Are you concerned about pre-term labor? This page can help you learn how to know the signs of pre-term labor, but if you have any questions about whether or not you may be miscarrying, you should contact your obstetrician or gynecologist immediately.
Disclaimer
The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your doctor before using the information presented here.
Take Action: Signs of Preterm Labor
This video from the March of Times is almost nine minutes long, and goes into detail about the signs of preterm labor, as well as the dangers to babies that are born prematurely. Nurses, doctors, and mothers are interviewed during the course of the video. It also dispels some myths about prematurity.
Introduction
Pregnancies usually last approximately 40 weeks. A baby born before 37 weeks is said to be premature, or pre-term, and is at risk for a number of health issues. The earlier in the pregnancy the baby is more, the greater the risk for complications.http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/complicationspremature.htm Identifying pre-term labor as soon as it starts increases the chances that the labor will be able to be stopped, and the premature birth delayed or prevented.http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
Step 1: What is Pre-Term Labor?
Pre-term labor is labor that begins before the 37th week of pregnancy. Most women experience contractions as the pregnancy progresses; this is normal. Labor contractions are different in that they prepare the body to deliver the baby. While there are several signs you can look for to try to identify whether you are in labor, only a medical professional can tell for sure - so anything unusual should be reported to your doctor immediately.
Step 2: Risk Factors for Pre-Term Labor
There are a number of factors which put you at greater than average risk of pre-term labor:
- Previous birth before 37 weeks gestationhttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Pregnant with multiple fetuseshttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Uterine or cervical abnormalitieshttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Lifestyle choices such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or abusing drugshttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preterm-labor/PR00118
- Urinary tract infectionhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preterm-labor/PR00118
- Chronic health problemshttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preterm-labor/PR00118
- Being under or overweight before or during pregnancyhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preterm-labor/PR00118
- Stresshttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preterm-labor/PR00118
- Multiple previous miscarriageshttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preterm-labor/PR00118
Step 3: Signs of Pre-term Labor
- Regular uterine contractions less than 10 minutes apart.http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Fluiding leaking from the vaginahttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Passing a bloody mucous plug from your vagina.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/signs-of-labor/PR00083
- Vaginal spotting or bleedinghttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Pressure on the pelvic floorhttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Lower backachehttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Period-like crampshttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
- Abdominal cramps that may or may not be accompanied by diarrheahttp://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/188_1080.asp
