Am currently 36+1 weeks pg with DC2.
About a month ago at 31+4 I paid a visit to maternity triage on a Sunday evening because I’d been bleeding- not fresh blood but dark brown, but wanted to get it checked anyway. Whilst they were doing the speculum exam the midwife remarked that quite a lot of fluid was coming out- I mentioned that I’d been having the odd small trickle for a few days but not huge amounts, and I’d dismissed it as runny discharge (apologies if TMI).
Because of this the midwife concluded that my waters had gone early, and I was admitted for 48 hours as there was apparently a 60% chance that I would go into labour in that time. On my notes the volume of fluid that was lost was estimated to be 40-60 ml. I was given steroid shots to help boost baby’s lungs and put on a 10 day course of antibiotics.
Very early the next morning I was transferred to delivery as I’d been having tightenings, roughly 4 in 10 mins- by the time we actually got round to delivery it had settled down and in hindsight this was more than likely just BH. Otherwise it was an uneventful stay.
I had a scan later that day that showed there was still plenty of fluid around baby, and it’s looking to be a good size. Have been coming in to hospital for regular CTG checks which have all been fine, I’m taking my temperature twice a day which has never gone above 36.9°, bloods and urine have all been normal and baby is wriggling like an octopus so generally, everything seems to be going exactly as it should be.
However due to this suspected PROM (which I’m still dubious about) the “plan” is to induce labour at 37 weeks. The reason for this I’m told is because baby is considered full term at this point and the risk of developing an infection increases from 0.5% to 1-2%.
I really, really don’t want to be induced for several reasons.
I don’t want to force my body into labour, and force the baby out, before either of us are ready.
My birth with DS was rough- I tried for a water birth and was in the pool for a few hours (after waiting 12 very painful hours to progress from 3 to the all-important 4cms when they finally moved me to delivery), eventually after 21 hours of labour and at least 8 hours of agony I asked for an epidural but by that time I was fully dilated so it was no longer an option. 2 hours of pushing followed, but in the end DS was delivered by ventouse with me on my back, legs in stirrups and an episiotomy. Turns out he was back to back, which nobody realised until his head was out. So I was rather hoping for a slightly smoother experience this time around.
If it comes to needing the drip I know I’m going to need an epidural, so that again means no water birth, and an increased risk of birth injuries and instrumental delivery. I am preternaturally terrified of forceps so this prospect scares me shitless. Also increased risk of the whole thing ending in EMCS which means a longer, harder recovery and will impact more on my ability to take care of DS and baby.
DS (aged 2) will be staying with PILs when the time comes- inductions can take days and I really want to keep the time that I’m away from him to a minimum.
All these concerns aside- I just keep thinking this “PROM” happened a month ago and they’ve been happy to leave us be since then, and that aside everything seems to be progressing well. All the checks and tests and scans and whatnot have been fine, perfect in fact- and the amount of fluid lost seems so small, and the level of risk so low, that I’m wondering just how medically necessary an induction really is.
I’ve got a scan tomorrow and am meeting the obstetrician on Monday when the “plan” will be finalised, so I need to gather my thoughts around this- on one hand, I’m not a medical professional and part of me thinks I should just go along with whatever they say because obviously they know best, but then I keep thinking they’re suddenly leaping to being super cautious at 37 weeks after leaving us to it for a month and all these other doubts come into my head.