks. Or maybe 6, the weeks all meshed into one. He had multiple issues which he still has now due to a rare genetic disorder.

Most hospitals don’t allow you to stay on the postnatal ward unless the NICU provides a bay for parents to stay on which I’ve never come across. I stayed on the ward for 14 days because luckily they didn’t need the bed! Once I was discharged I had to travel to the hospital each day to visit DS. I also had an 11 month daughter at home when I gave birth.

It is hard but you manage to adjust. Try not to overthink too much and take it day by day. Wishing you all the best x

UPDATE! I had a second Doppler yesterday and there are now no signs of any sort of absent flow. My pi is still on the high side but the sonographer took 6-8 different readings to put us at ease. He thinks that the sonographer the day before was struggling to get a good reading because my cord was quite hard to find and baby was super active and not playing ball!

So I got to go home to my beautiful kiddies! And they also managed to get me an appointment on Monday for a more in depth scan of flow to babies brain and heart!

My consultant said that if that scan is good on Monday she wants to try and keep baby in as long as she can and just keep up with the 2x weekly Doppler's and growth scans every two weeks as she's still showing little.

So I'm really hoping that I can keep her in as long as we can to help her

This is a lovely update, I’m so pleased for you.

@Mummytotwo21
Have been reading some older threads as facing severe early onset IUGR due to placental insufficiency, and wondered how things had worked out for you in the end?

Hi I ended up getting to 37 + 2 weeks before my consultant said it was best to induce! I had a scan on the day of induction to see her growth and she hadn't grown in 2 weeks, barely had any waters and my placenta had stopped working fully again so was sent straight upstairs for induction, had her the following morning and she weighed 6 pound 2 ounce over a pound more than they were expecting ☺️

Hope everything goes well for you it's a terrifying thing to go through but I'm always here if you need to chat ☺️

Congratulations @Mummytotwo21! She sounds absolutely lovely

Thank you☺️ she is absolutely adorable! A lovely ending to my last ever pregnancy ❤️