Due August 2021 - the final countdown!

[Daffodil21]

Continuation of the previous thread.

All newcomers welcome!

Not long now!!!

@PurplePansy05 yeah I’ve had bare nails and no tan for weeks just in case 😂 a girl at my appointment has GD and was told she’d go first since they always go first. Didn’t realise that was the reason though. She was being kept in the night before as well

Oh that’s interesting about shaving, I’m seeing the midwife tomorrow and was going to shave in the morning for my bump measurement but I guess I shouldn’t! I haven’t been told any of this, nothing about nails etc either, only know from what we discussed in the thread before!

Makes total sense GD mums go first. I just hope I’m not last of the day, especially if it’s hot, won’t be great not eating or drinking for the whole day!

@wimbler congratulations!

@lucyrp glad to hear that everything’s fine

I’ve been asleep since 830 and now abruptly rather awake with bloody pains and cramps galore so up and rocking on the ball. DH is on permanent edge and is just being irritatingly PRESENT and hovering, I’ve told him if he carries on he’ll be the one needing to go to hospital 🤦‍♀️😂

And it’s so MIDGEY here and the cat is being a needy bastard who is fuming with me for not being in bed how he likes.

God I’m a joy atm 🤦‍♀️😂

@Inmypjsagain I feel an absolute low point of my life is going to be lying there while someone shaves me and my partner is just awkwardly sat in this room with us not allowed to leave and come back due to covid 😂😂

Am I the only one whose trust allows partners 24/7? And 2 birth partners on delivery suite so thankfully can have DH and my Doula! I'm feeling very lucky!

@lucyrp glad to hear everything is OK with your baby.

Those of you that are having planned c-sections/inductions- can I be nosy and ask why? Seems there are quite a few in this thread! (Not judging at all, genuinely curious and slightly jealous of having an end in sight!)

😂 @sarah13xx I hadn’t thought of that!!!!!! I hope the sheet they put up might maintain our modesty?!?

@Ava50x that is lucky! I think my husband can stay with me in the recovery ward and then limited to visiting hours, 3-7 I think? I’m having an elective c section- I put off having a baby because I didn’t think I could get through child birth. Period pain makes me faint, I don’t think I’d cope with childbirth. I did a hypnobirthing course and nct, read books and really tried to change my mindset but the thought still panicked me. Both my mother and grandmother had long and difficult births, bad recoveries and incontinence issues. I have a good friend who had a forceps delivery that damaged her uretha and it honestly seems like everyone I know with babies, with the exception of 2, ended up having an emergency section. The 2 said if they did it again they’d elect for a c section because they both went over due and wanted an end date. I’m sure it’s a case of the people I know were unlucky, and like Wimbler has shown, she had a quick birth with gas and air! But I think the stat is 1 in 4 end up with an emergency c section, so at least I have some control of going into a planned one. I also didn’t like the stats for the amount of women who get tears etc. I am petrified I might go into Labour before my section date and have to have a natural birth…. Anyway that was really long winded but basically I’m scared and my way of dealing with the fear is to try and have an element or control in it! I’m thankful there is an option to elect for a c section, if there wasn’t on the nhs, I’d have gone private. Sorry the essay!

@Ava50x no planned c section here and also jealous of all these end dates in sight and I'm having to wait for her to be ready!

39 weeks today! Thankfully my horrid rash has gotten better with cream and my cold is better and I actually slept last night so feel a bit too awake just now.

@Ava50x

• My son's increased size due to my gestational diabetes, currently skme measurements are estimated at nearly 42 weeks as I said earlier today. Section or early induction are the safest options for him;
• Early delivery is also recommended in the above circumstances due to increased risk of stillbirth. Mine is even higher as there is history of stillbirth in my immediate family;
• Knowing from the history of my recurrent miscarriages, I am hypersensitive to prostaglandins, meaning that the hormonal induction was never an option for me (and since it could keep going on and on, it would defeat the purpose!).

So all things considered, it was an obvious decision for me. xx

@Ava50x I should also add I’m really scared of the section too, being awake for the op, having to have the injection and cannula, the risk of haemorrhaging, the recovery, but at least I know what to expect to extent. Whichever way this baby is birthed, I’m scared of the process!

Actually, whilst I get having a set date is helpful, to some extent it isn't, please don't forget there are some other concerns that arise with the section which don't necessarily arise otherwise if things progress naturally, including baby's lungs' maturity. So there are pros and cons of each option and everyone chooses the safest I believe. Our circumstances are different.

@Inmypjsagain You're right, these are some of the other risks, however they are usually higher with EMCS in particular than planned section, as I'm sure you know/read, so please don't get yourself overly concerned now xx

@Daffodil21 me too, at one point it seemed like an over night thing 😅

@Aaaaa1519 thanks, me too 🥰

Just wondering with the GD ELCS / inductions what is the main reason for this ? I thought it was down to size ?? Or is it more so so that baby and mum don't get poorly ?? I only ask as a friend of ours was due the same time as me or roughly a week after and was induced this week at 36 weeks and gave birth to a 7 pound baby, yet at my 36 week growth scan baby was weighing 6lb 15oz so only one ounce off 7 pound which made me panic slightly ?!

@Inmypjsagain well I had hoped they’d shave me at that bit so the screen is up but the nurse seems to do it in the wee room at the start which I wasn’t expecting 🙈

@Ava50x my reasons for a section is very similar to @Inmypjsagain
I have the most severe lifelong fear of birth to the point I’ve almost got an obsession with it. I had basically ruled out having kids because even the being pregnant bit I wasn’t sure I’d manage (it’s turned out sooo easy in comparison to what I thought)! My number one phobia on earth has always been the birth though. I have had friends with similar horror stories which have just added to this I think but I’m not sure whether the original fear game from, I can even remember as a child my aunt had a section and I thought ‘that’s what I’m going to have’. So strange for a child to think 😂 I’ve spent probably thousands of hours doing research before getting pregnant and only committed to it once I was sure I could have a section approved. There was just no possibility on earth any single fibre of my body would consider it otherwise. The idea of a section still terrifies me, I’ve never been in hospital for anything before! But the element of control over the date, time, process etc really helps how anxious I am about everything. I haven’t even told many people IRL mainly because I don’t want their arguments for why I should have a vaginal birth (when that’s never going to happen anyway) since that conversation will just make me more anxious. I told a woman at work at the start and she gave me all her opinions on it and I thought I’m telling no one else 🙈 so my partners family don’t even know. It means people give me advice for labour etc though and im just having to sit there and nod 😂 they can find out when he gets here!

@Ava50x, I have induction booked at 38 weeks, however if at my appointment on Monday the baby is still breech then this will be changed to c section.

We had a late loss last year and at the post mortem review with our consultant early induction was recommended in any future pregnancy. This is because I have a higher risk of stillbirth both due to my history and also due to a diagnosis of anti phospholipid syndrome (which I didn’t know I had until I was tested after the birth last year), so in my case, once the baby is considered to be term, the medical advice is that they will be safer out than in. As @PurplePansy05 says, everyone’s circumstances are different, and whilst I have seen some arguments against induction, given my increased risks, I am happy to take the medical advice and wouldn’t want to take any chances with the potential risks of leaving baby in past 38 weeks.

@lucyrp As I mentioned above, it is the size but relative to your frame and prior obstetric history. So if your friend for example is taller/slightly larger than you or if for example you've had a similar size DS beforr this wouldn't necessarily be a concern at all, it's all relative.

But size is only one of the considerations with GD. The risk of stillbirth which is increased is the key consideration for not waiting until 40 weeks. With GD as well you ought to remember that unless it is well managed, babies tend to grow at a faster rate than an average baby so if they kept your friend's baby in say for as long as yours it's highly likely hers would actually be a fair bit larger at birth.

There is also a concern that the longer they remain exposed to high glucose levels the worse for them, for example there are clear links to diabetes and obesity in life and also to poor outcomes immediately after the birth.

It's very difficult to say what your friend's circumstances were. I was told when I had reduced movements at 37+ weeks that they would consider bringing the section forward immediately if this happens again and to keep a watchful eye, even though my GD is now, fingers crossed, under control. But the stillbirth risk is of equal concern as size in my case, also because with recurrent miscarriage it is higher to begin with, it's 1.7 times higher than an average women with no MC history or with less than 3. xx

@PurplePansy05 see this is where I'm
Worrying though as I have previously had a baby at 8lb 1oz so anything up to 8 and a half pounds I'm okay with, but DS did come at 38+5 so once I reach anything past 39 weeks I will be panicking no end. The thought of going over that and going to 40 or even 42 weeks is scaring the shit out of me. I didn't tear or anything with DS and had a great birth and the midwife keeps saying I'm more likely to be early with this one as I was early before but what happens if I'm not. And I'm the opposite of wanting a c section or induction as I really want my local midwife led unit birth. At 37+2 I'm starting to realise I'm a little bit scared as I know I've got to get this baby to come by the end of next week or I'm in trouble 😖xx

It's interesting to read everyone's stories on here though. I am of a view that if someone wants to have a section just because or to protect their pretty vagina, it's their body and their choice and it doesn't need a reason. I know some people believe it needs a medical/MH justification, it doesn't for me personally. But IRL you sometimes get people to assume automatically that your reasons are "trivial" without knowing the full details. Trivial or not, it's none of their business to judge, not their body, not their baby. But the truth is we often bury the real reasons and don't want to talk about them. They are obviously very personal, I get it. But I also think if we as women were straight with people about this, the perception and attitudes to childbirth would be different. FWIW, I can't fully step in anyone else's shoes obviously but your stories have been an eye opener even for me .

I had a situation yesterday, one of our builders whose wife is also due soon asked me a straight question out of the blue "So how come are you having a section then?". I felt taken aback by it, it came from a POV that his wife wasn't having one as we talked about it before (we only explained it in the context of mine and DH's availability now and next week). But since the question was straight and with a slight tone of surprise/judgement? in it, I told him straight "I have GD, my son may die or rip me apart for good if we wait too long, so that's the safest option". Obviously it was a dramatic answer, his face was a picture 😂 One of those shit, I regret I've asked now reactions 😂 But it serves him right. I've been open about my struggles before particularly with people who are nosey/quick to judge and then end up feeling uncomfortable, it's this attitude that needs to change in particular IMO. xx

@lucyrp Hey Please don't be too scared. You might not "be in trouble", s/he might make an appearance soon, and you've already delivered a larger baby and have muscle memory and experience some of us don't. I have no doubt you and baby will be absolutely fine ❤ If you're worried though and think baby will end up too big, would you want a chat with your midwife about the delivery? For example, I have two FTMs with slightly larger babies from my NCT class, one with a booked induction, another one with a booked c-section past 40 weeks, just in case they don't deliver vaginally before (which is their ideal scenario). I know you'd prefer the latter too, but would having a definitive end date in case you go over help at all? It is possible to arrange this if so? xx

I don't think it's weird to think about the type of birth you'll have as a child. I was ten when we did Sex education in year 6 and watched a video of a woman giving birth in a birth pool. I immediately said I want to give birth like that when I have a baby. Haven't ever actually had a water birth! Maybe I will this time? I'm a lot more open minded and go with the flow about this one, I think I've kind of had to be.

For me I would never judge anyone having a section even like you say "just cause" is a good enough reason, when I had an operation to repair my half severed finger a few years ago, they offered me the choice of general vs local anaesthetic. I initially thought I wanted local, but after speaking to the doctor about the risks and what would be involved with both I decided general sounded better for me, and it was.

The only thing I would worry about is that somebody choosing a c section might not be aware of the risks, but that's a conversation for anyone to have with their medical team, and there is a problem culturally as well where it's really hard to compare risk because we're not really taught to do it, but also because the information isn't particularly clear. So you get info about all these bad outcomes of c section but no separation between those done for medical reason vs those done electively, and even worse no separation between emergency and planned. So while there are risks of a section some of the stats are actually just outcomes of a high risk birth and not the section itself.

Likewise the risks of a vaginal birth are often given just taking into account births that end vaginally, which is silly! If I'm at high risk of an emergency c section then it makes sense to me to just start off with a planned one. This is never really mentioned in risk comparisons. Neither is the pain/experience of birth itself or the uncertainty. But you have to put everything on the table and let people pick up on what's important to them.

I'm not too worried about a big baby. I don't really know why but I think because every birth story I've heard with big babies seems to be "he just delivered himself" or "much easier than my smaller baby".

@PurplePansy05 I know I keep trying to tell myself it will all be fine but we all have expectations even if we try not to don't we, so in my head I think they'll be ewrly with a lovely birth like last time but recently I've tried to talk myself into thinking that might not actually happen just so I'm prepared but it's not proving great for me 🙈 I did think I would chat to her about it at my 38 week appointment next week and see what she says about my feelings. It is definitely possible to arrange but means rather than giving birth 20 mins away in my local town midwife led unit I will have to go to the hospital an hour away where I went last night. The actual hospital doesn't scare me as I have had good experiences most times I've been there for birth and other things. It's just the huge difference in distance and staying in etc after without OH where as we could go home after 2-6 hours together at midwife led unit. Xx

@BertieBotts yeah I get that and the whole "gravity will help!"

You might not have to stay long afterwards, even in a hospital. A lot of places are discharging early now because of covid. That's really inconvenient about the placement though. They really should have designed that better :o

@BertieBotts my transfer time from the midwife led unit if anything was to go wrong is 3 times😬

3 hours sorry!