Pre-Term Labour - What Every Pregnant Mum Should Know

When you have contractions prior to week 37 of your pregnancy, it is called pre-term labour. Normally, a healthy pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks, and the earlier your baby is born, the higher the risk for complications.
If you take good care of yourself while expecting, you may be able to prevent early labour. Thanks to advances in modern medicine, many babies that are born early can go on to lead healthy, normal lives. Others are not so lucky and might go on to have learning disabilities or behaviour problems. Babies that are born very early may struggle with underdeveloped organs and life threatening breathing difficulties. Some mums have pre-term labour for unknown reasons while others are known to be at high risk. Some things that contribute to early labour are drinking alcohol, smoking, drug abuse, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, disorders of the reproductive system, previous miscarriages, pregnancy with multiples, and stressful life events.
To lessen your risk of pre-term labour, you should get proper and regular prenatal care so your progress and baby's health can be monitored by a doctor. In addition, you should take prenatal vitamins and eat a healthy diet so your baby gets enough calcium, folic acid, iron, and protein.

Follow your doctor's advice about physical activity. Regular activity is healthy and may help ward off constipation when you are pregnant, but if you are having problems, your doctor may want you to cut back on your work hours or even take up bed rest. Keep an eye on your mental and emotional health as well. Eliminate as much stress as possible while you are pregnant. Learn to ask for help if you need it and allow yourself plenty of quiet time.

If this is your first pregnancy, you may not be sure what labour feels like, especially since you might feel Braxton Hicks, or false labour pains. If you have any concerns at all, you should seek medical advice. If you have bleeding, pain, or cramps, call your doctor right away. You may also experience spotting, watery vaginal discharge, backache, pressure in the pelvic area and contractions.
Your symptoms may not be an immediate concern to your doctor or he might decide to hospitalise you for monitoring. You could be given medications to try and stop the contractions. In some cases, pre-term labour cannot be stopped and it might even be risky to your health or your baby's health to try and do so. If you are past the week 34 mark, your baby's lungs should be well developed enough to withstand an early delivery. If your baby is younger, your doctor may be more aggressive at trying to stop the labour. It is a matter of individual circumstances.
If you have your baby early, that means you are at a higher risk of pre-term labour with your next pregnancy so you should work closely with your doctor to determine your risk factors and monitor for early warning signs of labour. Do all you can to keep yourself healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally when you are pregnant, as the health of your baby depends on it.
Charlotte Wilson has been writing about pregnancy and being pregnant for over 10 years. For further information visit http://www.emmasdiary.co.uk/