Please talk to me about speeding up labour by AROM/drip

[RegLlamaOfBrixton]

DC2 is due in 9 weeks and I'm thinking about options for the birth this time.

My labour with DS was very long and after being 4cms dilated on arrival at hospital and still 4cms 6 hours later I had my waters broken as I was told this was policy because of the lack of progress. The MW who came on shift immediately after was quite that this had been done and said she preferred to see things happen naturally. I don't know if it did anything to speed up labour, I didn't get to 10cm for a further 8 hours but DS ended up being delivered in theatre with Keillands forceps as he was still stuck at LOT after 2 hours pushing having failed to rotate to OA. He was also asynclitic (head tilted). I think I've read that having the waters broken can lead to the baby being less able to rotate into a good position. Does this sound right or did I imagine it? I'm crossing fingers for a faster labour this time and of course my waters might go of their own accord, but I don't know if the MWs want to break them for me whether to assume that they know best and let them go ahead, or whether it might cause a positioning problem again. The other issue is that I was GBS +ve last time (-ve this time) and the risk of infection increases once the waters have broken.

I was also put under pressure to go on the hormone drip to speed things up but made sufficient progress to be 'allowed' to continue labouring without. I felt I was coping fine with the contractions with minimal pain relief last time even though it was all taking ages, I don't fancy being pumped full of drugs just because the hospital want to see 1cm dilation per hour but are there any benefits to the baby to come out quicker?

Just after pro's and cons of each procedure I guess.

Things are much more likely to go smoothly since you have had a vaginal birth before. The trick is to make sure you are in good labour when you arrive, wait until your contractions are every three to four minutes and when you are having to breathe through them, don't forget 'real' labour contractions are strong and you have to grip something hard and breathe through. If you can still talk when you are having contractions then it is probably too early to go in!

If baby is in an awkward position it can stop it from getting in to a better position, but then having said this sometimes it can help it to. On the whole though, it is better to leave the membranes to go naturally than to have them broken. There is something that is often referred to as the cascade of intervention, leave well alone and most of the time nothing extra needs to be done, but if you start off with one 'small' intervention this can often lead to more much bigger ones.

Hello - no wonder you are nervous. I would suggest reading a Hypnobirthing book, sounds airy fairy, but it works for so many women, and the breathing techniques definitely work.

My 1st was induced at 42 weeks, and I had the drip.

My 2nd was induced at 38 due to possible medical problems (which luckily turned out to be a false alarm). My body took 2 days to get going, he was still high up and cervix was firmly closed. They did have to break my waters as my body was hanging on for dear life - the Hypnobirthing methods made it very quick and easy from then on. I 'breathed' him down (which sounds mad) and I could feel all the muscles working, really surreal experience.

In the lead up to the birth, I did reflexology and looked on the spinning babies website as he was in the wrong position.

With my 2nd I was offered a c sec as things were not progressing (well, no they bloody wouldn't would they as I was induced early - the body is good at holding on, it's designed to do it). I refused as the baby was fine. Unless the baby is in danger, I can't see a problem in holding on. Labour can be a long process.

If you are unsure of Hypnobirthing, there are some threads on here, I was so cynical, but am now full of praise for it, I had an amazingly easy, happy, brilliant time. It also does wonders for relaxing you in the run up before. Like the OP said, 2nd labours are mostly easier, so sure you will be fine this time.

p.s. sorry, I haven't really answered your question directly, but thought suggesting HB may help. I had the drip both times, and felt I wouldnt' have needed it with the 2nd. Wish I'd stuck to my guns on that one - but didn't need pain relief - good luck for 9 weeks time:)

Had looooooooong labour with third baby and ended up with syno drip.

Honestly? It was manageable and I stayed standing up. I had been in labour with no pain relief for about 2 days previous though and I think my endorphin levels were through the roof.

It was a really good birth!

You could try some clary sage on a hanky - I think that speeded up my first stage hugely. It's an aromatherapy oil - but don't open /smell it till you are in labour.

I was induced with both of mine and labour started after 1 gel. With ds1 ended up with drip and after being awake for close to 48hrs (was induced at 9pm, being told to get a good nights sleep as nothing would happen until I had second gel at 6am) was bullied into having strongly encouraged to have an epidural so I couldn't comment on pain level but I did have ds1 without any assistance and pushed him out in 10 mins.

With ds2 I had the gel at 8.30am and was allowed home, was back in by 3pm and had him at 5.30pm. The labour progressed more quickly (which I had been led to believe by consultant at earlier appointment in his words 'your body knows what it's doing' but others may not have experienced this) but I had my waters broken as that is proceedure with induced labours. I had been having regular contractions since 1pm and had got to 8cm and had I have been a bit more with it would have turned it down to see how I would have progressed without it. The midwife said his head had moved when she did it and I did have much longer pushing but he was also born without assistance.

I think you really have to see how you are doing when you're there and take advice as it comes. Every labour is different and the outcome of each procedure is different with each one too. Good luck with your labour and I really hope you have a better experience second time around :)

Thanks all. I'm not really worried about coping with the pain of the labour itself, that part was ok last time, although less than 2 days of it might have been better .

The distressing part was the hours of pushing a stuck baby against my pelvis whilst the MWs didn't spot that there was a problem. I did all the OFP stuff in pregnancy, stayed active and upright through the many hours of labour, and it took me a long, long time to come to terms with the fact that I hadn't done anything wrong, I was just unlucky, and sometimes all the spinning babies techniques and positive thoughts in the world just aren't going to change the way things pan out.

But the AROM thing is the one thing I can think of that might have exacerbated the problem.

Anyway, my intention this time is to stay out of hospital for a lot longer, so hopefully I won't have as high a chance of interventions. Actually the baby is currently breech so a VB might be out of the question anyway!