People refusing induction against medical advice

[bollocksthemess]

I’m pregnant and I’ve been in hospital quite a bit lately, I’m in hospital now with a bit of high blood pressure, been here overnight but should be let out today.

I can’t believe the number of women I’ve overheard who don’t want to follow medical advice about having their baby.
There’s been over the last couple of hospital visits:

The lady who was 42+2 and was refusing induction, and walked out of her appointment without being scanned when the consultant said there was no benefit to her baby staying in longer.

The lady who came in at 38w with reduced foetal movement, was scanned and induction recommended, and was refusing induction even when the consultant explained that she was at term and the recommendation for reduced foetal movement at term is to get the baby out.

Today’s lady was in last night with pre-eclampsia at 37+5. Induction recommended. She wants to labour in the pool but obviously you can’t if you’re induced. She wants to go home and see what happens.

I just don’t understand it at all. I’ve had quite a bit of anxiety around this pregnancy and not being able to tell what’s going on with the twins, and while I’m trying to keep them in as long as possible there comes a point when they’re safer out than in.
I’ve seen more medical people in the last few weeks than in my whole life, I’m the sort to never even go to the GP and I’m usually of the wait and see mindset.
But Jesus, when someone who does this for a living tells you your baby needs evicting surely you’re just grateful that we have such good monitoring and get your baby out where it’s safest?
I know nobody wants to be induced, but I just want my babies to be safe, however they come out.

I am so totally with you on this. I had a real scare early on and a very traumatic higher risk pregnancy after years of infertility and just can’t believe how anyone can take this gamble!

Thats awful! I would listen to the Drs. I was rushed in with pre eclampsia with my last baby and they induced me there and then.
Im on close monitoring this pregnancy as baby is due in the next 7/8 weeks to check for any complications.

They are putting themselves and theyre babys at risk doing that. I hope they all have good outcomes but that is very worrying esp if something does go wrong and they try to blame the hospital.

Agree. Currently pregnant and I'd do anything, anything at all, to make sure this baby is safe. It's the only thing I really care about! (Apart from my other dc of course).

We have also gone through infertility, high risk pregnancy. Maybe that does make a difference? As I'm quite used to things being 'medicalised'.

Also agree.

I am also lucky and very grateful to not have a high risk pregnancy, not experienced infertility or anything and I can say without a doubt if a medical professional told me baby had to come out, that's it baby's coming out!

I can't even fathom putting my baby at even a slight, hypothetical risk.

How do you know so many peoples medical details? Are you very nosy and listening in on people private conversations?

For what it’s worth I would decline induction if I was pregnant. I’m not (and I’m not planning to) pregnant but if was an urgent need to get baby out I would insist on a c-section.

The reason I would decline induction is that I had an induction with my first born due to PROM and it went badly wrong and I was left with long lasting physical and mental damage. As far as the hospital was concerned everything was fine as I had a healthy baby. It was only after I complained that the hospital admitted in writing that there had been errors and their care was substandard. There was no help offer/available to for either my physical or mental birth injuries.

I can kind of understand it in some situations as NHS is very quick to induce, but that often takes days and ends up with interventions or an emergency c section. I personally would choose a planned c section over induction, but doesn't soubd like they are being offered that? If goal is to get baby out quickly, whybwait for an induction to kick in in a few days time

I live in quite a well off area with a lot of educated professional women. I overhear a lot of talk about hypnobirthing and natural birth plans and the pool.
None of that will help them if there is something seriously wrong, they’ll be glad that we all have an excellent maternity unit in this hospital and access to every bit of medical intervention.

Blood pressure lady and her husband have just been seen by the consultant, and are currently convincing each other that because she’s only got a LITTLE BIT of protein in her urine and only her ankles are swollen that they should be fine just to wait and see.
Fucks sake.

These babies were hard to come by for me and my husband, we were just about to start the process of IVF after a year of trying self insemination as my husband rarely ejaculates through intercourse. Two chemical pregnancies and a miscarriage followed and we finally conceived these twins spontaneously.
I’ll be thrilled for every bit of medical intervention I can get. I’m glad they’ve had me in overnight for slightly raised blood pressure. No pre-eclampsia thankfully, I’ve just done a bit too much I think. The twins are fine, I’m having another scan this morning.
We’re so lucky to have all this at our disposal, I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t use it.

I put off induction for DC3 for 4 days (so 9 days overdue instead of 5, with no other complications other than being part due date). I certainly haven't had a easy ride into motherhood - our DC1 died so I really understand that bad things can happen. But I had a really unpleasant C-section with DC2 which had a big impact on my bonding with him and several years later I'm still struggling with guilt and all the to complicated feelings around how I bonded with him. Inductions come with much higher risks of a negative birth experience, which can have lifelong consequences. I knew that my Dr was judging what was safest for my baby, but he can't weigh up the small extra risk from a few extra days longer in the womb against potentially preventing a proper bond between mum and baby.

I don't understand either but then my sister had a stillbirth at term as they hadn't identified her babies problems.

I have an IVF pregnancy and an autoimmune disease which makes going to term dangerous. If this precious baby lives, I'm only seven weeks, I'm totally having the induction at 37

Congratulations on your twins op

I don't think it's appropriate to pass judgement on other women's decisions regarding their own body and medical care. Every woman is entitled to take on board the advice and make their own choice.

It's part of the "the experts don't really know anything" mindset. I don't get it either. I think part of it is that there are stories and information out there about the NHS not always being good etc, so people are suspicious. But I am 100% with you. My only slight proviso is that I do think the resistance by medical professionals to c-setion is a bit frustrating and I can't help thinking it' because it's more expensive.

If I hadn't accepted induction the chances are that DD would be dead or brain damage. I still get a cold chill every single time I think about it.

It’s the “it’ll never happen to me” mindset unfortunately.

I’ve been on wards and in triage loads, there are just tiny curtains between you. You can’t help but hear what’s happening, I bet they can all hear my medical details too.

I was induced at 40+5 as my blood pressure had increased over the last couple of midwife visits and there were concerns of pre-eclampsia. As I was overdue anyway I agreed, although I did initially want a water birth.

Turns out it was the best decision as my daughter was born and was immediately taken to NICU. She was floppy and while I was assured at the time it was because she was 'shocked' from the quick birth (forceps intervention due to mild shoulder dystocia) it turns out she had bacterial meningitis.

The questions I had after (did I feel unwell in the past week or so? Did I have a temperature?) solidified my resolve that listening to medical professions who have far more medical knowledge than me was the correct way forward.

Luckily my DD doesn't seem to have been affected long term (contrary to a MRI following seizures at 4 and 7 hours old) but I dread to think what might have happened if I refused an induction. Could she have ultimately died in my womb if that decision was made?

I am resolutely of the decision that if doctors decide the safest decision is that baby needs to come out, then I don't give a damn what my preferred birth plan was. I would rather have my baby safe in my arms than waiting and getting my preferred water/natural birth only to end badly.

I refused induction but it was because I was too scared of what might happen to my baby if it took too long and went for c section instead. This was planned weeks in advance, too. I can’t imagine ignoring doctors advice as the stakes are just too high.

I sincerely hope all these mums and babies are ok.

I did a hypnobirthing course with DC1 and it really did a number on me. I’m at a loss to explain how I became so brainwashed by it because it’s so far removed from my usual mindset. I trust medicine and I trust experts and doctors. But the hypnobirthing course made pregnancy care into a sort of “us and them” scenario whereby midwives, GPs and consultants etc were not to be trusted because they would recommend unnecessary interventions which would harm our babies and ourselves. “Cascade of interventions” was a term that was thrown around a lot. If you allow one intervention, you’ll end up needing everything. A lot of “your body knows what to do”. We were strongly encouraged to hire a doula (guess what? HB instructor is also a doula 💰🙄) because we would definitely need someone to advocate for us and defend us from the onslaught of pressure from HCPs. For me, it played on all my anxieties as a first time mum and I completely fell for it. Just do some positive affirmations and it’ll all be fine. If you think positively enough, your body will just do it. The flip side of course is that when your body doesn’t just magically “do it” (as millions of women have found through the ages) it’s all your fault because you basically didn’t wish hard enough. I believe this was a huge factor in my PND.

In the end I also resisted induction and waited until I was 2 weeks overdue to go into labour naturally. At which time my baby was very big, in a suboptimal position and I ended up needing an induction and EMCS anyway. I look back now and I can’t believe how blinkered I was. I should have taken medical advice that was offered to me because the doctors did not have sinister motives; they were working in my best interests.

That said, I do hope when I was at my most vulnerable nobody was earwigging on my confidential appointments and private conversations and then making judgements about me and starting threads to encourage others to criticise me on a massive online forum.

I had a dream pregnancy, and I went over two weeks overdue with no signs of labour, I KNEW my body, I knew I wasn't quite ready to give birth. I had two attempted stretch and sweeps and Cervix was still posterior and not 'ripe'. I was forced into an induction by some junior doctor who told me my baby will die and the placenta will fail if I wait even two hours longer.
Had a pessary, failed, stretch and sweep then went into a horrendous labour with a no push urges, very long second stage , ending with a shoulder dystocia which I am convinced was because my body wasn't ready yet. absolutely no signs of baby being overdue. post natal depression and had a very hard time bonding with baby. furious at the hospitals advice to induce induce induce and nobody told me any of the negative implications of induction. Do your own research and trust your body.

@theotherfossilsister

I don't understand either but then my sister had a stillbirth at term as they hadn't identified her babies problems.

I have an IVF pregnancy and an autoimmune disease which makes going to term dangerous. If this precious baby lives, I'm only seven weeks, I'm totally having the induction at 37

@theotherfossilsister Hi can I ask why it’s dangerous for ivf pregnancy to go to full term?

Yep, and then they’ll sue when it all goes wrong. This is what we have to deal with at work.

@K2012 it's mainly my autoimmune disease but there have been studies showing the placenta might not sustain the baby as long during an IVF pregnancy. I don't know how much credence these hold.

Not sure why other people's medical decisions bother you so much. I had an induction for my first and it was DREADFUL! I had two subsequent natural births and they were a walk in the park in comparison despite having zero pain relief.

Induction is not without risk. I can understand people wanting to avoid them.

I think people get so attached to the idea of their perfect birth plan that they lose sight of why induction might be advised.

The main thing the neonatal paediatrician in my life would tell any pregnant woman about their birth plan is "write it in pencil".

There is a balance between taking onboard medical advice and advocating for yourself. Medics are not flawless. But that balance has to lie heavily in favour of those with training, expertise, experience and the ability to understand and extrapolate from how you present, progress and the results of your scans and tests.

@pistachi0nuts

I had a dream pregnancy, and I went over two weeks overdue with no signs of labour, I KNEW my body, I knew I wasn't quite ready to give birth. I had two attempted stretch and sweeps and Cervix was still posterior and not 'ripe'. I was forced into an induction by some junior doctor who told me my baby will die and the placenta will fail if I wait even two hours longer. Had a pessary, failed, stretch and sweep then went into a horrendous labour with a no push urges, very long second stage , ending with a shoulder dystocia which I am convinced was because my body wasn't ready yet. absolutely no signs of baby being overdue. post natal depression and had a very hard time bonding with baby. furious at the hospitals advice to induce induce induce and nobody told me any of the negative implications of induction. Do your own research and trust your body.

It’s very regrettable you had a negative experience for your baby’s birth but the research shows that the stillbirth risk increases for those who go past 42 weeks. I thought I “knew” my body and trusted my body until I had a stillbirth because the placenta failed. For my next birth I had an induction at 37+6, pessary put in, labour started 18hrs later and lasted 6 hrs with no further interventions apart from a couple of stitches afterwards for a grade 2 tear.