Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Labor at 35 weeks

Are there any complications for the baby if shes born at 35 weeks, or 36 I am desperate to get her out!
14 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Thank you!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
A very important point to remember is that the "E" in EDD (or EDC, depends on your area as to what you call it) stands for ESTIMATED. Even 4-D ultrasounds can be off on the 40 week mark. Technically, even if you think you are 100% sure you KNOW when you ovulated/conceived, that  may not always be 100% true. Dates can be off as much as 2 whole weeks either way. So when you're 35 weeks, you could really be 37 weeks, but you could also really be only 33 weeks. Working in L&D, I see patients every day that are very uncomfortable and beg to be delivered early, but it's not in the best interest of the baby to be born before 39-40 weeks. There are some OBs who are starting to make you wait til you're 40 weeks before they do elective deliveries rather than the usual 39 weeks. This is because of what I was saying earlier... at 39 weeks you really could only be 37 weeks. Although 37 weeks is considered "full term", MANY babies that are born at 37 weeks still have difficulty transitioning and will ultimately be separated from mommy for the first little bit of their lives. This is supposed to be the critical bonding time for mommy and baby, but if your baby is born before they are ready, this critical bonding time could be spent with you in your room, and your baby in the special care nursery under oxygen. And yes, it IS true that ANY baby can have these difficulties... but you definitely don't want to raise the risk of complications by being delivered early. Now, if you have a true medical indication that requires you to be delivered early, then the OB will advise you of this and also administer steroids called Celestone (Betamethasone) to help the baby's lungs mature. They usually do an amniocentesis to test for fetal lung maturity also. I can imagine that you're very uncomfortable, but hang in there this last month because it is what is best for your baby. Good luck!
Helpful - 0
1806883 tn?1458321004
yep these last few weeks can be a pain in the butt for us, but as everyone has said these last weeks are very important for bub to gettheir lungs matured and to put on that last final layer of fat under their skin to help them when they're finally here, many women tend to forget about themselves in the last few weeks as the excitment builds as your due date gets closer, why dont you get yourself a pregnancy massage they are devine, I have at least 3 after the first trimester, and when I was 4 days over with my last my massuse did my pressure points and away we went 2 hrs later :), if you cant affored a massage, rope your partner into giving you one, jump into a nice warm bath berofre had, its almost as good:), go out for dinner, get your hair done, just give yourself abit of pampering and the time will go by quickly, ooh and remember only about 2% cpome on their due dates, a few are earlier but the majority are after their due date :)
Helpful - 0
370181 tn?1595629445
No matter how hot the kitchen, ya don't take the cake out til it's done!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I had my youngest son at 35w2d, he came out looking healthy until they re checked his vitals when he was 2 hours old and his oxygen was too low. His lungs weren't mature enough and he ended up being in the NICU for a week on oxygen. Give him just a little more time to be safe! Good luck
Helpful - 0
1830765 tn?1317999886
Im ready too but 36 weeks in 3 days looking forward to next week I have never gone past 37 weeks I will probably have sex.next week and.see what happens I was 1 cm 2 weeks ago I will see if I progressed on nov 2 good luck
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you, shes stayin in, but sometimes when shes kickin my ribs at two in the morning im soooo wishing shed be out! I dont want her in the nicu because my oldest son is now 4 yrs old but when he was born he was a blue baby, (he was very large, 10lbs 14oz, 22.5 inches long..... didnt have diabetes) he had to get open heart surgury because his heart didnt develope correctly at 8 weeks and no one detected it... He had a million little surguries but the main one was called transposition of the great arteries... He is a normal kid, cant tell he went through all of that! But he has to see a cardiologist
for the rest of his life,  Nicu is no joke, I couldnt breastfeed, and I seen so many things that til this day I will never forget, id rather be uncomfortable than be back in there, thank god we have a place like that! Thanks ladies! I am a young mom, my oldest is 4 he is my miricle baby, and my other boy is 2, now we're expecting our girl on christmas!!!
Helpful - 0
1194973 tn?1385503904
As the others said, pregnancy is dated for 40 weeks. It doesn't matter how much YOU want her out, it's better for the baby to stay in there. I had hyperemesis while pregnant with my daughter and was nauseated and vomiting 24/7 till the day I gave birth at 39 weeks. You have to remember pregnancy IS NOT meant to be comfortable and we can't evict the babies at our convenience.  
Helpful - 0
127124 tn?1326735435
Pregnancy is supposed to be 40 wks.  Yes, many babies are fine if born at 35-36wks but many are not.   My son was born at 37wks.  I had a very complicated pregancy.  He was not fine.  He had breathing issues and severe jaundice.    Cherish these last few wks of pregnancy - you never know if you will get to experience it again.
Helpful - 0
1035252 tn?1427227833
Most baby's lungs aren't mature until about 37/38wks so yes there could definitely be complications and dangers if born now...but most likely nothing you do will get baby out until baby is ready, short of being induced, and no doctor will induce before full-term without a life-threatening reason, amniocentesis to test lung maturity, and a NICU team standing by!

trust me girl I've had AWFUL complications at the end of my last 2 pregnancies and I know how hard it is to wait until the end, but it's best for baby to try to be patient! You'll meet your sweet one soon and all this waiting and end-of-pregnancy misery will be a fond memory <3
Helpful - 0
1847804 tn?1323322096
Haha mine is the same way! Like he's doing pull UPS on my rib cage! They hurt so bad and it feels like he never sleeps!! I'm ready to meet this little one!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Lol thank you, my baby feels so happy and ready to come out! Her kicks are so strong, im pretty sure I have bruises inside and probablyh will get a broken rib (hopefully not)
Helpful - 0
1847804 tn?1323322096
Oh man am I right there with you!! I'm 36weeks today and I am DONE, my Dr said my baby would be perfectly healthy from this point on but i don't know for a fact if that's all babies or a case by case situation, good luck!!
Helpful - 0
1847804 tn?1323322096
Oh man am I right there with you!! I'm 36weeks today and I am DONE, my Dr said my baby would be perfectly healthy from this point on but i don't know for a fact if that's all babies or a case by case situation, good luck!!
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Pregnancy Community

Top Pregnancy Answerers
13167 tn?1327194124
Austin, TX
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Get information and tips on how to help you choose the right place to deliver your baby.
Get the facts on how twins and multiples are formed and your chance of carrying more than one baby at a time.
Learn about the risks and benefits of circumcision.
What to expect during the first hours after delivery.
Learn about early screening and test options for your pregnancy.
Learn about testing and treatment for GBS bacterium.