Giving birth before the 37th week of pregnancy is called "premature birth". The "danger of premature birth" is the occurrence of strong uterine contractions twice in ten minutes (these contractions are felt as strong pain in the waist and groin area) along with dilation and thinning of the cervix, before the 37th week of pregnancy. The main causes are maternal blood pressure, heart, kidney, anemia, goiter, infectious diseases, malnutrition, smoking and alcohol use, frequent birth, previous premature birth, excess pregnancy water (polyhydramnios), multiple pregnancy (twins, triplets, etc.), cervical insufficiency, anomalies that narrow the uterus. Its rate among all births is approximately 10%.

How is it diagnosed?

In the beginning, there are contractions and cramps similar to menstrual period. These complaints turn into increasingly frequent pain felt in the waist and groin area. Some pregnant women confuse these complaints with gas pains and delay consulting a physician. In cases of delay, the chance of treating the risk of premature birth decreases. For this reason, pregnant women should be educated at the beginning of their pregnancy about the situations in which they should consult a physician urgently. Vaginal bleeding may also occur along with pain. There is an increase in vaginal discharge in approximately 40% of patients. During the examination, strong contractions originating from the uterus and the beginning of dilation in the cervix are detected.

For early diagnosis, pregnant women at risk must be carefully monitored and infections must be treated early in all pregnant women. In addition, pregnant women are 20-22 weeks old. The length of the cervix should be measured by ultrasonography during the 25nd week, this measurement is XNUMX mm. It should be said that the risk of premature birth increases in women whose birth rate is below XNUMX and should be closely monitored.

How is it treated?

First of all, patients must be hospitalized. A calm and quiet environment should be provided and they should be advised to drink plenty of fluids. Initially, approximately 1 liter of fluid is given intravenously. This measure can sometimes lead to pain relief. If the pain does not decrease, treatment to prevent premature birth (tocolysis) should be started. Cervical width 4 cm. This treatment will not be effective in patients whose blood pressure exceeds Therefore, early diagnosis and intervention is important. There are various medications that can be used intravenously (ritodrine, magnesium sulfate) or orally (nidilate, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, etc.) in treatment. These drugs have some situations where they should not be used and some side effects. Therefore, great care should be taken when choosing and using medication.

The most important problem in the risk of premature birth is the risks that the baby will face if born prematurely. The most common of these is respiratory distress. 28-34. In cases of risk of premature birth during the gestational weeks, steroid treatment is applied to the mother to contribute to the lung development of the baby in the womb and to reduce respiratory distress that may develop after birth. Especially babies born before the 34th week of pregnancy should be followed up in centers with very good neonatal intensive care conditions.

We wish you all a full term birth...