twins born early without steroid shots beforehand

Hi ladies,
I have a surrogate who is 31 weeks tomorrow. She called me yesterday to tell me she has been having "lots of braxton H's." I don't know whether I should worry or not. She's not big on calling the doctor or going to the doctor. At this point her doctor is still only seeing her every 4 weeks. Her last appointment was at 28 weeks, her next is next week at 32 weeks. If the twins are born early without steriod shots to help develop the lungs will it be a terrible scenario? I always read about twins being born early, but it seems that most of them have received the shots. Hopefully I'm worrying for nothing. I don't know what to think. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Carisa

 

as far as i remember the shoots are only good up tto 34weeks that is when the lungs and heart are good,
i know they can you give a drug to slow or stop labour this should give the 48 hrs wanted for the shoot to work, you get one and than 24hrs later you get the other.

just a side note i have been having bh sense before 30weeks and im now over 35weeks

 

She is at a good time. At 32 weeks, the information that was quoted me said that the babies had a 99% chance of surviving and a 99% chance of being 'normal' and healthy. I was having appts. every 4 weeks at that stage too. I bet at 32 weeks they'll start being every other week or every week. At 32 weeks I also started having NST's every week, but only because they said I had low fluid in one of my sacs.
:hug: I can't imagine how it is to watch someone else be pregnant with your babies. :hug: What a great gift she is giving you!

 

QUOTE(carisa @ Dec 22 2008, 08:18 PM) [snapback]1119713[/snapback]
Hi ladies,
I have a surrogate who is 31 weeks tomorrow. She called me yesterday to tell me she has been having "lots of braxton H's." I don't know whether I should worry or not. She's not big on calling the doctor or going to the doctor. At this point her doctor is still only seeing her every 4 weeks. Her last appointment was at 28 weeks, her next is next week at 32 weeks. If the twins are born early without steriod shots to help develop the lungs will it be a terrible scenario? I always read about twins being born early, but it seems that most of them have received the shots. Hopefully I'm worrying for nothing. I don't know what to think. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Carisa


Hi Carisa! I do not know the research done regarding the benefits of the shots but I do not it helps the babies lungs expand. I can tell u from my experience. My twins were born the day after thanksgiving at 33.4 wks. I was given the shot 3 hrs before delievery. I do know they want u to get the shot atleast 12 hrs before delivery but my labor progressed very quickly despite be given mag.
My twins are still in the NICU and are now 3 weeks 3 days old! My little boy was never put on oxygen. My little girl needed oxygen for the first 12 days.

Congrats on ur twins! Hope she can stay pregnant till atleast 36 wks. Every day is important!

 

Thanks ladies, I knew you would have some words of wisdom. I'm actually across the country from my surrogate, getting information from her over the phone randomly. So I tend to be a big worrier in this situation.

JiJac-I believe she will be getting her first NST at 32 weeks, which is next week. She has GD, so that is why she will be getting them. Do all twin pregnancies need them? I'm looking forward to that, hopefully it will put my mind at ease. Yes, this is a huge gift she is giving me. The biggest gift of mine and my husband's lives. It is very exciting for us yet as you said, watching someone else carry your babies has been harder than we ever imagined.

Korey's mommy-It doesn't sound like you had much time for the shots to take effect! I'm glad your babies are doing well in the NICU. That gives me a sense of comfort. Congratulations to you!

Angela4-She actually has been getting BH's since around 16 weeks, but apparently they have gotten more frequent as of last week. I'm sure that is normal considering she is so far along. At least that is what I'm telling myself so that I feel better!

 

Hang in there hun, the BH's are totally normal, I even got tons of them with just my dd. This time I am 27 wks along with twins and have them very often.

Ask her if she's drinking lots of water, and resting. Dehydration and doing too much are the enemy right now! She can mention it to her dr, but really it doesn't mean she'll go into labor soon, just means her uterus is "gearing up". Also has she had kids before? If she has, the more pregnancies you have, the more frequent the bh's can be!

I can't imagine how hard and stressful this is for you guys!! Sounds like she's having a fairly uneventful pregnancy thus far, except for the GD! I hope she goes another 4-5 wks for you!!

 

Thanks Danibell. Yes, she has two kids of her own.

 

Just wanted to say BH's are completely normal- my Dr always said that it showed no indication of early labor. My water broke at 32 weeks and they held labor off for 48 hrs so I could get the steriod shots in. (I never had BH's btw) They give you one shot, wait 24 hrs, give you another, wait another 24 and then deliver. My girls weighed 3 lbs 4 oz and 3lbs 6 oz and were only in the NICU for 3 weeks as feeder/growers and were never on oxygen! So anyway, dont worry! Even if she goes into labor early the hospital should do all they can to get the shots in!

 

Hi Carisa, I´m almost 36 weeks and started having BH contractions very early around 16 weeks, I´d say they peaked around 29-33 weeks ( I was worried) and now that I´m 36 they are less often! BUT I´m not moving as much either, not because my Dr. ordered rest, but because I CAN BARELY MOVE WITHNOUT GETTING EXHAUSTED!!!
Good luck!

Carol

 

Thanks ladies, I really do feel better about everything. I guess as Monica said, if she did go into labor early, they would do everything they can to get those shots in. It's so hard not knowing how she is doing every day. I just sit here and wonder............I try very hard to only call her once every week or two. So this board has been a life saver as far as me not going insane!

 

QUOTE(carisa @ Dec 23 2008, 04:45 PM) [snapback]1120791[/snapback]
It's so hard not knowing how she is doing every day. I just sit here and wonder............I try very hard to only call her once every week or two.

I am sure that is very difficult. :hug: Boy, you are pretty good, I think I'd be calling her once a day. ardon:

 

QUOTE(summerfun @ Dec 23 2008, 05:04 PM) [snapback]1120810[/snapback]
I am sure that is very difficult. :hug: Boy, you are pretty good, I think I'd be calling her once a day. ardon:


I'd be calling that often, too! I couldn't imagine not having a play by play

I don't have any more information than the PPs do but I had a question. Is the surrogate a friend of yours? A stranger? I'm only wondering bc I think it's so amazing. I was almost a surrogate for my best friend. She and I have been friends for close to 25 yrs and we married best friends who have been friends with each other for just as long. It was a very easy decision for all but her DH. He was a little weary about it so we didn't follow through. They've since adopted, though

 

hiya

i had the steriod shots at 36 weeks with my son Isaac. I had them 12 hours apart. It was because i had gestional diabetes and on high insulin. So i think it depends on your doctor if you get them 24 hours apart or 12 and how many weeks you are. My little boy had no breathing problems just problems with his sugar levels and temp.

Angel

 

Just another story - I gave birth at 27.4 weeks, less than 24 hours after receiving the first steroid shot. Even so, my twins were each on the ventilator for only one day and really never had any respiratory problems. I was very hung up on the fact that I hadn't made it to the second shot, but it really turned out to be a non-issue for us.

Good luck!

Rachel

 

Summerfun and Waterguzzler-It has been hard not knowing everything that is going on, but, at the same time, I think it has helped not knowing EVERYTHING! I think if I did know everything, I would worry even more than I do now. So in a way, it has been nice. I also don't want to drive her crazy. It's important to me that I not drive her crazy. I don't want there to be any regrets after this whole process. So I have had to practice great self control.

Waterguzzler-That is so sweet that you thought about being a surrogate for your friend. My surrogate is actually my old boss. I randomly called her the summer of 2007 to ask her if she would ever consider being a surrogate for me. She told me that she and her husband would have to think about it and that she would get back to me. At that point, I hadn't seen her or spoken to her in a couple of years, so I thought it was a long shot. She called me back three or four months later and said that she and her husband decided that they would be more than happy to do it for us. I was shocked and beyond excited! Her husband was hesitant at first, but changed his mind. We did the whole IVF process at the end of May and beginning of June of this year. We were shocked to hear we were expecting twins. We transferred two embryos, but only one looked "good." Here we are, over 31 weeks, and I still can't believe it worked. It's pretty amazing.

Angelrealz-I'm surprised that they would need the shots at 36 weeks. I thought at that point they were fully developed. That's interesting. I guess it all just depends.

Racheljoy-That's amazing that your twins were born so young and only needed to be on the ventilator one day! That's awsome. You must have been so relieved.

 

I know that I had my girls at 33 weeks and 6 days (27 hours after my water broke) and I was told at that point the steriod shots would not do anything. So I did not get them.

 

Good luck to you! I worry all the time and I can feel them - so I think you're doing great! Just think she is already 31 weeks -that is fantatic - Your babies are going to be wonderful!!! Best wishes!

 

I didn't really have any B-H contractions. My girls were born at 32 weeks with no steroid shot. I couldn't have them because I'm diabetic. Both were on ventilators for a few hours, but were breathing regular air within about 15 hours of birth. If I was your surrogate, I would call the doctor. It never hurts to check!!

 

Hi Carisa! Congrats! When I was pregnant with m y twins, I started having a lot of BH contractions around 28 weeks. I was the opposite of your surrogate, I stressed over everything! So I was in L&D every other day as a nervous wreck. Luckily, all my BHs never altered my cervix or anything like that ... but my doc put me on Terbutaline to calm them down.

Can you ask for you surrogate to go get checked out a little early? Does it say anything in your contract about who "controls" (for lack of a better word) the medical care? I would think in this situation you could play the parent card and tell her that for your own piece of mind you would like her to call the doc and just talk to someone ... or can you call the OB yourself?

I'm currenlty 6w1d pregnant as a GC for my sister. We just saw 3 sacs (2 fetal poles) last week, and will go for our heartbeat u/s tomorrow. It's definitely different for us, as I talk to/see my sis on a daily basis. But my whole feeling about this process is this is her pregnancy/her baby(ies) ... just that my body happens to be housing the bubs for now. So she makes the decisions about everything. If she wanted me to see the doc about something, I would go.

I imagine it's hard for you. That you are trying not too be too controlling. It's a tough process. Yes, she is doing a wonderful thing for you ... but that doesn't mean you don't get to have your worries and concerns, and you should be able to voice them! I say give her a call and talk it through with her!

Best of luck to you all!!!
Erica

 

I just wanted to comment that I had tonnes of BH from about 1/2 way through my pregnancy, but didn't have the babies until I was induced at 37.5 weeks. My labour went well and I didn't experience much pain until 8 cm - I credit all of those BH with preparing my uterus!

It wouldn't hurt to see the doctor and have an ultrasound to check the cervix. I think I was seeing the doctor more frequently than every 4 weeks after the 28-week mark.

 

Just thought I'd chime in to say this is my 3rd pregancy and I have been having bh contractions since 16 weeks also. I had heaps in my last 2 pregnancies, every time I moved, and delivered my 2 singletons at 41 wks 3 days and 41 wks. I HATE Braxton Hicks contractions! I have vowed I will never call my child Braxton! But mine did not effect my last 2 deliveries at all.
Good luck with the next few weeks, I bet your arms are aching to hold your 2 precious little babies!