Premature Labor

As I had mentioned before, I had been on strict bed rest for pretty much the whole duration of my pregnancy. But even if did try my hardest to stick to it as faithfully as I could, it still did not stop me from experiencing premature uterine contractions.

When I was about 25-26 weeks pregnant, I experienced contractions accompanied by vaginal spotting. They came pretty frequently, but they were all painless.

I debated whether to consult my doctor for this because I knew they could only be harmless Braxton-Hicks contractions. But the vaginal spotting convinced me to go to the ER.

Good call, I suppose, because they brought me into the Labor and Delivery Department right away. They hooked me up to a monitor and it showed that, indeed, I had moderately strong, regular uterine contractions. They had my husband prepare money for reservation of a thermal blanket, in case my baby really wanted to come out that day.

What are Premature Uterine Contractions?

Uterine contractions that occur before your baby reaches full-term are referred to as "premature." This is considered by most sources to be at 37 weeks of gestation. If the contractions do not stop or slow down, you might go into full-blown labor, and this is risky for your baby because he isn't quite ready yet.

Premature babies' lungs aren't fully developed yet and they're going to have a hard time breathing once they comes out of the womb. Not only that, they can't also effectively regulate their temperature - even full-term newborns are susceptible to hypothermia, how much more preemies.

Signs of premature labor include contractions that occur every 10 minutes or so, a change in your vaginal discharge - whether it has become watery or bloody, cramps in your lower abdomen (much like the ones you get during your menses), and low backache or a feeling or pressure in your pelvis.

If you are experiencing any of these signs, don't hesitate to contact your doctor. Remember, better safe than sorry. It could be simply Braxton Hicks, but it could be premature labor, too.

Does This Mean I'm Going to Give Birth Soon?

Well, hopefully not - at least not until your baby is at least 37 weeks old. There are some medications that you could get to help stop premature uterine contractions. You can be given Ritodrine (Yutopar) or Magnesium sulfate. These medications are tocolytics, which means that they can slow or stop labor.

You can also be given corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone or betamethasone. These help accelerate your baby's lung development. However, these medications take a couple of days to take effect. So, if your tocolytics can't bring you to full-term pregnancy, at least it could possibly buy time for the steroids to work.

The Contractions Stopped! Now What?

Good for you! Now, all you have to do is wait for your baby to cook. Continue working, take a maternity leave, spend time with other mommy friends, go baby shopping - it's up to you.

But you might be put on some restrictions on your usual activities. As for me, I was advised to CONTINUE my bed rest until I reached 36 weeks (as if I haven't had enough yet.) So, I was pretty much limited to online interaction and online baby shopping.

Even though that was only about 10 weeks away, it's still 70 days. Okay, I just made that sound longer, because days do drag on for longer if your bored and can't do whatever you want.

But during these trying times, try to keep in mind that the longer your baby stays in your womb, the better chances he has of surviving outside life. Just remind yourself every single day that the reason you're enduring this is to give your baby the best chance at life, and before you know it, you're full-term already. =)