Shall I ask for an earlier induction?

[KRabbit]

As you may know from my previous posts I'm 38 weeks and suffering from depression.

I had hoped to have a natural birth at the local birth centre but I've been told today that my body is nowhere near ready for labour the "signs" I've had have been all in my head or imagined - my painful contractions were stomach upset, my waters breaking was me weeing myself, the previous midwives were "wrong" when they said baby was 3/5 engaged and he's "free".

My due date is 8 December and I've been told that if I go overdue I wouldn't be taken into hospital for induction until 42 weeks (December 24th so I would spend the whole of Xmas in hospital).

As I really don't feel I can cope with this in my present mental state (long wait - Xmas in hospital) I'm seeing the Consultant Midiwfe tommorrow and I'm really tempted to ask her if I can see the OB Consultant and ask that I be induced earlier - perhaps at just over 40 or 41 weeks. I really can't face going to 42 weeks and Xmas in hospital I'm sorry, I'm so down right now and its only going to get worse.

Doing this will obviously mean I can't have a Birth Centre birth, but I feel that I could cope with the hospital much better if I wans't there over Xmas (I have a phobia of hospitals).

My physical health may not warrant an induction earlier than 42 weeks but I really feel my mental state does! I'm so terribly depressed right now, its causing problems with me and my OH and I can't do another 4 weeks, I'm worried what it will do to me and the baby, not to mention my relationship with my OH.

Any thoughts? Yes I know induction is not ideal and its best to wait but I really can't face waiting till 2 weeks+ overdue and then having to go to hospital. If I have to go I would sooner be over sooner than later.

KRABBIT..I am really concerned about you.

seriously.

you were so desperate for a birth centre birth, and now oyu are going to try and take that chance away....you have no idea how amazing the birth can be...

if the baby is happy in utero and , from your previous posts..you have said your cervix is tightly closed..the chance of an induction actually working if it is given..is small.

if you are induced..and are given prostin gel to soften the cervix, you might wait 24 hours before anything happens, as doses are given 6 hours apart and if your cervix is not ripe..you will need more prostin. you will have to stay in hospital and be monitored.

so if you have a hospital phobia. this might not be a good place to start.

why not reassess at 40 weeks...and see how you are going...

i do not know if you can be induced for mental health reasons..but if you are so low..then that needs to be sorted, irrespective of when you are giving birth.

induction is a highly medicalsied process and can mean a lot longer in hospital.

in all likelihood you will have a syntocinon drip to stimualte contractions and possibly have your waters broken too..and a lot of monitoring....it is a long way from a birth in a birth centre...

sorry if i sound harsh...i was induced a week early for reasons that now, i would not have agreed to....i ended up having the opposite of the birth i longed for and had an emergency c.s and horrific PND as a result. i had wanted a vaginal birth, dim lights, no intervention, no epidural..i had the opposite and it devastated me for a long time.

That is my personal experience. It took me years to be in a position to have another baby..there are 6 years between my children. I had the birth i wanted second time around because i had the knowledge and the confidence to go for it..it was in my heart and i made it happen.

i understand about depression and i understand about wanting the baby out NOW!

just don;t end up in a worse long term situation for short term gain,

i would see your consult about the depression and see about treatment for that....then you can have a clearer head for the duration of the pregnancy.

I know lots of women have inductions and no problems, and c.s and no problems. i am sharing my own experiences because i think you are scared and need to see the wood for the trees....

ah, krabbit >

I was induced at 11 days over, I was desperate for it by then, the end is such an awful, finger-biting time, aching back, lumbering around etc.

I am sorry to hear you are down, it is totally normal and it happens to loads of mums,are you getting the support that you need from the medical people looking after you and your family?
I kept a diary every time I felt down and it helped enormously.
I dont know what they will say, re an earlier induction, but I think you have a valid reason that you want the baby out before xmas time, so logically they should be able to do it---they put your health and the baby's health over anything else though, so start preparing yourself in case you have to...
I also hate hospitals with a passion, but
I ended up back in hosp. 10 days after giving birth, the whole experience is totally randomly natural and noone can predict it, you just have to let yourself ride with it and trust in your body.
You can make hosp. a nicer place to be, though,

1. pay for a private room if you possibly can, although it is nice to be in with other mums, the privacy factor is better AND it is quieter so your baby is less likely to be woken by others;
2. treat yourself to new pyjamas (but cheapies as you will bleed all over them, just throw away everything you wear in hosp)
3. wear flip flops as slippers then you can jkeep them on in the shower so you dont have to walk through other peoples blood on the floor, sounds horrific, I know but 56 women who have just given birth bleed everywhere!!
4. get your partner to bring in lots of lovely fruit, sweets, dark chocolate, dried apricots, crisps etc because the food is crap, and you have to be able to poo after birth before they let you go home,

5.buy big cheap knickers from tesco/asda to wear, dont wear paper ones as you will rustle evreywhere...

1. take a little cd player if you can, so comforting to give birth to your own choice of music and you can keep it in your room
2. keep your mobile charged and keep it on you, even tho the signs say otherwise loads of mums discreetly use them to text their friends etc (as long as you arent on neo-natal)
3. when you are there, it isnt actually that bad...the midwives on the whole were fabulous, everyone goes out of their way to help you and it is the safest place to give birth for you and the baby....

ask me any questions you want answering honestly, and good luck
pps you could go into labour at any time, no matter what the 'professionals' say!

You have a maximum of 4weeks to go. Given that you have already been having possible 'signs' you may not have anywhere near that long anyway. It might not be all in your mind. Don't worry about baby not being engaged - none of mine(including the first)engaged until after labour had started. Why not try to relax and enjoy having your baby all to yourself for these last weeks.
I would explain all your concerns at your next antenatal visit and not leave until they have answered each concern. Once you relax a bit, labour is more likely to happen. At 38 weeks it is far too soon imo to worry about being late and labour can start with no indication it's about to happen at all. Even though they told you that your body is nowhere near ready for labour, that was true only for the time you were examined. Things can change very quickly.
You're almost there now. The last mile feels the longest as they say.
Hope you are feeling better soon and hopefully your baby will put in an appearance soon, too.

Hi I had very bad AND with my middle 2 so with my 3rd as I had spd they agreed to induce me on my due date - I had also been having psycotherapy for 2 years so the depression was very bad.

So bear in mind this is my 3rd baby and 3rd induction. I ended up with 32 hours of prostgladin pain, 2 hours sleep, a controlled rupture of membranes (horrific) and only 50% chance of going to the labour!

If it's your first baby I was ask for induction at 10 days over as this is standard in many maternity units. Remember you don't have to stay in - you can self discharge - I did this at 2am with my 2nd despite her not feeding from me, thick meconium, them panicking about blood sugars etc.

4th baby had induction at 14 days and it was fantastic only gas & air and a 1minute official labour - 3 contractions from 8 cm to being born! Oh and no AND with her!

KRabbit, I agree with lulu. How depressed are you, i.e. have you been diagnosed with ante-natal depression? If not, you should talk to your midwife. It's really important you get the right support before AND turns into PND.

It's perfectly normal at 38 weeks to be thinking 'my god, please let this end'. You shouldn't necessarily associate that feeling with your depression. Induction is not the way to go if you have a hospital phobia. I was lucky to skip the pessary stage and go straight to waters breaking (had high blood pressure). The syntocinon was NOT fun at all, but I fortunately didn't have lulu's experience and came out the other side none the worse. I would have preferred to labour longer and avoid the syntocinon though, and if it happens the second time around I would be more forceful on that issue. My bp was actually normal during labour.

Anyway, although it's virtually impossible for any pregnant woman so close to term to comprehend this, you are better off spending this time getting yourself help, and putting your support network in place. Do you think that the birth will put an end to your depression? I don't know anything about AND so I don't know how likely that is. Either way you need to deal with the possibility that it won't - how can we MNers help? We have shedloads of PND survivors here, and lots of practical support we can offer to a new mum as well, depending on where you are.

KRabbit, I do feel for you. I'm in a very similar situation myself.
My first labour was 47 hours and horrendous, Waters broke and irregular, slow to progress contractions so i had syntocinon drip and epidural. And my son ended in neo natal for 9 days after. I got post natal depression as a result.
That was 5and a half years ago.
So this time i wanted to labour naturally and hopefully quicker and calmer.

Well now i am 6 days overdue and i am moving house next Thursday. We did not plan to do it all at the same time. we sold the house in may and then had 2 more buyers pull out last minute!

I really really do not want to be in hospital when we move!!!!
And for the past week i have been very depressed.
I have agreed to see my obstetrician tomorrow to discuss options. I was hoping i would have gone into labour by tomorrow , when i originally made appointment. But I'm still here and have to decide what to do tomorrow.

I really do not want to be induced, i have a low pain threshold and inducements are more likely to result in Csections. BUT again i do not want to be in when we move. I want to be with my son to help him settle into a strange new house. Which has no carpets, fire, shower!! Arrggg.

I will let you know what i decide to do tomorrow, if i don't go straight into hospital that is.
But i do think at 38 weeks it really is too early to stress that you will go over. Things can change very quickly!

I'm dreading tomorrow and hoping i go into labour tonight!! But then i hope that every night.

I was induced with DD last year on 15th dec[she arrived on due date of 16th] due to mental health problems. I was also stressing over xmas and lack of childcare for ds etc. I think if it is something you want to do then you are more than entitled. It is also possible I will again be induced with this baby and am seeing consultant at 38wks[2nd jan] to look at being induced earlier. Only thing I will say that helped my case is the fact I was starting on antidepressants that you cant take while pg and my mh had got to such a level that I needed to be on medication sooner rather than later.

sorry will add if you are induced due to depression then expect to be kept on a ward as you are classed as high risk. If mlike my hospital they will not let you go into a private room. I didnt mind as I was 14days over with ds when induced and he arrived at 15days over so it was all I had known. However if you were looking at a birthing centre birth then induction is very very different.

Thanks for your input everyone

I didn't actually mean asking to be induced before my due date, but perhaps a week after - at 40+5 or 41 weeks rather than being allowed to go till the full 42+ weeks.

If I was induced a week over my due date that would be around the 15th December (two days before my birthday!) so I should be home for Christmas. If I wait until 42+ weeks I probably won't get admitted to hospital till 23rd or 24th December and if labour takes a while to get going and I have to stay in for a day or so afterwards, then it will be the 27th or so before I get out. I can't bear the thought of that, its partly whats making me so depressed.

I just don't think I could cope with Christmas in Hospital given my phobia of the places. Especially as the UHW isn't very nice, I very much doubt any "effort" would be made like people keep saying. I would just be so miserable. Right now its hanging over my head and I can't stop worrying about it. If I knew that I would be taken in to be induced earlier then I might be able to cope better.

I know induction will be horrible and nothing like a birth centre but if this baby decides not to come on its own (as I'm starting to think will be the case) the I'll HAVE to be induced sooner or later and I could cope a lot better with an induction on the 14th or 15th of December than with one that spanned the whole of Christmas.

krabbit then I would ask consultant to make sure you go no longer than 7days post dates for induction..that is a fair request.

Hi Krabbit

so sorry to hear you are feeling so low, the last few weeks of pregnancy are so hard physically and mentally. Have you spoken to your midwife about how low you are feeling, they may be able to offer you extra support.

I am not sure how anyone can say that your body is nowhere near ready for labour unless you have been examined internally, and that is only accurate at the time it is done, things can change quite quickly even with first babies. As for baby not being engaged some dont until labour starts. Nobody can say when you are going to go into labour.

You could ask for an induction, some units may consider doing it but most will at least want to wait until 40 weeks, and you would be considered a low priority. Also there is the increased risk of interventions because they are trying to medically do something that in time your body will do naturally. Most inductions are straightforward but then most inductions are on women who are overdue.

I do think you would be better waiting until you are 40 weeks, but it is easy for me to say that I am not in your shoes.

What ever you do I wish you luck and hope that you start to feel better soon.

some hopsital say 7 days over, some 10.

i think it is more important you address the depression you have right now and then you will be able to think more clearly....x

hth!