Advice re giving birth at age 42

[krisskross]

that's it really. its my third DC, first two were born 5 and 3 days late. i am dual consultant and midwife led and 35 weeks plus 4 days.

suddenly its all very close. I've seen three different consultants, each one varying a bit but basically saying i won't be allowed to go over....one saying i should have daily sweeps from 39 weeks, another saying I'd be induced on my due date to another saying I'd have a little flexibility.

appointments have been v rushed and no real discussion, certainly no interest in me having a birth plan ....sounds stupid but i feel like I've just realised this.

my other two were born naturally in the birth centre with no intervention and id like that again.

my only risk factor is my age.

any experiences / thoughts welcomed. thanks!

I had my third at age of 42. I didn't get told any of that. There was never any talk of not letting me go over or anything. My first two were 14 and 11 days late.

3rd DC was 6 days late but that was because I was induced due to an unstable lie. Nothing to do with my age.

thanks cece, interesting that they let it happen naturally for you.

there just seems to be an assumption that ill be induced....i feel like i wasn't there when this was decided!!

I'm 43 and having an ELCS due to previous complications but before I had decided on this I was told that due to my age I should think about being induced at 39 weeks.....

Ask them about it OP....when's your next appointment? Tell them you're confused as to why there's talk of inducing you etc.

It's so exciting! It's very stressful when they start saying things like this...I am sure eveyrthing will be fine given your non complex history.x

thanks everyone. i have another app on thurs, bit ive never seen the same consultant twice, so it tends to be going over same stuff as before , then them telling me their opinion ! im going (i think) to push to be able to go a few days over and hope nature takes its course!

I had my second child at 41 last year at home. I had the usual extra scans because of my age and as a result had an assigned consultant. But I had no medical issues so at 36 weeks they kind of signed me off back to midwife care. I could have had an induction at term and remained consultant led but they could offer no reason why I should be other than age so I was pretty insistant that I would prefer to stay under the care of midwives.
My midwife was cautious and as I went overdue was keen to ensure I had monitoring every 2-3 days but again nothing untoward occurred so I was able to have a lovely relaxed home birth and daughter was born 6 days after due date...

You cannot be forced to have any medical procedure that you dont wish to have (induction/csection) tell them you really want a spontaneous delivery, they may just advise increased monitoring. Dont let them push you into anything, this is your pregnancy and your choice

I had DD at 42. No mention of inducing. Baby was left to come as in any other pregnancy.

It all seems OTT to me. Ask why they are suggesting/ assuming induction.

You don't have to go along with it.

I had DD at 42 and was induced at 2 days over as contractions were very strong but not regular enough to go into labour naturally. Had a ventouse delivery and all well in the end.

Different as it was my first and only so I was paranoid and also this was a post multiple goes of Ivf pregnancy

There is a small risk of babies born post due date dying this risk is raised in over 40s I can't remember the figures now but say it's 1% for under 40s it's 2% for over 40s. Obviously if you have had other successful births then you have a history that they can then look at for people having their 1st baby it's harder. As it was I had GD but controlled so nearly went to due date before induction. I did a lot of research and concluded if I had had other children I might have been less risk adverse depending on previous births but as it was a reasonably high risk preg I would go with the advice. The consultant was good at explaining but I was a bit over emotional !

First baby at 42; booked in to be induced at 39 weeks and was (didn't work BTW). No complications identified prior to birth but very pleased I was in hospital as it did get rather complicated. Unlikely to be due to being 42 and could have happened to anyone.

I had my third DC last year at the age of 43. Previous two were also born in birth centres with no complications. Like you, I was feeling pressured about induction due to my age but was adamant I didn't want that unless there was a clinical reason for it. As it turned out, I didn't need to worry as baby arrived naturally at 38 weeks. Once again a straightforward intervention-free birth. If you've had no problems with previous pregnancies and all going well this time, stand your ground. You're more than likely going to be fine this time too.

thank you everyone for sharing your experiences. its so helpful to hear from others. i feel a bit more confident to make a plan and tell them what i want.

obviously I dont want to put the baby at risk but my history is uncomplicated so fingers crossed this one will come within a couple of days of edd.

thanks all.

Wow! I was 43 when my youngest was born, 7 days late, no fuss or concern at all!

Ask what their specific concern is and what it is based on.