Any midwives around to answer an induction question?

[itsonlysubterfuge]

I was induced with a pessary and I had a question about it. I know it was the fast acting vs. slow release pessary. It was 8 years ago so I can't remember exact times.

The midwife came in and inserted a pessary. A short while later, she came to check on me and nothing was happening so she inserted another pessary. I can't remember the exact time, but it was between 1-2 hours after the first one. (My DH remembers it being less than an hour) Soon after I started getting really intense, painful contractions.

I was doing some research the other day and read that the dose of the pessary is 1 every 6 hours. Is it normal to give 2 pessarys in less than 6 hours?

I'm happy to give more background information if it's needed.

Not a midwife but did you request your notes afterwards from the hospital? Might be worth it.

No that is definitely not normal, is in breach of guidelines and the midwife's NMC Code.

Can I suggest you contact the Head of Midwifery in the first instance outlining what happened to you. They will pull your notes and investigate.

@CoveredInBeeeees I did request that the midwife go over my birth with me as it was quite traumatic and she just fobbed me off. I've requested my notes from the hospital now, but I they might not have kept them.

@Blastandtroph I thought about this, but I'm worried they won't believe me over the midwife. I thought of contacting PALS, but I wanted to read my notes first, so I have contacted the medical records and requested them.

OP an allegation such as you are making will definitely be taken by them seriously. You may not have been the only woman affected. A debrief may be a beneficial part of this process for you and I'm sorry you felt fobbed off at the time. Usually it's recommended to wait a few months for a debrief but this incident has obviously and understandably been playing on your mind for a long time now. PALS is another good option but rest assured they will take you very seriously. Also maternity notes are kept around 25 years if I remember correctly.

Also OP in your notes will be a drug chart, the midwife will have had to document what times you had the pessaries, so if you pull your notes you'll be able to see exactly the timings.

If she knew she was doing something wrong by giving me too many pessaries, why would she write it down? I know it will be taken seriously, but why would they believe me?

I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the information yet. I think I may wait until I hear about my notes.

I don’t understand what her rationale would be for giving two pessaries. I wouldn’t even expect a prostin to be doing anything after an hour so that’s really strange.

With all due kindness and respect - I would just say 6 years is a long time and often people’s perceptions of timings etc can be quite skewed. By all means ask but I wouldn’t jump to assuming wrong doing x

A Propess pessary may have fallen out and needed replacing. Prostin gel should have at least 6 hrs between them.

@BadAlice The only reason I can think of is that they were incredibly busy and she wanted me to labour faster, or it was a genuine accident, I don't know.

@vinoelle You are right, 8 years is a long time. However it was increidbly traumatic and I believe I may have PTSD from it. I spend night after night going over what happened in mind, trying to find out if I could have done it different. There are inconsistencies in the time, in that I don't remember the times exactly, which is why before I make a complaint or anything I want to read my notes. I don't think I'm wrong though.

@FloMoJo Maybe it could have fallen out, but I don't think so. I was wearing underwear, trousers, and not moving around.

My appointment time for induction was 10am, the first pessary was inserted shortly after I arrived. I remember thinking how quickly they got it. My DD was born by EMCS at 10pm that same day. I didn't start contractions until after lunch, which was at noon. I started contractions after the second vaginal examine she gave me, where I remember her giving me another pessary. Which is where I'm getting the times from

Thank you all for your comments.

To those who were wondering, I finally got my notes.

My midwife has written down that I received Prostin at 12:55. As you can see from my last post, I said I received the second dose sometime after lunch (which was at 12:00). My husband and I both remember this as my second dose, but it's only written down that I received 1 dose. I'm not sure what to do. Why would they believe me, if I said I had received 2 doses, if the midwife only wrote down one?

Just thought I would update the people who had commented orginally.

Thanks for reading.

Could it be possible that the first examination was just a cervical sweep OP rather than the pessary?

I’m not sure whether it’s a case or whether they’ll believe you or the midwife if you were to make a complaint, she will likely not remember either way but it may make you feel better to get it off your chest regardless.

It doesn't matter if you feel like they would believe you if you knew what happened I'd still take it further.
Definitely not right I was induced in July 2019 and pessary was every 6-8 hours

@MrsWhites I could be wrong, you are right. My husband remembers it the way I do as well, which helps me to feel like I didn't imagine it.

@SpillTheTeaa Thank you, I'm not really sure where to tkae it though. I think I'm going to get some advice from Healthwatch because that is what the citizensadvice recommened on their website.

Are you sure the first wasn’t just an examination to feel the cervix? Then where you think you got the second dose was actually the first? That’s what happened when I went for an induction, it took a couple of hours to put my first presser in as the ward was busy and it hadn’t been prescribed yet. Could it be a similar situation?