Parenting Children

While I was in the hospital they monitored the baby for signs of distress. They did various non stress tests and one sonogram to make sure the baby was handling the stress of my illness and developing appropriately. During one of these tests the nurse told me I had had two contractions and asked if I had felt them. I had not. Honestly, I have no idea what a contraction feels like since I didn’t have any with my first pregnancy, that I knew of. It got me wondering what they really felt like and have me asking any and every mom I come in contact with for their experience. I want to know in case I do go into early labor, something I hope not to do.

Premature births are babies delivered before 37 weeks and they are on the rise in the Untied States. Being born too early puts the baby at risk for life long health problems. There are signs for early labor and ways to reduce your risk:

-Get prenatal care as soon as you think you are pregnant

-Reduce any stress you can

-Do not smoke, drink or do drugs.

If you have any of these signs of premature labor call your doctor right away:

Contractions every 10 minutes
leaking fluid
pelvic pressure
low and dull backache

Of course if you have any concerns or questions call your doctor and if you need more information on premature births, visit the march of dimes web site.