Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Childbirth

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

Flip

1 2

Original poster

if you were induced, how were you monitored???

32 replies

saralou · 30/08/2007 18:30

were you strapped up to monitors and stuck on a bed... were you able to move around or did you have intermitent monitoring of the baby???

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Gingerbear · 30/08/2007 18:32

strapped to monitors, able to get off the bed, but not move very far.

fawkeoff · 30/08/2007 18:32

yep strapped up and stuck on a bed

fishie · 30/08/2007 18:33

strapped and put on a bed which was tilted down so i spent 8 hours trying not to fall off.

Original poster

saralou · 30/08/2007 18:33

oooh, and another question, whendid they start mionitoring you... was it from the start or when you were so many cm's dilated?????

OP posts:

LilyLoo · 30/08/2007 18:34

same for me too impossible to be mobile

Original poster

saralou · 30/08/2007 18:34

gosh, that were quick!!!!

OP posts:

fawkeoff · 30/08/2007 18:36

oh and dont expect induction then birth to be on the same day.....it took from friday evening till monday morning to dilate 1 cm...i then had to beg them to pop my waters, then i was monitered

madamez · 30/08/2007 18:37

Strapped to monitors and flat on bed after about the first 3 hours, and then given 2nd dose and strapped to monitor BUT informed by nicer midwife that I could stand or kneel or pace (though in a very small circle) if I wanted to.

I think it depends a bit on why you are being induced and what specific problems either you or the baby have. But FWIW I think if you are being monitored you can move as much as is feasible as long as you keep the pads in place.

Daisypops · 30/08/2007 18:37

Srapped to monitors. They were taken off at bedtime and then the midwife came in every so often and monitored me. I was put on them as soon as I got in to hospital

fawkeoff · 30/08/2007 18:38

ooooh yeah i forgot abut the monitering every couple of hours on the ward

Original poster

saralou · 30/08/2007 18:39

i'm not asking as i'm about to be induced... i was induced with ds2 8 months ago... but am in the process of making complaint and was just wondering what other people had experienced really

OP posts:

CarGirl · 30/08/2007 18:40

after being strapped to the monitor and stuck on the bed the first 2 or 3 labours the last time I was only monitored for 45 mins (approx) after the gel was inserted and that was it. They cannot force you to have continuous monitoring!

madamez · 30/08/2007 18:49

OK I'm not a midwife or nurse but I think it might vary depending on your health and the baby's health. As I said they let me walk around the wards for a good couple of hours after the first pessary, but my blood pressure kept on climbing so they made me lie down and stay on the monitor for a bit.
What happened to you, or would you rather not say (nosy face on)

Original poster

saralou · 30/08/2007 18:59

i'll say (i'm nosey myself)

monitored for 1/2 hour, then examined, was alredy 3 cm's so i had my waters broken, which had meconiuim in them. i was then monitored intermitently, i think it was something like every hour.

consultant did ward round and asked for more monitoring... midwife said she would go do some more paperwork (she actually went for her lunch) and would do it when she got back... when she came back he no longer had a hearbeat and after some further faffing abut by midwife (stuck leads on his head,then realised their was no monitor to attach it to) i was whisked of for a crash section.

ds2 is fine and gorgeous though!!!

OP posts:

walrus · 30/08/2007 19:02

I was pretty much left on my own, given two lots of pesssaries, but wasn't touched until they needed to check if I was in labour and then again when I was obviously in labour was left to walk around and not monitored at all, had a lovely 4 hour labour, very painful as i believe all labours are but quick and easy and that was for a 9lb 10oz boy.

fishie · 30/08/2007 19:22

monitored every few hours on ward for pessaries, constant right from the start with the drip. not so with the epidural which i never got. [bitter, moi?]

tigger15 · 30/08/2007 20:48

Monitored for 15 mins before 1st pessary, monitored for 15 mins 6 hours later before putting second one in which they didn't do as I was having contractions. I asked if I could walk around and was told it was fine. Transferred to a delivery room (they needed my bed in the labour walk in clinic and I was high risk). Monitored for 30 mins my waters broke during this (by themselves). In pain and I had a bath so no monitoring for an hour or so. When I got out I insisted on an epidural and CFM after that.

madamez · 30/08/2007 20:48

Oooh dear saralou - for some reason I had the wrong end of the stick and thought you had been strapped down and hadn't liked it. Glad your LO is OK though, must have been v scary.

Despite induction I had a good birth on the whole though they forgot to feed me the day after despite my piteous requests. Good luck with your complaint.

CarGirl · 30/08/2007 20:53

Once my waters broke with dd2 and there was meconium in there I def had constant monitoring and the midwife was very much on alert and checking in on us very very frequent (despite the hospital being on the verge of closing because they were full to bursting on labour ward)

They were very concerned because of the meconium etc so the fact that they weren't more attentive to you does ring alarm bells.

You need to have paed at the delivery when there is meconium present in addition to 2 midwives, it can have serious implications

theprecious · 31/08/2007 11:38

after waters broke but no labour, I was induced by sytonicin: Strapped to monitors and on drip but helpful midwife meant I could move around - in a small circle as someone else said.

mears · 31/08/2007 11:55

saralou - what condition was your baby in at delivery out of interest?

Was there no heartbeat or was it that it couldn't be found on the ultrasound of the monitor? Did anyone try and listen in with a pinard (trumpet like instrument)?

When being induced or in labour spontaneously, you should have continuous monitoring if you are on the syntocinon drip or if there is a lot of meconium in the waters. Meconium can be graded as to how heavy it is.

Grade 1 is a small amount of meconium mixed with a lot of liquor. Intermittent monitoring is fine. If contracting that should be every 15 minutes.

Grade 2 is athicker amount of meconium but there is still a lot of liquor. Continuous monitoring needed.

Grade 3 is mainly meconium and very little liquor which is the most worrying. Absolutely needs continuous monitoring.

CarGirl · 31/08/2007 12:04

yes mine was grade 3 hence they were so worried (and hence my decision to wait up to 16 days to be induced next time around)!

elkiedee · 31/08/2007 12:12

I was strapped up for a lot of the induction - contractions started 7 hours after first gel application (at 2 am after application at 7 pm) and then I spent a lot of the next 26.5 hours being monitored. Like madamez I thought you were complaining about an experience of being unable to move around.

Sounds like a dreadful birth experience, and I'm glad to hear that your baby is fine now.

Is your complaint about neglect and failure to monitor, or about other aspects of your induction as well?

MuffinMclay · 31/08/2007 12:34

I was able to move around and did so pretty much constantly. Contractions started within a few of hours of the gel, and it hurt less to move around. I was very lucky, because it all happened very quickly (12 hours from gel to birth).

No monitors, but them checked on me every once in a while. There may have been monitors once labour started properly, but I can't remember!

Original poster

saralou · 31/08/2007 15:37

mears, i'm not sure about the amount of meconium or grading

i don't really remember anything for various reasons but my dp and bf have told me that they couldn't find heartbeat on monitor so they put the clips on his head to monitor which they then didn't have the machine to attach it to. at the same time they took a blood sample from his head which they tested and said he had to get out quickly (this is what the staff explained to me after aswell) when he was delivered he had to have help to get going and needed some oxygen for a bit and warming up... i didn't really want to know too much at the time if i'm honest.

i'm not making a formal complaint, just going in to have a whinge at the manager of the delivery ward

i can't help but feel if i'd been monitored more that maybe i wouldn't have missed out on the first 12 hours of my baby's life.

i'm also having a whinge about post-op pain relief...

OP posts:

Flip

1 2