If birth occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy, then, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the child is considered premature and premature.
The term “prematurity” also means that the child was born before his expected period of intrauterine development and is not fully developed.
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The weight of premature babies usually ranges from one and a half to two and a half kilograms. The modern level of medicine allows such children not only to survive, but also to fully
develop.
However, some time must pass before such babies begin to feed on their own and can leave the maternity hospital.
Degrees of prematurity and consequences
There are several degrees of prematurity in newborns. Mild ones, as a rule, do not pose a danger to the baby’s health; severe ones require serious medical care. Find out the dangers of having a baby prematurely.
Infections
Also, premature birth can be triggered by an infection of the woman’s urinary and genital tract. Experts believe that the bacteria release chemicals that cause contractions of the uterine muscles.
Often such diseases are asymptomatic, and the woman may not know that she is sick
. You can reduce the risk of preterm birth by identifying and treating the infection before or early in pregnancy. Currently, there are a sufficient number of drugs that do not harm the baby.
Features of the course of labor
With premature birth, premature rupture of amniotic fluid, weakness and dysfunction of labor, rapid or rapid labor, disruption of regulatory mechanisms, and fetal hypoxia are more often observed.
Premature rupture of amniotic fluid often occurs with isthmic-cervical insufficiency or the presence of infection. The lower pole of the amniotic sac becomes infected and, as a result of inflammation, the membranes rupture easily. Normally, the amniotic sac ruptures closer to the full dilatation of the cervix, that is, already during labor. A woman's sensations can vary from a small wet spot on her underwear to a large amount of water leaking from the vagina and flowing down her legs. The waters should be light, but can be cloudy or dark brown (if infection is present). Childbirth that occurs prematurely very often proceeds quickly or even rapidly. The woman experiences rather painful contractions, their frequency increases, the intervals between contractions are less than 5 minutes and quickly decrease to 1 minute, the first stage of labor (until the cervix is fully dilated) is reduced to 2-4 hours. Due to the fact that the head of a premature fetus is smaller, expulsion of the fetus begins when the cervix is not fully dilated. A smaller baby moves through the birth canal faster.
Premature baby
A child born as a result of premature birth has signs of prematurity, which are determined immediately after birth.
The body weight of such a newborn is less than 2500 g, height is less than 45 cm, there is a lot of cheese-like lubricant on the skin, the subcutaneous tissue is underdeveloped, the ears and nasal cartilage are soft. The nails do not extend beyond the fingertips, the umbilical ring is located closer to the womb. In boys, the testicles are not lowered into the scrotum (this is determined by touch); in girls, the clitoris and labia minora are not covered by the labia majora, the cry is squeaky. It should be noted that the presence of one sign is not conclusive evidence of the child’s prematurity; fetal prematurity is determined by a combination of signs. Unlike timely births, there are more complications with premature births. Firstly, the baby’s head does not have time to adapt to the mother’s pelvic bones and configure. The configuration of the head is the possibility of displacement of the bones of the fetal skull during childbirth to reduce its volume as it passes through the birth canal. This mechanism allows you to reduce pressure on the head and cervical spine of the newborn baby. The bones of the skull of a premature baby are quite soft and cannot provide protection to the brain; the risk of trauma and hemorrhages under the membranes into the fetal brain tissue during childbirth increases. As a result, the child may experience hemorrhages, he does not have time to adapt to environmental changes, and his regulatory system is disrupted. Secondly, a woman often suffers ruptures in the birth canal (cervix, vagina and external genitalia), since the tissues do not have time to adapt to the stretching.
When labor threatens and begins, the woman is urgently hospitalized.
Much less common in premature birth is weakness of labor. Weakness may manifest itself as weak, infrequent or short contractions. The labor time increases significantly, the woman gets tired, and the child also begins to suffer. Other anomalies of labor are possible, for example, the strength and frequency of contractions is sufficient, but the cervix does not dilate. All this is associated with a violation of regulatory systems during premature birth; there is no sufficient hormonal preparation for childbirth. Infectious complications during childbirth and the postpartum period are much more common in both the mother and the fetus. Among such complications are suppuration of sutures (if any), postpartum metroendometritis (inflammation of the mucous membrane and muscular layer of the uterus), peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneum) and the maximum spread of infection (sepsis). This is due to the presence of a latent or obvious infection that the pregnant woman had before giving birth, which is often the cause of miscarriage. An infection can occur during childbirth, due to its duration (with weakness), for example, chorioamnionitis (inflammation of the membranes of the fetus). Premature babies have reduced immunity and, accordingly, are more susceptible to infections.
What week do they usually give birth?
It is generally accepted that pregnancy lasts forty weeks. In fact, each organism is individual, so childbirth can happen either a little earlier or a little later. A baby born no earlier than 37 weeks and no later than 42 is considered full-term. But most often, birth occurs at 39-40 weeks. More than 70% of children are born during this period.
But you can only rely on standard deadlines conditionally. Some children at 39 weeks have difficulty adapting to new conditions and are premature for health reasons, others, even at 35 weeks, are already ready to be born. So the child himself chooses when it is better for him to be born.
At the beginning of pregnancy, expectant mothers worry about a possible miscarriage, and later about the premature birth of a child. But even if the baby was born before 37 weeks, most likely there is no need to worry too much. Now doctors successfully care for children weighing from one kilogram, and many survive even if birth occurs before the 27-28th week.
But at this time the child must be born in the maternity hospital. This is the only way he can get everything he needs to survive. From 27 to 28 weeks, the baby will be considered premature, but has a good chance of survival. From the 24th to the 27th week, the baby appears with low body weight. The prognosis depends on the conditions of nursing, complications during pregnancy and childbirth.
Before the 24th, it was very difficult to care for a baby (especially in the conditions of domestic medicine), so the chances were very low.
When the pregnancy approaches 40 weeks, doctors begin to talk to the expectant mother about artificially inducing labor. In a hospital setting, labor is stimulated by the administration of pharmacological drugs, but there are many traditional methods that will help speed up labor. So how to give birth prematurely? There are enough methods. Expectant mothers begin to become interested in them when “the deadlines are tight.”
Physical activity
How to give birth before your due date? Exercise! Of course, you shouldn’t pump up your abs and jump, but sitting in one place is a bad idea. To help contractions begin faster, walking is recommended, but many women experiment with other exercises. Expectant mothers go up and down the stairs, and some claim that their contractions began after mopping the floors. In any case, feasible physical activity will not harm you. In addition, during them the child will take the correct position.
Raspberry leaves
Doctors' advice on how to give birth prematurely also includes traditional medicine recipes. Raspberry leaves, for example, not only gently stimulate labor, but also prepare the body for childbirth, and also help the uterus recover faster. You need to start drinking the infusion in advance - from about 37 weeks. Reviews from women indicate that many of those who took the infusion actually gave birth on time or a little earlier.
Of course, one can argue about the reliability, because it is not known in which case nature took care of the birth of the baby, and in which case a decoction of raspberry leaves helped.
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Traditional methods
Women, in order to start giving birth faster, use advice from traditional medicine. This is dangerous, therefore manipulations are prohibited without compelling reasons. Constant supervision of an obstetrician is required when inducing labor is used.
Is it possible to give birth before the due date? Quite possible. This requires not just the mother’s desire to get rid of a huge belly, but also medical indications. If there are none, it is better to give birth on time and not worry about the consequences.
There are also safe ways to speed up labor. You can use them, because the methods do not consist of medications or herbs. This active life: walking, walking on steps and being outdoors. Physical activity will not only fill the baby’s body with oxygen, but also contribute to the beginning of the birth process.
Sexual activity is another natural stimulant of labor. Orgasm smoothes the cervix and prepares it for childbirth, and sperm promotes faster opening of the organ. The position should be chosen that is comfortable for the expectant mother, and the regularity should be controlled. This method is used until the amniotic fluid is released. If amniotic fluid leaks, there is a risk of infection of the fetus.
What to do to give birth earlier:
- nipple massage;
- enema;
- use olive oil to soften the cervix.
Stimulation of the nipples will help tone the uterus, thereby pushing the body to the beginning of labor. The procedure must be performed three times a day for 15 minutes on each breast. Colon cleansing is often used in maternity hospitals as a way to induce labor. The essence of the method is to provoke contractions of the uterus along with the intestinal walls.
Some gynecologists recommend drinking or eating olive oil in salads. The product is considered a softener for the uterus and its cervix, stimulating intestinal function. It is enough to drink 100 grams of oil per day for the expected effect.
There is stimulation with herbs, but it is not as safe as drinking olive oil. It is forbidden for pregnant women to mindlessly use herbs due to the negative effect on the fetus.
A decoction of raspberry leaves is used, which activates the muscles of the uterus and tones the pelvic organs. To prepare the decoction, take 2 tablespoons of dry red raspberry leaves and pour them with a liter of hot boiled water, then boil for a couple of minutes. Infuse and drink 300-400 ml. in a day.
You can use homeopathic remedies (caulophyllum, pulsatilla). The drugs are absolutely harmless to the fetus and the pregnant woman, but not all obstetricians believe in their stimulating properties.
They resort to acupuncture; this method is rarely used in practice, but has an impact on the onset of labor. It is believed that needle injections into the right places contribute to the development of labor or intensification of contractions.
It is allowed to bring the date of birth closer only with a doctor’s prescription, as you can harm the baby and yourself. It is best to stay in a hospital setting while using stimulants.
Is it true that boys are born prematurely? No, it does not depend on the gender of the child. The health status of the baby and mother is taken into account, as well as the correctness of the dates set.
Early does not mean bad!
I want to share with you my impressions of my birth))
I became pregnant at the age of 26, the pregnancy proceeded normally normally, not counting my nerves that were worn out by the doctors, and once I was in conservancy. I will not go into all the details of the pregnancy, because I am writing a review specifically about childbirth.
Throughout the pregnancy I had a premonition that I would give birth prematurely, although there were no prerequisites for this, the tests were all normal, there were no infections, oligohydramnios, polyhydramnios or other problems.
But despite this, my labor began at 37.3 weeks. At night, already in the morning, I felt some slight involuntary discharge, at first I thought it was just my imagination. And at 6 in the morning I woke up from heavy pinkish discharge. My stomach was cramping periodically, every 12 minutes, the pain was like menstruation. I was scared, of course, because I wasn’t going to give birth prematurely)) But what could I do, I quickly took a shower, shaved, put what I needed in my bag and took a taxi to the maternity hospital.
The doctor began to look at me in the chair, and then the waters gushed out like a river and they told me, “You’ll give birth today.” The 4th finger has already opened. I'm naturally shocked. They started filling me out with paperwork, an enema, and sent me to the ward; I was alone there; a midwife and a doctor came in periodically. They gave me a diaper between my legs and told me to time the contractions. They were every 8 minutes, I didn’t feel much pain then. As a result, dilatation was very slow and I was given an oxytocin drip. And from the very first drops the tin began to go bad!
The pain became simply wild, they injected me with painkillers, but it didn’t help at all, I refused the epidural myself, because I didn’t want more back problems later. The contractions became stronger and more frequent. I just couldn’t stand it anymore, I couldn’t breathe properly, although I understood that it was necessary, but it was completely unbearable and I just screamed))
Due to the fact that labor began prematurely, the child did not want to descend into the birth canal for a long time. And due to the fact that my stomach was still small and compact, the doctors were afraid that the child would be low-weight. As a result, 4 hours after the IV, full dilatation occurred and I was sent to a chair. There were 3-4 attempts and the baby was born)))) there were no tears or cuts, only abrasions, they were even allowed to sit down right away. And this was a plus for me in premature birth, the baby was not large enough, but with a good weight - 2900 grams. And if I had been pregnant for a couple more weeks, I probably would have torn in childbirth. So whatever is done is for the better. The baby was born with an Apgar score of 8/9! The total labor time was 14 hours. There were no health problems; we were discharged from the hospital on the 4th day.
I’m glad that I gave birth naturally and not by Caesarean, because I had an easy and quick birth, I gave birth in the evening, and in the morning I was already running, no scars or pain.
I would like to appeal to all pregnant women - if you have no contraindications, do not be afraid of natural childbirth, it is painful, scary, not entirely tolerable, but recovery is much easier and faster! And when you see your baby, all the pain is forgotten instantly!)))
How to give birth not prematurely?
Nuraz you write about this, it means you care about it more than you say.
Well, you have a husband with a lot of gadgets, forgive me. You can say whatever you want, but the main thing is that the child is healthy, and whatever the sign of the year is, that matters. So eat fruits, vegetables, drink folic acid and some kind of vitamin, and don’t worry :)) And remember that the allowed dose of vitamin A for pregnant women in Russia is 1500, and no more. So be careful with synthetic analogues, or better yet, without them at all.
thank you very much!
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Special care for “early” children
If your baby is born prematurely, most likely he will need to stay in the hospital in a special incubator - a device with transparent walls that creates an artificial microclimate for premature babies. Depending on the complications that the baby has, he may be admitted to the premature infant or neonatal intensive care unit.
In a medical facility, specialists help babies born earlier than expected adapt to the external environment. Small babies often need additional help to organize the feeding process. Doctors also teach parents all the necessary skills to care for such babies.
Prognosis for the child
Due to the peculiarities of obstetric tactics and different birth outcomes for the fetus, it is considered appropriate to divide premature birth into three periods, taking into account the timing of gestation (pregnancy): premature birth at 22-27 weeks, premature birth at 28-33 weeks, premature birth at 34-33 weeks. 37 weeks gestation.
Premature birth at 22-27 weeks (fetal weight from 500 to 1000 g) is most often caused by isthmic-cervical insufficiency (due to trauma in previous births), infection of the lower pole of the membranes and premature rupture of the membranes. Therefore, in this group of women, as a rule, there are few primigravidas. The presence of infection in the genital tract excludes the possibility of prolonging pregnancy in most pregnant women. The fetal lungs are immature, and it is not possible to accelerate their maturation by prescribing medications to the mother in a short period of time. Such children belong to a high-risk group and are more often subject to urgent resuscitation. They are in incubators, under the strict supervision of a neonatologist and qualified nurses. Children almost always need a further stage of nursing and are registered for a long time in perinatal centers or clinics at their place of residence.
Premature birth at a gestational age of 28-33 weeks (fetal weight 1000-1800 g) is caused by more diverse reasons than earlier premature births. There are more than 30% of first-time pregnant women in this category of births.
More than half of women undergo expectant management and continue pregnancy. In such children, the lungs do not have time to “mature”, and the production of surfactant is disrupted. Surfactant is a mixture of fats and proteins that is synthesized in the large alveoli (the building blocks of the lungs), coating them, promoting their opening and preventing them from collapsing during inspiration. In the absence or deficiency of this substance, the child’s breathing is impaired. A surfactant drug can be administered to newborns if necessary, it significantly facilitates breathing, but this drug is very expensive and is not always available. Therefore, in order to prevent breathing problems, women are prescribed glucocorticoids. They stimulate the production of surfactant and the “maturation” of the fetus’s lungs within 2-3 days when there is a threat of premature birth. With the onset of labor, glucocorticoids are administered intravenously at intervals of 3-4 hours.
Premature birth at a gestational age of 34-37 weeks (fetal weight 1900-2500 g or more) is caused by even more diverse reasons, the percentage of infected women is much lower than in previous groups, and primigravidas - more than 50%. However, due to the fact that the fetal lungs are practically mature, administration of drugs that stimulate the maturation of surfactant is not required.
Children are less likely to be transferred to the intensive care unit, but round-the-clock care and observation are necessary in all cases until the child’s condition is completely stabilized.
Features of nursing
After examination by a neonatologist, premature babies are most often immediately transferred to the intensive care unit, and if necessary, to the intensive care unit. They are monitored, cared for and treated around the clock, and possible complications are prevented. Premature babies have imperfect thermoregulation; they may be in an incubator, where temperature, humidity, oxygen levels, etc. are strictly controlled. They have a tendency to have breathing problems and have reduced resistance to environmental factors, which is why round-the-clock duty is required not only by nursing staff, but also by a neonatologist. In most cases, premature babies, after some effort by a group of neonatologists, are transferred to the second stage of nursing in a specialized hospital. If there is a perinatal center in the city, the second stage of nursing is carried out in the same hospital in which the birth took place, and the children are not transported. It should be noted that often premature babies stabilize quite quickly, and there is no need for a second stage of nursing.
other methods
The following methods can only be used after consulting a doctor, and their effectiveness has only been proven by reviews. Cleansing enema has a good effect on intestinal motility and causes contractions of the uterus. Fasting has helped some, but it's important to remember that it can be dangerous. A woman should be rested, and insufficient nutrition does not contribute to this. Among other folk remedies, evening primrose oil is recommended. It is a natural substitute for certain hormones that prepares the birth canal for childbirth. There is also a side effect: using the oil can delay lactation. Some women are helped to induce labor by eating spicy food or scrubbing floors with their hands (squatting), washing windows, imagining that contractions have already begun, or meditating.
Sources
- https://rozhau.ru/nachalo/kak-rodit-ranshe-sroka/
- https://fb.ru/article/414490/kak-rodit-ranshe-sroka-metodyi-sovetyi-i-otzyivyi
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