Refusing induction - Crazy?

[madcatsazz]

Has anybody else refused induction? I'm 41 weeks today and assuming checks and monitoring show baby is healthy, I am planning to refuse induction. I have appt with obstetrician on thursday and I wondering what points he's going to throw at me. I know there is an 'increased risk' but I have read the stats and they are still seriously low and know that scans and heartrate checks should show any signs of distress in the baby. I also know there's an increased risk of meconium in the waters - does anybody know of further research on this? Any advice or opinions welcome (go easy on me though, I'm a heavily pregnant hormanal woman!)

"Since then i have spoken to several specialist and with a 1st baby they really should not let you wait more that 41 weeks max"

I totally disagree with this total rubbish.

Just wanted to say I was induced at 42 weeks. Labour was 4 hours. only gas and air. It really isn't always bad.

madcatsazz, really glad the appointment went well with the consultant and sorry the sweep was painful. Hopefully your baby is on his/her way soon. Let us know!

I'm so glad the policy has changed. It was 40+10 when I had dd2. I was under huge pressure from midwives and I am pretty sure that that is what caused me to go to 42+2 before she was born. Nearly 4 years earlier the hospital had a different policy and they left me alone until 42 weeks when ds1 was born. Stress has an adverse effect on commencement of labour. IIRC adrenalin actually stops labour so try as hard as you can to relax - I know how hard that must be for you now but you have a better chance of going into labour if you're relaxed. Ironically, it was the midwife in the hospital who should have been booking me in for an induction who told me that, over the phone while I was crying telling her that I wasn't coming in to be induced as planned on my notes.

"Since then i have spoken to several specialist and with a 1st baby they really should not let you wait more that 41 weeks max"

I agree with Fibilou. Studies/References please before making such a remark. Or are these specialists from Greece where 40 weeks is the cut off date?

"Since then i have spoken to several specialist and with a 1st baby they really should not let you wait more that 41 weeks max"

I didn't even read that sentence - I had to scroll back to find the statement. With all the reading I have done, I obviously ignored it as total rubbish. Because, let's be honest, it's not for 'them' to 'let' you do anything. That's what drives me so crazy. The amount of people that keep asking me when I have to go in....we are brainwashed en masse to believe we 'must' be induced. I realise that many, if not most, want this but it still makes me mad that there are some that don't realise they even have a choice.

That all said, each day gets harder and harder. The pressure of wondering if I will be one of those teeny tiny statistics that prove the policy right....the waiting, the stress, the discomfort. That induction looks ever so slightly more appealing every day. 40+10 today and still no twinges.

Thanks to all for your support though, it helps to know not everyone thinks I'm totally insane to be bucking the system.

hi. when i went in for induction with DS at 40+15 i asked them if i could refuse the induction.

the midwife was completely baffled and asked why. i couldn't really explain to her but i just knew it would end up being a long drawn out affair ended in cs.

she bustled away after giving me strange looks and returned with someone else who said of course i could refuse but i had been booked in a slot and there might not have been another when needed.

i went with the induction as it was only a bad feeling and it ended up being a long drawn out affair ending in emcs.

coincidence or not? it just did not feel right to make him want to come before ready but it turned out ok in the end. i am having elcs this time though.

listen to the professionals but listen to yourself too

I could have murdered someone by the time I actually went into labour (about 11pm on +11). But it was well worth it to escape induction. My SIL had to have a synto drip to regulate her contractions; she is a midwife so knew all about it - but she had a horrible birth and ended up with the full kit and caboodle apart from ECS. I would have done anything to avoid that drip

I know it seems horrific now, the endless waiting and that induction date looming like the end of the earth but hang on in there. Baby will come out of it's own accord eventually

oh madcatsazz, i hope you go into labour soon!

the policies really depend on where you live, in norfolk the policy is to induce at term plus ten, but i and many of my friends have said that we want to go to term plus 14 and they have been ok with this, GENERALLY, it depends on your midwife and you may be asked to see a consultant

some HA dont induce till term till 14 and i said this when i was told that i 'really should' be induced at term plus ten.

i had a really charming consultant who when i said i wanted to go past term plus ten with ds3, wrote on my notes in big CAPITAL letters, PATIENT HAS BEEN INFORMED THAT SHE IS RISKING HER BABY BEING STILLBORN AND STILL REFUSES INDUCTION. umm yeah thanks for that!

my tips would be walking up and down stairs, sideways if you can, rocking on birth ball, keeping upright and active, sex! fiddle with you nipples, i did that in the bath. if you dont want full sex with your parnter, or they dont want to a bit of diy can help you along, orgasms help stimulate the uterous, think how hard your bump goes when you orgasm! tmi i know.

reflexology and accupuncture, i also had a homeopathic birthing kit and it had some stuff that i took, only i dont remember what it was called, sorry.

hang on in there xxxx

4mad - sounds like you had a mean consultant. Mine was actually really nice - he told me the policy was term plus 10 to 14 days and that he had no problem me going over if that was my choice. We talked about the risks and he actually talked about 'medicalising births' and said that's not why he came into obstetrics - I could hardly believe he was saying it. Don't get me wrong, I think half of him was just humouring me knowing that when a woman has made up her mind, he's unlikely to change it and he probably also knows many women get v v tired of being pregnant by 42 weeks and I'll probably cave and have an induction eventually!

As for your list, so far I've tried sex, nipples, erm.....self stimulation (TMI)... and reflexology, oh and a sweep and some walking. so far, not even a twinge and today I am 40+13. It's not the physical that's killing me though, it's the mental torture. Is everything ok? Am I putting the baby at risk? Is there a reason she doesn't want to come? Is she in a bad position?

If I knew an induction would work, I'd probably buckle and have one but I'm so confused as to why she hasn't come that I'm almost convinced an induction will lead to an emcs anyway which is what I desperately want to avoid - especially as I plan to avoid epi which means cs done by GA. Ahhh, I can't bear this waiting.......

Anybody around today? I'm feeling pretty low. 40+13 today and still nothing. Been to see midwife this morning and had a sweep. Cervix apparently soft but very posterior. I've not had even a braxton hicks! We talked about position of baby - currently somewhere between left OA and Left OP which could be the cause of the delay. So now I don't know what to do. I have appt on Wednesday for monitoring and assuming that's all fine, how long do you go on? I'm tired, fat and worried about the baby but still so absolutely desperate to avoid that induction. What a shit day...

You poor sausage. I saw this thread the other day, but didn't have time to post. It's miserable waiting isn't it? I went to 42weeks with my first, and was determined not to be induced. Unfortunately my consultant was of the opposite camp to yours and put so much pressure on me I crumbled. It wasn't a good birth, but then who knows what it would have been like if i'd waited. I think I went into it with totally the wrong mindframe - it was being 'done' to me, rather than me positively wanting it, iyswim.

Sometimes you just have to deal with the cards you're dealt unfortunately. All I can say is, if the monitoring shows reason for induction, then give yourself a day to get your head into the right space, rather than doing it straight away. Scans at this stage are fairly inaccurate at estimating babys weight, and is hard to tell the amount of fluid etc, so will err on the cautious probably.

Just bear in mind that 42weeks is not that late for a western woman, especially if this is your first. I think I recall some research which showed the average gestation for this group was 40+8, not 40, so you're only 5 days over that. Not that that helps much!

I guess if I were you, I wouldn't go any later than 43, but it's your choice. There's a website out there called something like 10 month mommas, if you fancy waiting that long!

Good luck, concentrate on getting all the rest you can and eating well. Labour is pretty exhausting no matter which way it starts or how it ends!

Oh, and position is v important in starting labour, so do your positioning moves!

thanks lukewarm. This is my second pg - first was born at 39+5 which is one of the reasons this is so hard to cope with! I don't want to go much past 43 either. I think in my mind I will probably book in for induction at 43 weeks if nothing happens in the hope that the longer I leave it, the better my chances of it working without so many interventions. I am genuinely terrified of the intensity of chemical induced labour though. What a shitty way to start your labouring. I know I should be doing positioning moves but I'm never really sure where to start. Any good suggestions?

Feeling for you, madcatsazz. Haven't got a lot of time to post, but a friend found this website useful when she was told her baby was in the 'wrong' position. Cervix sounds like it's softening and the fact that you're feeling down could be a GOOD sign! (Hormones and all that.) Thinking of you and I'll be back later.

Acupuncture might be worth a go? I was so terrified of going over again with dd2 that I had acupuncture from 36 weeks, and I swear it made a difference - I was kind of on/off but nothing happening, had a final session where she had a really good prod around and went into labour that night. She was a bit sceptical about how definite the result could be if only used as a one off induction thing, but could be worth a try anyway?

Sorry, didn't read the whole thread, didn't realise it was number two!

I was induced at 42 weeks (40+14, definitely). I wasn't mad keen but it went fine, took from Sunday night to early hours of Tuesday morning (about 30hrs) to get DS out but he was perfect when he arrived - he just wasn't "cooked" earlier.

I never got to the drip phase - missed it by about 2 hours - and the birth was not only natural with no medical intervention (except for an anti-sickness shot and a shot of useless pethidine) but I didn't tear either. Largely due to being left on my own with DH - stage II labour started while I was still in the "observation" suite (they had 2 emergencies going on elsewhere) and I didn't send DH for a MW until DS had crowned - they arrived just in time for him to be born (3 mins later). So - despite the slow start, my induction was fine.

I was induced at 40+10. I begged to be induced. I was huge, and miserable, and fed up with waiting. I had tried everything to get my ds to hurry up and arrive. Shiatsu, homeopathy, reflexology, positive thinking, negative thinking, climbing stairs, very awkward sex, tweaking nipples, curry, pineapple, warm relaxing baths, cold showers, bouncing on a ball, yoga, and I had two sweeps that didn't work. I was desperate by the time I went to hosp. They started me off at 8am, and at 7.30pm my contractions started thick and fast. He was born at 2am after an epidural (heaven as far as I was concerned) with the help of forceps (the ventouse didn't work - the midwife flew across the room with a loud thwuck). The little blighter clearly didn't want to come out. But thank heavens I was induced - he was over 9lbs and if I'd waited I would have had problems.

Do not be afraid of induction. I would do it again.

Thanks for all your posts. I was hoping you would post kooky - I think I've latched on to your story of misery and waiting and I really wanted to hear from someone that had been there and was succesful in getting the spontaneous labour. It just feels today like it's never ever going to happen. I can't count the number of people that have asked 'how long they will let me go?' I don't particularly want to discuss with every tom, dick and Harry why I have declined induction but as I didn't expect all this, I've already told everybody that my due date was 2 weeks ago so now I don't know how to answer when they ask. I end up in vague discussions about monitoring and expectant management and watch people's faces as they process the information. "surely that's not good for you or the baby" has been the general response...oh and "well, it can't go on forever...

The wait was awful, but I am so glad that I held out for the birth I wanted. I did try castor oil at 42 weeks and had contractions, got all excited, put on my TENS machine and went to bed to get some rest... only to wake up hugely disappointed in the morning, still with no baby! I did take it again the night before she was born, but I think I was on the way anyway. The castor oil was pretty hideous, but I was getting desperate by then!

I remember all the phone calls and "haven't you had that baby yet?" comments, which drove me to distraction. That last week I was going in to be monitored daily and was also counting kicks so I knew she was doing OK and I also felt fine (if a bit fed up!).

Try to keep strong, as I'm certain you're doing the best thing by your baby and yourself. Waterbirth is worth hanging out for!! The World Health Organisation recognises 42 weeks as full term, and keeping that in mind helped enormously.

Chin up!

Did you have a look at the Spinning babies website?

I did look at the spinning babies website. It's left me a little confused tbh. Midwife says baby is left occiput between anterior and posterior. Consultant said left occiput transverse. Spinning babies says this is the 'perfect' position. Midwife was concerned she was "more posterior than anterior" and we talked about whether that could be holding off labour. So, now I don't really know what to think. And perhaps I'm overthinking it anyway. Maybe I should just relax a bit and let what will be, be IYSWIM. I'm loathe to try caster oil because the mechanics behind it's working seems so wrong. Supposedly it sends your bowels into spasm because it's so hard to digest and makes you ill and it is the bowel movements that start your uterus off contracting. It's also supposed to increase the risk of the baby passing meconium as it has the same effect on baby's digestion and it does on your own. That said, I doubt there have been many trials on pregnant women and their unborn to test these theories so who knows!

It's good to know that according to WHO, I am in fact, term-1 instead of term+13.

FWIW I would (and will) definitely refuse induction this time round. My last pregnancy ended in failed induction which turned into emcs. Hated the whole experience, I didn't even get a sense of joy when DC eventually arrived. I genuinely didn't feel anywhere near recovered for 4 months after the delivery and a lot of that I put down to how much the failed induction (which lasted 3 days) took out of me.

thanks max - how far in were you when you were induced?

term-1

I agree with that most definitely. All this 40 weeks stuff is not only based on some unscientific guesstimate made in the 1800s (I think), but is just so blardy unhelpful. As you know... sorry, rant over. Just answer people's questions with 'I'm not yet full term/only just full term/its not up to me, its up to bubba' and sidle away.

I'm not sure other people's stories are that helpful for you really. You just don't know what will happen, however labour starts. I've had induction/crash C section/baby in NICU for 2 weeks, and natural labour at home/transfer to hospital/episiotomy. The level of postnatal complications and recovery time for both were about the same - just different problems. I'm not going for a third! You can read statistics until you're blue in the face, but it'll just stress you out if it doesn't work out that way for you.

Best thing to do is to totally forget about it (as far as possible... I know I know) and chill out as much as you possibly can. I swear I didn't go into labour the first time round because I was under so much pressure from the midwives and felt the 'deadline' approaching. If you can't think about anything else, then find something to get busy with.

I know this is falling on deaf ears because I've been there and I know its impossible to think of anything else. But try as much as you can....