# What Are The Odds Of Early Labor?



## Anna1982

Hiya Ladies

Ive been trying to find info on line the likely hood and percentages of twins coming early,
I dont wanna scare myself I just want to be prepared for the what ifs.

Im nearly 17 weeks now and know viability is 24 weeks right, should I be resting more etc? (though with a baby and a toddler thats hard)

the consultant says induction at 37 weeks but also warned I have to go to the hospital if I feel twinges etc?

now both my boys came at 37 weeks anyway, Morgan was spontaneous labor (28 blinking hours of it and weighed in at 8lb10) Lucas was induced because of his size and my spd at 37 weeks (4 hours labor and a 9lb 6 boy lol)

right now Im unfortunatly feeling the twinges from my pelvis that Im all too familiar with but I think Im in denial that it will happen again (the seperated pelvis that is)

so hit me with the hard facts whens the time period they can come?

thanks anna


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## Laura2919

I had my girls at 29 weeks. They dont know what started my labour off. I was in and out of labour for 6 whole days. Tightenings and contractions pretty much on and off. I had the perfect pregnancy up until 29 weeks. I never had any MS, sore boobs nothing at all although I was big early on. 
I always thought it was common but out of all of us ladies on here only a handful have had their babies early. 
Resting lots obviously is not an option for you because you have other children but try and take it easy and remember if your worried see your MW or go to your maternity ward at the hospital. Thats what they are there for hun.


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## twinkie

Not too sure what the % of multiples that come early are. I had a c/s at 38 weeks because of the way my twins were laying (one was transverse) so I carried to full term and both of my babies were over 6lb and came straight back to the room with me after our time in recovery. I had no signs of labour either so not sure how much longer I would have carried for. Mind you after carrying twins for 38 weeks I was ready to get them out of there so I could move again lol.

When I was pregnant with my twins my husband bought me tickets to see Michael Buble in concert. The ony thing was I would be 36 weeks by the time the concert came around. I thought for sure I wouldn't get there but I told my twins they had to hold on for me lol so I guess they were listening

I bet it would be hard to rest though with kids already but do your best when you can to have as much rest as you can. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy :thumbup:


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## I_AM_LIVID

Don't know what the percentage is either, but I had the most stressful twin pregnancy. And not because of terrible symptoms (truth be told, I had a fairly 'easy' pregnancy with little to no symptoms), but because I had already lost a baby prematurely at 29 weeks and was constantly worried I wouldn't make it past 30 weeks. But I did, thanks greatly to the stitch and strict bedrest. I was, however, in hospital at 32 weeks with contractions, but they managed to stop them, kept me in hospital for 2 more weeks for monitoring before sending me back home. I was back two weeks later with strong contractions though and my doctor decided to operate because both babies were breech.

If you are worried about anything, however seemingly minor, please contact and see your MW. And I know it is harder to do with two kids, but please lay down, put your feet up and rest as much as possible.


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## bek74

Listen to your body and rest as much as possible. I had a stitch put in at 23wks due to my cervix starting to funnel open from thr inside out. I then went into labour at 28wks, my water just broke at 6am, they managed ti stop labour but it started again at 1:30pm and they couldn't stop it so both babies were born via c-section at around 4pm.

I had no idea my cervix was funneling, it was only picked up in an extra scan I had, if I never had that scan I wouldn't even want to think what could have happened.

24wks doesn't guarantee the babies will be ok, it just means the doctors will try to save them..


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## lizziedripping

Hi hun. The average gestation for twins is 34wks - I think from memory the percentages are something like, 30% come before that, 40% come between 33 and 36wks and 30% between 36 and 40wks.

I had an incompetent cervix, and cervical stitch but I still managed to make it to section date at 38plus 2days, so it is possible to get to term with twins. I personally believe in rest for twin ladies. We are not as human beings designed to carry 2. The current thinking is that labour is triggered because of the size of your uterus, AND hormonal signals from the baby that their lungs are matured and ready for birth. Naturally if there are 2 babies, the hormone levels are higher earlier so can give a "false" trigger. Obviously there are women who labour earyl for other reasons, but in general these are the causes. For that reason, I would say taking the weight off the cervix can help prevent one of the triggers - though many women still can and do carry on as normal with twins and get to term. There are of course many tho who don't.

I would say that if I can do it with my dodgy cervix, then so can you hun. My personal mantra was rest and drink lots of water. From 24wks I would recommend taking things very easy, with no prolonged activity, and lots of sitting with feet up during any given day (or as much as is possible with 2 young children). 

I must warn you tho, I had a 9 plus Ib son in my first pregnancy born at 39wks, and the twins ended up being 9 and 7Ibs at 38wks, so given your track record with baby weights I'd say you may be in for a couple of whoppers!!!! :rofl: Your boys would likely have been 10Ibers at 40wks, so there's every chance the twinnies will be over 7 each ;) Take things easy xxx


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## Laura2919

bek74 said:


> Listen to your body and rest as much as possible. I had a stitch put in at 23wks due to my cervix starting to funnel open from thr inside out. I then went into labour at 28wks, my water just broke at 6am, they managed ti stop labour but it started again at 1:30pm and they couldn't stop it so both babies were born via c-section at around 4pm.
> 
> I had no idea my cervix was funneling, it was only picked up in an extra scan I had, if I never had that scan I wouldn't even want to think what could have happened.
> 
> *24wks doesn't guarantee the babies will be ok, it just means the doctors will try to save them..[/*QUOTE]
> 
> I agree.. At 29/30 weeks babies have an 80% chance of survival but there is still that 20%... Take things easy hun.


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## TinkerJess

I'm worried about this too. With my daughter I went into spotaneous labour at 36 weeks and delivered her 2 hours later. It happened very very quick, I barely made it to hospital. I'm scared of going into labour early and it being even quicker, does anyone know if there is anything they can do about that? :wacko:

I have a 13 month old and it has been hard work, I just make sure I put my feet up when she is napping. Have early nights when I can and I try not to stress about doing housework etc. :flower:


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## lizziedripping

Hi TJ - did they ever you give you a reason for your daughters slightly early birth? Sometimes there are no definitive reasons for labour starting early, so it is very difficult to predict why some women do, and others don't.

My recommendation is to take things extra easy given that you are carrying twins, and drink 1/2 glasses of water per hour.  I realise you have a baby to look after, but avoid things like supermarket shopping, and long tiring trips anywhere as you get further on in your pregnancy. I had 2 kids to look after when I was on bed rest with the twins, but tried to avoid lifting them too much, or standing for long periods. I put a chair in the kitchen so that even when cooking a meal, I could sit down at regular intervals.

You'll probably be absoultely fine hun, but just respect your body, and take extra care of it. It's doing a marvellous job, and needs a touch of TLC xxx


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## TinkerJess

lizziedripping said:


> Hi TJ - did they ever you give you a reason for your daughters slightly early birth? Sometimes there are no definitive reasons for labour starting early, so it is very difficult to predict why some women do, and others don't.
> 
> My recommendation is to take things extra easy given that you are carrying twins, and drink 1/2 glasses of water per hour. I realise you have a baby to look after, but avoid things like supermarket shopping, and long tiring trips anywhere as you get further on in your pregnancy. I had 2 kids to look after when I was on bed rest with the twins, but tried to avoid lifting them too much, or standing for long periods. I put a chair in the kitchen so that even when cooking a meal, I could sit down at regular intervals.
> 
> You'll probably be absoultely fine hun, but just respect your body, and take extra care of it. It's doing a marvellous job, and needs a touch of TLC xxx

No reason at all as far as I'm aware, I had no signs of labour before my waters broke had my first contraction 20 mins after. She was born 2 hours after that, much to the surprise of the midwives who gave me a paracetamol and told me I was probably in the very early stages.


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## bek74

TinkerJess said:


> lizziedripping said:
> 
> 
> Hi TJ - did they ever you give you a reason for your daughters slightly early birth? Sometimes there are no definitive reasons for labour starting early, so it is very difficult to predict why some women do, and others don't.
> 
> My recommendation is to take things extra easy given that you are carrying twins, and drink 1/2 glasses of water per hour. I realise you have a baby to look after, but avoid things like supermarket shopping, and long tiring trips anywhere as you get further on in your pregnancy. I had 2 kids to look after when I was on bed rest with the twins, but tried to avoid lifting them too much, or standing for long periods. I put a chair in the kitchen so that even when cooking a meal, I could sit down at regular intervals.
> 
> You'll probably be absoultely fine hun, but just respect your body, and take extra care of it. It's doing a marvellous job, and needs a touch of TLC xxx
> 
> No reason at all as far as I'm aware, I had no signs of labour before my waters broke had my first contraction 20 mins after. She was born 2 hours after that, much to the surprise of the midwives who gave me a paracetamol and told me I was probably in the very early stages.Click to expand...

Jess that made me laugh, I was sent to hospital by my OB as he noticed I was dilating at my regular appointment so he booked me in to watched. Well my waters broke and 30min later i told the MW I need to push, and she said " Oh don't be stupid, you'll be here for hours yet", well 15min later I was holding my son :rofl: :rofl:
They just don't know it all................


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## TinkerJess

:haha: You could have been quoting my midwife then!

Me : "My body is telling me to push, I need push"

Midwife : "No you can probably just feel pressure"

Me : "I need to push"

Midwife : "Well have a little push to take away the urge and then you'll realise your hours away from needing to push"

Yep, my daughter was born 5 mins after that :dohh:


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## cazd

:rofl: 

Heya. I went into premature labour at 29 weeks.
I knew I was overdoing it but the things I was doing did seem to minor but I guess they all added up. Thankfully the hospital stopped the labour & my twins are still cooking.

But.... What I wanted to say was...
Keep an eye on those tightenings. I had strong, frequent braxton hicks for days before labour actually hit. Well... You know what to look out for but if in doubt.. Call someone. Better to waste the medics time than risk a preemie birth 

P.s 34 weeks is my goal. By then the babies should be able to breathe for themselves & their skins thicker & overall they're more robust.

Good luck xxxx


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## Anna1982

thanks everyone
im going to cut down on the shopping trips and start doing my food shop online too
im also going to make sure i pack my bag early just in case!


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## BeckyD

I looked up some of the stats (as I am also worried)...
Research in the UK found that twins were born on average at 35.8 weeks, compared to the 40 week average for singletons. A study in the US found that at least half of all twins were born prematurely (before 37 weeks) and at low birth weight. 
An American study reported that 11.8% of twins compared to 1.6% of singletons are born before 32 weeks of gestation. 
International research concluded that, as a rough estimate, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) twins are born with an average gestational age 3 weeks earlier than IVF singletons and with a mean birth weight ranging between 800g and 1000g less. 
An Australian study found that 48.4% of twins had low and very low birth weight compared with 8.2% of singletons. 

Full article here.. was about risks of multiple IVF pregancies...
https://www.oneatatime.org.uk/368.htm


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## Anna1982

thanks hun its quite scary isnt it


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## BeckyD

It is scarey but I think the posts on here are giving the picture that more than 11.8% of twins will be born before 32 weeks... and judging by the comments whilst 32 weeks is not ideal they have a good chance. 
I was pleased by the average of 35.8 weeks as that, I believe, means lungs are developed etc.


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