No intervention with gestational diabetes?

[Flyingfoxes56]

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of having gestational diabetes and managing to give birth without c section or induction.

This will be my second and I'm around 20 weeks so I'm a way off being sure how big baby will be etc. This will obviously have a bearing on my final decision, I won't choose anything i know to be dangerous.

With my first I felt very pushed into having an intervention and while it was fine it wouldn't be my first choice.

Any tips, stories or advice on useful lines to help me advocate for us both would be much appreciated.

I had GD in my last pregnancy but was diet controlled. My waters went at 37 weeks but ended up getting induced about 48 hrs later as I didn't go into labour. There was no mention of me being induced due to GD and I'd have probably refused tbh.

I had diet controlled GDM for just the last 6weeks of my first pregnancy, booking induction for due date but went into spontaneous labour the night before.

Now 32 weeks with 2nd pregnancy, had GD since 25 weeks, now on metformin and baby looking on the larger side on growth scans with high abdominal circumference and high fluid volume so looking at section at 38-39weeks, but keeping things under review.

I think it's helpful not to get too fixed on idea of how you want to deliver, as at the end of the day sometimes the baby dictates how it goes in the end

I'm 39 weeks with gestational diabetes and nobody has said that going into labour would be a problem - midwives and consultants have been really encouraging, in fact. Mine is diet controlled which is definitely a point in my favour, plus baby is not large, so I'm good to labour on the delivery ward but not the MLU.

FWIW I have found that even though my hospital is quite conservative and cautious in its approach, I have felt free to make my own decisions and the consultant has been clear about what her preferred course of action is but always stressed that there are other safe-enough options and that the choice is mine. I've felt empowered to ask for as little intervention as possible whilst also being informed of what might constitute a serious risk. So although it's good to go in ready to advocate for yourself and with an "ideal scenario" in your head, don't necessarily expect that it's you against them: they are very likely to want to help you have the birth you want, as far as that's possible or wise.

Do also bear in mind that the approach varies between trusts and hospitals - if I were at the other hospital near me it sounds like my risk factors are low enough that they'd still let me labour on the MLU. So it partly depends on where you are a patient and what else you have going on. It might be worth finding out how the hospitals near you regard this stuff: you have time to decide where you want to deliver depending on what sounds like best fit for you.

With GD they want the baby in your arms by 40+6 at the very latest, and much earlier if it looks like baby will be big or that the placenta is failing. So you will likely be encouraged to book in for a c section or induction anywhere from 38 weeks to 40+ a few days but this is not to say you can't labour naturally before that. I've got a C section date booked but if I go into labour sooner, they've no issue with me giving birth that way. I've been very clear I don't want an induction and they've never pushed back on that.

One thing I will say is that things can change very quickly and the landscape can look quite different from one week to the next towards the end of your pregnancy, depending on how you and baby are doing. I've had a week or two of suddenly being told that baby needs to come out soonish, to the next growth scan confirming all is well and it can stay out. So it's not worth predicting how things will be based on how things are now. But you'll know that from your previous pregnancy. Hold tight til the final 6 weeks when you're likely to have consultant contact and growth scans: focus on having as healthy a pregnancy as you can and hold your plans loosely while keeping your preferences and comfort at heart.

Good luck!

Hi, I had GD. I was supposed to have an induction at 39 weeks but ended up going into spontaneous labour at 37+6 and giving birth without any intervention and only gas and air at 38 weeks! It was a long labour!

I had GD and a c-section for other reasons. However, my GD was well controlled with insulin. A vaginal birth would have been possible had there not been other reasons for a c-section. DC was actually rather small.