31 weeks and dilating?

I had an appointment this morning. As of two weeks ago there was no effacment and no dilation. Today I am at 75% effacment and just a little over 1 cm dilated. They did the test that says if u will deliver within 2 weeks or not but its not back yet, and they also did some blood work, he thinks I may have preeclampsia(even with just a trace of protein in my urine)

He sent me home to rest and said as soon as they get the tests back someone will call. He said he expects to have me admitted in the next day or two and started on IV steroids. Does that sound like he wants to stop labor or is it to help their lungs????

Some girls I know who only had one baby said they dilated a little and still went full term, but i went from 0 to 75% effacments in 2 weeks...my Dr didnt act like it would be much longer at all! I was kinda happy to hear it has started bc i feel so horrible and im so miserble but now that it has im so freakin scared. I dnt want sick babies They have been measuring a week ahead the whole pregnancy so i think they are very very healthy tho.

 

At 33 weeks I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and had excessive amounts of protein in my urine, not to mention funky blood work. I was also 2cm dialated and effaced (I'm sorry I don't remember what percentage). They gave me the steroid injections to mature lung development and put me on bed rest in the hospital, I was sent home at 34 weeks when I didn't deliver. Finally a week later my OB decided that she wanted to take the boys out of me because the risk of the Pre-E was so great so we delivered via c-section on my 35th week of pregnancy. Prior to all of my NST showed my sons' lung maturity very high and their overall health excellent. I will say that they still spent about a week in PICU (pediatric intensive care), but that was in part because of their weight...they were both under 5lbs at birth and lost a good bit afterwards.

They may just put you on strict bedrest until you get a little further along.

 

Mine changed that quickly too - from being long at 26 weeks (no exact measurement given) to being 1 cm dilated and almost fully effaced (my cervix is 4mm)at 28 weeks. I've been on bedrest for three and a half weeks now and haven't had to go back to the hospital for anything. I know someone who went from 29 to 35.5 weeks with a cervix of only 1mm! If your Dr hasn't already, I would put myself on strict bedrest, only getting up to go to the bathroom and have a shower.

The steroids are to help develop the babies lungs.

 

Has your doctor mentioned anything about you going on bedrest? :hug:

 

yeah thats why ill have to go into the hospital is for bedrest because my husband is deployed and the army wont send him home so i ave no one to help me. He knows if I stay home and do my own bedrest it wont be very effective bc ill still have to do a lot of stuff/.

 

Thats good that your Dr's are watching you carefully and luckily if you are on hospital bedrest you will be assured to get the rest you need to keep those babies in longer & growing! :good:
Keep us posted :hug:

 

I'm glad the drs. are keeping a close eye on you. :good: The 75% effaced is was has me a little concerned. :hug:

 

I went in for a growth ultrasound at 28w, 6d (11am). I had asked the ultrasound tech how my cervix looked because I had been feeling funny. She told me it was long and closed, no dilation at all. Later that day (about 2pm, so only a few hours later) I started to feel worse. It felt just like menstrual cramps and nothing like my braxton hicks that I'd been having since I was about 20 weeks. I tried drinking a bunch of water at home and laying down and I was just so uncomfortable. I decided I wanted pizza lol so I drove to a drive through pizza hut and on the way home I came to my exit on the highway and I was like hmm left to the hospital or right to my house. I seriously contemplated it. I decided I might as well go to the hospital even though every time I had gone they made me feel like an idiot, like I was over reacting. I thought I would go in (this is now 6pm the SAME day as my ultrasound) and they tell me I was fine and send me home. NOPE! They checked me and I was 3cm dilated, 90% effaced. I broke down completely because my husband was deployed and I knew he was due to head back the next day, but I had a gut feeling they weren't going to be able to hold off or stop my labor long enough for him to get home. They hooked me up to Magnesium drops to try and stop labor. They gave me the first shot to try and help their lungs. I was there over night and the next day at about 3pm (not long enough to get the 2nd steroid shot for their lungs because they need to be spaced 24 hours apart and not completely effective until 12 hours after the 2nd shot) it was obvious that my labor wasn't stopping because at that point I was 6cm dilated with baby A breech and baby B flipping every other minute lol. They decided to get me into a csection cause my babies were both in the mid 2lbs and they said they could basically come out without me being fully dilated. I had my babies at 29 weeks exactly and they are still in the NICU (34 weeks gestation this Friday).

Basically my point was between 11am and 6pm I was from no dilation at all, to 3cm and 90% effaced. And in less than another 24 hours it doubled.

 

I am glad your doctor is keeping a close eye on you. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

You never know, that's why he's cautious. I was a finger tip at 31 weeks, 2 cm at 32 and 33 weeks, 3 cm at 34 and 35 weeks, 4 cm at 36 and 37 weeks, 4 1/2 cm at 38 weeks, and delivered, as planned, on my scheduled induction date ... 2 babies, 4 minutes apart, one head down, one feet down, 7lbs11oz and 7lbs10oz, both 20" ... I still believe the weight (and a previous pregnancy + d&c) caused the fairly early dilation.

I agree with pp, it's not so much the dilation, but the effacement is a little more worrisome. And even though they measure ahead (mine measured 2 weeks ahead), they're still little (mine measured 4lbs5oz and 4lbs6oz at 30 weeks), and their lungs are far from mature (since this is related to gestational age ... not weight!).

I would check with your doc about bed rest, possible steroid shots if he really thinks labor is imminent within a few days / weeks.