Looking for info for a friend (33wks and in full on labour)

A friend of mine is 33wks pregnant and is in full on labour that can't be stopped, her hindwaters waters broke last week but she wasn't too concerned as the same thing happened with her older son at 35wks and she made it past 37wks on bed rest.

She was rushed off to Melbourne last night after it was found that she was already 2cm dilated, and now her contractions are 5minutes apart and getting stronger.

I was wondering if anyone had any info that I could send to her about what to expect with a 33weeker now that it's looking like her little man will be arriving today or tomorrow?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Our DS was born around that gestation. First thing first, my DS is now a happy healthy 18 month old now :)

he will need to go to the SCN, possibly the NICU. He may need air, he may need to be in a humi crib. Kangaroo care should be possible - encourage her to ask about it. He may not be strong enough to breastfeed, but can have EBM via a tube. The rest she will have to face as it comes, nothing can prepare you, but get her to speak to a paed, chances are she has spoken to them already, but get her to talk to them again if she cant remember what they said.

What she will need from you: congratulate her on the birth of her son the same way you would a full term bubba. Keep her postive, there maybe days he takes one step forward, two back - she will need you to help keep her strength up. Ask for lots of photos, it will encourage her to take some - many parents in the NICU forget to do this in the early days.

sorry thats all I canthink of right now- all the best to your friend and her little man.

It will depend greatly on how well the bubs copes TBH. Our close friends had their son at 32 weeks (he was one in November :) ) and he did brilliantly! He breathed on his own from the start and didn't need oxygen at all - that in itself is quite remarkable. He spent 2 weeks at the hospital he was delivered at in the NICU then he was transferred to the hospital closer to his parents home where he spent a week then went home! He was SO tiny when we first held him (when he got home) but he was so strong and ready to take on the world. He was BF and bottle feeding at 2 weeks and weaned off the bottles at a few months to be full BF until one. He's quite a little champ :)

I hope your friend's baby arrives safely and does really well too. 33 weeks is early, granted, but its a reasonable gestation. Hopefully all will be well!

My DS was born at 33 weeks, he was transferred to the NICU for 6 days and stayed in hospital for a month. He needed a little help with his breathing, and was given EBM through a tube. He was 2.7kgs when he was born which apparently helped. 33 weeks is early, but it's actually not too bad... most babies born at this age do pretty well.

I hope it all works out for your friend and her family.

Thanks everyone, I'll pass on the info to her.

The contractions stopped on their own in the early hours of this morning, and she hit 34 weeks today - another milestone whihc everyone is glad about. She was sent back to her local hospital this morning, and they sent her home to rest after lunch, but the contractions started up again this afternoon, not really regular but enough to make her a bit nervous. She's at the point right now where she's wishing he would just hurry up and arrive so that she can have a good rest as her older 2 kids are playing up a bit.

Thanks again everyone :)

DD1 was born at 33 weeks and for her sake I hope she changes her mind and hopes that she bakes longer.... and yes it is hard dealing with ctx, but it can be done, it is tiring exhausting and painful, but it is so worth it once you get to the otherside.

While DD had a relatively smooth run through NICU, sepsis, low bls, needing O2, jaundice, tube feed, very difficult to establish feeds, her long term respiratory issues are more significant and stem from her prematurity, requiring numerous hospitalisations. Sorry to sound a bit negative, but I struggle when people become blazae about having a premature baby, and it won't stop the older children bickering..... :(

Crossing my fingers she still manages a few more days or weeks xxoo

My DS was born at 31 weeks and 4 days
He is very lucky to have not had any big issues but he spent about 36 hours in a isolete (humidicrib) and then was moved to an open cot then he stayed in hospital for about 5 and a half weeks before I got to bring him home.
Ur friend needs to trust the doctors and nurses in the NICU to look after her bub. Its hard and bub will more than likely need to be partially tube fed for some of the time. I found it very hard letting someone else look after my baby and leaving him every day was worse each day not better.
The most important thing for me was to let myself feel miserable when I had to least himself and I cried the whole way home but I felt better for feeling the emotions

I hope she can hang in there longer too. I had dd1 at 34 weeks and she was still in the scn for three weeks and needed a lot of check ups with her pead, health nurse. I was on bed rest for two weeks with dd2 and got to 37 weeks and was resting for 5 weeks with Ds and got to 39 +5. It's a lot easier to be on bed rest than juggling older kids and going into hospital to care for a scn bub.

I too hope she can hang on longer. I spent 8 weeks having contraction before DS2 was born, at 34+3, and he was 3.09kg (6lb 13oz) he needed to be intubated (put on a ventilator) at birth and went straight to NICU and placed in an isolette. He went onto CPAP after only a few hours of vent, but was struggling. Overnight he turned a corner and was on the up and up. He only spent 8 days in NICU/SCN and was discharged completely on day 11. However 19 months later and we have ongoing lung problems and weight problems (he's only just on the %ile chart now)

It's no walk in the park that's for sure. At anything less than 37 weeks I would be prepared for the baby to go to at least SCN in the very least. I hope it doesn't come to that x

I really hope that she has held on.

My DD was born at 34+3 and developed Hyaline Membrane Disease spending time on a ventilator in NICU, then 4 weeks in SCBU.

Fortunately, after a rocky start, she is fine now and doesn't seem to have any long-term issues, except some respiratory ones that she will hopefully grow out of.

Thank you everyone for all your help. She has really appreciated all the advice and well-wishes.

I haven't been on BB for a bit, but thought I'd better update you all.

She has made it to 36 weeks on bed rest, and is in a better frame of mind now, and hoping to make it at least one more week before her little man arrives.

Thank you again.

Great news Jenna! Well done to your friend and look forward to the update when bub is born!

That's great news, one more week & bubs is full term!

I am so glad to hear that she is still baking, and that she is in a better frame of mind :D

Look forward to hearing of the safe arrival of her FT Bubba :)

Hi everyone, just thought I'd update, just got the news that she's had her little boy at a little over 38wks - not sure if he was born yesterday or today though.

I'm so happy for her and so glad that she reached 38wks and technically full term.

Thank you everyone for all your advice and help, she really appreciated it and so did I - and you all gave me a lot of information that could also be applied to my bub if her glucose levels are really low because of my GD after she's born.

Thank you again :)

How wonderful she made it to full term :D Congratulations to your friend, and how lovely of you to seek out the information to help her in the first place :)

That's great news!! And good luck for you too, I had gd with dd2 and she was monitored for 24 hours, but in the scn for three days because of jaundice.

fantastic she made it to FT.
a friend of mine had threatened labour at 24 wks and went on bedrest and after the long haul she made it to 39weeks!