40+6 weeks - head not engaged - going mad!

[FoodieLexie]

Hi people -
My first ever post on MumsNet! Seems like you guys are more friendly and knowledgable than my midwife....
I'm 40+6 weeks with first baby - have been booked for an induction next week. Am worried because the head hasn't engaged at all - it's still high and free, apparently.
Does anyone know what the likely consequences of this are? Is the induction likely to be less successful? Will labour be more painful? Am I more likely to need a CS? So many questions.... I've asked my MW, who isn't very talkative, which makes me worried

Hope you can help!

Alex

I had an induction as there was no sign of DS making an appearance at 40+14!!!

As I only have the one child it is my only experience of labour. With an induction,they do so much monitoring of the baby so they want you to stay still as much as possible - very difficult, so I had an epidural (fantastic as couldn't feel a thing after that. DS was born by a ventouse extraction - not sure if that was because of the induction etc. Sounds grim, but to be honest, I have very positive memories of the birth (not like my DH!)

A lot can happen before next week - baby may decide to come out all by themselves. As for whether labour will be worse, not sure (think I read somewhere it may be but I guess it depends on quite a few things and who does these studies anyway?. Lets ve honest, it's gonna hurt!

Any chance of speaking to a more talkative midwife? Did she explain the induction process or give you any alternatives (a sweep - not a clue what that is though?)

Try not to worry, it's the not knowing and listening to the nightmare birth stories that can scare you and you want everything to go smoothly.

Good luck - enjoy your new addition!

Many thanks, YummyMummy. I can't have a sweep, apparently, as the head isn't engaged. I guess it's just a matter of wait and see!