Pregnancy & Baby 

Advertisement

Early engagement: Does this mean an early birth?

If the baby's head has indeed engaged, it could mean that early labour might follow or it may have no significance at all. I would really advise you to look out for any signs or symptoms of premature labour, do daily foetal movement counts and watch for any leaking of fluid. You should be checked - perhaps as often as once to twice a week.

If I discovered that a baby was more deeply engaged into the pelvis than I would expect, I would take a careful history of any contractions, leaking of fluid, pain, cramping, fever, strenuous work or activity, bleeding and other symptoms.

I would check for any contractions, either with my hand or with the external foetal monitor. I would perform a cervical examination to see if any effacement or dilatation had occurred and I would reassess the engagement from within. Sometimes babies fool us and seem engaged on the outside but are not when the actual measurement is made on internal examination.

If any early effacement or dilatation had occurred, of course, this necessitates cultures, perhaps medication, hospitalisation and/or bed rest. I don't mean to alarm you as this may mean nothing at all.

Discuss your concerns with your doctor and ask him or her to give you a better explanation of the consequences and the plan.

I wish you the best and hope you have a peaceful delivery nearer to your due date.

Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon

  Get the latest iVillage news on your desktop    Sign up for more iVillage RSS feeds

© iVillage Limited 2000-2008. All rights reserved. | © iVillage inc. 1995-2008. All rights reserved.
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB