Premature labour - giving birth

A premature birth is the birth of a baby of less than 37 weeks gestational age for whatever reason.rnThe exact cause of why some babies arrive early is often never established. A premature birth may come as a complete surprise to the mum and her medical team. But if a pregnant woman is considered to be at risk of giving birth early, her healthcare team will prepare for it and treatment may include methods to delay the birth if possible to give the baby more time in the womb. Women considered at risk of having a premature baby will not be considered eligible for a home birth as the baby, or mum, may need specialist equipment available immediately. In some cases the mum-to-be may be advised to have her baby early (by induction or Caesarean). This would apply if mum has certain infections or severe pre-eclampsia, or if monitoring or scans have picked up that baby has a health problem. A Caesarean may also be deemed necessary if baby is the wrong way round - breech babies are more common before 34 weeks. The medical team will always advise on what is the safest option for mum and baby and will always do their utmost to reduce the risk of a premature birth. The big difference between a premature labour and a full-term labour is that premature labour is generally much faster and mums move from stage one to stage two rapidly. Some pregnant women may not even attend antenatal classes until their last few weeks of pregnancy, so may not have prepared a birth plan, but if they have a birth plan this is likely to now be turned on its head! Premature birth can be accompanied by complications for mothers and babies so the medical team may over-ride any plans made. For example there are two things which will now definitely apply: * The birth will have to be in hospital rather than having a home birth or giving birth in a midwife-led birthing unit. * Mum may need to be transferred to a hospital further from home which has full premature baby facilities. Babies who are born prematurely may need to spend some weeks or even months in hospital in a neo natal unit (an intensive care unit specialising in the care of ill or premature newborn babies). The length of time they will need to stay under medical supervision will depend on their gestational age (how long they were in the womb), how developed they are and whether they have health problems. It’s natural for parents to feel upset and anxious about their baby when they first see them in the premature baby unit with all the medical paraphernalia surrounding them, but over time it will all seem reassuringly safe for the baby and under this expert care baby will soon grow strong, big and fit enough to go home.