Words and a question

[feuervogel]

+800, 57825/90000

Question: One of the characters is pregnant, in her third trimester, and she had an as-yet-unspecified complication about 3 weeks ago story-time, toward the end of her 7th month. (I can change the exact timing.) I think it was probably early labor, which the doctors were able to stop. She's just had a huge emotional shock, and I need her for plot reasons to be taken to the hospital tomorrow story-time. Would early labor fit that bill? I'd rather not have something wrong with the fetus itself, because it needs to be born relatively healthy. She could initially have thought they were just Braxton-Hicks contractions, then found out she was wrong.

Right now, I have a bit of mental handwavery and "I'll get back to that later" where this plot point is.

Comments

[krait]

Erm, I am generally useless here - everything I know about pregnancy is either livestock-centric or else involves making sure it doesn't happen - but you might try asking at factfinding or the LJ comm Little_Details.

[feuervogel]

I had a couple suggestions over on LJ, though they were more serious complications than I was looking for. IDK, IDK... (Asking Little Details crossed my mind, though I may have too vague a question. Or be looking for confirmation that X would work/not be too far-fetched.)

[a-nightengale.livejournal.com]

Could be pregnancy-induced dilated cardiomyopathy (peripartum cardiomyopathy):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001240/ (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001240/)

If that sounds like something you can use, I know a few people who have it and can ask them for some specifics, if it would be helpful.

Edit--oooh, if she's just had a big emotional shock, she might end up with Takotsubo/broken heart syndrome:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/broken-heart-syndrome/DS01135 (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/broken-heart-syndrome/DS01135)

Broken heart syndrome usually resolves on its own in a week or two. PPCM is more long term and serious.

[feuervogel]

I realize belatedly that I should have specified that she's going into labor at ~35 weeks gestation, and she had something that was possibly early contractions at ~32 weeks (she thought she was miscarrying), which the doctors stopped. Her husband was just murdered, which I was thinking could shock her into labor again.

Maybe placenta previa, idk. Details blah.

[beth_leonard]

Pre-eclampsia is the first thing that comes to my mind, and the second is having a Placenta Pervia. That second link is to a great blog which talks about all the human factors of having it, and important colorful details like "throw away all your red undies." Multiple hospitalizations and the like are all possible.

--Beth

[beth_leonard]

Also, people who are talking about lots of baby birth details always talk about weeks not months, dated from the start of last menstral period, so the day of conception counts as "two weeks pregnant" of a standard 40 week pregnancy. Delivery before 37 weeks is considered premature. At the present time in the US, delivery after 32 weeks means spending many infant weeks in the hospital, but likely a just fine eventual outcome. Delivery before 32 weeks poses significant risks for developmental or physical delays, and 24-26 depending on your hospital is the absolute minimum for being able to end up with a live human leaving the hospital. Many babies born before 26 weeks don't make it.

--Beth

[feuervogel]

Pre-eclampsia is more serious than I want. Placenta previa might work, but that requires bed rest according to WebMD, which she isn't able to do. (Her husband is a miner, who works out at the asteroid 7 days on, 7 days off. And he was just murdered.)

It's ultimately going to result in premature delivery (in the middle of a chaotic event), which forces the MC to change her plans. (I probably should have specified that she's in the hospital for labor...) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/premature-birth/ds00137/dsection=risk-factors says that death of a loved one can trigger premature delivery, so maybe I'm not too far off.

Hmm. Must ponder.