It doesn’t take me much nowadays to get confused, seriously!
As many of you will know Baby 2 will be arriving on the 23rd (home straight!) by Csection. At last! I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever this time, with more ups and down than a rollercoaster but I know every minute will have been worth it once he is here safe & sound.
The drama this week has been due to the fact that I am being admitted for steroids prior to my section. And until today…. I’m ashamed to admit- I didn’t know why! Basically we had to fight to get our date for CSection and were told that as standard procedure I would be admitted the week before (37wks) for steroids. End of. And I didn’t question it. We took the long awaited, finally confirmed date for CSection and ran, and it has only been in the last few days that I’ve actually sat back and thought “hang on a minute….!?”.
I did some research myself and there were references to women being given steroids at 34wks, 36wks etc but none for a later csection of 38wks (which is what I will be). So no idea why ie for what reason and certainly nothing to back up steroids at this late stage. I did find one NHS pamphlet published online about planned csections that stated:
Planned CSection, steroids for 38wk delivery & confusion
Will a planned Caesarean cause any problems for
the baby?
Most Caesareans are advised because the risks of a normal
birth would be greater to you or your baby. Planning the timing of
your Caesarean is important, not only for you but also your baby. If
your birth is recommended before 36 weeks, steroid injections will be
offered to you to help your baby’s lungs to develop. Steroids are not
usually given after 36 weeks and therefore a planned Caesarean is
recommended at or after 39 weeks where possible.
So it is definitely not common it appears to “have” to have steroids for a 38wk-er so I knew I had to question this. As it turns out, as my consultant told me today, after getting very huffy with me about having told me this once (which she hadn’t and I told her that – though doing so in front of her student, my diabetic consultant and diabetic nurse was possibly a bit ooops), a baby born by csection prior to 39wks (hospital have insisted on 38wks max due to my having gestational diabetes) is more likely to have TTN, or Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn which is basically respitory distress. This risk is higher if the mother suffers from diabetes/ gestational diabetes and I have GD so fair enough.
Knowing this NOW makes much more sense and I will be admitted tomorrow to get this sorted and hopefully *touch wood* will be back home sometime later on Thursday. THEN it’s the countdown to d-day (or b-day!) for baby 2 on Tues 23rd!
I’m not a medical professional but this is my understanding from what I’ve been told today – hopefully it makes sense to someone else, as I was flummoxed that no-one else seemed to be able to identify with why I needed steroids at this stage, despite earlier csections being quite common. Even the maternity nurses and ultrasound staff (I asked everyone) couldn’t understand it, but there you are.
Just goes to show, you need to make sure when you speak to your consultant that you question, question, question, and make sure you understand everything before you leave the appointment. I wish I had and saved all the uncertainty!
PS – Isn’t it going to seem very quiet without me for a day or two, wonder if they have wifi in the hospital? Lol!