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FAMILY HANDOUTS
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Preterm |
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How Will I Be Treated If I Have Preterm Labor? Sometimes preterm labor may be treated with rest and modification of your activities. You might need to increase your rest time. Rest on your side at least twice a day in the morning and afternoon. You might need to modify or stop work or school activities. You will need to discuss with your OB care provider or nurse how long your rest period needs to be. Many times bed rest at home is recommended. That can be more difficult than you could imagine. You will need to adjust many aspects of your life. The temporary reorganization of your activities might need to include stopping work, managing your household from bed, reorganizing your house, and assisting with the care of your children. An excellent book available to you that contains lots of practical ideas and answers to many questions is Pregnancy Bed Rest: A Guide for the Pregnant Woman and Her Family, by Susan H. Johnson and Deborah A. Kraut. Will I Have to Be Admitted to the
Hospital?
1. You may experience
a faster heartbeat, tremors, nausea,
2. You might experience
other symptoms, such as nervousness,
It is very important that you discuss the medications with your QB care provider or nurse so that you know exactly what you are taking how often you should take your medication, and what to expect with the particular medication you are taking. It is possible to receive tocolytic medication via a small pump that delivers the medication under your skin. The use of this pump allows for very small amounts of medication to be delivered more frequently. The feelings that you might experience can range anywhere from fear, tremendous guilt, to anger and frustration. Many women report feeling numb and helpless as the diagnosis is first presented to them. Many ask, "Why me? What have I done to deserve this?" Your expectations and hopes for your unborn child can often change into incredible fear for the health of your baby. You will probably always feel a sense of threat to the pregnancy and often wonder if you will be a mother of a healthy baby. You might at times |
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also feel inadequate because you might not be
able to maintain a safe environment for your baby. All of these feelings
are very normal and are very common in women experiencing preterm labor
or high risk pregnancy.
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The feelings of the loss of the "perfect pregnancy" and the guilt from believing that you somehow have caused preterm labor are experienced by many women. It is important that you understand that these feelings are very normal in your situation and that you are not the only person who has ever felt like this. It might be helpful for you to discuss your feelings with your OB care provider or nurse. The father of the new baby may experience the same fears and concerns for you and the baby. He is often asked to be the main source of emotional support for you and your family. Many fathers feel jealous and guilty at the same time. The feelings of jealousy toward the baby and your preoccupation with the pregnancy are many times accompanied by feelings of guilt over these feelings. Fathers many times will feel protective of their wives and at the same time anxious about whether they will be able to provide the care that their partner and baby might need. The effect of your hospitalization on your family can be tremendous. Family members might feel left out in the "high tech" care environment of the hospital. It is important that you enlist their care and support, as much as they are able to provide for you. It is also very important that you attempt to spend as much time as possible with your children to help them maintain their feeling of importance to the family. Discussion of all of your feelings between you and your partner as well as with the family is very important to the protection of your family unit. |
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Please submit any questions or comments to: BringingUpBaby.Com |
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lsb 05/12/2002
