HELP! Avoiding Preterm Labor and Giving Birth at Home?

[msmiranda]

Of all the things I considered might happen to derail my home birth plans, I did not expect this one. Last night I had some contractions for several hours, combined with intestinal cramping. They were not bad, but more menstrual-cramp-like than the regular Braxton Hicks I had been having on occasion prior to that. Because this was on the list of things to report to my midwife immediately, I called her early this morning and went by so she could check my cervix. She determined that it was still high but soft and thin, so I am at risk for preterm labor and basically need to be on bed rest for the next 4 weeks (I am 33 weeks now). I think if I can make it 4 weeks, she can still attend my birth.

My question is, has anything similar happened to others, and what was the outcome? Anyone been at risk of preterm, gone on bedrest, and successfully birthed at home? If not, how long were you able to make it at home before having to go to the hospital? I'm really not liking the idea of being on hospital bed rest and terbutaline (sp?) for weeks. If that did happen, would they still let me give birth vaginally or would they want to do a c-section (something I REALLY don't want if there is any way at all to avoid it)?

FWIW, this is my second baby; first was born at 40 weeks on the dot with no threat of preterm labor.

[Belle]

I had something similar happen at 30 weeks with Dd1. I was admitted to the hospital with contractions that didn't seem that bad to me but were exactly five minutes apart. They did a Ffn test on me. It took several hours to get the results so I got to spend all that time in the hospital.

The Ffn test turned out negative so they gave me a shot of terbutiline (nasty stuff) and sent me home with a Rx and instructions to drink more water. It was blamed on me being dehydrated. I never filled my Rx and drank lots of water. Dd1 was born at 38+4.

Dd2 was a homebirth. I religiously drank water and was never seen without my water bottle. Never had any such problems during this pregnancy. She was born at 38+3.

[Mrs.aLifeofReilly]

I had a similar issue when pregnant with my son (though a planned hospital birth). It turned out that a bladder infection was causing the contractions, and once I got rid of the bladder infection the preterm labor went away too. Goodluck!

[shellnurse]

I'm a NICU nurse with no personal experience, but I'll weigh in on the hospital side of things. First it sounds like you are in good shape now, not in the hospital yet. Yay!

I have seen many babies born vaginally at 33 weeks and even of earlier gestational age. You may be at higher risk if you truly go into labor early, because you show up (or are already in the hospital) usually early in labor, are continuously monitored and it's generally a bit higher anxiety for OBs.

As in any labor you have the right to ask vital questions about your care. Is this necessary? Is it necessary now? what are the risks? What are the benefits? Can we wait? With pre-term labor parents seem to just forget the birth plan and are so out of their element with so many interventions, they just forget to question.

Wishing you a restful few weeks and a beautiful, healthy, happy, term baby at home!

[msmiranda]

update

Sorry about the TMI in advance, but it's part of the story . . . I started having diarrhea this morning (very unusual for me) and even though I was not having contractions, I was feeling pressure in the area that wasn't going away, so I called the OB office I hadn't yet broken ties with and went to the hospital to have things checked out. The doctor checked my cervix (all she said was that it was closed) and they did the fetal fibronectin test, which came out negative. So it seems like everything is okay for now. They did say that diarrhea can cause contractions. I think in retrospect that I had a reaction to something I ate or some kind of bug, and that that caused the contractions (as opposed to the contractions causing the diarrhea, which I know is a sign of labor for some women and why I was worried). I haven't had any more contractions this afternoon, but I do plan to take it easy for a while. As of right now, it doesn't seem like there's any reason to worry. I think the hospital people thought I was super paranoid for coming in, which is good because I don't want them to be on red alert and start bugging me.

Thanks so much for your responses!

[Jilian]

My first thoughts are to ask if you are dehydrated or have a UTI - those two things can cause contractions and or PTL. I had loads of PTL with DS2 starting at 24 weeks. I had a HB MW but ended up going to the hospital 2 or 3 times and getting terbutaline and IV fluids. Finally they gave me an RX for the terbutaline and I didn't have to go back. When contractions started I had a list of things I did in order: first I'd drink tons of water and lay down, if contractions continued I took cramp bark tincture, if they still continued I'd take a warm bath, then I'd have a small glass of wine, and when all else failed I took the terb. I only needed the terb RX at home once. I also took an omega 3,6,9 supplement along with a calcium/magnesium supplement. My MW had two preemies before carrying her 3rd baby to term so she knew what she was talking about when she told me what to do.

DS2 apparently had a sense of humor and he was born at home the day after his due date.