At 24-27 weeks what can I expect if born early?

[Twinkle 3]

Hi ladies,

I am 22 weeks and prone to preterm birth, I have 2 prem babies before, one at 29weeks and one at 22...my 22weeker sadly didn't survive.

I have a cervical stitch but currently in a lot of pain my baby is head down and I'm scared he will be born early again. I'm praying he stays put until atleast 24weeks when I get my steroids but I would be so grateful if he could make it to atleast 27-28 weeks.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had a baby at around 24 weeks or sooner and the babies have survived? Also anyone who's had a baby at 24-27weeks? What can I expect if I have him during these times ?

I'm praying I won't have to deal with another loss and I want my baby to stay in the uterus for as long as he can, hopefully to 30+ weeks

Any info would be great

Thankyou

 

[25weeker]

Twinkle didn't want to r&r but I will reply tomorrow and give you an idea of my daughters journey. 22:30 is a late night for me at the moment lol. Xx

 

[mummy3]

Paying attention here as looking at a 23-24 weeker as well. They give the choice to get steroids and intervention here at 23 weeks and there's a level 4 NICU, I think would depend on what was availible at your hospital too. My preemies were later, the last at 32 weeks so new territory, I really hope all our babies get much further on

 

[25weeker]

My consultant was hoping to get me to 26 weeks as he said survival chances jump quite a bit and the long term effects of prematurity are reduced. However I think a lot of prem babies between 24-27 weeks have similar journey's in neonatal. The earlier the baby then there is a greater chance they will need a ventilator to help them breathe for longer. Holly's lungs were actually pretty good for a 25 weeker and she was only ventilated for 4 days.

At the beginning she was also on antibiotics and medicine to raise her blood pressure. The first couple of weeks are when your baby is at it's biggest risk of having a bleed in the brain. These can range from being small which will resolve itself to a large bleed which may lead to future problems. Holly had a large bleed which is classed as a Grade IV (largest bleed). She is now 3 and so far we have been extremely lucky and it doesn't seem to be affecting her development. A baby's brain is like sponge so it can learn to rewire around the bleed.

The journey is definitely a rollercoaster and you will have one step forward and one step back and even sometimes it feels like three step back! Most babies at these gestations will have chronic lung disease and some will go home on oxygen. However it is something that they grow out off as their lungs get bigger.

As you have probably been told with your own prem aim for their due date to go home.

Fingers crossed you never actually need this information

xx

 

[Kros330]

I have triplet 26 weekers. I think every premie's story is different. I have 2 boys and a girl. THe boys were off and on ventilators for a while but the girl was off the ventilator and on to c-pap within 12 hours. They were in the NICU for 114 days but they had no ROP, no NEC, no brain bleeds. They told me this was very lucky that they all got out without a single long term complication. We obviously wont know about cognitive for a while. They meeting their milestones based on their adjusted age--maybe a week or 2 behind but not bad. WHen we were in NICU we saw babies born at a later gestational age do worse and earlier ones do better.... it's just so hard to tell! Hope you get as far as possible! Every day counts!

 

[DonnaBallona]

I didn't have a 26 weeker, my boy was born at 31 exactly but has chronic lung disease and is on home oxygen.Hes fought off multiple infections in the NICU and recently a collapsed lung too. I know I'm not what you're looking for exactly but I can help answer questions about lungs if helpful xx

I'm praying your baby decides to stay safe and warm. good luck. you too mummy3 xx

 

[Twinkle 3]

Thankyou ladies for all of your advice, I'm hoping I can hold on for as long as possible. I have five days to go until 24weeks and I'm praying that I can make it so then I can get steroids in me.

Mummy3 I hope we both get a lot further on aswel, praying for us you will have to keep me updated how your doing

25weeker thankyou for the advice, your little girl did so well, bless her, I can't believe she was only on a ventilated for 4days that's amazing! How much did she weigh when she was born ?

Kros30 wow triplets! Iv never known anyone who has triplets, they all did so well thankyou for your advice, I'm hoping this little boy can hold on as long as possible. 2weeks behind is brilliant my daughter was about 3months behind with milestones. She reached them when she reached her adjusted age if that makes sense. Like walking for example, she walked when her adjusted age was one yr old but she was 15months.

Thankyou donnabollona, I'll keep in mind and ask you questions in lungs if need be I hope your little one gets better soon bless him. I love your avatar your children are so cute!

 

[25weeker]

Holly weighed 659g (1lb 7oz).

 

[Twinkle 3]

i have just realised that its in your signiture! sorry i must look so stupid lol

 

[Kros330]

Mine are fine now. Their biggest issue where their lungs. The boys had multiple collapsed lungs, fluid in lungs, ventilated. They were having constant Brady's ( heart rate drop) and desat( their o2 ) level would drop and their oxygen would need to be turned up. Having a baby in nicu is definitely a roller coaster. 1 step forward- 2 steps back. I would definitely recommend the steroid shots but try to hold out as long as possible because it is lost effective within 2 weeks of birth. They can give you 1 rescue(extra) dose. All take 24 hours to be most effective. They also gave me magnesium sulfate which is thought to help prevent cerebral palsy. I saw a lot of scary things happen to my babies but unsure how much you really want to know. They are ok now but there were days we were told the boys might not make it.

 

[Dani Rose]

I have a 25 week twin in the NICU just now. Now 29 weeks. She started great then got ecoli. She is now on the vent and has CLD and a PDA that requires surgery. The last 2 weeks have been scary!

Her twin was much smaller and didn't make it through the labour.

The NICU team are great. It's the not knowing that kills me. I spend all day looking in at her praying she gets better. It's a hard road. She was 1lb 3 at birth. Smaller than average as she's a twin

 

[jandksmommy]

Hi there. My LO came early at 23 and half weeks gestation. She weighed 1 lb 6 oz, was immediately put on a ventilator which she remained on for the better part of 2 months. Having a micropreemie is a scarey situation and you will face many issues but they are remarkable, amazing little people! My little one did very well, after 4 months in hospital, she came home to us. At 6 months old, she still needs low flow oxygen as her lungs have not (and many never) fully recover from the damage of prematurity and the scarring of being ventilated so long (she came so fast there was no time for steriods) but otherwise is perfectly healthy and happy.

You asked what to expect... All cases are different but here are some things I learned with mine.
-PDA valve in the heart often will not close as it is supposed to after birth. Depending on how this affects the baby, doctors may wait it out and see if it closes or many do surgery to clamp it.
-babies this little often have bowel problems due to underdeveloped digestive systems and medications give to help lungs. My little ones bowel issues resolved themselves when feedings were stopped for 3 days to allow healing. Her neighbor was not so lucky and he required multiple bowel surgeries to correct the damage (it set him back considerably but he is fine now).
-most will have bleeding in the brain... most of the time it stops and absorbs back into the body causing no major issues. Sometimes it causes pressure and swelling which requires surgery to relieve. I seen 2 babies who needed this, both had no problems with the surgery, one required another brain surgery 2 months later but came through it fine.
-my LO was so preemie that her body did not know how to make blood yet, she required 6 blood transfusions before her bone marrow learned to do it's job.
-when she was born I was shocked by how she looked as I had no idea what to expect. Her eyes were fused shut like a newborn kittens, skin so thin you could see the blood vessels underneath, and not a bit of fat anywhere on her! Plus, she had an IV in each arm and 2 going into her umbilical cord, I could not see her face due to the ventilator and all the tape to keep it in place. She was still a beauty

It is a rollercoaster... 1 step forward, 2 steps back at times but they are amazing! I hope I haven't scared you too much, just remember how strong these preemies are and have faith. My LO is sitting on my lap smiling as I type this.

 

[Twinkle 3]

Thankyou ladies for sharing your little ones journeys,

Dani rose, first of all I'm sorry for the loss of one of your twins, i know what it's like to lose a child and I'm sorry you have had to experience that also.
Your little girl sounds like she's fighting her way through all of this and I pray she will get stronger and stronger for you and hopefully will be home as soon as possible big and healthy. It does sound scary what you are going through and you seem so strong but your little girl sounds amazingly strong aswel

Jandksmommy first of all wow what a journey you and your little one have been through but most of all how brilliant that you are through it all!
Your little girl is a true miracle and it just proves how strong premature babies are!
They are truly amazing, I am so happy to hear that your little one is home happy and healthy with you now and that she conquered everything in the hospital. It's also nice to hear that the other babies you mentioned have also done well. All of the things you have listed are very scary to read and I think it would feel like a nightmare watching your little one go through it all but it fills me with hope that my baby will have a fighting chance at life if he is born early.

I have reached my first major goal of 24weeks and have had my first steroid injection today, the other dose will be given to me tomorrow, I am hoping my baby stays put for as long as possible but only time will tell. I know I won't make full term so it's nice to know what to expect if the worst happens and I have this baby soon. I'm praying I won't though. My aim is to try and make it to 28weeks, even then I know he will still have a long stay in hospital.