Everything to Know About Premature Labor

Pregnancy, a concept that might as well be the inception of life itself, comes with its own share of pain, misery and other medical matters that is making many think twice before opting for a child. There are times when the baby grows too fast, and there are times where the body is just too weak to handle the burden. This might sound anti-Semite, but the truth of the matter of pre mature labour is getting a lot more common these days. Now, if you are well read about this matter, or even have read about it to any extent, then you know that the chances of a premature baby to survive are low. Therefore, in this blog, our job is to answer the question- what are the causes behind premature labour?

 Premature labour- the definition

This term has a straightforward definition. In normal cases, the pregnancy normally lasts for 40 weeks. However, due to some form of complication or other, labor can be induced a bit too early. This induction of labour before the appointed time of delivery is the very definition of premature labour.

Premature labour the causes

During the introduction, we hinted upon the reason of the titular condition using few words. However, the matter related to the causes of premature labour is not a matter to be taken lightly. Therefore, let us look a lot deeper into these causes in the following points:

1. Separation of placenta from the uterus during pregnancy: There might be an unfortunate case where the placenta is separated from the uterus. When that happens, the yet to be born baby has nothing to latch on to. An imbalance resulting due to this fact causes premature labour.
2. The cervix is nor competent: There is a time for a cervix to be opened. It is one of the reasons that kegel exercises exist, to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic organs. However, if the cervix is not competent aka is weak; it can open up and then causes the birth to happen before the appointed time.
3. Hormonal changes: Now, as for the above reasons, they are not quite as common. However, there are cases where the hormonal changes stress the woman and the child enough to induce premature birth.
4. Infection: Infection can cause enough turmoil in the uterus to induce premature birth as well.

However, the causes should not be your only concern, for there are some risk factors that you should take care of as well. These risk factors include the following:

1. Smoking
2. Alcohol consumption
3. Hyper tension
4. In Vitrio fertilization
5. Under weightiness
6. A short term between pregnancies
7. Blood clotting
8. Usage of illegal drugs
9. Lack of social support
10. Domestic Violence
11. Exposure to certain types of chemicals.

Signs and symptoms of premature labour

Now that we know the cause, it is time that we find out about the signs and symptoms that you might deliver the baby pre term:

1. There is a periodic sensation that your abdominal region is tightening
2. There is a constant low and dull back pain
3. There is a feeling that the pelvis and the lower abdominal region is being pressurized
4. There is a mild vaginal spotting
5. The vaginal discharge is now bloody and  mucus like
6. Preterm rupture of the membranes.

Make sure that you do not ignore these signs and symptoms of premature labour. Therefore, if you are encountering any of them, it is for the best for you to seek the right treatment for the issue.

Treatment of premature labour

It is high time that we a dived into treatment of premature labour. These treatments not necessarily delay the delivery, but they make sure that the delivery goes on in a healthy way where the mother and the child both are safe. There are two kinds of treatments that are provided in this case:

1. Medicinal treatments: While we have laid stress that the goal of the treatment is to make sure that the baby is safe during delivery, the medicinal treatments allow the gynaecologists to stop the labour in its tracks. These medicals are:
   1. Corticosteroids
   2. Magnesium Sulfate
   3. Tocolytics
2. Surgical procedures: The surgical measure to deal with pre term delivery due to short cervix is called cervical cerclage. In this surgical procedure, the cervix is closed up until 36^th week of the pregnancy.

These treatment measures can help you in your have the case of preterm childbirth. The only time these treatments are administered if the risk factors suggest that such an issue is possible.

If you want to know more about these treatments or any other matter, you can get in touch with our experts and they will lead you to the best gynecologist in India.