I have a friend who is dealing with a pregnancy scare. For the last week she was dealing with the possibilities of pre-term or premature labor including extreme fatigue and pain in her pelvic area. They are also saying she may have a bladder infection and that she should go on antibiotics. Technically speaking, preterm labor, or premature labor, is when the uterus contracts and the cervix opens earlier than normal. It usually happens between the 20th and 37th week of pregnancy. Zita West writes, “Preterm labor is found in between 6-10% of births in developed countries, with less than a quarter of preterm deliveries occurring between 32 weeks (Griffin 1993). Preterm birth is responsible for 75-90% of neonatal deaths.”

No one really knows what brings on labor. It seems a series of hormones made by you and your baby along with changes in your uterus may bring about the beginnings of labor and contractions. According to Health-Cares.net, preterm labor can be caused by a problem involving the fetus, the mother, or both. Often the cause of a woman’s preterm labor remains unknown. The most common causes of preterm labor include placenta abruption, multiple pregnancy with twins or more, maternal infection, preeclampsia, problems with the uterus or cervix, poor antenatal care, bleeding in the current or previous pregnancy, psychological distress, maternal viral or generalized infections or genital tract infection, drug or alcohol use during pregnancy.

 Now before any of you start worrying about whether you should have drunk a glass of wine occasionally with your dinner, here are the signs of pre-term labor (thank you About.com/pregnancy and childbirth). If you have any of these, call your health care practioner immediately:

• Contractions or cramps, more than 5 in one hour
• Bright red blood from your vagina
• Swelling or puffiness of the face or hands, a sign of preeclampsia
• Pain during urination, possible urinary tract, bladder or kidney infection
• Sharp or prolonged pain in your stomach (preeclampsia signs)
• Acute or continuous vomiting (preeclampsia signs)
• Sudden gush of clear, watery fluid from your vagina
• Low, dull backache
• Intense pelvic pressure

There are a lot of variables to managing preterm labor, both in medical options and in terms of what is going on with you and/or your baby. Here are some of the things that you may deal with when in preterm labor.

• Hydration (Oral or IV)
• Bedrest (Home or Hospital), usually left side lying
• Medications to stop labor (Magnesium sulfate, calcium, brethine, terbutaline, etc.)
• Medication to help prevent infection (More likely if your membranes have ruptured or if the contractions are caused by infection)
• Evaluation of your baby (Biophysical profile, non stress or stress tests, amniotic fluid volume index (AFI), ultrasound, etc.[/link])
• Medications to help your baby’s lung develop more quickly (Usually if preterm birth in inevitable)

Zita West writes in her book Acupuncture in Pregnancy and Childbirth about treatment for preterm labor with acupuncture: “Before treating a patient with an irritable uterus (the term given to a uterus that keeps on contracting and is usually better with rest), with early contractions or preterm labor, it is vital to make sure that Western care is also being given. Anything that acupuncture can do will be in addition to this. Bear in mind also that you may have to see some women at their homes, as exerting energy to go out for treatment could make the contractions much worse. From the Chinese viewpoint, preterm labor is caused by a deficiency of Qi and Blood (the same as anaemia). If the cause is Blood deficiency, the solution is to tonify the Blood points.”

One final point…. if you find out you are not actually having preterm labor signs, it may be that you are dehydrated. When you are dehydrated your blood volume decreases, which in turn increases the concentration of oxytocin (the hormone that causes uterine contractions) to rise. Hydrating yourself will increase the blood volume.  And of course… your body might be telling you to put your feet up.

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June 20th, 2007 | Permalink