2nd pregnancy after special needs baby.. Tell me they can induce me..

[Passthebiscuitsvicor]

Apologies if this is long winded..

I'm pregnant with number 2.. It's early days but I'm already feeling physically sick about the baby/childbirth.
Our first is 29 months and such a joy. She has overcome hurdles and continues to prove doctors/family/friends wrong.
She was born at 42 weeks weighing 4lbs 15 so we immediately suspected something was wrong. Our happiness at our new found parenthood was shattered when we learned our darling daughter had an extremely rare condition. She was born without any eyes. I can't begin to explain the rollercoaster of emotion we were forced on but 2 years on we are utterly in love with our girl. She is unbelievable and watching her play with her friends you wouldn't know she is blind.
We always planned for 2 and I know she'd love a sibling. However I'm so anxious about this next baby. If your baby has no eyes it's not just a case of having a blind baby, its a long haul of regular surgeries to stretch the eye sockets, without doing this the head can become deformed and cave in on the brain. Our mite has had 22 surgeries in her little life and I'm unbelievably worried that I couldn't cope with that all again. Deep down I know I would just have to cope anyway but is love to be able to enjoy my baby like everyone else.
I just wonder if I could be induced at 37 weeks? Has anyone been allowed this/heard of this? Scans aren't good at seeing eyes. No amount of scans in the world would reassure me. I just want my baby in my arms so I can enjoy/prepare for life as soon as possible.
I should add my first labour was the worst experience of my life. No pain relief, back to back, forceps, then to top it off I burst in so many directions it took almost 3 hours to stitch me back together.

[lauriebear]

First of all, I'm sorry I can't give you a hug, you sound like you have so much going on in your mind right now you could really do with one.

I've had an induction (42wks+1), that led to an unplanned cs. You don't say if you had an induction the first time round, but if you didn't I can share my advice from my experience with you; if it's not medically necessary please reconsider. It sounds like you had a traumatic birth before and having an induction can be a real lottery, the contractions are incredibly strong and it can go very quickly and then stall, or it can take a long time, in either case it often leads to more interventions and can be very scary and exhausting. I joined a number of support groups after mine as I 100% believe it was the cause of my cs, which was equally upsetting. I wouldn't wish a traumatic birth overwraught with pitocin and other interventions on anyone but sadly induction will massively increase the chances of you having an unplanned cs and more likely lead to a more painful birth with more interventions. "The business of being born" is a great film that demonstrates how this can happen.

That said, if you just want peace of mind and control over this birth, perhaps you could request a planned cs? It may give you the peace you require, the preparation time and the chance to plan for this birth more readily without fear of going over due. Several of my friends for various reasons had planned cs the second time around and not one had a traumatic or unhappy experience including those with previous unplanned cs.

A planned CS is a much safer option than an early induction, 37wks although term is certainly not medically "ideal". www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10652

[Passthebiscuitsvicor]

Thank you for the reply. I was inducted with my first and was horrible. Although if they had given me an epidural like if requested then I feel like it would have been to traumatic. I didn't need the drip to speed the contractions up as I went from 2cm-10 in around 20 minutes. Still gives me shivers thinking about it!
Thank you for all the info x

[Jcb77]

Second the wishing I could give you a hug. :-(. You've had a horrible time of it.
I can completely understand your wanting your little one in your arms as soon as possible - so you can KNOW that things are ok, rather than just hoping. Totally normal, totally understandable. However, 37 weeks is a bit early. Yes, it's considered 'term', but only just. Those last few weeks for a baby that isn't ready to come yet can make a difference. You've waited so long already, another couple of weeks that might well be better for your little one will be worthwhile. It won't (as I know you know) make any difference to whether the syndrome is there again or not, but might make breathing problems and other problems less likely.
As for induction, it does not make you more likely to need a c section if you are induced at term - the most recent paper suggests that it might actually reduce the chance by up to 12% (April this year, Canadian medical journal). You are more likely to have other interventions though, including epidural an instrumental delivery, however the likelihood of needing them depends on the reason for induction and by no means rules out a vaginal birth.
No labour can truly be 'planned' or predicted, but if you're after a vaginal birth (which will probably be a quicker recovery than a section) then going into labour yourself, or at least being induced closer to 40 weeks will probably give you and your LO the best chance of a good delivery and post natal period.
Hold on. Those last few weeks will fade to nothing in time but might make a real difference to babe.

[Passthebiscuitsvicor]

Thank you all got the replies. I'm considering an elective section now.. My recovery with dd was almost 3 weeks and that was a 'natural' delivery. I'm reading lots of positive stories about sections so def something to consider x