yet another question about induction

[AnnVan]

Ladies who've gone overdue, if your cervix was still thick, hard and shut tight like a clam at 6 days overdue, did you go into labour before being induced??

[RaggedRobin]

not for my first. even after 3 days on prostin gel, i still hadn't dilated. doctor manually dilated me at 40 + 13 (without asking, i might add!)

however, with my second, i hadn't dilated by 40 + 6 and they tried to book me in for another induction, and i firmly told them i didn't want it. this time labour started naturally at 40 + 10, the night i had been due to be induced.

[Kaybeeand2boys]

Nope, went overdue twice, first time induced and ds1 arrived at 40+10 and second time induced and ds2 arrived 40+12

[ataraxis]

RaggedRobin - how did the doctor dilate you without asking (if you don't mind me asking)?

[K999]

Was induced first time round and point blank refused the second time....it is your choice - you can refuse to be induced if you want to. i poted for an elective second time round.

[ataraxis]

On this subject as well - surely if you 'need' to be induced, it means your body and/or your baby is not ready? If it is forced, how can it be good for either of you?

[ChukkyPig]

I was induced at 42+1. Still clam-like.

[RaggedRobin]

ataraxis - the doctor came round to do an internal examination after the 4th dose of prostin gel. after the examination he said, "still no change"

he asked if i'd had colposcopy, said there may be scar tissue, put three fingers in very forcibly and said, "well, you are 3cm dilated now."

not a pleasant experience.

i COMPLETELY agree with you that my body was not ready. i only got really angry about it after my 2nd labour with dd. it was such a wonderful experience because i was allowed to wait until my body WAS ready.

[AnnVan]

Thanks ladies. So not much chance of labour stareting before next saturday then really. mybe I'll delay it. the mw did seem open to the idea although it will mean going in daily for monitoring.

[aquariusgirl]

try reflexology?

[ChukkyPig]

AnnVan who knows what will happen. You could go into labour tonight!

From a very personal point of view, if your midwife is OK with you delaying things to see if you go into labour naturally, I would do that. It's up to you in the end though!

Have you done all the stuff that they say helps? Pineapple, raspberry tea, curry, sex, long walks, driving over bumps in the road etc etc?

[ataraxis]

Hi annvan - was beginning to worry about you...

I had a very interesting chat with MW today - who said county policy was to induce at 42 weeks because of increased risk etc etc. To which I replied, yes, but on what basis is the risk assessment decided, what were the stats, how was the control group monitored etc. She basically said yep, tis an accepted thing in the UK but a lot of it is guesswork as you couldn't have a control group on something like this... seems to be that people who challenge it and actually ask the questions do refuse the induction.
Clearly it is an unknown (as they don't let it happen very often and I doubt they keep regular stats of those who do refuse as it would damage the 'policy'). Great big hmmmmmm from me on this one. But obviously you have to make your own decision and it also depends on how much longer you are prepared to go on for.
But there is still a week, and it could well happen in that week in any event.

raggedrobin . Am horrified at that.

Chukky - I am 41+2 and have honestly tried everything (with the exception of caster oil) so am now a firm believer that those things only work if you and baby are pretty much ready anyway. Or maybe it is a conspiracy by the pineapple growers/tea makers/takeaways/men (can't think of something for the others) to make us have loads of (delete as appropriate) .

[ChukkyPig]

Hi all

Raggedrobin I just read your post about the 3 cm dilated doctor and am horrified. How awful. I really feel for you.

Ataraxis not long now! I suspect that all the curry eating and pineapple and walks is to take your mind off things. Like you, I believe that they come when they are ready.

If I was doing it again I think I would go further along. I was induced at 42+2 but I really don't think it would have been a problem to leave it a week or even more.

There is a lot of evidence that different ethnic groups have slightly different gestation periods, although they don't know why yet. It seems that people genetically from colder climates have longer gestations, maybe to put some more fat on the baby before it pops out into the cold. Also women aren't all the same even within an ethnic grouping. The one size fits all of 42 weeks is an over-simplification in my view.

[Skybluebelle]

All, I was induced last Wednesday at 42 weeks, which was 2 days later than the consultant advised. Had alredy had 2 sweeps - at first cervix was closed, 2nd was 1cm dilated but remained that way for next 5 days. Had one prostin and a sweep before waters broken and syntoxin drip started, at which point I was still only 2cm dilated. I really wanted a more natural birth and was really upset about having to be induced. However the induction was actually a very calm experience and nothing like my expectations, so good luck to all those who are going to be induced. Oh, and have an epidural before the syntoxin drip....

[AnnVan]

I have decided to wait and see how I feel at the end of the week if nothing has happened before then. I might defer induction for a few more days, after all, my cycle is virtually non existent so we can't be sure of my dates at all really. Maybe the bumpy just hasn't had quite enough cooking time yet. I won't decide just yet though, I'll wait and see how I go I think.

[Boobz]

Do all those who have an induction end up having an epidural?

[MrsMattie]

Not all, no@Boobz, but there is good evidence to suggest that induction is more likely to lead to a 'cascade of intervention' ie. epidural / forceps / ventouse etc. It's not inevitable, though.

[AnnVan]

A lady from my ante-natal thread posted her birth story today - it was exactly that a 'cascade of intervention'including a botched epidural and infection for her and baby. the more I hear the more I think I'll try and wait another week and hope that something happens naturally.

[lollipopmother]

Could anyone explain to me why an induction tends to end up with other interventions, I've got to make a decision soon whether I have one or not and I'm not sure. Thanks.

[mummytoava]

Hiya, i was induced at 10 days overdue, just had one prostin gel and sweep. I managed on just gas and air plus my tens machine (I know some people dont rate them but worked well for me). Unfortunately after 2 and half hour second stage labour I ended up with episiotomy, forceps delivery with retained placenta so had to go to theatre for manual removal of placenta. So bit of an ordeal Two other women were induced at the same time as me, one lady had epidural but no other intervention and the other had natural birth. So everyone got a different story to tell.
If I had my time again I would have been tempted to wait a bit longer to see if I could have started spont.

[Sycamoretree]

Nope, I'm afraid even after three prostin pessaries, several sweeps and a week of contracting in hospital on and off, at 40+13 they eventually put me on the drip, and when that didn't work, I ending up with emergency c-section. Erm..I was a bit tired by then!

Turns out DD all tangled up in her umbilical cord, 8 times around her legs actually, so even though cervix eventually was soft, there was no pressure from her head to help with dilation, or some such. Not that 7 different doctors could even agree on whether the head was down fully or not (only the bloody midwives were right, bless em, not that the dr's were listening). Bitter much? Me? Oh, no no no

Maybe reason for more interventions when induced is because possibly if you're overdue, that immediately puts you in a category of women with a higher percentage chance that something isn't completely right (not saying dangerous) and so more induced women end up with say, c-section? I'm not being very clear, but I mean to say, women who do have something a bit wrong, like me, will go overdue. So it stands to reason that if you're overdue, induced, you might be one of the unlucky ones with an issue that requires more intervention. Good luck - I'm sure everything will be fine.

[AnnVan]

Well, I'm now 11 days overdue! Come on baby...

[Sycamoretree]

Oh AnnVan, I do feel for you. What are your midwives/docs saying - how long will the "allow" you [tut emoticon] to go withouth inducing?

Hang on in there....and I'll stay on this thread in case you need more geeing up.

Mine was a different case, but I wish I had insisted on a scan when things got this far overdue (or paid for one frankly) because they probably would have seen what a tangle DD was in and I'd have been spared a week on induction followed by Emergency C-section .

How's your BP? Is everything fine other than your LO liking the comfort of your tum?

[AnnVan]

Ah thanks sycamore - BP is fine, main problem is the inability to sleep until I feel sick from tiredness - I'm a tummy sleeper, and had restless legs before pregnancy, the only way I could ever get legs comfy was lying on front, which obviously isn't an option right now! Well I'm seeing mw tomorrow, so I might ask about a scan, because I've heard from several people that if bubs is not quite in the right position, it doesn't push on the cervix and trigger labour. I am scheduled for induction on Saturday, I'm still debating whether or not to refuse though.
it's possible my dates are quite badly out as I normally have a very very irregular cycle anyway, and I'd just had m/c followed by one period before conceiving again, so who knows??

[Sycamoretree]

Well, that was exactly my situation with DD, she couldn't descend properly because of having the cord wrapped round her legs a hospital record breaking 8 times. It wasn't dangerous for her, other than there was only one way out and that wasn't the natural way.

I insisted on scan with DS, but they would have done it anyway cos of history. They measured him, he was a whopper and I had too much fluid, so they insisted on c-section. I was pretty devastated to be honest, as was so desperate to "do it properly" but when it was all over, I realised I wasn't really bothered at all. I cracked the BF second time round and that seems to heal a lot of old wounds.

I'm also a tummy sleeper - I couldn't sleep without my big V pillow I got from John Lewis - do you have something like this? You may think it's a bit late now but anything to help you get a bit more sleep before the big push....It's like a really long sausage pillow filled with microbeads. I used to lay on my side cuddling it - my top leg rested on top of it, if you see what I mean. I saw me through to pregnancies, hospital stays and feeding newborns (even used it when formula feeding DD as both babes were heavy at birth).

It's hard to know when to refuse an induction - you'll be better informed if you have a scan. I had high BP, so they started inducing at 40+ 7 - I actually eventually had her by EC at 42 weeks. After being put on the drip in the end. I guess they needed to go through all that to realise she wasn't coming out, but it's a shame because it exhausted me and she ended up in foetal distress - hence the EC.

Maybe give the pillow a try, but also try and get scanned before you have to try and put your foot down about induction - it's emotive - I had done NCT course and was so indoctrinated enthusiastic about a natural birth that I don't think I had great perspective on what might have been best for safety of me and the DD. To be honest, I felt like a failure for having (literally) every intervention on the planet, and then ending up with a section. I was literally blubbing on the floor of the antenatal ward begging them to let me in the birth centre - it was like being barred from the most precious club in the world!

So I suppose I'm saying, stay focussed on the birth you want, but get the information you need to make the best decision for you and your LO.

[AnnVan]

Thanks - don't worry I'm not that obsessive about a natural birth, but I am terrified of the idea of c-section, because I've never had any surgery (or even so much as and x-ray) and the idea just freaks me out! I know that baby has at least descended, because the mw said she can't even feel the head any more, just the shoulders! So it's definitely down there.
Didn't do NCT classes, as you have to book so early! we moved to this area too late to do it, and now I'm quite glad I haven't done them.