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Pregnancy Bliss | Reproductive Health Hub

Pre-labour rupture of membranes

Question:  I’m 39 weeks and i have been trickling water since yesterday what could this be? K.O. (UK)

Answer: The picture I’m getting from your description of the situation is that you have pre-labour rupture of membranes. Even though you are 39 weeks, there is no guarantee that labour will ensue shortly. Because prolonged membrane rupture increases the risk of infection, you need to contact your local maternity unit straight away. They will invite you to come in and expect not to leave the hospital before the baby is born. That is, unless you are found not to have ruptured membranes

Anti M antibodies in pregnancy

Question:  What is Anti-m found in the plasma of a pregnant mother, what are the risks; what causes it and what is the treatment? G.T. (UK)

Answer: We have discussed the issue of antibodies that can be found in the mother’s blood and which could be significant in the main section dealing with this topic. Anti-M antibodies occur along similar principles. Each individual has these protein components called antigens and there is a whole variety of them. M antigens are just one type of these. A pregnant mother might carry antibodies which can potentially react against M antigens. Those antibodies are what would be known as anti-M antibodies. If the father of the unborn child has M antigens, it means the fetus has the possibility of inheriting these from him. In theory, the anti-M antibodies in the mother’s blood can cross the placenta and attack the M antigen carrying blood cells in the fetal circulation. In reality this is quite a rare occurrence. It is therefore the case that haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN) is very rarely caused by anti-M antibodies. In those rare cases where there is evidence of the fetus being affected, management follows along the same lines as we have discussed here: If a mother is found to have anti-M antibodies, the most straightforward initial test is to check whether the father carries the M antigen. If he does not, the fetus is at no risk and further monitoring of the antibodies is not required.

Breaking hymen integrity

Question:  Can hymen be broken with one finger or not? L.

Answer: Whilst it is not impossible, it is difficult to break the hymen with one finger. The size of any finger and the moderate elasticity of the tissue that constitute the hymenal ring mean a finger is, in most cases, likely to pass into the vagina without causing rupture of the tissue. However, it is important to bear in mind the fact that the size of the vaginal opening with an intact hymen varies and in some cases this is so narrow that a finger could potentially cause a break when inserted through. However, this is unusual.

Pre-eclampsia and induction of labour

Question:   can woman go into labour induction if she is having pre eclampsia? J.D. (Bhutan)

Answer: If I understand your question correctly, you want to know whether the pre-eclampsia condition can trigger the onset of labour. If that is your question, the answer is generally No. Pre-eclampsia does not normally lead to labour onset. However, if you want to know if doctors should consider inducing labour if a woman has got pre-eclampsia then the answer is yes. If the condition is progressive and not well controlled, both the mother and the unborn baby’s lives may be at risk. In such a situation, delivery is the only logical step to take. If vaginal delivery is feasible, induction of labour should certainly be considered sooner rather than later. This is specially the case if the pregnancy has advanced beyond 34 weeks.

Brownish vaginal discharge in pregnancy

Question:  I had a pregnancy test that came out positive but two days ago i started seing some brownish discharge and latter accompanied by blood and the next day it came back to a brownish discharge and i am worrried about it. i need help. C. (UK)

Answer: You have not said whether you performed a pregnancy test because you had missed a period and, if so, by how long. However, it appears you are having a threatened miscarriage. Other early pregnancy complications such as an ectopic pregnancy can also present with a brownish vaginal discharge before you feel any pain. The best thing to do is to contact your GP or the local hospital’s early pregnancy assessment unit where a proper assessment, most likely including an ultrasound scan will be performed. This needs to be done promptly. Best wishes.

Legal status of a surrogate child/mother

Question:  Can the surrogated mother  refuse to give her child to contracted parents? then what is the legal status of contracted parents? D.M.

Answer: Laws regarding the rights of the various parties in a surrogate parenthood arrangement differ from country to country. In fact, in places like the United States, these laws differ from State to State. You therefore need to check the details for the relevant country. We have touched upon these for a few countries in our main section on this subject. You can reach that section by clicking here:

Striving to gain weight in pregnancy

Question:  I am 24 years old women I am pregnant of 2nd trimester and my BMI is 17 so how can I gain weight for the next months? What kind of nutrition do I need to have? B.H. (Ethiopia)

Answer: A BMI of 17 is clearly low as you correctly observed. However, you need to be careful not to plan your diet for the primary purpose of putting on weight. You have not said why you are underweight. If you eat normally and still remain that way then you do not need to worry yourself unduly. That is the way you are. If you are underweight because you have problems eating properly then you need to make a special effort or even see a dietitian. It is important that you have a healthy well balanced diet giving you all the necessary nutrients. The advice for you in this regard is not in any way different from any other person. Just make sure you get enough proteins and carbohydrates. Avoid multivitamin supplements which may contain Vitamin A.

Role of anti-D in pregnancy

Question:  Can i know more about anti D vaccine and the administration and the side effects, if any ? D.M. (Nigeria)

Answer: As explained in the main section on this subject, anti-D injection should be administered to all Rhesus Negative pregnant mothers. This will protect them from developing anti-D antibodies which could potentially affect babies in future pregnancies. Anti-D is administered routinely at 28 weeks to all pregnant mothers who are Rhesus Negative in the UK and many other countries. Anti-D will also be administered if the woman has a vaginal bleed during pregnancy.  Anti-D is a natural product obtained from donated blood. It is free of side effects.