Posts Tagged ‘Onset Of Labor’

Premature Labor Signs and Symptoms, Prevention and Care

Comments: 0September 1st, 2010 by admin



Premature labor is also called as preterm labor. Onset of labor after 28 weeks but before 37 weeks is called as Preterm labor. The infant will weigh less than five and a half pounds at birth as it is a premature labor.

The percentage of preterm labor is around 5-10% this is the rough approximate. It can be caused by various factors. Idiopathic is known as spontaneous preterm labor.

- Age: less than 18 yrs and greater than 40 yrs.
- Low socio economic status: Maternal and paternal education levels both father and mother if well educated can take care during pregnancy.
- Behavioral Factors: Smoking, tobacco chewing, cocaine, poor nutrition and mental stress
- Medical Factors: anemia, liver disease, asthma, PIH, renal disease, cardiac disease, TB, hyperthyroidism etc.
- If your blood sugar is high, it leads to an increase in the fluid content of your amniotic sac and eventually premature labor pain may set in.
- Obstetric risk factors: Past history of previous preterm labor. If you’ve a past history of, there’s a slightly higher chance of you having another premature birth, second trimester abortion, h/o recurrent abortion, cervical trauma.
- Infections: acute appendicitis, gastroenteritis, bacterial vaginosis, Intrauterine infection by viruses, protozoa.
- Miscellaneous factors: Trauma during any fall or accident, drugs such as quinine.

Signs And Symptoms Known As Warning Signals:

The signs and symptoms will be almost same as normal labor; in case of a preterm labor you may experience a low back pain with or without contractions

Some other signs which a woman can observe herself while the onset of a preterm labor are:

1. Menstrual like cramps
2. Low dull backache
3. Abdominal cramps
4. Feeling of pelvic pressure or heaviness in vagina
5. Increase/change in vaginal discharge: bloody or mucoid
6. Fluid leaking per vagina

Although these signals are not so specific pregnant should never avoid such symptoms as you should be given immediate care as soon as these symptoms are confirms as the warning signals of a preterm labor so you should visit the hospital as soon as you notice these!

General Prevention of a Preterm Labor

1. Improve your lifestyle
2. Be physically active
3. You should have proper knowledge about the pregnancy i.e. should always take pre-pregnancy counseling
4. Always go for a routine medical check up!

Natural Prevention

Looking after yourself can help reduce your risk of having a premature baby you should avoid chewing tobacco, alcohol consumption, stop smoking.

Diet: you should be very strict about your diet. Follow a sugar-free diet to keep your blood sugar in control. If you are on insulin, get your blood sugar level checked at least three times a day.

Maintain your blood pressure: maintain your blood pressure by regularly visiting your doctor and keeping a record at home! This really helps!

- Limit sodium (salt) in your diet do not eat salt more than required as it increases the blood pressure.
- Don’t smoke. Smoking has a serious side effect!
- Avoid high alcohol consumption
- Maintain an appropriate body weight because both high and log weight can cause preterm labor.

Lower the stress levels by nay of the below means -

1. Breathing exercises
2. Meditation
3. Eat properly
4. Popper exercise
5. Improve your dietary habits have green vegetables, fresh fruits proper nutrition and a good balanced diet

Medical Care

The doctor will react to the first signs of premature labor by ordering strict bed rest and a drip to maintain the fluid balance.

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Herpes and Pregnancy – How to Safeguard Your Unborn Baby

Comments: 0January 27th, 2010 by admin



Herpes and pregnancy can occur at the same time. In fact 20% to 25% of pregnant women worldwide have genital herpes – some are active and some are asymptomatic.

Although the mothers-to-be are not at risk, the unborn baby may be in danger.

The degree of risk the baby faces is dependent on three major factors:
The herpes infection timeline. Whether antibodies are present in the mother-to-be. Whether there has been enough time for antibodies to develop in the baby before the onset of labor. Let me explain:

As a result of a herpes primary infection, the system produces antibodies to the particular type of virus involved.

If a woman contracts herpes, approximately six weeks after the primary outbreak the resultant antibodies in her system will prevent infection of an additional form of her particular HSV infection.

What’s more important regarding herpes and pregnancy, after six to nine weeks, the baby will acquire antibodies via the placenta.

Once that has happened, it is extremely difficult for cross infection to occur while the infant is still in the womb. It also makes it unlikely that the baby will become infected if the mother happens to be in the viral shedding stage during birth.

The Herpes Infection Timeline

There are three possible scenarios if herpes and pregnancy coincide:
If the woman had herpes before becoming pregnant, antibodies will be present in her system and she will transfer them to the fetus. If the mother is in the viral shedding stage during labor, there is less than a 1% chance of the baby becoming infected during vaginal birth. If primary infection occurred shortly before, or during the first trimester of pregnancy, the unborn baby is at risk. Since it takes approximately 6 weeks for antibodies to appear, there is a 3% chance of the infant becoming infected by viral shedding during vaginal birth. In rare cases, transmission could occur via the placenta. In this instance there is a 5% possibility of the baby being born with serious birth defects. If primary infection occurred during the second or third trimester of the pregnancy, this situation presents the highest risk of transferring the virus to the baby during vaginal birth. In this scenario, if the virus is shedding during labor, there is an up to 50% chance of the infant acquiring neonatal disease. Therefore a Caesarian section, rather than vaginal birth is essential. In the case of a first outbreak during pregnancy, the doctor should call for a “Western blot” blood test in order to:

a) Identify the type of virus.

b) To tell whether the outbreak was a non-primary first occurrence, or a primary outbreak.

Since the immune system is suppressed during pregnancy, 80% of herpes positive pregnant women will experience an average of 3 outbreaks during the gestation period.

Herpes Treatment During Pregnancy

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend daily suppressive antiviral therapy to be given to herpes positive women from the 36th week of pregnancy.

This limits HSV recurrence and shedding during childbirth, thereby reducing the need for caesarean section.

Since the drug ‘acyclovir’ was subjected to a clinical study of 1000 pregnant women in which there were no increases in birth defects, it remains the drug of choice during pregnancy.

For women infected during the second or third trimester, daily suppressive treatment with antiviral herpes medicine as described above, should be considered. For others, this antiviral therapy is recommended during the final 10 days prior to delivery.

This will all but eliminate the chances of viral shedding while giving birth.

Herpes and Pregnancy – Vaginal Delivery or Cesarean Section?
Vaginal birth presents the greatest risk of cross transmission between mother and child. If lesions are detected on either the cervix, inside walls of the vagina, urethra or on the vulva prior to delivery, a Cesarean section would be necessary. As a safety precaution, women infected during the second or third trimester of pregnancy should seriously consider opting for a Cesarean section. This would virtually eliminate the chances of the baby becoming infected by viral shedding. If a woman has oral herpes lesions, they should be covered with an occlusive dressing before vaginal delivery. In other cases there is less than a 1% chance of the baby suffering from neonatal disease, so a vaginal delivery would be the logical option for most women.
Herpes and Pregnancy – Precautions During Pregnancy

If both you and your partner appear to be herpes negative, the following is worth discussing:
Since 90% of herpes positive victims have never had a primary outbreak, both of you should consider having a herpes blood test.

This would be a sensible precaution against unwittingly transmitting the virus either way during the shedding process. Alternatively, you might both consider taking daily antiviral medication throughout your pregnancy.
A latex condom should be used during vaginal, anal or oral sex in order to reduce the chances of transmission. Skip all sexual contact if either you or your partner has a herpes outbreak or experiences prodromal symptoms (tingling, itching or pain in the area of an impending outbreak). If either of you has oral herpes, avoid skin-to-skin contact with the infected area. Abstain from sex altogether during the third trimester of your pregnancy.

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