Prima Baby's resident midwife, Nikki Khan will be hosting a webchat here on Monday 27th February, between 12-1pm.

An expert midwife for the past decade, Nikki will advise on all areas of pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn babies.

Don't worry if you can't make the time and date, post your question now and Nikki will answer as many queries on the day as possible.

I'm 35 weeks pregnant with my second child. I have been having growth scans due to a history of pre-eclampisa and my daughter being small for dates at birth (5lb 12oz, at 38 weeks). We had been told that her low birth weight was most likely due to the pre-eclampsia.

At my 28 week scan EFW was about 2lb 10oz, just below the 50th centile. At my 34 week scan EFW was about 4lb 6oz, which was just above the 10th centile, so according to the scans baby hasn't been growing as it should have been. I saw the consultant and she said that it could just be that I do not make big babies, but booked me in for a further scan and appointment at 36 weeks. I have so far been clear of any pre-eclampsia symptoms, which started at about 34 weeks last time.

Obviously I am a bit worried. My MW has said that they won't do anything unless the 36 week scan shows baby's weight gain has slowed more. But I am wondering whether it is likely that baby's weight gain will maintain on the same line, or will drop further. My daughter's birth weight was below the 10th centile so if this one is following the same pattern it might well show a drop, but this might be completely natural for me. Lots of people are telling me that the growth scans could be wrong, but I don't know anyone who has experienced a slow in the growth rate between two scans.

Hi Nikki,
I am 27 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child and I have a swollen bartholins gland/cyst which is not painful its just a bit uncomfortable. I have seen the doctor whom is of the opinion that the cyst may rupture during the strecthing of labour as they don't want to do anything with it at present but have suggested an operation, after the birth, to remove the duct all together. I'm therefore wondering how sucessful a natural labour can be with a bartholins cyst and if it does rupture during labour that any fluid from the cyst wont harm the baby. I am on my 3rd week of taking antibiotics (flucloxacilin) as the doctor wonders if the cyst is due an infection as i have a red spotty rash on my chest and a swab confirmed i have staphylococcus bactaria present.
The swelling is making me feel miserable - i've never had anything like it before and my first pregnancy/labour was a dream. 2nd time round i've had everything going so any reassurances/advice you can give me will be greatly appriciated as 3 weeks on antibiotics cant be good for baby.
Thank You so much in advance for your time,
Babyprincess_IOM

i am preganat with my 4th child my last child was born 1 hour 3 mins after 1st contraction to giving birth will the next time will it come as fast thank you

Hello everyone

My name is Nikki Khan and I am Prima Baby's Expert Midwife and am here from 12pm to help alleviate any concerns you may have about pregnancy and childbirth .

So am awaiting your questions and looking forward to chatting with you!


Nikki

Hi

Im 36 and 11 weeks pregnant with my 6th child. Ive had a viral cold/flu thing for a week with temperature and general cold symptoms GP says dont need antibiotics, will this hurt my baby ?? Im not getting better fast here!!

Thanks

hey nikki, i had a m.c at 5 weeks on dec 31st, i am not pregnant again about 4+3 weeks, im worried it will happen again, what are the chances, EPU werent very helpful when i had a m.c so i dont feel like i can go back to them with any worries or questions, dont want to book in to early with my own midwife as i booked in at 4 weeks last time then had to hand all my stuff back after m.c which wasnt very nice xx

i didnt know if its only 1 question per person but, after my m.c they said it was due to a bad urine infection and put me on tablets as had major sore back(thats all i usual get with a urine infection) ive now been put on Nitrofurantion antibiotics, this is my 4th day on them and i dont feel any different my lower back back still hurts 80% of the time xx

Hi all,

Nikki has had a computer glitch, but will be online soon and until 2pm to answer all your questions.

Thanks for your patience and enjoy the webchat!
The Babyexpert Team

Hello there Nikki. i have three children age 13, 10 and 3. My first was a ventouse delivery and he weighed 8lb 13oz, my second child was a normal delivery but with a retained placenta for which I had surgery for and she weighed 8lb 9.5oz, then my youngest was all on course to be a normal delivery but when I reached 10cms and started pushing the midwife noticed something wasn't quite right called the doctor and he discovered (after what seemed like a lifetime of pain whilst he tried to turn her manually inside of me!)she was brow presentation. They took me to theatre and she was born by emergency caesarean weighing 9lb 13oz. I also had bad varicose veins (on my lags, ankles and private area too it was called varicosities or something?? and had to use crutches and wear stockings for the last few months too) My partner and I are now wondering whether to add one more to our family and I just wondered if any of the above problems are likely to re-occur? I know all labours are very different and truthfully no - one knows or can predict what can happen but I've heard some problems are more prone once youve had them once, is this the case with a brow presentation baby, varicose veins or a retained placenta? and what causes them? oh and is there anything you can do to prevent them?? Sorry for this long, long piece but I like to give as much background info as possible. Many thanks Nicki. Take care. xxx

Dear A-Nonny-Mouse
I can appreciate your concerns. Slow fetal weight gain can be because the placenta is not working as efficiently as it should and this can be checked by an extra scan called a Doppler scan which will show whether the blood flow from the placenta is impaired. It is the blood flow from the placenta that supplies all the nutrients to your baby and can be a reason why your baby is not growing as she should be. It is likley that they may well do a Doppler scan at the 36 week scan, so check with your Midwife or Consultant if this is the case. If the fetal growth is still reduced, the Consultant may suggest a date for induction rather than let you go overdue with a small baby on board and will also monitor you closely over the last few weeks. However if the weight gain is continuing on the same centile your Consultant may decide to wait and see. This will need to be a joint discussion with your Consultant at your next antenatal appointment, as to what the plan will be. Have a chat to him/her and let them know your concerns so you can hopefully feel reassured. Also as pre-eclampsia is a -placental' disease, this may well be the reason why your first little baby small.
Good luck this time around!
Nikki

Hi all,

Nikki is still experiencing some technical difficulties but will continue to answer your questions throughout the afternoon once the problem is resolved.

Thanks!
The Babyexpert Team

Dear Babyprincess_IOM
I can understand that you do not want to take antibiotics unnecessarily whilst pregnant, but they will be actively preventing any transfer of the infection to your unborn child too, so they can be helpful, especially as you know that there is a known staphloccocal infection in one of your swabs. The antibiotics may also help the cyst diminish in size, so reducing the risk of it bursting during labour, so fingers crossed that it may not even be there at the time of delivery which is 10 weeks away! The Bartholins cyst itself should not cause any problems during childbirth and you are correct in thinking that surgery is likley to be carried out after the birth rather than before. There is always the possibility that the cyst may burst during labour but the antibiotics you are taking now will also give some immunity to your baby at birth in case that happens!
Hope that helps make things a little clearer!!
Nikki

Hi emma108pd
Unfortunately labours do tend to speed up and your last labour would be described as a -precipitate labour' if it was an hour or less, so very close! Quick labours can actually be quite a shock to mum and baby alike so not always as enviable as you might think! Every birth is different though and the length of labour is also dependant on the position of the baby and the size of the baby as most babies also increase in size in subsequent births. So make sure you get to the hospital at the first twinge as midwives would rather you have a few false alarms of being labour than miss the delivery! On a final note make sure your partner is aware that he will need to know the short cuts to the hospital pretty well by the time of your delivery! Good luck
Nikki

Hi Mumtimes5
As you may well know your immune system is suppressed when you are pregnant so you do tend to get most of the colds and flus that are circulating and the worst thing is the only thing you can take is Paracetemol! The seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for all pregnant women now and is perfectly safe, so talk to your GP about this. There is no evidence that the seasonal flu jab will harm you or your baby and it contains an inactivated virus which means you can't get infected from it either! If your flu symptoms are not budging and you have a persistent high temperature you should seek advice from your GP as you may be developing a chest infection which will require antibiotics. Also remember to increase your fluid intake and vitamin C content found in fruit and vegetables and these can help to give your immune system a boost too!
Hope you feel better soon!
Nikki

Hi lisabbeyuk
I thought I might combine your two questions as they are both to do with becoming pregnant following your recent miscarriage. For various reasons, both physical and emotional, it is not usually recommended to become pregnant until 6 weeks after a miscarriage. Unfortunately once you have a miscarriage you are more at risk of having a second miscarriage but not as high as you may have thought. Research undertaken by the Baby Charity -Tommys' indicates that you have a 19% risk of miscarrying again if you have had one previous miscarriage and no live births. There is no immediate rush to book in with this pregnancy and I can completely relate that you would not want to return your booklet etc. if the pregnancy did not go ahead. So wait till around 6 weeks when the date of your previous miscarriage has passed before going to see your GP. That is probably the first step for you! Urine infections can trigger a miscarriage and it is a good idea to stay on them if the urinary tract infection was confirmed with a specimen if urine. If this was not the case, it may be advisable to give a urine specimen to your GP to check if the Nitrofurantoin antibiotics are the correct antibiotics for your infection. Also increase your fluids to try to flush out the infection. If the urine specimen shows no infection, the backache may be muscular and you may need referral to physiotherapy, so ask your GP for further advice as your first port of call. Above all trust your body and make sure you get the appropriate help and advice early on this pregnancy.
Good luck this time around
Nikki

Hi annabelleeverney
Not exactly straight forward labours or deliveries you poor thing! Brow presentation is a very rare complication of labour and is thought to occur in about 1 in 500 labours. Having a brow presentation in one labour does not however, mean you will have the same thing with the next labour and it is often related to the size of your baby in relation to your pelvis , so a similar size baby may increase the incidence of recurrence. Unfortunately if you have had a retained placenta before there is an increased risk of it recurring in a subsequent pregnancy, but this is dependent on why the placenta was retained e.g. if the cord snapped etc, so discuss this with your GP and she can discuss the potential risk with you . With regards to the recurrence of varicose veins, they are also likely to recur due to the high levels of the hormone progesterone and the extra weight you are carrying when pregnant. Wearing special stockings from the first trimester may ease the discomfort and to try to rest as much as possible. The good news with varicose veins is that they usually disappear after the baby has arrived & then improve three to four months after you've given birth, so not all bad news!
Hope that helps and I apologise for the delay in getting this response back to you.
Nikki

Thank you to everyone for all your questions.
Delayed but signing off now ! Good luck with all your pregnancies!

Check out my website for more information on my Intensive Antenatal Classes.

www.nikkikhan.co.uk

Nikki x