Dr. Anjani Sachdeva

A preterm labour is referred to a condition when the cervix opens up within 37 weeks of pregnancy. An ideal pregnancy lasts for a span of 40 weeks. If preterm labour is caused due to preterm contractions, the baby is born earlier. This results in serious health risks for the baby. At times it requires long intensive care for the baby to ensure no mental or physical damage happens in the long term.

What are the symptoms of pre-term labour?
While some women show evident signs of pre-term labour, some women present symptoms that are more subtle. Some unmistakable symptoms of pre-term labour include regular contractions, sense of tightness in the lower abdomen, vaginal discharge, diarrhoea, constant backache, bleeding from the vagina, watery discharge from the vagina, pain in the abdomen and abdominal cramps. One or more of these symptoms should be immediately reported to the doctor to negate the chances of any miscarriages or serious complications.

What are the risk factors?
While there are no proven risk factors of preterm labour, lots of factors have been tagged with a pre-term labour. Some of the notable ones include:

1. Little pre-natal care
2. Premature birth in previous pregnancies
3. Giving birth to more than one baby at a time. This is especially applicable while giving birth to a triplet.
4. A stressful event such as a personal loss or events related to extreme emotions
5. Bleeding from the vagina during pregnancy
6. Any infection of the genital tract
7. Any complications related to the placenta, uterus and cervix
8. Any birth defect related to the vagina
9. Chronic health conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure
10. Putting on weight more than the recommended level
11. An excess of amniotic fluid
12. Consumption of illicit drugs or smoking at a heavy rate
13. The shorter length of the cervix than the normal one

What are the complications involved?
Pre-term labour cannot be stopped with any medical procedures. If pre-term labour is caused due to smoking or an infection, the same can be addressed. Any pre-term labour that eventually leads to giving birth can confront with complications such as low weight, problems related to the vision of the baby, behavioural problems and learning disabilities.

Diagnosis and tests:
A doctor will closely monitor the symptoms a woman is facing. In the case of regular contraction, a close look at the cervix helps a doctor to decide the condition of a patient. To be assured a doctor might recommend a full pelvic exam, ultrasound test, uterine monitoring, and maturity of amniocentesis. A test of the vaginal secretion further gives the doctor enough evidence about the possibility of a pre-term labour. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Gynaecologist.

Unique problem in dealing with age related spinal disorders is that degenerative changes (age related wear and tear) are very common and can exist without causing pain, while at the same time, some of them can be the cause of significant pain and disability in some patients.

• These changes can exist in multiple levels in the spine making it difficult to identify clinically, despite a thorough clinical examination, the exact level or structure that is the main cause of the spinal pain. The fact that they can exist without causing pain in many people compounds the situation. So, seeing an x-ray or mri of the spine is not enough to exactly identify the pain generator in the spine.
• In situations where there is spinal pain and there are multiple level degenerative changes seen on the mri, spinal injections are used as a test to temporarily block the pain from some structures in order to help identify the most likely cause of pain and help deciding further treatment plan accordingly.
• These injections are also used as treatmentof spinal pain (back/neck pain, sciatica) caused by a specific structural problem for relieving pain, while we wait for the problem to settle down naturally; and in those who are not responding to medication and physiotherapy. Another situation where injections are used is in patients who need surgery but cannot be operated for other reasons or want to postpone the surgery temporarily.
• Typically the injections are done under local anaesthesia, with the patient lying in an operation theatre with x-ray facility or in a ct scan console to help pass the needle to the exact desired location in the spine. A local anaesthetic alone or in combination with a steroid medication is injected. The target location may be the facet joints, si joints, disc or a near the nerve root.
• Many spine surgeons use these injections as a tool to help in accurate diagnosis as well as treatment of spinal pain world over.

Green tea is more than just green liquid.

It is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful effects on the body.

This includes improved brain function, fat loss, a lower risk of cancer and many other incredible benefits.

It is loaded with Polyphenols like flavonoids and catechins, which function as powerful antioxidants. These substances can reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protect cells and molecules from damage. These free radicals are known to play a role in ageing and all sorts of diseases.