I can't stand the thought of induction - what do you think my chances would be of getting a c-section?

[electra]

My baby is measuring small for dates and is not growing up a curve - but just growing across lines in a kind of flat curve. Yesterday I was told that if this continues (I'm 33 weeks) the doctor will not want to allow this pregnancy to run to term and will want to induce me.

I cannot stand the thought of being induced. I have experienced 'normal' contractions and an active labour and by contrast a medically managed labour with syntocinon. I ideally wanted a homebirth. If I can labour actively I am fine and can move on afterwards. But the medically managed labour horrified me - the whole thing - being strapped to a monitor, having contractions lying down, feet in stirrups, and finally a hemorrhage followed by episiotomy, which to this day still causes me pain (7 years later). If I have an induced labour I think it's highly likely that I will need an epidural, and can then kiss goodbye to any kind of control that I would have in a normal labour. A friend on facebook recently posted some pictures of her new baby and of her in labour, being induced and I found that I was horrified and upset even looking at the pictures!

It may sound very odd for someone who wants a home birth to say that in this instance I would want a section. I am sure a section would be no walk in the park, and would be a trauma enough in itself for me and I don't 'want' one, would just far prefer it than induction. But I feel quite fragile - at the moment I am well but I have mental health problems and my home situation is very difficult and stressful. A year ago I was seriously considering killing myself. I don't feel that way now but I can get ill very quickly if the right triggers are there.

Do you think the consultant would be sympathetic to my wishes? I have two other children and I need to stay well. I don't want another big trauma to recover from which could be another 'hit' to my frame of mind. I had thought that as this was my 3rd baby, there was no reason for me to think that I would not be able to go into labour normally and have a good shot at a birth that would not require being in a hospital bed - just shows you can never tell.

However, I want to be sure that I'm as informed as I can be about this. What should I read and how should I put my case to my doctor and be sure that I have made a balanced decision?

I would speak to your consultant about your particular situation.

Also ask, if you did have an induction, how could it be managed so as not to stress you out. Could it go in your medical notes that you should be restricted as little as possible for instance? I was induced but allowed to move around in labour, it wasn't really that different from a normal birth, I don't think, and I did not need an epidural. Is there anything else that you find particularly stressful- and if so, can that be avoided?

See if you can talk to them.

Hi cory - I think I would be ok if the gel was enough to start me off and then everything continued as normal - but nobody will be able to guarantee that. I think that when baby is small at my hospital, they monitor from beginning to end which means lying down. Restricted movement is what I most hate and also fear of assisted delivery - can't stand the thought of more damage. I'm thinking that because I will be induced early, there's a higher chance of needing a drip in as my body won't be ready.

You don't have to lie down to be continuously monitored you can sit on a chair, bouncy ball (but my monitor kept falling off), stand. I have to admit I hated it when I was induced with DD and I ended up with an emcs. I wouldn't underestimated the impact of having a c-section and looking after two children though.

They will probably keep you going until 36 weeks (i've had similar and other problems this pregnancy but growth went back up at last scan at 37 weeks).

I would talk to them about the percentage of successful inductions at 36 weeks and how long they would let the process go on for - if pessaries you can end up days in hospital weiting for them to work. If you have had two natural births your induction is likely to much more successful.

Good luck - its stressful when they find problems in your pregnancy.

Yes, I agree a c-section has considerable recovery time. My children are 7 and 5 though so don't need picking up. How long does it take before you can pick the baby up and do housework? As I say, I don't want a section as such but see it as the lesser of two evils. I don't want to get ill again from the trauma of an induction. Already there is concern about how I will be post delivery - apparently I will have to be monitored in case I develop puerperal psychosis. I would rather be physically out of action for several weeks than mentally ill for months and unable to look after my children properly.

C-sections can be traumatic too and inductions don't need to be - some women who have c-sections don't feel like they gave birth to their child and feel like a failure. Alot of people have very quick inductions and don't have epidurals.

I had a very slow recovery with my DD after a c-section and to be honest I didn't feel up to much for nearly 12 weeks but this is unusual. I have to decide to vbac or not after this baby decided to turn back to head down yesterday at 37 weeks. Recovery time and possibility of infections puts me off a section are a factor.

I think you would have quite a good chance. The reason (one of them) they're reluctant to do them is because of the risks to you and the baby in future pregnancies - if this is going to be your last pregnancy then you can emphasise that. You can also refuse to be induced, or refuse the drip if the gel doesn't work. If they want to delievr the baby then a section will be the only option if you refuse.

The risk of your mental health deteriorating if you had another bad expereince is another reason why they should listen to you.

Recovery times do vary from person to person and I think the older you are the harder ir can be. Most women can pick their babies up the following day.

I had a section on a Monday and was home and hoovering, doing laundry on the Wednesday. But friends have been hobbling for a good week afterwards.

Induction has got to be better than a major op, imo.

No, I disagree Nabster - I would rather have a major op than a highly medicalised drug managed labour - I felt very ill afterwards, physically and I felt traumatised by it for months.

What can you do to ensure an induction isn't traumatic? I would say that most people I know who have been induced found it hell. And I found artificial contractions hell but my experience of a normal labour was entirely different - painful but not at all traumatic. Afterwards I felt fine. In fact I look back on the experience as something really positive in my life.

I suppose I will have to wait to see how things pan out though and what the results of the next scan are.

Totally agree with you electra, i would also sooner have a CS than an induction tbh. I had the most horrific labour with my DD1 (she spent the first weeks of her life on NITC), although i went into labour naturally i failed to progress past 6cm therefore i was hooked upto the drip and given an epidural. DD1 is actually 6 now and i am still traumatised by it now . Thankfully DD2s labour was 100% natural and i am currently 40 weeks pg with dc3 - but i am dreading it if i go over with this little one as the thought of a medicalised labour is like facing my worst nightmare!.

Be strong and do what stripeyknickers says!! if you point blank refuse to have the drip ect, then they will have not choice but offer you a CS.

I've had 4 inductions (some took days but never had the drip) I have to say the one that went by far the best was the one that I had the most positive attitude. I was "I will get to 42 weeks, I won't be able to have a homebirth, I will get induced but it'll be okay" and it was.

So I just wanted to say the more stressed you are at the thought of induction the more horrid an experience you may find it?

I really agree with the try the pessaries and if it doesn't work then just refuse to have an ARM and/or drip. It would be good if you could speak to someone about it all sooner rather than later. Do they have a birth reflections service at your unit? I really found it helpful coming to terms with my horrid inductions.

Having had all aorts of types of births I can only say what I feel.

fwiw I would do the same as you BUT I would explore the options of a more 'gentle/natural' chemical induction.

Would they allow you to control the drp rate for example? How could they ensure you are free to move etc.

If you are 'threatening' a c/section, you might find they are open to allowing you to have more say and control over the induction process.

electra - my wife had quite long conversations with her consultant about this although admittedly 9 years ago now.

My wife had the following powerful logic that her consultant had difficulty challenging.

My wife had reveiwed the statistics on inductions and realised that many end up with an emergency C section anyway. So she said, I am not going to be induced only to find that I need an emergency C section. If you say I need to be induced I am going straight for a planned C section without delay.

The consultant agreed. Luckly she had the birth naturally but came close.

Your circmstances may be very different - but as my wife decided (and I agreed) it is better to have a planned C section than an emergency dash down a corridor for a C section with a sleepy surgeon in the middle of the night.

If you are favorable an induction with a third baby it need not be as bad as you are expecting. It is entirely possible that you would labour after just having your waters broken and avoid the need for drugs. Also if the baby is genuinely small what is the reason for that, do you smoke heavily, have you got high blood pressure, were your other two small, are you and your partner small? Very few babies are small for dates in otherwise normal pregnancies and you can't weigh a baby until it is out, if the amount of amniotic fluid is normal and the other indications are ok then there is no reason to do it in most cases. If the baby is really small and compromised then they would be mad to insist on an induction that could potentially cause fetal distress on a small baby that might not cope well and I would have thought that if they really think it needs to come out they would let you have a section. Sending you lots of growing vibes.

Thanks for all of your replies - interesting to read. Yes, I would certainly be open to try the initial stages of induction. If they could get things moving without a drip, that would be ok. I could cope with that. What I couldn't cope with is the drip and everything else that tends to follow.

twocutedarlings - what you describe sounds very similar to what I experienced. I actually cannot even compare the two experiences of childbirth - they are not even like the same process. With this baby I felt that if I went overdue I would try to keep going as long as possible and that induction probably wouldn't be necessary as I do believe my body would start when it's ready.

Of course, if my body isn't doing a great job now and the baby would be better out I would not want to compromise its health but also want to be able to walk away from this without crying about it for a long time afterwards. And my mental health is fragile now - I think that's my main concern.

maxbear - I don't smoke or anything. I am small but my other babies both weighed over 8 pounds at birth. The scans I have had don't show any problem with amniotic fluid (although there isn't a lot) but there has been some concern about pressure of blood flow from the placenta. So this is a new situation for me. This baby has a different father from my daughters though so perhaps that's a factor? The baby is not growing up any kind of curve though...

But really, and with the greatest respect an induction isnt that bad ive had 4 and even tho they were not the home water birth I had wanted or the active labor i would have preferred they were deffo better than a section. imo.
my inductions were all at 36 weeks and took 2 days to get going, 2 lots of gel and ARM and plently of syntocinon. Yes they hurt and yes it was all out of my control as i was bed bound but It is best to have baby here and healthy with you as fit as possible than to perhaps risk otherwise. A major op is just that-major.
Although of course it is your call, and you have to do what you think best.

But iMum, it's not that bad for you - that's the point. We are all different. I find it very traumatic being strapped to a monitor and stuck on a bed. Did you forget about it easily afterwards and move on? Because I didn't....and I didn't have manic depression then either (at least not diagnosed).

I was in a similar situation electra although my traumatic induction resulted in nothing but an awful lot of trauma (no contractions but an awful lot of pain) and I had a cs at the end of it.
I found it all so traumatic that I asked to have an elective section the second time round as I wasn't willing to risk the same thing happening again. I have no regrets, the cs was a wonderful experience that time as I didn't have the stress of the failed induction to contend with. I made sure I was up and about asap afterwards and didn't have any complications.

I'm not advocating you have a cs but sharing my experience. You have to do what is right for you, only you know how strongly you feel about it.

Oh electra, please dont take offence! I absolutly agree that peoples feelings about things are personal to them and wouldnt dream of saying that just because I coped with it then so can you-I was aiming for "its not so bad, you can do it"
And I have to say that my first induced birth was because my DD had died, so really all my subsequent inductions (needed as they werent sure why my dd died and didnt want to risk going to term again) were traumatic as they reminded me so much of my dd's birth.

But honestly, dont agonise over it-if it is an option that you can have the section and your consultant is happy to and it is what you need to do for your own health then you have no choice, its only if you think you might possible be able to face an induction that you should think very hard about opting not to i spose.

iMum - I'm not offended at all - didn't mean for it to come across that way Sorry to hear about your dd too - how awful

I am interested to hear everyone's views because I want to be sure I'm doing the right thing. I haven't spoken with the doctors about it yet so I don't know what they will say. It is only in the last week that they have started to get more concerned.

Both mine were small- that's why I was induced, and I was not tied to the monitor all the time. Though I spent more time in the monitor with ds, as the monitoring showed up causes for concern, and in the end they did have to do the section.

Anyway, if you have a drip, does that mean you have to lie down? I do seem to remember walking around the room tugging the drip machine on wheels after me. And I am sure my MIL did the same after her cancer op.

It can't hurt asking anyway.

But I would absolutely frank about explaining to them the limits of what you can cope with. You have to be there for the baby after it's born, so your wellbeing mustn't be compromised either.

No experience of induction, so forgive my ignorance, but does continuous monitoring really mean you're confined to a bed?

I ask because after having my waters broken I progressed really quickly (and was loving being in the pool!). Had to get out unfortunately as my contractions stopped when I was 10cm so they put me on the syncontin drip. I had to be continuously monitored, but was able to stand/squat (had the drip on a movable stand thing) and eventually DD emerged with the help of a birthing stool.

Could an approach like that be possible do you think? Or do you have to stay in bed with an induction?

I think I need to keep an open mind until I have found out exactly what the protocol is at our hospital. I suppose things may have changed in the last 7 years - it's quite a long time ago really... I am not sure whether I would be expected to stay in bed but would need to ask this. And I suppose it all depends on how the baby is doing wrt what the doctor recommends....

Thanks again for replies.