Has Anyone Else Had More than One Preemie Pregnancy?

Yes i have my first one was a little girl she was born at 27 weeks but she was to small to make it she lived for 2 days my next one was a little boy he was born at 36 weeks he made it just fine. they never could tell me why.

Hi K. - I have had 2 premature pregnancies and 1 miscarriage. When I had my miscarriage, I was 3 1/2 months pregnant and the doctor I had at the time gave me no reason as to why I suffered a miscarriage. A couple of years later after trying for a few months to get pregnant, I found a wonderful doctor and told him all my history. Once I became pregnant with my daughter and had my first ultrasound, the ultrasound tech said "Oh wow - you have a bi-lateral uterus!" And I had NO idea what she was talking about. My doctor explained this to me and said it is a condition I was born with -- not something that just happens along the way. My uterus is basically split in to two with a wall down the middle ...which means I only get pregnant in one "side" and therefore only have 1/2 a uterus for the baby to fit in. He knew immediately that I would be high risk for pre-term labor. He also explained that this is most likely why I had a miscarriage the first time. It was SO crazy to me that with my first pregnancy-when I miscarried, the doctor or ultrasound tech NEVER saw this at all. Maybe it was a difference in technology or something, who knows.
Anyway -- I went in to labor with my daughter at 29 weeks but we stopped the labor for 2 so she was born right around 31 weeks. 4 years later when I became pregnant with my son, my doctor said I would probably carry a little longer since my uterus had stretched before, but that I would most likely deliver early. They began giving me stereoid shots at 27 weeks to help his lungs develop more quickly. He was born at 34 weeks.
I still want another child despite knowing that I will be at high risk again for pre-term labor...probably even more so now since I am older, but if your doctor is prepared and you can have a sense of what is behind it - it makes things a little easier.

Your doctors are probably right that they would've picked up on any abnormalities already -- BUT, you can never be to sure in my opinion. I had quite a few ultra sounds before they ever saw my "condition". Sometimes it just takes a different set of eyes, I guess :) Anyway - I really hope you are able to find out what the cause is so you can have peace of mind :)
Hope this helps!!

I actually had 2 preemie births. Mine weren't as early but still hard. My first two kids, one boy and one girl, were exatly 4 weeks early. Both had to be in the NICU for a little while. The doctors said that it was unrelated and just a coincidence. Testing was done on my Uterus and everything was fine. My third baby, a boy, was born 3 weeks early and was a big baby and perfectly healty. My OB said that some women's bodies just won't carry babies as long. I know for me, I'm very short and petite. The doc said there was just no more room for the babies to grow. I'm actually pregnant now with my 4th and very interested to see what happens this time. I hope you find out everything is just fine.

I had two preemies. Both Born around 33weeks, but both incredibly tiny. My daughter only weighed 1lb 9oz. We know what caused my son's prematurity: I had a cyst on my ovary that began to feed off the placenta. He quit growing, the cyst was bigger than he was. My daughter, on the other hand, never grew. They said my placenta didn't develope. I was told that if I wanted to have another I should get some genetic testing. I'm on my third (not planned) and so far everything with this one is fine. He is actually a little bit bigger than gestational age.

K.,

I didn't have preemies, but I also worked with a nurse who specialized in prblem pregnancies and I saw her work "magic" by simply educating women on what to eat during pregnancy.

She had me do the "Bradley Method Pregnancy Diet". This isn't a weight loss diet, this is a diet that will give you and your baby enough of the correct nutrition to support their growth and your health.

I could tell you story after story of how just eating the correct foods kept women out of the hostpital and off of bed rest, etc...

I hope this helps,

K. B.

Hey Christie it has happened to me as well. Neither of my children survived. I've had the HSG as well as a cervical ultrasound. Nothing was determined to be the cause from either. I've chopped it up as divine intervention in my case. Sometimes there aren't any causes. As i travel down this road again currently, I had myself throughly checked for peridontal disease and infection to be sure. Currently no causes.

I had one preemie due to dehydration. I was lucky with my second pregnancy; despite the chances of having another preemie being higher, she was full-term. My firstborn son was only 3 lbs. 10 oz but my daughter was 7 lbs. 6 oz! I wish I had advice, but if they're not finding troubles, count your blessings and be glad. It sounds like you're doing well! How are your babies now? Sounds like they're doing great. My little three-pounder is now a sound 8-yr.-old.

I had preeclampsia that resulted in my second daughter being born at 30 weeks. Afterwards we were contacted by the March of Dimes because they are focusing on premature births (this was 5 years ago.) You might try to contact someone in that organization to see if you can talk with a researcher. Also, the doctor that runs the NICU at UAMS is Dr. Arrington and he was very helpful when we had questions.

I have a friend that had 4 of her 5 children prematurely. Her oldest was fine, but the next 4 were all premature (between 32 weeks and 36 weeks).

As far as Group B goes, It's supposed to be a required test these days. At least it was for all 4 of my children (and we used 4 different Drs and practices), but I don't think that's supposed to have anything to do with premature babies, at least most of the time. I had group b with my last and it was never even mentioned.

You are not alone! I, too, have had two preemie pregnancies. Now my first was said to be due to a very bad car accident I was in that started preterm labor. I was in and out of the hospital for 17 weeks before giving birth at 37 weeks. My daughter was only 4lbs. and 9 oz, because she had stopped growing in utero. She never went to NICU and is now a healthy 3 and half year old. Then last year I was pregnant with my son and started going through the same thing, but no one had an explanation. He was born 5 weeks early, after numerous stopped labors, weighing in at 4lbs. 13 oz. but once again breathed on his own. He almost died because of the cord being wrapped around his neck and I had an emergency C-section. Now he is 9 and half months and already weighs 21 pounds! The doctors told me the same thing as you, and that there was no guarantee that I would ever be able to carry a baby full term or even to the point of surviving if I chose to have another baby. We do plan to have one more in a few years, but we will see what happens.

i have 3 boys the first one was born at 36 weeks and the second one at 35 weeks and then the 3rd one i went until my scheduled c section at 38 weeks the doctor said that have no idea why the first two was early and the 3rd one when all the way..and i think if i wasnt scheduled to have the section at 38 weeks,dont know when he would have been born becaus i felt fine no contractions or anything..

if i'm calculating correctly your first child was about 3 months when you got pregnant, correct? perhaps having 2 pregnancys so close had something to do with it?

K.,
Both my children were preemies they are age 16 and 13 years at this point late after I had my first we found out I had group b strep apparently its not to uncommon but it is not looked for either so you have to ask for the test.

My kids are vastly diffrent my youngest preemie gestational age is my over achiever straight A's with opening a book and in 6th grade she was rerading and comprehending a junior in college level materials and was skipped 2 grades we did not want to skip her to much because of the social aspect of growing up. Then there is the other hand my son raised the same has many malides he has adhd bipolar, oppisitional defiant disorder, epilipsy, spelling,reading, and math learning disabilities with limited social skills, he is also borderline mentally retarded.... he spends all day in the special education rooms at school he is reading on a kindergarten level and is in the 6th grade. we have his work modified to help him learn at his style which is auditory and hands on. we do not allow him to use his disorders to get out of anything he is responsible for his behavior no questions asked.... there are times that the disorders manifest him into a major panic attack but that is part of the bipolar we just ask him to take a break calm down and try again...

where i am getting here is just because your children are preemies they can have dramatic lives both paths are a journey and well worth living to see my daughter the overachiever i know when she graduates school she will move away asap but i know my son will need more life coaching (he is also my teddy bear) he enjoys the simple things in life a big hug where my daughter is into very material things she thinks the higher the price the better it is

the one thing i learned when the kids were small was read read read to them talk to them face to face as often as possible to build the communication factor they will need in kindergarten, ya see i am already planning for after graduation even at 13 for my son as he will need the most help in his start outside the home

with preemies ya have to plan the next major life event as new challenges arrive so you are prepared before the events arise.

some like i said i had group b strep and found out later i had a friend who also tested positive for group b strep in preterm labor they gave her antibiotics and the baby arrived on schedule

i know this is long i am sorry hope it helped
S.

No I've not had a preemie, I'm still trying to get pregnant, but I noticed you loved good wine. I am an independent wine consultant for Wine Shop at home out of Napa Valley, CA. I do in-home wine tastings, personalized wine, and a fabulous two bottle wine club. I am a Pre-k teacher, but so this on the side. When you get a free moment, check out my website. www.simply-divine-wine.com

I have 3 kids. They were all born a month early. I am not sure why it kept happening. with my first son I had to be taken by ambulance to Tulsa (I live in Pawnee) to get the labor stopped.. They took me there because if I had the baby they had the NICU. With my other son I had the same thing, but flown to Tulsa.. and again with my daughter. All times I was dilated to a 3 when I got to Tulsa. I was about 27 weeks with all three of them when I had to get shipped to Tulsa. It sucks not knowing what is causing this and not being able to stop it from happening. My doctor advised me not to have anymore because the 4th one could come before it was developed enough to make it. They said they have a test that they can do when you are pregnant to determine if you are going to deliver early but I am not sure what it is called. I never made it to that point to get the test done. :(

Hi, K.,

There are some things that can start labor prematurely, like drinking fewer than 8 glasses of water a day (it really should be several more, but that's the bare minimum) or taking laxatives (even so-called gentler ones like aloe or flax seed). Large amounts of any fiber might do the same. Usually only larger amounts of any of these things would do it. There are also various herbs that are contraindicated for pregnancy because they can cause contractions and early labor. I can't remember what they are now, but I found a list in a book called The Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year. Ozark Natural Foods usually carries this book. It's a slim, salmon-colored book. You could flip through it and see if anything looks familiar. It's surprising. Even certain common cooking herbs, in large enough amounts, could cause problems. It turns out that I probably caused at least one miscarriage by juicing large amounts of parsley early on.

Good luck with everything! You've probably heard that lots of skin-on-skin contact and using a sling is really good for preemies, and that keeping your 4-month old away from people other than your nuclear family is really important - I think until about 6 months - to help prevent respiratory and other infections.

L.