In labour - need urgent advice!

[Ineedadvicee]

Well.. kinda in labour, kinda not!

Waters broke 27 hours ago, arrived at the hospital shortly after they broke but contractions failed to start. The hospital said that if nothing happens in 24 hours (24 hours after works breaking), they will start the oxytocin drip to get things moving. Apparently they can only allow 24 hours as you are more prone to infection once waters have gone.

Problem is… the 24 hours are up but there are no beds on labour ward so they want to take me in for a c section. I’m gutted because I haven’t even been given the chance to try for a vaginal birth… of course I need to follow their advice but it seems so unfair that the reason for the c section is purely down to lack of beds, not because of anything medical?

I don’t know what to do…

Major abdominal surgery that comes with serious risks are not "great" to someone who doesn't want one.

I would take the c section. I would be concerned that waters going but labour not starting is a sign that intervention is highly likely. Can you have a quick google of the hospital stats on assisted births?

For me a c section would be a preferable option to induction but I appreciate everyone is different and it’s incredibly poor that your choices are being dictated by hospital resource.

I hope whichever way you give birth that this is over soon for you and will be a distant memory with your baby in your arms.

Have the section. For lots of reasons it's better - better for the baby, better for you.

I don’t mean to scare you at all and I’m not sure how common this is, but my ‘hind’ waters broke (aka they broke but not fully) on the Tuesday, I didn’t get it checked until the Thursday because I was expecting a proper flood and thought I was just weeing from having a massive baby on my pelvic floor. Baby born on Friday but he was quite poorly and had to go to NICU. (He’s fine now.) I would go with the section personally or a transfer, as others have suggested.

You’ll get to meet you little one soon :).

OP, so sorry to read that you are planned for an EmLSCS just because there are no beds? That's really weird. I can't imagine that that is a normal pathway or guideline.
If there were beds would you be tried with oxytocin? If yes, then you need them to ring around and get you a bed in another hospital. REGARDLESS if it is beyond 24hrs.
They should start you on antibiotics and get you to a hospital.

Lack of beds in L/ward, is NOT an indication for EmLSCS.

I am so sorry this is happening to you. This is not okay. C/section is a major operation. It can not be choosen for a patient without clinical reasons.

Please, ask to speak with a consultant or a senior registrar.

Thing is you are not really going to know what is best to do. Awful situation for you really. I can see the pros and cons. All of us posting are obviously influenced by our own experiences. I wish you all the best op.

Oh hell no! No no no. No way would I be letting them cut me open in this situation (and I say that after two sections). They need to monitor you better but leaving you stress in a hospital where they are telling you you’re on the clock and under pressure is a sure fire way to stall labour. You need to feel safe, supported, unpressured for labour to happen. I’d be asking to leave and have regular monitoring and temp checks. C sections are major surgery and it’s outrageous and I’m sure well against NICE guidelines too.

It is what it is, not like they don’t have a bed on purpose? For the sake of your baby and getting an infection just do the section.

Personally after 24 h the chance of a c section ate already huge anyway and I very hour they are gone the risk to the baby increases . I had this with my first and then went in to try cavity bal a further 2 days , eventually he was born , the most traumatic birth ever . It f I could go back I would have the c section

This. I'll always find it astounding that they don't tell pregnant women the actual risk percentages. Nor that infections tend to be triggered by foreign objects entering the vagina, rather than just spontaneously developing.

I had a similar birth to you with my youngest, terrifying. Thankfully i have a reasonably healthy 11 year old now.

OP i think you need to ask how long the wait is for an induction and how long for a c-section. Having to have a c-section because of a bed shortage is shocking but in your current situation i would be wanting to do whatever gets baby out quickest.

Surely if there's a bed for you to go to following a c section, there's a bed for you to go to in labour!

Of course only my experience - but having had a drip induction which ended in EMCS, I’d never be induced again. Regardless of beds, if it’s really that vs ELCS I’d go for ELCS every time. I know drip does work for some people, but my gut is that if labour hasn’t started in 24hrs, the baby just isn’t ready to come (mine was similar, I SO wanted to give myself a chance at birth, but the whole thing was just so medicalised and felt like a CS - or at least big intervention - was almost inevitable from the moment the drip went in). It’s painful snd exhausting and you should definitely find out about drip failure rate at your Trust before starting… because ELCS must be 100% better than EMCS post 24 hours on the drip!

I’d go for the section.

Might be a bit late for a virginal birth...

I also had a much better experience with my elective section rather than my emergency section after more than 2 days of labour. It took me a long time to recover from the emergency one! which meant having quite a major operation after days without sleeping. It was all a bit of a blur but they don't want you to eat if you might go to theatre and you get really tired after hours and hours of that.

We need the laughing emoji back. 😂

I’d do section over an induction that is likely to end in a section. Inductions are grim.

I was in labour but not progressing and got to 24 hours after water breaking. I didn’t want section. They gave me 4 more hours to try. Tiny progress. I kicked up a fuss again, they gave me another 4 hours. And then finally they hammered home the risks, gave me 2 more hours and then I reached 36 hours and I relented and had the section.

im still glad I stood my ground and tried to have my vaginal birth.

It really is terrifying. Good to hear your child is healthy now. Mine is too thankfully. He was ill all the time when he was little though and in sure that's why. My youngest has been to the gp about once a year if that.
I agree on sussing out what the wait time is for each option and getting baby out ASAP.

The other thing is that at the end of the day, the important thing is just to have a healthy baby and a well mum. I didn't have a vaginal birth for either of my DC but ultimately I wasn't really arsed about it, I didn't really feel it was a loss (I appreciate other people might feel differently).

I had a section after 48 hours, but it was an emergency one as the staff were not vigilant enough, baby wasnt going anywhere. We also then both had sepsis and spent a week in hospital. Not meant to frighten you op but the chances of intervention as others have said is now high. Wishing you and little one all the best. And p.s I had 2 more babies so it didnt put me off, but both elective c sections.

I hope you’ve gone for your c-section now ❤️

I’ve had four babies and preferred my vaginal births over the sections; HOWEVER- main thing was a healthy, safe baby. If I hadn’t had a section for one of mine, he wouldn’t have arrived safely. Take care and all the best!

I was in the same situation with waters breaking but labour not starting. Had the induction and it was pretty bad. I won’t scare you with the details but suffice to say I wish I’d had a c-section.

It's not right at all that this decision is being made based on bed spaces , but my SIL was left for around 30 hours with waters broken she and DN ended up with group strep b and sepsis, it was an awful time there were both very poorly. The hospital she laboured in has been heavily and publicly criticised for it's maternity services.
It's may well be fine, but is it a rush you want to take? I didn't want a section either, I ended up with a back to back induction because my waters broke really early, ds got stuck and I ended up with emergency episiotomy and ventouse, at least a planned section is calm and quick. You won't care how baby arrived once they're here. Best wishes with it all