At how many weeks can a baby survive without medical help?

[Taedareth]

I thought maybe one of you childbirth experts could answer this question. Let's say a baby is born some weeks premature - at how many weeks gestation could a baby survive just fine without medical help? Is it just one or two like 38-39 weeks or significantly earlier?

[Ms.Doula]

It really varries. Depending on lung maturity & other factors.
But for a generic answer... a rough estimate Id say 37 weeks

[wende]

Someone in my family, and I can't remember who, but it was a grandfather, maybe a great grandfather, was born before NICU stays at something like 32 weeks. He was kept warm on the (pellet?) stove and spoon fed until he was strong enough to nurse.

Having had 2 NICU babies, I can't say one way or another how early I'd feel comfortable having a baby born w/o medical help. If I'd been able to get the steroid shot in I think I'd be ok with a 32 weeker but w/o it I'd say closer to 35 weeks.

[Noelia430]

I think it depends on the individual baby. I've known one 34 weeker that was just fine and had no problems at all and then I've known another 34 weeker that had respitory problems and had to stay in the NICU for a couple of weeks. This could have been simply because dates were off but I believe there is no way to really tell ahead of time.

[CarolynnMarilynn]

Respiratory status is one factor, so it blood sugar stability and ability to keep warm. Like others I have seen some babies born really early (one at 33 weeks that only needed some glucose stability and NEVER needed respiratory support, to babies at 36 weeks that needed quite a lot of intervention.

My dad was born very early (don't know exactly how early) and my dgm was told to take him home for him to die (she didn't have any money for the hospital). She also kept him warm on the stove, fed him good ole breastmilk with an eye dropper, and today at almost 60 he is extremely healthy. Scrappy, tho!

[Hayes]

I had one midwife tell me 37 weeks. The midwife I ended up using said 36 weeks since I have big healthy babies typically. Also, my home was 2 mintues from the hospital, so any breathing trouble, etc, and we could have gottne there quickly.

Moot point thought since he was 41 weeks.

[scatterbrainedmom]

most midwives say 36 weeks. all three of my kids were born at 37 weeks, the last a home birth with an emergency transport due to retracting, his lungs were to immature. he was in the nicu for 5 days and under an oxygen hood for 4 of those days.

[MamaTaraX]

Everybodyu in mny family births before 36 weeks (except me). My older brother was born at 30 or so weeks 40 years ago. Theyput him in an incubator and that was about it. Mybig sister was born at 34 weeks, went home right afterbirth. Me, 32weeks, went home right away, though I was a sick baby that had nothing to do withbeing premature, younger brother 36 weeks, went straight home. We were all bigfor our gestational age and healthy, even my 30-weeker brother.

I think it has a lot to do with the indivudual baby as well as the people around them. If you look back through history, there are manypreemies who were born centuries ago that had no real "medical care" and did justfine and now we have preemies who get "the best care" and don't thrive. So, I dunno.

Namaste, Tara
mama to Doodle (7), Butterfly (2), and Rythm (due at home 1/06)

[luvmy3boys]

Like others have said, there is no one answer. Every baby is different and frankly there are some full term and post term babies who need just as much (if not more) interventions than preemies.

[mrzmeg]

Like wende, we had an early preemie born to my great-grandmother; the baby was born at home and was small enough to fit in one of the father's hands and the father could slip his wedding ring on the baby's arm up to her shoulder. Very early, very tiny, but she lived :)

So, I guess add that to the "there's no single answer" replies.

[mwherbs]

so there is no absolute consensus because there are so many variables -- 36 week babies usually have sufficient lung surfactant and fat stores that would help maintain blood sugar and cope with stress
babies that are stressed in utero will often develop lung surfactant early so they are ready to be born prematurely and can often do well with out breathing support but may have trouble with maintaining body heat and need kangaroo care with a vigilant eye to frequent feeding-- other sorts of problems can occur that change surfactant- infections or sometimes meconium aspiration will reduce surfactant levels and produce RDS- infection alone can cause problems no matter what age

[amnesiac]

Even though I did get 2 steroid injections, both of my 32 weekers had to be on CPAP & bili lights & stayed in NICU for 3 weeks. I don't think I'd feel comfortable delivering without medical support available until a good 35-36 weeks.

[GatorNNP]

In my experience 34 weekers are the borderline babies, some do okay and will suck, eat, stay warm etc. Others just don't cut it. It really seems to help if the mom actually labors and the baby gets the natural hormonal "boost" prior to birth that stimulates them to be active and learn to eat in the first few hours. Body weight and fat also help determine how they will keep their temp and blood sugar. There seems to be a gray area with 32-37 week infants, some will be okay with out much assistance, others need interventions.

[tinyshoes]

mwherbs points out the in-utero stress that will mature the lungs and ready a preemie for extra-uterine breathing.

All of these accounts of so-and-so's grandma and Great Grandma X being born premature or birthing a preemie that survived share a common trait: all of the mothers experienced naturally-starting labors and the babies were all vaginally-born.

I am suggesting that artifically-induced labors, and esp. c-sections performed without labor could result in preemies without adequate lung maturity, and thus those preemies would require medical help. So mode of birth is an important factor in answering the question, "At how many weeks can a baby survive without medical help?"

Also....in the past, mid-century, OBs had a saying, "the first baby can arrive anytime--the rest all take 9 months." What is this about? Well, it's about the stigma an unwed mother would face. Often times that first baby was "early", when in reality ma actually got pregnant, figured OUT she was pregnant, got married, "got pregnant," and had the baby "early" at 7 or 8 months.

I'm not doubting the authenticity of anybody's reports on this board, I am just saying that when my aunt's brother's uncle's sister's baby was born in 1945 at only 31 weeks and lived, maybe that baby was term. We can't ask that baby's mom (or dad!) about it.

[lorijds]

Also....in the past, mid-century, OBs had a saying, "the first baby can arrive anytime--the rest all take 9 months." What is this about? Well, it's about the stigma an unwed mother would face. Often times that first baby was "early", when in reality ma actually got pregnant, figured OUT she was pregnant, got married, "got pregnant," and had the baby "early" at 7 or 8 months.

I'm not doubting the authenticity of anybody's reports on this board, I am just saying that when my aunt's brother's uncle's sister's baby was born in 1945 at only 31 weeks and lived, maybe that baby was term. We can't ask that baby's mom (or dad!) about it.


Good point!

[applejuice]

I was a 32 week baby, four pounds, 14 inches and very alert.

Also the Dionne Quintuplets were born prematurely at home and all survived the birth. The doctor who came out to examine them after the midwife delivered them told them Mrs. Dionne not to get too attached to them since they would probably not survive...the same doctor who later took custody of them.

[Levatrice]

As has been mentioned here it varies from baby to baby and even from gender to gender. Typically female babies do well while white male babies do the worst. At any rate, here in Texas, we are allowed to catch homebirth babies as of 36 weeks gestation.

[Ms.Doula]

applejuice- once again, I am :jaw at one of your posts....
do you have any links for us??
THANKS!! :love

[Belle]

I don't know at what week they were born, but my Grandma's younger brother and sister (twins) were born at home and they weighed two pounds a piece. No sure how accurrate the weight was since they were weighed on the local butchers scale. My grandma said if they'd been born in the hospital they would've died. There were no NICUs in the 1920's.

[Ms.Doula]

All these stories of older generations having 'preemies' made me think of this:

DHs father was a twin of 2 boys (hed be 58-passed last year)
They were the 4th & 5th children, respectivly, and according to DHs grandma (their mother) they were 2 mos early & weighed 2.5 & 3lbs & were considered big. they told her not to expect the smaller (& second born-dhs uncle) to live long. They were in the incubator for a while & then were fine ;)

[Sleepymama]

Just an interesting tidbit...I am a historian and came across something in a 17th century commonplace book (book of quotes and other info kept by a woman) who had copied from a midwifery book that it was common for babies in the 7th month to try to be born...they got "excited" or something. I think that this was commenting on preterm labor that can happen starting around 30 weeks, esp. in women with poor nutrition. Anyway I just thought it was interesting that this "preemie epidemic" isn't something entirely new.

[applejuice]

applejuice- once again, I am :jaw at one of your posts....
do you have any links for us??
THANKS!! :love

Ms. Doula: Do you think I made it up?

There was a movie about the Dionne quintuplets which showed them born at home, put in a long trough near the stove, and the doctor coming to examine them at theit Dionne household, telling Mrs. Dionne to not get too attached to them since they would probably not live.

She did not know she was having multiples, but she did notice she was very big and was surprised when she realized she was in labor had more than one baby.

My favorite Aunt was in love with the story of the Dionne quintuplets and used to collect memorabilia about them...this story was also in the books she collected.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9711/19/dionne.quints/ "...Together they weighed 14 lbs and were at least two months early."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionne_quintuplets

http://www.quintland.com/start.html

Mr and Mrs. Dionne went on to have more children. I believe this was not her first baby, but the rest were singles. I believe they had maybe 9 or 10 children all together.

[Ms.Doula]

Ms. Doula: Do you think I made it up?

Oh, NO!!! Not at all! I was just :bigeyes: about another on of your posts. You always have the neatest links, thats all! :wink

THANKS!! Im gonna look it all up! It Intrigues me more than you know :mischief

[Nightsky]

I'm posting this not to discredit anybody else's post, but just to point out that history can be skewed.

I'll use a friend of mine as an example. She was born just as large as a full-term baby, but according to her family, she was only 7 months in utero. This was because her parents didn't marry until they realized they were pregnant. So the family agreed they were blessed that she was full sized and had to have been conceived during the couple's honeymoon.

Because everybody knows there are never children conceived outside of marriage... :nut

[USAmma]

When I was doing the preterm labor thing, I was told that if I delivered before 36 weeks the baby would probably be kept for a few days to make sure her body temp was regulating, she was breathing okay, and she was able to eat okay. Most midwives I know of locally won't do homebirth before 36-37 weeks because the babies are likely to need some medical attention. 36 weeks was my goal (well 32 weeks was my first goal-- viability and probable good outcome for baby) to deliver her. She was born at 38 weeks and except for inherited reflux problems, she was perfect and healthy.

[applejuice]

Oh, NO!!! Not at all! I was just :bigeyes: about another on of your posts. You always have the neatest links, thats all! :wink

THANKS!! Im gonna look it all up! It Intrigues me more than you know :mischief

Thank you.

Guess my background and my age are good for something.

[mommyto3girls]

My 35 weeker was 6 1/2 pounds and required no extra care and went home after 48 hours. My 33 weeker was 5 1/2 pounds and never needed oxygen support but did need help with temp regulation and had severe jaundice. She would have gone home after 10 days but I was still in the hospital so they kept her for 14 days so we could go home together.

I know my dates are right since they were both fertility babies. I attribute my 33 weeker doing so well to the fact that my pregnancy was hell. I had abdominal surgery at 11 weeks, 2 procedures where I was put into the twilight sleep, I had a central line and was on IV feeds, 90 total days in the hospital while pregnant, 2 weeks of IV steroids from 20-22 weeks for an allergic reaction to one of my meds, the steroid shots for the baby at 32 weeks when labor started, plus a vaginal delivery!

[Undercover Hippie]

http://www.quintland.com/start.html

Mr and Mrs. Dionne went on to have more children. I believe this was not her first baby, but the rest were singles. I believe they had maybe 9 or 10 children all together.

The Quintland site you listed says that the parents already had 6 children when the quints were born. They were barely scraping by and then their family nearly doubled in size in one day!!!! :eek

The whole story is so very sad. :(

[aussiemum]

Just another story for the mix....

My mother was born in 1943, about 2 months pre-term. First baby for my grandmother, & labour was likely brought on by stress. She was living on the West Coast with my grandfather when he was in the Navy during WWII. When he was deployed, he insisted that she travel back to Ohio by train (took about 3 days, I think) to be with family when the baby was due. My gran went into labour soon after arriving home. My mum reckons she was at about 33-34 weeks gestation when she was born. She weighed just over 3 pounds, & was born in hospital. The docs apparently told my grandmother to take my mum home & keep her warm & fed & hope for the best. As far as I know, mum never had any breathing difficulties, she was just small. I find it interesting, the idea that stress during pregnancy helps mature the lungs in the event of a preterm birth.....

[applejuice]

The Quintland site you listed says that the parents already had 6 children when the quints were born. They were barely scraping by and then their family nearly doubled in size in one day!!!! :eek

The whole story is so very sad. :(

That is one reason the Canadian Government took them away.

I know that they had one more, a boy, I recall, while the girls were in Quintland. In the movie, the midwife said, "It is just one, this time, madam." :LOL

Supposedly after the parents finally won the girls back from the doctor who said that they would not live, the father molested a couple of them. That is their story.

Two are still liviing.

[applejuice]

Ms. Doula, I am looking for a google on this, but has anyone here heard of "kangarooing", in which a premature baby is taped to the mother's breast to be able to nurse anytime it needs and is kept warm that way also, the same as a little joey would in the mama kangaroo's pouch? This was much more cost efficient.

I know for a fact that this was commonplace in Colombia, South America in the 1980s when my babies were breastfed and I was all into breastfeeding news. The "American" influence overtook them, and I believe that they went in a big way for the new and improved incubators.

We export our problem$ $ometimes.

Here are some links:

http://www.prematurity.org/baby/kanga-kaia.html

http://www.nubar.com/realstock/s36395-15.html

http://www.geocities.com/roopage/

[Undercover Hippie]

Yeah, looks like there were two boys born after the Dionne quints (one at at time, LOL) and 6 (5 living) older siblings--apparently one of the older children must have died near the time of their birth as some articles say they had 6 siblings and some say they had 5 surviving siblings.

Back on-topic: it really is amazing how many preemies did live before we had all this technology, of course I am sure many more didn't make it.

I know my mom and aunt were born about 2 months premature in 1950, surprise twins, both weighed only a few pounds. They were born on the day my grandma was supposed to have her baby shower, so her mother quickly called all the guests and said something along the lines of "buy more presents, there are two babies!" :LOL and they held the shower without her since she was in the hospital with the babies.

I've also heard tales of so-called "early" babies who weren't really early... I know it's not true in my mom and aunt's case as their parents were married over a year before they were born... but I have no doubt that it happened often. Not to mention the problems dating pregnancies in women with irregular cycles before there was any u/s to date the PG with. Not that we always get it right even with u/s... :rolleyes