Any woman could experience the preterm labor symptoms. Although they could be faced by anyone, there are some things that you could do to reduce the chances of their appearance.
It is said that a woman has preterm labor in case she enters labor before the 38th week.
Information on the symptoms of preterm labor
The 37th week is still too early for the baby to be born and he or she could have some complications that could threaten their life. When it comes to stopping the process, some of the women are given medication to stop or delay the labor process.
The main point when you experience the symptoms of preterm labor is to delay labor until the mother can get to a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit. It is also possible for women to receive medication to ensure the health of the little one after he or she is born.
Preterm labor symptoms
There are some symptoms that are alarming and in case you experience them you should call your doctor or midwife. These symptoms include abnormally large quantity of vaginal discharge and a change in this discharge. It could become watery, mucus-like or it could get bloody, even if it is only tinged with blood.
Some other symptoms of preterm labor involve vaginal spotting or bleeding, pain in the abdomen, cramps or frequent contractions pressure in the pelvic region or pain in the lower back. This pain could be rhythmic or dull and it is a warming sign in case you didn’t feel pain before.
Some of the preterm labor symptoms could be confusing, such as pressure in the pelvis or pain in the back because they are also the signs of pregnancy. The contractions that you could be experiencing could be Braxton Hicks contractions as well that are normal during the later stages of pregnancy.
Nonetheless when it comes to the symptoms of preterm labor, it is better to be safe than sorry. In case you experience anything strange, you should call your doctor right away. The best thing you could do is to find out about the signs that should alarm you and keep an eye out for them.
What happens if you have preterm labor?
In case you think that you are experiencing the preterm labor symptoms or that you are leaking amniotic fluid, you should get to a hospital for the situation to be assessed by a doctor. Your contractions will be monitored along with the heart rate of the baby.
When you have some symptoms of preterm labor the doctors will check whether you have your membranes ruptured and you will also have your urine tested to make sure that you don’t have an infection. Vaginal and cervical cultures could also be taken.
In case your preterm labor symptoms don’t include broken water, then the doctor will make an assessment of the cervix. It is also common to have an abdominal ultrasound. This way the doctor will have information about the amount of amniotic fluid and about the growth of the little one.
In case the symptoms of preterm disappear, your water didn’t break and the cervix isn’t dilated, it means that you don’t have premature labor. If this is the case you will be sent home and you will have to wait more until your labor truly begins.
In the majority of the cases if you have the preterm labor symptoms and you have no health problems and the pregnancy isn’t of high risk, then the doctor will try to delay labor. Nonetheless you should know that the babies could survive after the 34th week.
