Birth at 33 weeks?

[Kat1990]

Hi ladies. I was taken in due to ore term labour at 29 weeks, after steroids and a drip they managed to stop contractions. but I'm now 33 weeks and having a few contractions again and lost my mucus plug :/

I was wondering does baby normally need a lot at this stage if born? Will they allow a natural birth at this stage? (Baby is head down but not engaged) any positive stories or pictures would be great!! Thanks!! X

 

[Lisasmith]

I had my last baby at 32 + 3 and he was a normal vaginal delivery and had apgars of 9 and 9. He only needed the NG tube and the isolette for temperature regulation. We were in hospital for about 20 days

 

[AmyB1978]

My lo was 34 exact. At 33 and 34 weeks they generally do well. Like all things, it is going to,depend on the baby and vary how much help they need. It's likely lo will need help regulating temp for awhile as well as some support breathing (some babies require CPap, some just nasal cannula, some (though more rare) the vent, and others no help at all. Are they giving you steroids to help with lung maturation? Your lo,would almost certainly need a feeding tube, possibly an IV, to help with feeding. The good news is even though you'd have to spend some time in the NICU, and lo would likely need some supportive care, there are few long term complications at that stage and babies typically do quite well.

That being said, I hope your lo stays put and you can avoid the NICU all together.

 

[Betheney]

Hi we were 33 weeks, i had a normal vaginal delivery completely drug free. I was induced due to pre-eclampsia and didn't even need to go on the drip. My cervix was long and thick and not ready for labour at all. So you would think that would instantly bump me up the c-sec charts but no i was still thankfully allowed a natural birth.

We stayed in hospital 2.5 weeks. He did really well and is still exclusively breastfeeding. Just be prepared to launch yourself into pumping.

Babies at 33-34 weeks do well, he was born crying but i did have steroids so that does raise chances of the baby being born breathing. Because you have no pregnancy complications like pre-eclampsia and the baby isn't being born early because of IUGR, you and baby should do very well.

 

[WishfulX1]

Hi, my daughter was born at 33 weeks exactly, I needed an emergency c-sec under general anaesthetic due to pre-eclampsia, however I was being allowed a normal delivery until things got worse.
As I was asleep when she born I didn't see how she was however reading notes her agar wasn't good and needed a bit of stimulation to get her going, second apgar was much better! c-pap for a day and then only her NG tube for feeding, she was in 14days and discharged

She's now 9 months, no issues at all,a few developmental delays but is catching up great now!

Good luck

 

[Srrme]

You should be able to have a normal birth. I gave birth to my first naturally, and he was born at 28.6 weeks. My 35 weeker would have been born naturally too had he not been breech.

All babies are different, and different babies need different care, so you can't just go by gestation, but it's generally the older they are, the less likely they'll need a lot of care.



Oh, and both of my boys are doing tremendously well! Neither one of them are behind developmentally, or in growth (granted, it took my 28 weeker sometime to catch up, but he did!).