Advice needed please, Dr wants to induce my partner at 38+5 but we want a natural birth

[daddytrashpanda]

Hi, first time poster long time reader, normally the first place i come to then the nhs :p

My SO is 38+1 had bloated/swollen legs and feet since 33+5 and now has pain in the groin area more recently.

She's being monitored twice a week for high blood pressure since being in over night at 35+0, but been fine since. Urine sample shows minimum sugar and protein, so no scares there.

Baby is above the 90th centile weighing 8lbs at 37+3

Mucus plug started coming out at 36+6 and a failed sweep shortly after.

My question comes from what the Dr wants us to do. He makes it seem like we have 2 options, to be induced or to have a C-section because of the size of baby and how uncomfortable my SO is.

We're both quite tall and was hoping for a natural birth. Fully under the impression, everything to do with the birth was our plan unless there was an emergency and the Midwife then makes the call.

My worry is, we live in a built up area and it seems they prefer c-sections to keep the beds free, even self admitting 1/3 of births are C-section at that unit.

Any advice would appreciated, becomimg uneasy over how we're being handled by the Dr, the midwives however are great.

She’s 38 weeks, worrying about development seems a low risk compared to things like still birth and the mother’s pain and recovery. I think you should speak (well, your wife should) to the midwife again and get concerns addressed. Doctors don’t recommend intervention just to spoil your birthplan.

@Tunnockswafer

She's message the midwife directly, just waiting on a response

It’s not like the baby stops developing when they’re outside of the womb?? They’ll develop regardless.

I’d personally just take the doctor’s lead on this.

Can I just point out that a lot of you are saying trust the doctor on this one....NICE is led by doctors conducting clinical research. They have gathered evidence from many different sources and their guidance is not to induce for a suspected large baby. Therefore the advice of many doctors is not to induce. I don't get the impression that the OP and his DP are trying to be maverick here and go against the advice of one doctor based on a whim but trying to ensure that they have the correct advice. Mumsnet is full of threads where people are complaining that their doctor got it wrong or were misdiagnosed... ensuring that a certain treatment is the right course of action beforehand is sensible.

I was induced at 37+6 very last minute last month :) Pessary was inserted on the evening and removed in the morning as we didn’t take to it so well, I had dilated to 6cm, was taken down to delivery suite and waters were broken for me and the rest of the birth went normal with gas & air and no further intervention. Squatted baby out!

I would do it again if someone could guarantee it would be a similar experiance

Lots of positive stories for inductions out here

Good luck!

I was told privately by a friend who is a very respected consultant that the one thing he saw over and over again was people waiting too long (sometimes in the hope of a natural birth...) and losing their baby to stillbirth*
*
Sad to say this happened to a friend of mine..2nd pregnancy, she wanted a vbac, doctors wanted to do a c section
Worst outcome possible and her beautiful daughter at 42 weeks got into difficulty during the labour and didn't survive
My poor friend was haunted by that decision as you can imagine

Birth plans are all very well..I ended up being induced at 40+12 which was not what I had planned but hey ho!

I hope all goes well for all of you. Please let us know about the outcome.

So much misinformation on this post!

Induction for big babies is NOT recommended and is against guidelines, assuming that’s the only reason for the induction.

Someone mentioned the risk of shoulder dystocia with a big baby, do you know what increases the risk of shoulder dystocia significantly? induction! That’s why it’s not recommended, it increases the risk of the very thing you’re trying to prevent!

The increased risk of stillbirth that people are mentioning happens AFTER 42 weeks, that’s why induction is recommended at 41+5, this lady hasn’t even reached her due date yet and people are talking about the stillbirth risk of being overdue and waiting too long.

Find out EXACTLY why they want to induce, if concerns over BP etc. that is indicated and is evidence based so worth considering. If it’s purely for size that’s against the evidence and I would decline. If for pain then only your partner can know if that pain is severe enough that she wants an induction.

@CatchingBabies a fellow midwife from your name I am assuming?! You have managed to articulate what I have been screaming in my head but haven't been able to get out...very sleep deprived at the moment! Glad someone wrote it out clearly!

Google failed induction. I would go for planned c over induction any day esp if shoulder dystocia was a risk.

@catchingbabies surely measuring 8lb at 37wks3 is why they want to induce at 38wks5? Baby will still be at a size that can safely delivered with induction? X

Cringe.

If the OP was having a baby I bet he’d be up for pain relief.

Baby size is only one factor in shoulder dystocia risk. Roughly 50% happen in babies of a completely normal weight. Induction, epidurals and instrumental delivery all increase the risk of shoulders becoming stuck... the latter two being much more common with induction.

The OP has never said that his DP can't have pain relief... He has simply reiterated her wishes. I recently had a baby and I was very pleased following the birth that my partner supported my wish not to have pain relief and advocated as such. I'm sure he won't stand in her way of she changes her mind!

@justus22 Like Boredpanda said evidence says that inducing babies because we think they are big does not help in any way and evidence actually shows that we cause more problems then we are trying to solve by doing this.

Plus remember that growth scans have a margin of error. I’ve lost count of the babies I’ve delivered that have been measured as being 9-10 lbs on growth scans and are in fact 7lbs when born.

If the woman wanted an induction then fair enough but she shouldn’t be railroaded into one when there is no indication and the evidence tells us that it’s not the best thing to do.

@catchingbabies I hear what you are saying I just meant that as of now baby is big for gestation but still a reasonable size to deliver (I just presumed this must be the reason early induction was suggested, to avoid a section.) I agree re growth scans, my second baby was said to be well over 10lb nearing 11lb (he was actually 9lb10 but 61cm long) from scans and they allowed me to go to 42 weeks 2 days and then induced me as hospital was so busy at the time they couldn't sooner. I'm glad I didn't understand the risks you speak of back then and that all went as well as it did. I never had a c section discussed with me once with my second. My relative was told 11lb was too big and she had to have a c section though. I've always just trusted the professional in charge of my care but I didn't know that going passed 2 Weeks or induction with suspected big babies were so risky.x

@justus22 it’s not always that it’s risky for any individual person but statistically the risks go up. By offering induction etc. the risks of doing nothing should be higher than the risks of intervening to make it indicated. I’m glad you had a positive experience. X