10 days overdue, midwife has just been to see me and it was thoroughly disspiriting

[QueenOfFlamingEverything]

Am 41+3 with DC2 - DD1 was born at home in 12 hours on the due date - this baby is stubbornly OP despite my best efforts with getting him/her to turn round.

She tried again to do a sweep and as was the case last tuesday (at 40+5) my cervix is still 'long thick and tubular'. She still can't even get a finger in to do the sweep properly.

I feel so disheartened. She said that the 'local limit' is term+14 and that I will be expected to go in for induction on thursday. I know thats 4 days away but I just feel like this baby is quite comfy and isn't going to turn. Is it possible to go into labour if the head is still bobbing around not putting pressure on your cervix? What else if anything can I do to encourage things/baby to move along - have tried sex, bumpy car rides, 2 mile walks, days of OFP techniques, sleeping propped on pillows as recommended on spinningbabies, the lot it seems. And to no avail.

I am scared of being induced

TBH, I would not go for piddly induction techniques with an OP, non-engaged baby. You are asking for problems.

The last few days of pregnancy are important in getting your baby into the best position. If your baby does not settle into a good position, perhaps it can't and genuinely needs medical intervention. If you go into labour with a high head, there is a chance that the cord will prolapse, which becomes a medical emergency.

One thing you can do to encourage turning is to crawl around on your hands and knees. There are other things you can do to encourage turning. That should be your focus rather than to worry about inducing labour.

Don't worry too much. I was told that no sweep was possible at 41 weeks (cervix too tightly closed) and went into labour only a few days later.

Yes, it is possible to go into labour when baby isn't properly engaged. My babies don't seem to be able to get properly into my pelvis so they float around a bit but labour started both times. No cord prolapse issues as my waters have never gone by themselves (perhaps because of those bobbing heads).

Believe me it has been my focus for some time now. I have been spending hours on end every day on hands and knees or draped over birth ball.

The thing abut inducing is just going on what my m/w is saying - that local protocol is to induce at 42 weeks. She doesn't seem overly concerned about the baby being OP, she is of the opinion that it will turn when labour starts if not before. I'm not so sure myself but have no better ideas than to continue with OFP and hope for the best.

acupuncture?

Even given the protocol you really don't have to be incuced in 4 days (unless there is a reason specific to you that suggests it would be best).
They can leave the baby there, monitor you closely and give you a bit more time to start naturally.

Oh yes I know I can refuse anything I am not happy with, I have agreed to go in for monitoring only so far on thursday. But I do have to take into account the fact that we are very rural and 22 miles from a hospital, and I am the only driver which makes going for regular monitoring a bit difficult and means I have to think carefully about transfer times if I am going ahead with an HB with a OP and overdue baby. As of today BP/urine/baby heartbeat are all 'perfect' in m/w words which is good news.

Head is 4/5 palpable or 1/5 engaged, whichever way you look at it, so not totally free and bobbing but not really down either.

I am going to ring about acupuncture tomorrow, m/w suggested it, just worried about the cost.

Neither of mine were engaged when I went into labour - and DD was actually still free at around 8 cm dilated. We had to wait for her to 'come down'. Cord was not an issue because she was down enough if that makes sense - not swimming madly.

i'm also getting induced on thursday & very scared

What is scaring you, Jenny?

The thing to remember about induction is that there are so many levels to it.

I was induced and I was a bit nervous of it (although not particularly scared) but if you go into labour after one pessary then it is really not that bad at all, and probably not very different from a natural labour (this is my memory of the first 4 hours).

The only time it gets hairy is when they start talking about ARM and syntocin drips - in this case ask for an epidural before they do it because it definitely makes the contractions stronger.

Also, I would negotiate a little on the induction date if you can and try and get maybe one or two days extra. I am sure that the more ready the baby is, the easier it is for you.

My midwife was unable to do a sweep when I was 41+1 with DS because of my 'unfavourable' cervix. Induction booked ad my hoped-for homebirth looking unlikely, I waddled despondently home.

DS arrived the next day!

So don't despair. And there's some good advice on induction here if it does come to it. Good luck.

Would also second acupuncture or candling on your feet (moxibustion) to turn baby. Needs to be an experienced practitioner though. As Mme RedWhite said: maybe your baby does need genuine help rather than induction techniques which will see more interventions happen. Can you ask for a second opinion?

After my sil's recent experience I would be very reluctant to go through the hoopla of induction if the baby is not in a good position. She stuck it out for 36 hours and got to about 4 cm - then a c-section. It turned out her son was a big lad, op and very firmly wedged, he would never have comee out by the vaginal route. I know it's hard to accept but if you've tried everything and he hasn't budged - well there's probably a reason for that.

All mine were born by the vaginal route, but I did have complications in one pregnancy (breech). From the research that I did, I came to the conclusion that there were only two options - letting nature take its course with a spontaneous labour and birth, OR to go the c-section route.

OP - don't worry too much about an induction. I too had a stubborn OP baby and I was swimming for two hours every morning in the vain hope it would do something...

Ended up with induction at 41 weeks, I had the full gamut of pessary, ARM and syntocin and managed to get to 7cm before really needing an epidural. It was honestly no where near as bad as I thought. I think a lot of scare mongering goes on with inductions tbh. I found it to be a very positive experience, one which I would do again in a heartbeat. While I was monitored, I could still stand, sit on a ball, move around etc

Bizarrely, DD1 was trying to turn as she descended and ended up coming out sideways! And also there was not a forcep nor ventouse in sight, and no tearing either!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's not the end of the world.

I was booked for Induction on Sunday 1st August and was really disappointed that this was how my baby was going to be born. I was classed as term plus 14 but by my own dates I was pretty sure I was closer to 3 weeks overdue and didn't want to wait any longer. Like the OP my baby was not engaged, in fact he was completely ballotable. I had had 2 sweeps, resulting in a show and contractions which didn't sustain. DS was also laid towards my back although not completely posterior. I thought as this was my second child that labour would be guaranteed to start on its own and be far likelier to occur earlier than the 4 days over I went with my DD and so I was thoroughly fed up to go this far over. By 12 days over I just became resigned to the fact that Induction would happen and at last all would be over. I expected to be given the Gel to ripen my cervix but found that on examination I was already 3.5cm so ARM was the route decided. Other than the necessary internal examination being uncomfortable the procedure itself was fine. It was necessary for the MW's to apply pressure to my abdomen to push the baby into my pelvis to avoid prolapsing the cord as my waters were broken. I had begun to have contractions again before this was done, about 4 minutes apart, but this was something that had happened 20 times in the last week before they had stopped. As soon as my waters were broken the babies head became fully engaged and the pressure on my cervix jumped my contractions to 2 minutes apart immediately. I sat on the birthing ball for about half an hour and after 50 minutes I had a shot of pethidene to help take the edge off the pain. DS was born 25 minutes later. My first baby was born after 27 hours of completely exhausting labour, resulting in a second degree tear and weeks of discomfort. DS was born at 6:11pm on Sunday. Tiny 1st degree tear needing no stitches, minimal grazing and swelling which is already almost gone. I was showered, dressed and ready to leave by 7:30pm. Home to my own bed the same night. This was a completely different labour, and extremely intense but in many ways much better than my first. Be positive, ask for whatever pain relief you need and look forward to meeting your baby. Good luck to everyone on this road!xx

i'm 41 weeks today and getting induced tomorrow with the prostaglandin gel, SOO NERVOUS :O is there anyone out there to give me reassurance and tell me about previous experiences?? tell me its not as bad as it sounds ..i thought the sweep was very painful so how the hell am i gonna cope with being induced?!? has it got anything to do with how relaxed you are when they do those examinations and insert the gel? like if youre tense does it hurt more?

They will examine you before hand and may even sweep you again, but should ask if this is ok. I think the gel is introduced via a tube much like using a tampon and shouldn't hurt at all. You'll then have to lay still for about an hour to avoid it running out and you and baby will be monitored on a machine during this time. You'll then be encouraged to walk about or bounce on a birthing ball to encourage things along. Hopefully, this will start your cervix to dilate and contractions will follow. If this works there is no reason why labour can't then progress naturally. If after 6 hours nothing has happened you will be given a second dose of gel. All examinations are easier if you can relax. I know this seems scary but it is all worth it and probably far less worse than you think. Good luck Jenny. Let us know how you get on.x

I would ask for a scan to identify where the cord is. If baby is not engaged because he/she is wrapped p in cord, then I would refuse inductiona and as for planned section because it certainly beats an emergency.

I was once told that the cord could not have been seen on a scan, and was later shown that claim to be a big fat lie.