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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

Aurgh, friend is currently being mismanaged in labour...

71 replies

PrincessPlumPuddingHead · 23/12/2005 09:22

well I think so anyway. Not due until 25th, but yesterday went in for check and they said "hmmm, baby not moving as much as we'd like, we think we will induce you". I immed said to dh "bollocks, they just want to clear her out of the way because they have a midwife shortage - they will try and induce her for days and caesar her in the end."

Anyway, 24 hrs after the 1st pessary she is still in hospital, still hasn't had a twinge, and they are still trying to induce her. WHY??? If there was any danger to the baby presumeably they would have caesared her by now. I just want to tell them to go home, go to bed and wait for the baby to come naturally. It makes me so angry. She must be very confused and a bit scared, it is her first.

Do you think there is anything I can tell them? I told them yesterday not to do ANYTHING unless a consultant looked them in the eye and told them him/herself, is there any other advice I can give without freaking them out? I just feel that this is spiralling in a sadly predictable way....

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brusselsbeansprout · 23/12/2005 09:27

I can really see what you are saying? What does your friend think? Or is she just under pressure?

Mercy · 23/12/2005 09:30

Can the dh speak to the consultant?

anchovies · 23/12/2005 09:31

This was totally me with ds1! 2 days being induced and finally a cs. Not sure why 2 days down the line the risk to the baby had increased to the point of needing a cs but as it was my first I didn't say a word. I can totally see why you're angry, it's so unfair.

cupcakesbakingonanopenfire · 23/12/2005 09:31

I was induced at 38 weeks due to high blood pressure (border line pre-eclampsia). Because I had been in hospital for about 5 days being monitored at that point I agreed as I was desperate to get out. The labour it brought on was excruciating (and I can now compare it to my second labour and confirm that it was much worse) and the baby ended up in 'distress' (he'd been fine before the induction). I ended up with an emergency c-section under GA. I would absolutely recommend that she avoids induction unless there is an immediate risk to her or the baby. Ideally they should let her go home and rest but failing that could she insist on staying in the hospital and being monitored? I really wish (with retrospect) that I had waited. If it does all go downhill, like you say, surely they could resort to an emergency c-section (which statistics suggest she may end up having after an induction anyway).
Of course, this is just my opinion. Hope she's ok. I can recall being terrified.

PantomimEDAMe · 23/12/2005 09:32

Bet they want to get her out of the way so they have as few women as possible for Christmas Eve! It's a crying shame. Tell them how you feel, but they may be too worried to go against the doc's advice. However stupid the doc is.

vickiyumyum · 23/12/2005 09:33

it would depend on how the fmaily felt about the situation, if she was happy to be induced i would leave it.

i assume that they are monitoring the baby and that if anything more emergency was required they would have done it. i'd be very surprised if they induced her unneccesarily, i would have thought that at this time of year if it wasn't necessary they would have been more likely to leave her to go to 42 weeks so that the wards weren't full on xmas day.

lilianna · 23/12/2005 09:34

baby not moving is a sign that there is either something wrong or that the baby has become distressed. They may do a test to see if the baby is distressed if they cannot get an accurate answer or it comes back positive please try and get your friend to have a c-section. I went through this with ds1 and could not get an accurate result i had my waters broken and it was normal delivery only thing was he ended up needing to be brought round was went straight into scbu. He now has cerebral palsy. I wish your friend all the luck she needs.

vickiyumyum · 23/12/2005 09:34

anchovies - i think the cs comes in because there is a maximum amount of pessaries they can give to start labour and then a maximum amount of the drip after that so if all that had failed or wasn't working efffectivley the only option left would have been cs.

anchovies · 23/12/2005 09:36

I didn't get as far as the drip as nothing happened at all. Do they have to give you a cs once they've done the pessaries? I kind of got the impression that it was "we've started, so we'll finish"!!!

WickedWinterWitch · 23/12/2005 09:38

pph, how annoying this is, babies slow down towards the due date don't they? There isn't as much room in there! Can she/her dh get them to be very, very, specific about the risks as they are being presented to them? My sister got told all sorts of bollocks a couple of months ago by a London hospital when she was pg with her second and when she and her dh said 'hang on, can we confirm that you are saying xyz' and 'what EXACTLY do you mean by risk, risk if WHAT?' they backpedalled v v quickly (they were trying to talk her out of a home birth for NO good reason). This pisses me off enormously, your poor friend. You so don't know any different with your first do you and it must be so tempting to just do as you're told.

GoodKingGeorginars · 23/12/2005 09:39

I expect they've completely terrified her. I've not heard of that being a valid excuse to induce - I agree with you. Induction is horrible, I had it with DD and with any future babies, I would do my best to avoid it!
As for what you can say to her - it's so difficult for her to know what to do as they will make her think she's not acting in the interests of the baby, even if they don't mean that. Any chance the father can step in and really nail down a consultant, armed with ammo from you?

WickedWinterWitch · 23/12/2005 09:39

risk of what, not if what

GoodKingGeorginars · 23/12/2005 09:41

I mean, yes you could induce if worried about the baby, but they do stop moving so much at the end anyway don't they

Original poster
PrincessPlumPuddingHead · 23/12/2005 10:18

you all think the same as me . there is no question of pre-eclampsia and apparently the baby isn't in distress. I think they want to get her out of the way before xmas.

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LIZS · 23/12/2005 10:39

Agree they can't be that concerned or they 'd have sectioned by now. Can she discharge herself so at least she can relax at home for a day or two and feel more inclined to be mobile, increasing the chances of getting it going anyway. Being stuck in hospital is hardly going to make things happen.

DoesntChristmasDragOn · 23/12/2005 10:59

How can they tell from the time you get in an appointment, that the baby isn't moving as much as they'd like??

thecattleareALOHing · 23/12/2005 11:05

Well, I tend to agree that if there was a real risk they'd get the baby out - or should get the baby out - but having watched Bodies and had my own experiences of hospital, I would also be v suspicious.

thecattleareALOHing · 23/12/2005 11:06

Btw I also think that unless they can say there is a real risk, she should just go home.

vickiyumyum · 23/12/2005 11:25

certainly in the trust i work in, once you have had your pessaries, and if you are still not dilated enough for them to break your waters and start the drip the only option they have from there is for a c/s. i'm sure the majority of the time they do not induce you unless there is good reason.e.g post dates or something up with the baby, and so because they have started to induce you witht eh aim to deliver the abby safley they have to carry on, and the only way from there is a c/s.
i do hope that the experience wasn't too negative for you though. i've had 2 c/s the first was the same as you, what is lovingly known as a failed induction(!!!) and the second elective for breech, i am due to have my 3rd and final (booked for sterilisation at same time) on 16th march.

thecattleareALOHing · 23/12/2005 11:34

What about the option to just go home and watch telly?

WassnailingPace · 23/12/2005 11:41

I thought my baby was 'just slowing down' the day I went into labour so didn't rush to hospital - wish I had now as she was stillborn. Yes it would be OK to let nature take its course, but in your friends shoes now I'd definitely go along with induction, careful monitoring and a Ceasar if necessary.

thecattleareALOHing · 23/12/2005 13:09

So sorry Wassnailing

What an awful story.

If PPH's friend is in that position surely she should be having a cs as a matter of urgency?

lilianna · 23/12/2005 13:10

im really sorry to hear about your baby. i suppose i was lucky i felt something wasnt right and got into hospital. i was told if i hadnt taken myself in then ds1 would not of survived.
The hospital no what they are doing. Its best if your friend stays in hospital till the baby is born.

uwilalalalalala · 23/12/2005 13:58

After my first child (emergency caesarean) I will never trust nature to take it's course. Sometimes Nature is on a bad course.

I think your friend is better off in the hospital.

Sorry, Wassnailinpace. Very sad. How long ago was this?

Original poster
PrincessPlumPuddingHead · 23/12/2005 14:10

she was caesared just before lunch

whole thing was pointless, just wanted to get her out of the way. they will chuck her out tomorrow and have the bed free on xmas day.

apparently no-one ever said that the baby was in any sort of distress, there seems to be no reason at all for all of this to be started.

I feel very sorry for her and angry, but I suppose the main thing is that both are fine, albeit she has had unnecessary major abdominal surgery.

Incredible how predictable all this was from the moment they said "well, lets try and induce you". Grrrrrrr

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