preterm birth symptoms
If your labor process starts more than three weeks earlier than expected, doctors call it premature labor or preterm labor.
If this process leads to the baby leaving and giving birth, it is called preterm birth.
Certainly babies born prematurely will have many problems, but it is gratifying that doctors today can postpone this preterm labor until the growth and development of the fetus reaches an acceptable level.
Here are some signs of preterm birth and preterm birth symptoms:
Which women are most at risk for preterm birth?
- Obese pregnant women
- Slim pregnant women
- Pregnant women who smoke and tobacco consumers in any form
- Women who drink alcohol during pregnancy
- Women taking drugs during pregnancy
- Women with underlying physical problems
- Pregnancy of a fetus with physical disorders and defects
- Twin pregnancies and more
- Women who have become pregnant through assisted pregnancy methods such as IVF
- Having a family history of preterm births
- Pregnant women who have not received proper care
- Pregnant women with hypertension
- Pregnant women with diabetes
- Pregnant women with preeclampsia
- Pregnant women with coagulation disorders and increased clotting
What are the symptoms of preterm labor?
Recognize the symptoms of preterm labor:
Premature birth can put a lot of risks on the mother and her baby, so if you want to avoid these risks, you need to be well aware of the signs that indicate the onset of a premature birth.
With what symptoms should we see a doctor immediately and without delay?
You should inform your obstetrician or doctor immediately if any of the following symptoms occur:
- Occurrence of back pain and pain in back:
Back pain is very common in pregnancy. If your back pain and back pain have become such that it does not go away with a change of position, take it seriously and inform your obstetrician or doctor.
- If the number of contractions of your uterus has increased or the distance between contractions has decreased.
For example, if the contractions start every ten minutes or the contraction interval is less than ten minutes, it is considered a warning for the premature onset of labor.
- Clear and watery fluid leaking from the vagina, the fluid has a large volume and is watery.
- If you feel that the weight and pressure inside your pelvis and vagina are increasing, take it very seriously.
- Occurrence of vaginal bleeding:
If you have vaginal bleeding, especially if the color of the excreted blood is light, you should not waste time going to the nearest equipped treatment center.
If you have cramps in your lower abdomen that are severe with fluid and blood from the vagina, or if you have cramps that are similar or more severe than your menstrual cramps.
- If you have a sensation that resembles a gas movement in the intestines or diarrhea.
- If you have cold-like symptoms that doctors call flu-like symptoms, such as:
nausea
Vomit
Diarrhea
In these cases, you must inform your doctor, and if your condition has become so bad that you have not been able to consume even fluids in the past eight hours, and you have vomited everything you drink and eat, in these cases you should Visit the nearest equipped medical center.
As you can see, many of the above symptoms will be present during the normal course of pregnancy, we want you to be fully aware of your symptoms and evaluate all changes carefully.
What should we do about how to check the number of contractions?
Follow the procedure below to check the number of contractions:
Place your fingertips on your abdomen. If you feel the uterus tighten and contract and then the uterus loosen under your fingers, count this as a uterine contraction.
Be sure to write down on a piece of paper the distance between the end of a contraction and the beginning of the next contraction of your uterus. As the contraction intervals decrease, you should rush to the medical center.
Try to stop contractions by get off feet, drinking a few glasses of water, changing position and staying calm.
If you have a uterine contraction every ten minutes or less, be sure to tell your obstetrician or doctor immediately.
If your symptoms are getting worse and worse, if your abdominal cramps and abdominal pain get worse by the minute instead of getting better, you should get to a well-equipped medical center right away.
We need to introduce you to the term Braxton Hicks contractions.
These contractions are usually erratic and not very interconnected and close and usually stop with a change of position and rest. But if you cannot differentiate between these contractions that warn of the onset of labor, you must inform your doctor or obstetrician.
What will happen if a preterm birth occurs?
One in ten babies born in the United States is born prematurely.
What are the problems of preterm infants?
Among the problems of preterm infants are:
- Growth rate will be slower compared to full-term infants.
- These infants have a higher risk of developing the following disorders than full-term infants:
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Cerebral palsy or CP
- Problems and disabilities in learning skills
- Lung problems
- Vision and hearing problems such as hearing loss
Premature babies born after seven months of gestation will have fewer problems than babies born less than seven months old.
Premature babies are admitted to the NICU in proportion to the extent of their problems and will remain in the section as long as there is no risk to them.
As a pregnant mother, in order to prevent the problems of giving birth to a premature baby, it is necessary for you to be fully aware of the symptoms of preterm labor. If the symptoms worsen or do not resolve, be sure to inform your doctor or obstetrician and go to the nearest medical center.