Induction

[KayTee87]

Hello,

I'm 40+2 with my first baby.

At my last mw appointment the baby's head was still high and free (38+4), I went to a physio to check my pelvis and she said there doesn't seem to be any misalignment so it could be that baby is too big (93rd centile at a growth scan & I have a small pelvis compared to the rest of me), chin is in an awkward position or simply that he's not ready yet.

Mw said at next appointment (40+4) we would discuss booking an induction, she won't attempt a sweep if head isn't engaged as she can't risk my waters breaking in case the cord prolapses.

My question is if they can't attempt a sweep then how would they even induce me? I'm very cynical as to if it would even work.

My dm had an emc after 36 hours of labour with me as I wasn't fully engaged and she couldn't dilate past a few cm due to this.
I have a plan to try and help baby engage if I go into labour naturally using some positioning etc from spinning babies however if I am induced I won't have as much control over this. I'm worried about a prolonged labour that ends in emc. I really didn't want a section but if the likelihood is that I will end up with one anyway then surely it's better just to book it in?

Anyone any experience of this?

They'll induce you by putting you on the hormone drip - that's what happened to me. Mine did end in an emergency section because the drip had no effect on me whatsoever (was on it for 14 hrs).

I think that they try not to go straight to section if avoidable, but I'm sure you could request one if you felt more comfortable with it.

I was expecting someone would say that I read that the contractions from the drip are so strong that they can cause the baby to become distressed and you are lying flat on your back so you can't even help nature take its course with walking etc.

I don't know what to do for the best really, ideally I want to avoid surgery but everything I've read indicates that that's how it ends up anyway.

Maybe I should ask to speak to a consultant regarding the pros and cons of each instead of the mw (or do you think that's insulting?). I've not really had the best antenatal care so far tbh the appointments are always very rushed and they miss lots of things out.

Absolutely speak to the consultant! Not insulting to the midwife at all - good to get a different perspective. Your health, your baby's health and your peace of mind should be paramount. Equip yourself with as much information as possible so you can make an informed decision.

I never experience a single contraction (hence the section) so can't say anything about how the drip affects contractions.

What I will say is that my section was fine - I made a good recovery, my daughter was delivered safely, and the doctors and midwives talked me through every stage. It was not what I imagined. If you did go elective, you'd be given a date and time, you'd walk to theatre etc.

What I would say is remember that labour is a means to an end. I think a lot of women don't get the birth experience they'd hoped for but focus on the end result and try not to get too anxious about it.

Hope that helps xx

It's good to hear your emc went well
It's the uncertainty that's hard I think and maybe I'd be anxious about something else even if baby's head was engaged. I keep trying to remind myself that there's still every chance I will go into labour naturally and baby and I will both be fine and happy.
I will go to my appointment armed with a list of questions as its all doom and gloom on Google! X

Oh yes Google can be your worst enemy in these situations!

I hope tomorrow goes well X

Can I just caveat that a consultant can be dismissive of the risks of induction and the cascade of interventions. Whilst Google isn't going to be the most accurate, I'd have a read of the nice guidelines for pregnancy and induction of labour, and especially look at the studies quoted at the back of these which will give you facts about the likelihood of needing additional pain relief and interventions after an induction. You will need to be clear on the facts to have a decent conversation with your consultant

On a side point - you are not overdue until 42 weeks. Many many babies don't engage until the start of labour (DD engaged about 12 hours beforehand). Growth scans are notoriously inaccurate so I would worry less about the 93rd centile being the cause of an issue. Have you seen the spinning babies website which can help you with some positions and exercises to help get your baby to engage? Finally, it is your right to refuse induction/section if you wish and to choose instead for increased monitoring as you wait for labour to start naturally. Whilst your consultant/midwife may talk in terms of their preferred plan, the decisions and consent is all yours

Good luck

I was due 14th December. Had a sweep by midwife just before Christmas. Nothing happened. Went into hospital on Boxing Day (Friday) for induction. Had pessary inserted nothing happened. A second one the next day (Saturday) then started getting pains, strong but manageable. That night pain was almost constant only a few minutes inbetween to rest. No dilation so they weren't called contractions! By Sun morning however I was in agony. Was refused pain relief and I'm wondering if this is because I requested natural birth with no drugs in my plan or if it was because I wasn't technically in labour.

Anyway was in agony non stop Sunday through to Monday. I wasn't put on the drip until early hours Monday morning which only made things worse. I begged for pain relief by that point. It was until Monday lunchtime I was seen by an anesthetist (skeleton staff as it was Christmas period so the care wasn't great) and given epidural (which wore off after an hour! This is rare!!) They let me get so bad I didn't even get anything milder first, I went straight to epidural which is so funny as that was the one form of relief I was really against! I was trying to 'poop' but was told I wasn't dilated more than 1 centimetre so couldn't be the baby pushing yet the pain and my body pushing the baby (she was what is it - back to back so her head was in my bum - even more painful) told me it was. I dilated a centimetre then another. Then it stopped again at only 3cm. Constant pain (no intervals like I'd expected and everyone talks about) Began to give up hope on vaginal birth. Had a spinal tap late Monday evening and took a lot of pain off. Got an hours sleep but then that too wore off a lot and a lot of pain came back, but not all. I had to sign documents and prepare for emergency c section which I had not wanted (but I did in the moment actually as id had 3 days of constant hell and no sleep) Dh was scrubbed up and we were ready to go. I was exhausted and just wanted it over.

Then before they came to wheel me out to theatre, out of nowhere, midwife said hold on a second! She checked me and Dr were talking fast before I knew it my legs were in stirrups and I had to push, so I pushed three times which was easy as I felt I'd been pushing all damn day, and Dr used the ventouse and she was in my arms. Just like that. That's the closest anybody could cut it I think!

Yes the whole experience was awful and traumatised me incredibly. But a lot of factors played into mine so don't worry over that part. Like, I had hormonal problems and cysts and endometriosis which I believe contributed to my pain. I was unlucky with the epidurals not working - this is uncommon. 1 in 10 or something. I was unlucky that it was Christmas - I think the low amount of and constantly changing midwives, failed to recognise my situation and peeked in now and again and just saw me as a bit pathetic with a poor pain threshold. (They didn't know I'd been awake non stop over 50 hours without food and barely 9 ounces of fluid)

Despite all this I am still incredibly thankful that they didn't get to me sooner for theatre and I stuck it out and got my vaginal birth! I really did not want a c section. Had my fair share of surgery for one lifetime!

At the last possible minute my body just dilated and out she came. So it doesn't always have to end in a c section when you are induced with the drip. Keep hope I say. If you really do want a v birth (I very much did too) then I would give induction a shot - the c section is always going to be an option for you. If you have good staff and actual pain relief I really think it makes it easier to get through even a difficult labour. (I will be going private next time...and avoiding Christmas time ) I'm guessing that during the hour after the spinal tap my body was finally in a relaxed mode with a lot less pain, so it helped my body co-operate as it should and speeded the dilation at the last possible moment. Stress can hinder labour in a multitude of ways (and pain is stress to the body essentially.)

(As a side note I would be sure to keep an open mind in your birth plan - state that you are open to all forms of pain relief if they become necessary. I think this is partially where I went wrong. It doesn't mean you're going to use it all, just if you get desperate it's a back up, you know?)

Good luck op. I really hope things work out for you. And you get the best gift at the end which makes even the most awful labours worth it. As soon as that baby is in your arms the sun comes out again. :-)

Thanks for all your answers and all of the detail which is really helpful, much more helpful than reading things on Google!

I'm feeling tentatively hopeful - I had horrible shooting pains in my cervix last night that I didn't think much about at the time but today after my bath I was checking out my stretch marks looking at my stomach and noticed its actually looking a lot lower and is sitting right on my lap when I sit down (have to open my legs really wide to be comfortable) so I was starting to think maybe baby has finally dropped down and then in the past 2 hours I have felt like my periods are about to start, crampy feelings so hoping this might be the start of early labour. I know it could come to nothing but it's encouraging anyway

Also my cousin who was overdue and induced, had the drip and ended up dilating fully and giving birth with 3 hours. She didn't have the pessaries.

In fact if I had to be induced again one day I would opt out of pessaries completely and ask to wait longer to see if it will start naturally. I didn't know I had any choices in the matter at the time though. I think two pessaries plus the drip were unnecessary and unhelpful, for my anxiety as well as for helping things along, and also the pain level. The pessaries just gave me pain, made me very tearful and no dilation whatsoever. It was just extra trauma. I had four days of stress instead of what could have been 2. I know some people have one and hey presto they give birth. But for me next time I'd wait it out then if still not started I would use the drip if necessary.

There's some threads on netmums about this which may give you more hope. Lots of women there have been induced and not ended up with c section. I know your worries too well, I was so convinced I would end up with c section. In a way this helped, as I mentally prepared myself for it so I'd be able to deal if I had one.

Always keep an open mind about everything when it comes to having babies!

Just read your last message op, that's great! I had nothing like that before the induction! Fingers crossed, let's hope this is the start of something! :-)

Oh goodness I've gotten so worked up reliving this that I've begun to feel broody and dh is wondering why I'm giving him the come hither eyes somebody slap the sense into me quick

At 41+5 I was taken in to be induced. They talked me through inserting the pessaries every 4 hours etc.
However, as they could feel the babies head they decided not to bother with all of that and just popped my waters.
3 hours later a child was born 😊

(Not really answering your question but it's an option of what could happen)

The cramps haven't come to anything, seem to have stopped really but I feel like it's a step in the right direction so feeling pretty positive about it

I was in a similar place to you OP and had similar pains. I walked miles and had sex and all they had to do was burst my waters. I hung on till nearly 42 weeks. Good luck.