Help - Scared i'm going to be made to induce

[k4mi]

I really need some support guys. I am 41wks today. My midwife has just been over to attempt a sweep. She tried last week at 40 wks and cervix was too far back really so couldn't do much although it did cause a show.

This week i have had lots of mild contractions / signs things were happening and have basically convinced myself that at the least my cervix would have shortened by today.

Anyway she has just been again (diff midwife) and says there's no change in my cervix, she can only get the finger tip in. It is soft she says but that's about it.

I am due to have a scan today to check baby is doing OK and then have to see consultant tomo to discuss induction options.

We were planning a home birth an i had in my head decided if things were seemingly progressing well and scan looked ok then we would just carry on in the hope of still having a home birth before 42 weeks.

Now that my cervix doesn't seem to be changing i am getting scared they will want / push me into induction. I really really don't want this as clearly my body isn't ready and also i was an induced baby and my mum had a v hard time and so i have major fears of it. I would much prefer a C section if it comes down to it than to be induced before my body has started to get ready.

Does anyone have any words of support? Either of being in a similar situation or of an induction process that was actually OK? If they say the baby needs to come out today for whatever reason can i ask for a C section over being induced?

I've been induced 3 times, it was fine, dd decided to make a very quick arrival but other than that all good. i has ds2 last year and he was induced, he wasn't ready and nor was my body really, but still only took 4 hours xx

I was induced with my first and was only 5 hrs then he was born. I was also experiencing mild contractions before hand so I think that if ur on ur way anyway induction just gives u a kick start sometimes it's what ur body needs

I can't help with positive inductions I'm afraid, mine weren't great, dd3 went naturally after a sweep at 40+6 at 9.30 am the following day after 2 hours of contractions i let them do an internal and they said I wasn't even dilating and that cervix was pretty far back settle in for the long haul, dd3 was born at 1pm the same day, I can't say you will be like this but I wouldn't write off the homebirth just yet

Jezebelle and Musso, did you both have Epidurals? If so were there tears etc? I am worrying that i won't know when to push but i know being induced tends to be rather painful and so would need more than gas and air i guess?

i was induced with DD at 41w+4 and it was fine. infact it was brilliant. Am hoping for a repeat performance for currently gestating DD2. Just get them to start the epidural before they started the synocin pump. DD's birth was the most relaxed and blissed out experience ever. No instruments or other interventions and best of all, no pain.

THe fact that your cervix is not ripening doesnt necessarily suggest that your body or your baby is not ready to be born yet. Have they given you an indication of the position your baby is in? DD was ocipital posterior or back to back in laymans terms which meant that even though she was more than ready to be born she wasnt putting enough pressure on my cervix to get labour happening naturally. As it turned out when she was eventually born the placenta was not in good shape. I am glad we induced when we did.

If you your baby is in a back to back position have a look at the spinning babies website which will give you lots of ideas for helping to encourage LO into a more favourable birth position. Also, if you have a birthing ball get it out and start sitting on it in favour of the sofa. Sitting on a sofa tends to cause you to slouch back which encourages LO to stay back to back. Sitting on the birthing ball will tilt you forwards slightly.

spinningbabies.com/

oh and i had two minor labial tears which required a bit of glue. i didnt feel them and they healed without any other intervention.

The epi was what they call a mobile epidural so light enough to let me feel the contractions roll through and know when to push but strong enough to block all pain sensation. I could move my legs and shift about on the bed but i couldnt walk.

Yes baby is in the right position, head down and engaged and has been a while but perhaps not putting enough pressure on.

I am having a scan this afternoon to check if everything is functioning as it should be still and if it is we will need to make a decision as to whether or not to be induced tomorrow i think.

It is nice to hear some people have had good experiences of the epidural/synocin as i think that's what we might be looking at ultimately. I guess part of me does think epidural could be nice but have had my heart set on water birth / natural so it's all a bit of a shock!

I was induced with DD at 38 weeks. It did take a long time and my waters had to be broken for me and I had a drip but I was assured that was because they needed her out early and if it had been because she was late it would have been a far quicker process. This was not a great comfort to me at the time but may reassure you?

I got through on gas and air and lots of swearing

I went to 40+14 with DC3 and refused an induction up until then. They can't force you to have one and I was hanging out for a HB. By +14 I had had enough thought and went in to discuss options. On examination (after being completely unfavouralbe for sweeps, with a closed cervix) I was 4 cm and they sent me home to say it was ok to go for HB as it wouldn't be long. I got as far as the hospital carpark...then ended up on the MLU having a pretty speedy waterbirth. So although I didn't have a HB it was all ok in the end.
If you don't want induction you can ask for expectant monitoring etc. If you search the childbirth topic I think there are lots of threads about induction/ positive inductions/ refusing induction etc. Hope it all goes ok. At 41 weeks you are still within the normal range of gestation.

I was induced with all 3 DCs, DD1 was a pessary followed by 23h of labour and a water birth. I think active labour was 6h?
DD2 and DS were both syntocin, but my midwives let me be as mobile as possible, and as a result i coped with just G&A. I think if i'd been stuck on the bed i'd definitely have had an epidural!
DD2 was 8h all in, and DS was 4h.

See if they will monitor you for the next week, but i think after 42w they want you in hosp regardless. (not sure!)

I was induced with DD now aged 4weeks at 40weeks, only because my waters went 2 days previously and I never went into labour myself. Had the gel 24hrs after my waters broke and that didn't really do much although did induce mild period type pain contractions. labour ward then became busy so stayed overnight on the ante-natal ward and then taken down first thing next morning for syntocin drip. 2.5hr labour (was v.quick) and just diamorphine for pain relief and no tearing

I'd be quite happy to do that 3rd time round.

As others have said check that your mw will monitor you over the next week and go from there.

induced 5 times! went 2wks + over each time, with no 1 and no 5 i ended up with syntocin, but not the other three! anyway it was fine each time, LOTS of gas and air and ds4 was actually born in the birth pool :)

no 5 was the hardest because of syntocin drip but also because dd was back to back, but it was still ok, a natural, mobile labour, delivered kneeling up, used birth ball etc and kept as mobile as poss despite the drip.

episiotomy with no1 as i pushed for 3hrs and he didnt want to come out. slight tear with no 2, but fine with the other three.

your niggly contactions etc are all good, even if its not affecting your cervix yet your body is getting ready for labour, just taking its time! you dont have to be induced, they say term plus 14, but i went to plus 18with one of mine and then got induced as i was fed up! ask for expectant management, they can do scan, check fluid levels and that the placenta is ok etc, if all looks good just ask for them to moniter you and you can go longer than 42wks :)

I was induced with DS and it was not what I wanted. That said, his birth was a really positive experience, it took a while and because he was overdue by more than two weeks I was hooked up to monitors BUT I still felt in control and would not be at all worried about induction again.

Looking back, I think my main reason for worrying was the 'cascade of interventions' you hear about. I ended up having a mobile epidural as I had been contracting sporadically for so long and needed some rest but in the final stages i was still able to feel enough to work with my contractions to deliver DS.

I only had the drip though as my cervix was favourable so didn't need the pessary to start it off, although my waters were broken by the midwife.

Induction really wasn't at all bad for me, I hope you don't need it but if you do try not to worry too much... easy to say, I know!

Good luck!

I was induced first time round at 42+1

I won't do it again.

You're not overdue yet anyway - normal pregnancy is between 37 and 42 weeks, and for some women it's a bit less or a bit more.

You are entitled (if you so wish) to decline to consultant appointment tomorrow and perhaps agree to go in to discuss options when you reach 42 weeks.

As long as the placenta is functioning and all appears well on your scan there's no reason to deliver baby yet (you don't mention in your post that there are any underlying issues that would suggest you should consider delivering sooner rather than later). Not at all. And no-one can force you to undergo induction.

You can carry on being pregnant and wait to go into labour naturally, even if that takes you past 42 weeks. NICE Guidelines say that you should be offered induction (that doesn't include trying to bully you into doing it if you don't want to) and to discuss the pros and cons with a consultant, and if you choose not to accept then you should be offered expectant management.

You can still birth at home past 42 weeks as well if you decline the induction.

If the placenta is showing signs of failure then I'd refuse induction and want a CS, mainly because if the placenta is failing then there's no guarantee that the baby will be getting sufficient nutrition or oxygen to sustain it through what could be a lengthy labour - induction can take up to a couple of days, and has a higher rate of EMCS than a spontaneous labour anyway.

I did have an epidural with ds1 and ds2, they were light though and wore off towards the pushing stage so i could feel everything and push well, ds2's birth was amazing and after a 4 hour labour i left the hospital 4 hours later :)

If you don't want an induction, you can refuse. They can't decide to induce you without your consent. By all means discuss it, find out why they are recommending in your case (is it just policy, or do they have reason to believe they should). If you are unconvinced, you can always ask for expectant monitoring, and as long as baby is healthy, there is no reason not to wait.
Your cervix could "turn around" in a day or less and things could kick off, it sounds to me like things might be "warming up", but frustratingly, that can last for days.
Of course you can have an induction if that's what you want, but please don't let anyone forget that one of your "induction options" is to watch and wait.

Flisspaps and FutureNannyOgg have both said basically what I was about to post (and I think one or both of them gave me the same feedback about 3.5 months ago!)

If there is no reason being cited for induction other than your due date, I would definitely refuse induction if that's what you want. EDD is sop arbitrary and inaccurate, different NHS trusts have different policies on how many days you are 'allowed' to go over 40 weeks that it is clearly not a definitive, scientific matter.

I refused inductions for both DDs, one born at 40+11 (by hops dates) and the other at 40+8, both v straightforward labours and v healthy babies at the end, clearly not post-term by appearance or behaviour as noted by MWs both times. I had regular monitoring with DD2 and all was perfect which reassured me.

It did feel scary to refuse induction though, but I really felt like they were just going with protocols rather than specific advice for me. I am v glad I did as there's such a high rate of intervention following induction but I wouldn't have hesitated had there been any hint of a problem either time.

Either way you have to be happy with the decisions you make, but don't feel like you have to be induced without good reason and without your informed consent. Good luck, hope you don't have too long to wait now.

Thanks guys. These is all good info to have.

We had a scan yesterday and LO is absolutely fine in there, all levels / blood flow etc are fine and she is just under 7.5lb so fine weight wise too for my size (small-average build).

I saw he consultant today. She tried her best to talk me into induction...i steered clear and said i wouldn't consider it until next week unless i have symptoms that concern me.

My midwife has been great and will support me however long we want to progress with the home birth idea. I will most likely review the situation on Monday when i'll be 41+6 and make a decision then if necessary. Hopefully i will have a baby by then though...!

Well done for sticking to what you believe to be the best course of action given that all seems to be well.

FWIW, I went into labour ward on the tue night before DS1 was born as I thought my waters had gone (it was my show ) and cervix was still closed and wasn't effaced, I went into labour early hours of fri morning and he was born before fri lunchtime, so just because your body isn't ready yet doesn't mean it isn't going to happen naturally very soon! Well done for sticking to your guns today!

I was really worried about having to be induced with DS1, but I went completely overdue and was induced and it was fine. Plenty of my antenatal group had less positive births without involving inductions so I think they can be as good (or otherwise) as non-induced births.

If it helps, there is a thread on positive induction experiences over on childbirth at the moment.

I was induced last tuesday, took a while as i had to wait 1.5 days for bed on delivery but got to delivery 5pm and had baby at 2.15am. Had an epidural at 11.15 and had it topped up at about 1. I couldnt really feel the contractions to push so the midwives told me when to push and i did well (although this is my 2nd labour) I did have a 2nd degree tear but i had a 3rd degree tear with a water birth with DS1 and that was agony so i would go with the induction and epidural given a choice.