I'm sorry, I know I;m being a bore, but I REALLY need positive stories about overdue births

[SpawnChorus]

I'm 41 + 4 today by my dates and 42 + 1 by my scan dates. I had a MW appt this morning and I'm measuring 43 weeks...I have tended to measure at least a week ahead with all my pregnancies though.

I was really really sure about my dates...it would tie in with ovulating on day 17 as per usual, and I also got my first v v v faint positive test at 11 dpo (I had been testing for several days before that as I'm a pee-stick addict). However, I'm beginning to doubt myself, for no reason really...I'm just worried about the off chance that I'm wrong and had an unusually early ovulation and a relatively late positive test.

The MW says my cervix is "mid-posterior", closed and soft. Also the baby is somewhat back to back (his back is to my right and back, I can feel limbs to the front left).

My previous DCs were both 8 days late.

The MW has booked me in for placental scan tomorrow (based on the fact that I'm 42+ by scan dates).

I just don't know what to do...I know they're going to start advising an induction v soon, and I really don't want it. On the other hand I'm terrified of putting the baby at increased risk.

Has anyone else been "diagnosed" with an unfavourable cervix and gone into labour shortly after?

Or how about stories about "nice" inductions?

Thanks

Both times I was told my cervix was unfavourable. The first time I went into spontaneous labour 7 days after the ve, and the second time I had given birth with 4 hours of the ve.

It sounds like you like to gestate to the max!

My sister went to 43 weeks (with expec. management) with her dd, they were both well and she was born at home.

Have faith in you and your baby. Make time to visualise meeting your baby, and really visualise every step, don't just think about it - iyswim.

Good luck

I went two weeks overdue with DD. Midwife said cervix wasn't doing much right up until the day before I went into labour.

(Labour was long and difficult in the end but she was my first and that's another story!) But I did go into labour naturally only 12 hours after my midwife had said not much was happening.

I let them book the induction, knowing that I could cancel on the day. Also went for the placental scan just to be sure everything was ok to continue with the pregnancy. I think just knowing all was ok was enough to let me relax enough to go into labour.

Hope you're not waiting too much longer.

And if you do have to be induced, two friends of mine had very positive inductions. Nice slow build up etc... But I'm sure you won't need one .

My friend has 4 children. When to term+9 with all of them. Was showing as unfavourable with all of them until days and even hours with the younger two before birth. All delivered normally, no problems. Births were 20hrs, 7hrs, 6hrs and 4hrs.

"Or how about stories about "nice" inductions?"

My induction was early - 37 and a half weeks - but my twins weighed 10 and a half lbs between them. A midwife told me my uterus probably 'thought' I was well overdue.

Anyway, it was both fast and much less painful than the two births I had before. I started contractions instantly when they hooked up the drip and gave birth to twin1 an hour and a quarter later. Only had gas and air.

Hope all goes well, and soon!

Oh I really like these stories! Thank you so much.

I've had a small amount of blood since the examination. Nothing dramatic like a show though.

I went 18 days over with my 1st by LMP dates. If I'd relied on scan dates, I would've been even further along. However, he was born bang on 40 weeks to the day he was conceived. Nice easy labour and birth.

If you're sure of your dates, I personally would choose to hold off and have monitoring to check placenta etc.

With this pregnancy, I had an apt last week to discuss induction and I've made it clear that I will go to 43 weeks with monitoring as there is, yet again, discrepancy over my dates ! Unless there appears to be problems for me and the baby, in which case I will accept induction.

It's not an exact science, is it

I still want it out though . 41 weeks today

On my dd I was due for induction on the Friday started pains Tuesday night v irregular at about 4pm they regulated at 12 I went in as there was no break between cc now and dd born at 1.46 Wednesday. I had sadly accepted that I was going to be induced when cc started.
As far as births go it was lovely. Try not to give up hope babies tend to arrive when you least expect them too.

I once went 3 weeks over due, and had a c-section.
I went 11 days over with ds2, had not signs and went into labour on the day I went in for monitoring and was found to be in labour, I couldn't feel cx, and was 5 cm.
On another note, why can't someone invent a pee-stick to let you know when you will go into labour.

deeja - that would be fantastic, wouldn't it? although think how much you'd spend on them if you ended up 14 days overdue...

also, why don't pregnancy books/guides mention weeks 41 and 42? they all get to week 40, and say 'you'll have a baby', conveniently ignoring the poor unfortunates who go past week 40 with no sign of any child emerging. They could have guides to how to smoke baby out, and what happens with a sweep/inductions/other options.

My friend just had an induction when overdue (just a few days over) - I was worried as I'd got the impression inductions were bad news, but it all went smoothly. She had an epidural and start of induction to birth was only about 8 hours I think. She said it was great.

I have a nice induction story to cheer you up.
When i had dd (spontaneous labour) it went on forever, very painful, 25 hours

I then went 15 days over with ds, determined to go to birth centre, then they wouldnt take me any later so gave into induction. It was by far the better birth, I would probably say less painful and deffo shorter (6 hours), only needed one pessary.

If I go even a day over with this one I will be down the hospital begging for an induction nothing to it.

Many people on here are anti-induction, I dont know why, I mean Ive had enough now at 33 weeks, dear god I will be delerious by 40 wks, whats the point in hanging on and on, having to undergo regular scans and potentially putting baby at risk. Get it out I say , I think ds would have stayed in there forever, he told me yesterday that 'it was beautiful in your tummy, I think Bob likes it too' so my womb is obviously the place to be lol

My only experience of induction (well it was augmentation really, with DC1) was awful. I soooo don't want to go down that route again. Maybe it would be different with a subsequent child though [hopeful]

DS4, with me at the ripe old age of almost 41 and a 16 year gap between sons!!!, decided to arrive at 42 + 6 He was the only one of my four sons that I had a healthy pregnancy with, the only one I wasn't induced with and the fastest to be born.

Up to just a few minutes before the first pains started I had no inclination that anything was going to ever happen!!! Only managed to get to the hospital some 4 hours later with 45 minutes to spare.

He's 12 now and sat on the sofa playing guitar hero and tutting that I am 'going on' about his birth

Oooh...just had a show I think (never had one before). A sizeable blob of reddy-brown stringy gunk came out when I did a wee. I wonder if that's just a side-effect of yesterday's vaginal exam though?

Waiting to hear what time my appt is for a placental scan.

Lovely story shabba

Yay! That is GREAT news. Whatever the reason for it, things are PROGRESSING.

Did you have a VE or a sweep?

I have heard the most effective way for sweeps to work are one a day for three consecutive days.

Really ILike? I suppose they'll want to do a VE later today at hosp when I have my scan...I'll ask them to try do do a sweep. The MW couldn't do a proper sweep yesterday as I was too closed/posterior so she just "applied pressure" to the cervix.

I was 40+6 when I started having little tightenings (had a sweep 3 days earlier), went into hospital that night and had my waters broken at 5am which was when the contractions really kicked off. By 8am I had DS.

I had a fab time (mainly due to the pethidine).

Hope things progress for you soon

When I say 'I have heard', it was my mw who mentioned it.

She was very experienced and in her opinion it was the best and most effective way.

Well, I'm really keen to avoid a full on induction, and I know the pressure is going to mount considerably from here on. I'll be 42 weeks on Thursday, by my dates and 42 + 4 by the scan dates. I don't think I'll be able to brave it out any longer than that (I'm already obsessed with monitoring movements!).

LOL 2ndcoming

MW phoned and I'm going in at 12 for a CTG (?) scan (which I assume means a placenta and amniotic fluid check??).

I'm feeling qiute edgy though as I tried to get reassurance that if the placenta and baby looked fine I'd be allowed home, and she sounded kind of shifty, and said that hopefully I'd be having regular contractions by then. (I can't feel any contrax at all at the mo). I pressed her and said if I'm not contracting will I be allowed home, and she said "well that's something you'll have to discuss with them" . I really DON'T want to have to insist on going home against advice.

Would just like to agree with secondcomings comment about the drip Good luck, hope everything works out brilliantly for you xxx

I went for a brisk hill-walk when 2 weeks over-due.... I was slightly worried about having to be air-lifted out of the Quantocks but I was fine....

Good luck, sounds as though you've had a proper show - fingers crossed!

I'm back (but not with a baby )! It was actually quite a positive appointment and the staff were lovely. There was a LOT of umming and ahhing over my dates, but they were happy enough to go with my dates which is good. They were very happy with the monitoring results. Baby's heartbeat sounded good and I have "oodles of fluid"

I also had a VERY vigorous sweep! I honestly couldn't believe the arm motions as she rummaged around up there, but weirdly it was far less uncomfortable than yesterday's one. She also said that I'm now 2 cm dilated, so there has def been progress of some kind since yesterday!

The plan is to leave it until Thursday pm, at which point I'll go in and be induced. I'm fine with that. It'll be exactly 42 weeks by my dates, and I don't have the balls to go longer than that.

Fingers crossed the uber-sweep will do the trick though.

Good news about being 2cm, that is great progress.

You sound a lot happier too.

Lots of sex and nipple twiddling is now called for. MrSC must now step up and be a man