Can I refuse the drip? Is it Syntocin?

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

I failed to prpgress past 4cm in my last labour and was advised to have the drip to speed up my contractions.

Neither the baby nor I were in any distress at this point and I am of the opinion that it caused an escalation of pain, panic and overwhelmingness that I wish to completely avoid next time.

Can I refuse it? What are my alternatives?

I absoloutley hated internal examinations and again, wish to refuse these. I am hoping for a water birth so am assuming I will.need an internal to see if I am far enough along to get into the pool - I will concede on that one! But no more.

Can I do all of the above?

I have no advice but watching with interest as being induced Tuesday and wondered about the drip too.
Hope someone comes along to answer!

Im toying with putting something in my Plan whereby if the drip is the only recommended next step (whilst in labour) then to go straight to csec. Again I dont know if that possible though.

I'm sure you can refuse anything you want.

I only had two internals during my last labour. One when I arrived for an induction it turned out I didn't need and one an hour after my waters were broken (I had polyhydramnios so this needed to be done in a controlled environment at this stage). The ARM probably counts as a 3rd. I didn't need them after being assessed as 5/6cm as it was obvious from my behaviour that labour was progressing. I didn't get permission to push at a certain dilation - I told the midwife I needed to!

Second labours do tend to be quicker and aside from say, needing to give birth within 24hrs of your waters going, I'm not sure why you'd have to have the drip of baby was happy and not in distress.

Are you very anxious about this? Have you discussed interim your midwife?

I wouldnt say im anxious about the labour, but I am dreading the thought of (1) the pain of the internals and (2) the drip again.

I am pretty gung ho about the whole "it will hurt, it may not go to plan, ill roll with it" as long as I can have a caveat on the two points above.

I think as with all of these things, you are quite within your rights to refuse any suggested treatment. However, the HCPs will be required to set out potential risks etc etc.
I had the drip with my second child as was induced due to cholestasis. I said from the word go that I wanted an epi. I had one, which only partially worked, but it was fine. I had a much more straightforward labour second time around than first time, (where I laboured under my own steam in pool, but then had a protracted pushing stage, assisted delivery, PPH and retained placenta.)
Have you discussed with your community midwife?

See I had no urge to push either. I was examined, told to start pushing, didnt know what the heck I was supposed to be doing as by this point id been in agony for hours with the drip. Evebtually they re examined and dd had turned. She got stuck, I was taken to theatre, given epidural and episiotomy and she was forceps delivery with the room prepped for emcs.

My 28 week appointment was with a sort of locum MW as mine was away. My next appt at 34 weeks is mith my usual MW so I will speak to her then.

Have you thought about having a doula?
They can be very helpful in helping you with refusing interventions that you do not want.
How many weeks are you?

Im 29 weeks now. Mmmive never fancied the idea of a Doula, I really want as little fuss as possible and having a random third person there with me and dh would feel really odd to me. Im happy to stand my ground on areas that I know I can and know about so its more about understanding my battles before I fight them than needig someone to fight them for.me.

If you get to induction then why not opt for elcs? If you can.
I personally would not refuse intervention and would skip to section.

I mean I would jump from natural to section rather than refusing other intervention.

If I go past due date and nothing happens, I will request an elective csec. However Im more concerned about the same happening as first time round - needing the induction drug whilst already in the midst of labour.

Yes you can absolutely refuse this or any other kind of intervention if you wish. You might find that the language used sometimes by medical professionals might not acknowledge this, so remembering that can help sometimes. It can be good to practice what you might say to refuse things as well. E.g 'thank you for your suggestion but I'm refusing that for now'. 'No' also works

Asking what alternatives there are also can be helpful, and what the risks are to just waiting.

I skipped to section second time around as well vs. induction but I was very far along. I wanted a natural birth but CS still beat induction for me.

If your being offered an induction, you can always ask about being monitored daily and seeing how things go. Midwives are normally very helpful if they feel you have a grasp of what you're talking about. Have a look at the AIMS website and NICE guidlines on what to do when you are 'late'.

You can always refuse internal exams. Most midwives are quite good at telling where you are in labour, there are other ways of telling. Just make sure your DP knows your wishes so he can advocate for you.

They gave me the drip but i got to the point where i refused to allow them to increase the dosage anymore as i was told i was going to theatre but due to severe complications of another woman they kept me waiting. They still however increased the dosage whilst i was waiting until i told them in no uncertain terms they had to stop. My mum argued with me but i still refused so they had to stop funnily enough with the help of forceps DD was delivered not long after.

Oh just seen your post about going past dates. Well during labour you can just refuse to have it. Hospitals have to have a protocol about how women should progress in labour, but there's no reason you have to fit in with that. I think if they offer an intervention and you say can you give me another hr and they go for it then there can't have been anything massively urgent. If theyddon't give you that time, its probably serious.

Hi hacked I don't know anything about the injection unfortunately, how ever I've made it very clear in my birthplan that I only want minimal internal examinations, the only exception being if the baby is in distress then I will obviously go with what's needed. Just had my 36 wk appt and there was no issue raised with this part of the plan

I know someone suggested a Doula, and I get that you don't want one present but could I suggest seeing if any of your local ones do any one to one workshop type things? We did a couple with a fantastic lady near us (Somerset) and we both (husb was there too) learned so much, I feel so much more empowered to say yes or no to things, or even I just need 5 mins to think about this, and husb feels much more able to speak on my behalf as he knows what I want, and she talked him through all the stages of labour (so hopefully) nothing will come as too much of a surprise. Just may be something to think about.

Hope it all goes well for you

You can refuse anything you want. It's your decision. But obviously you need to consider why they are suggesting intervention in the first place. For example, where baby is not in distress, you could suggest waiting another hour before intervening. Ask them what the alternatives are and what are the dangers if you refuse etc. my suggestion would be to ensure your OH is aware of these things so he can insist on explanations etc if you are not in a position to do so. My birth plan also says that where possible, I want to be informed of any decisions and to consider all options etc before they happen.

I'm saying all this as a FTM who's yet to give birth (!) so whether this will all happen or not, who knows! But certainly our NCT instructor made it clear that everything is a choice - and I agree with the PP who said the HCP might not make this obvious.

I refused internals when I had DC2 - they hurt more than labour first time round and I said I would only consent in an emergency or if I requested one during labour. I had a home birth - no internals when mw arrived as it was obvious I was labouring, got into the pool, and didn't get out until baby arrived! Very different experience to first labour...