You're not progressing quick enough - Do MW's actually say this?

[LuckySalem]

Has anyone had any experiences of being on the ward and them wanting to start filling you full of drugs to make you progress quicker? (or a C-Section) when there is nothing wrong with either you or baby (apart from being knackered obviously)

Also any other times when they want to intervene medically when there is no danger?

I'm worried about turning up at the hospital and being messed around when there is no need,

Well, I think I was lucky because I had a very understanding midwife who knew exactly where I was coming from. I ended up in the second stage for 3.5 hours - the doctors were hovering from 2 hours but the midwife told them to b*gger off basically. However, by 3 hours in there were actually a few signs of distress in the baby - heartbeat slowing etc. - and my contractions slowed right up. Then they did start talking about a drip to speed things up - the sheer terror of that was enough to kick start my contractions and I finally gave birth naturally.

Anyway, the point of all that rambling was that when I recently saw the consultant to talk through my experience, she said the midwife had left me for "much longer than she should have". Meaning, IMO, that I was damned lucky on the day.

(I had the opposite experience to what you describe btw - having pain-relief refused. Be careful what you wish for... )

See if it's needed then of course I'll go with them but I want to be left alone as much as possible.

i think unless the baby goes into a bit of stress they leave you be

I was in labour for a week - the midwives strongly recommended pumping me full of drugs to induce dd's delivery - and at that point I was too weak to refuse. Am glad they did, as without it I would have had a C-section as dd had poisoned herself with meconium aspiration by the time I went into theatre.

It's fine. Most midwives will only say that you need intervention when you need it as most are really pro-natural birth. Just keep it in perspective - you are a human being undergoing a natural process. If they say you need medical intervention you can always demand that the midwives explain to you why. Midwives in general are much less pro intervention than the consultants and you can always talk to them, the midwives, I mean. (And there are usually more than two around when you go in, so you can always ask for a second opinon). Never feel in thrall to the consultants, but do listen to what they say and discuss it and you should be OK.

I wasn't shoved full of drugs and I went in at 10am at 3cm and was still at 3cm at 10pm! They nearly sent me home, I refused and then 3/4 of an hour later out came dd.
They're fine, they just tell you to take lots of baths xxx

Thanks for all these..... it really is calming me down.

LuckySalem - do you live anywhere near N Yorks? If you want to be left alone as long as possible you'd do fine at my hospital. Not a midwife in sight most of the time.

I had quite a lot of intervention. The midwives asked for my permission before they did anything. They did seem quite concerned about the time things were taking without there being any actual problems (e.g. foetal distress) and they did piss me off by repeatedly asking to do the same thing (e.g. break my waters) until I gave in.

If I could go back in time I would stay at home for as long as I could and would train DH to ask what would happen without intervention. I was a bit weak and overwhelmed for discussion, but that is where a supportive birth partner could really be useful.

I'll make sure DP knows exactly what I want to do then and that they tell me exactly what is wrong and SHOW me where they're getting the information from.

They did on my 3rd birth. It was an attempt at a vaginal delivery after 2 previous c-sections. There had been no progression for hours and they couldn't speed up because of previous sections. So they advised a section to be done in normal working hours rather than leaving it then having to have one in the middle of the night with few senior staff (3rd c-sections are much more complicated than 1st and I'd had a dodgy 2nd c-section).

Thanks for that Yurt.

LuckySalem, have you thought about having a doula?
Takes the pressure off your dp, and sets the scene a bit for your labour to progress better (not necessarily faster!).

what could really be of benefit to you is , as ahs been pointed out, a doula. and whether oyu do or you don;t, you can do a detailed birth preferences plan..

e.g

I do not wish to have ARM to speed up labour

I do not wish to have a syntocinon / hormone drip to speed up labour

I wish to labour actively, as far as possible, and use gravity, changes of position to help move things along if necessary.

Should there be evidence of foetal distress, i would like to reassess my options, but as far as is possible, i would like to labour without intervention.

also, if you feel safe , supported and have privacy, you are more likely to labour much better, feeling too observed and too stressed can slow things.

staying at home as long as you feel able can be a big help too

Is a doula not a private MW? Really expensive?

no, a doula is a woman, such as pruni or myself who is trained and is passionate about supporting other women to have positive, empowered and safe birth experiences. fees vary as to where you are in the country and whether you have a trainee doula or a more experienced one. doulas can also debrief you on previous births, offer advice on breastfeeding and support you before, during and after the birth.
look at www.doula.org.uk and www.nurturingbirth.co.uk for more information and to find doulas in your area. also, do a search on here for doulas, and you'll get lots of good info.

hth x

doulas do not have a clinical role at the birth, we are not there to replace midwives, but to offer a complimentary service, providing one to one emotional support

Thanks for that, I've had a look and there is just no way we could afford that. it's a shame cos that's something that could help us. I'll just have to make sure DP knows what I want.

it might be worth contacting doulas in your area, and getting in touch with nurturing birth, as they can tell you of any trainees in your area who have jut finished a course. the max a trainee can charge is £150, and many will do it to cover expenses, to gain the experience.doulas often offer a sliding scale of fees , and you do not have to pay the full amount immediately.

LuckyS why not find a few doulas (doulae? ) in your area and see if you can have a wee chat to each one - everyone runs their 'business' differently and not all charge £400 or whatever. A 'trainee' wouldn't charge anywhere near that and there are a significant number who would consider only charging expenses. Worth a try?

oo x posts!

great minds, prunie !

luckysalem, ime there is often a great deal of pressure for births to progress at a particular rate. and there is a culture of intervention in many hospitals which has led to a Csection rate of nearly 30% in this country, plus high rates of forceps/ventouse/episiotomy.
there are things you can do, though, to help. home birth is one of them.
have you had any kind of antenatal classes? that would help you put it in persepective.
your antenatal teacher would be able to point you in the direction of local doulas too

DrBrunsen - That's my worry, I think i'll just stick to what I want unless they can prove there is something wrong.
I might be panicking for nothing - it could be over in a couple of hours.

I'll look into Doulas when i'm at my next NCT class and see if there is a cheaper version.

You know, I had everything Camilla lists and I still ended up with a c-section

I think sometimes things happen that mean intervention is necessary.

Also doctors in particular are there to practice medicine (ie do intervention) and they are motivated to justify their existence by doing whatever they can to make sure mother and child are okay and pain is minimised. That may make them syntocin happy etc.

I would say, put whatever makes you feel comfortable and IGNORE any comments that you are not progressing quickly enough (for whom - the baby seems fine with this, is the best response). It's your body, you are allowed to refuse any intervention.

LS - talk to you antenatal teacher about it - she will be able to talk you through it, through the decision making etc.
she might also be happy to be with you at the birth, whether or not she is a doula