Premature Labour and Birth
A baby that is born before the 37 weeks of pregnancy is considered early (premature). There are three types of prematurity:
- Extremely preterm: less than 28 weeks
- Very preterm: 28 to 32 weeks
- Moderate to late preterm: 32 to 37 weeks.
Babies can live even if they are born after 24 weeks, but depending on when your baby is born, they may need some extra care to breathe and stay well.
Babies born early may have health problems because they are not fully grown. This can mean they need special care. There are reasons a baby might be born early. Sometimes it’s because of problems in the pregnancy. But often, we don’t know why.
Things that can make early birth more likely include:
- Waters breaking early
- Infections
- Having more than one baby at once (like twins)
- If you had an early baby before
- Problems with the placenta
- Maternal pre-existing medical conditions like pre-eclampsia or diabetes
- Smoking, drinking, or taking illegal drugs
- Past treatments for cervical cells
- Having a weak cervix
- Too much fluid around the baby
- Liver problems during pregnancy
- A differently shaped womb
If you might have your baby early, doctors will try to help so your baby can stay inside you safely for as long as possible.
If you start to have your baby too early, the doctors will look at how far along you are in your pregnancy. They might give you:
- medicine to slow down the labour or to stop it.
- antibiotics to keep you from getting an infection.
- And, they might give you shots to help your baby’s lungs grow better if they come early.
If your baby is very, very early (less than 28 weeks), you might need to go to a hospital that has special care for premature babies.
Special Care for early babies
Babies born before 34 weeks often need extra help. They might need help to breathe, eat, and stay warm. They will go to a special place in the hospital called the Neonatal Unit. This care is provided by a highly skilled neonatal team.
Your baby might need to stay in an incubator (warm box) at first. But when they are doing better, you can hold them skin-skin. Your early milk (called colostrum) and breastmilk is really good for early babies. If your baby can’t eat from you yet, you can express your breastmilk and this will be given to your baby through a tube. The neonatal team will support you with expressing your milk.
In Somerset we have two special care units:
-
Somerset Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (SNICU) – Musgrove Park Hospital
Somerset Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (SNICU) is our specialised ward for premature and sick newborn babies. The unit is divided into two areas – one for intensive care and one for special care. There are 18 cots in total and they offer care for babies from 27 weeks gestation. All babies are cared for here by a team of experienced nurses and doctors. SNICU is located in our maternity building in Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.
Address: Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, Somerset TA1 5DA
Telephone: Switch Board 01823 333444
Unit Reception: 01823 342574 -
Yeovil Special Care Unit
The Yeovil Unit admits babies from 32 weeks – 37 weeks gestation but we also admit other babies if they require extra special care. There are facilities to care for up to eight babies. SBCU is located at the far end of Freya Ward (maternity post-natal ward).
Address: Higher Kingston, Yeovil, BA21 4AT
Telephone: 01935 38453
If your baby is born too early to be cared for at Musgrove SNICU or Yeovil SBU then you may be transferred to another hospital within the SW Neonatal Network that can care for them.
When your baby is breathing on their own, eating well, and has grown a bit, they can go home with you. If your baby was very, very early, this might take a few weeks. The hospital team will be there to help you and your baby the whole time. And there are also support groups that help parents of early babies.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/premature-early-labour/
http://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/pregnancy-complications/