40+5 and no sign of baby- MW recommeds sweep (ouch) but is very pro induction (double ouch) help! feel pressurised..

[sammysamsam]

I dunno how this has happened but i'm getting really worried cos i was convinced that this baby would come before EDD cos my tum is massive!.. baby was due on 29.12.08 and now im 40wks +5days and MW reckons baby hasn't even engaged yet. But saying that she's always claiming she 'can't tell' referring to the baby's position and keeps sending me off for scans. the consultant at the hospital said 'i think ur MW is being very lazy!' but the top of my tum just under the breast bone bit feels much more spacious and gappy so i just assumed baby was making its move down slowly but surely...plus i find if i 'accidently' sit on the floor without realising the consequences- i can't get up without assistance from DH and a lot of discomfort- and this only occured in the last few days when i was preg with ds1.

i have deffo gained a load of weight this time around (2nd baby) and first arrived with no probs 4 days after EDD - but the midwife i had the last time round was fab- she was into the whole 'natural' birth thing and didnt even discuss/ encourage induction with me as much as my current one does..and though i was about 2stone lighter, last MW had no probs feeling for baby- this one says she can't tell and i always think its prob cos i have too much flab around tum or sommat(!) shes been practicing for years though- she is abt 50yrs old. she said 'i cant tell where the baby is- ill try and book u a scan at hospital, we'll say the baby is not moving as much'- but that's not true anyway...i tried to hurry things along but not feeling too frisky with what resembles a big sack of spuds around my middle..am walking loads, but no spicy curries for me- cant take the heat!

anyway, she's booked me in for a sweep at 07.30am on monday and then induction on wednesday.. wednesday will be exactly 10days after my EDD. i kept on saying to her i dont wanna be induced if only 10days over but she wasnt having any of it.. what do u guys think? i plan to have a water birth with gas and air only, and judging how the last birth went, the docs arent worried etc- but my personal MW is getting on my nerves abit..

despite my high bmi,i am healty in every other way- do u think i should call my local birth centre and ask one of the MW to confirm the position of baby and if engaged or not? i feel like im being pushed by my MW- but after reading on a few posts here, some mnetters have been 2weeks overdue before giving birth, so why im being pressurised into this induction thing i dunno - am i being unreasonable and stubborn?! i just want it to happen when my body is ready to give birth- i am mentally, totally prepared..

any advice will be appreciated apologies for rambling..

if you have no health problems, there is no reason you should be induced at 10days over EDD. Just say you are not happy about it and you want to wait the full 2 weeks.

Do you have a walk-in maternity service? You can turn up to some units without an appointment, wait to see someone and express your concern and they will sort something out for you.

Not much help but I'm sure someone else will have something that helps more.

Is there a supervisor of midwives you can contact? Sounds like yours isn't really respecting your wishes. Normal term of pregnancy is 38-42 weeks, so I don't see why you shouldn't wait if there are no other concerns. Yes why not try the birth centre. If not is your GP any good? If so could you have a chat with them? Wishing you labour in the next few days!

Ooh poor you I do sympathise... I'm 9 days overdue with no sign of anything happening. My midwife told me that she was unable to do sweep because there are risks involved if the head is not engaged. Where I am the local hospitals policy is for induction from 40+12 so I'm booked in for Tuesday but I do know you can refuse to have this if there are no other health problems and have daily monitoring instead until baby decides to arrive. If you're unhappy with what your mw is doing/telling you I'd ask to speak to the supervisor,you might have a contact number in your hospital info pack (if you have one) Hope that your labour starts soon

oh thanks for all your advice- i called the birth centre twice today but they were 'too busy' and i said i'll call back later as my query wasn't urgent- i'll deffo give them a call again in a bit and see what options they give me..
komakino will have a look in my notes for supervisor number or similar..
purplemyrtle tried to book app with gp but no appointments available till thursday afty (our gp is sooo over subscribed)- bring back the old days when you could just walk in and be seen
thumbwitch thanks for responding, im greatful for any info that comes my way.

keep posting- im checking back almost every few hours..getting so nervous.. if any more advice, will appreciate it x

I had a sweep and it was great. I had early induction as my waters broke, and unless this happens again, I will never be induced again, even if I go 40 weeks over!! Don't feel pressurised. If you're happy to still be pregnant and let the baby come when it's ready, don't get induced. There's no point, and you won't get to stay in the comfort of your own home for as long as possible. Your MW sounds a bit rubbish.

They tried a sweep on me at one day over!! It didnt work. I was booked for induction 10 days over and it was not a good experience. My dd was not ready and I was feeling totally fine. 2nd time round I will not be doing as they decide is right and as long as dc and I are well, will let it happen naturally.

Hi Sam, can totally understand why you dont want to be induced, was induced with dc2 2 weeks early because of onset of pre-eclampsia and it wasnt a pleasant experience. Had to have emergency caesarean in the end as dds head was really high up and she got distresed, I personally believe its because she wasnt ready and it was being forced on her. Obviously I had to be induced as it was dangerous for her to be inside me, but if theres no medical reason for you to be induced then definitely think you should hold on as long as you can. As you have had a baby before your body knows what its doing and am sure it will decide for itself when your ready to give birth. As long as theres no risk to you and baby think your right for wanting to wait. Also, thought babys head didnt engage until labour on your second,third,etc pregnancys? Anyway, hope it all goes well for you.xx
ps Was also carrying a bit of extra weight round the tummy second time round(would blame first pg but it was 7 years previous!) so sympathise with you, its definitely embarrassing!

IMHO a swwp is very different to an induction. Although it may not be the most pleasant expereince its very low down on the scale of "intervention" and can often mean that a formal induction is avoided. If you have a sweep and then go into labour the next day then you will have avoided the prostin gels, membrane rupture, etc.

Many hospitals will have a policy of induction at 40+10, so your m/w may be following policy. Saying that it doesn't sounds like she's doing a great job of explaining stuff to you or getting informed consent. They ca't make you have an induction and if you want to wait then thats your choice. They may try and scare you with tales of increased risk of placental insufficiency after 40+10, etc. Ask them for stats to back anything up so you can make an informed choice. As them what your other options are - could you go in for a monitoring daily to check fetal well being while you wait?

Good luck.

Bless you, I had the whole 'to induce or not to induce' saga, I went for three sweeps, never had any as DD got progressively less engaged as it went on! I also got myself seriously worked up about whether I should have an induction or not, I was worried that they weren't taking me seriously because they were going to induce at 40+14 and I didn't think that was good enough. I really worked myself up about it worrying. When I was 40+9 my DP said that enough was enough, I was to make a plan and I was to tell them exactly what I wanted. I had been for a sweep earlier that day and told that DD was not even close to being engaged. I made my plan, I was going to be induced and I was going to tell them when! The next morning I woke up with tummy ache and back ache .... contractions started at 4pm.

I know it's a bit of a long winded story, but what i'm trying to say is that you may well go into labour once you make a firm decision. I was not ready mentally because I was all wound up and worrying, the minute I made plans DD came of her own accord, finally being born at 40+11.

Don't feel pressured into anything! If you don't want to be induced at 10 days over then don;t be - its your decision not the midwife's.

On another train of thought...have you tried any other methods? There are some natural things you can do to try to get things moving...

thanks so much for your opiniions and great to read personal experiences- i called up the birthing centre today and the mw was so lovely and really understanding. she said i didnt HAVE to be induced on day ten and could wait till day 14..she even called up the labour ward to delay appointment but there were no appointments available until the following week so she advised me to keep calling them incase of cancellation (fingers crossed) at the mo, im still booked in for induction on the 8th.. i have been considering the sweep and stripeyknicks, i hear what your saying- maybe i should go for that- just to see..and the regular monitoring too..

bubblymummy by 'natural' do you mean 'getting it on with the hub'? if so, i have tried- but i get breathtaking braxtons at the most crucial of times! lol. oh, i dunno! if you dont mean intercourse, please let me know what else, cos wheni google it, this seems to be the main thing that comes up- read about castor oil (advised not to take), do walking- i walk a lot! may get on the treadmill for a couple of hours again tomorrow methinks..err..other one was pineapple- fresh- havent tried it yet... what else?...

oh, lillipopmother i think u have made such a good point- im working myself up here and maybe i should just make a decision/ plan and TELL them what i want and then just go for it..oh I long to feel contractions and labour pain at the minute (and i never thought i'd be saying that soon enough)

If you have access to a homeopath its worth seeing if they can give you anything to bring on labour, worked for me last time.

Also, sounds wierd but getting down on your hands and knees and scrubbing the kitchen floor. Its an old wives tale but it has also worked for me!!

It is worth trying to avoid induction if at all possible!

omg! had 'the' show this afty (around midday) been suffering from contractions since 2am last night till 10am non-stop (great sign)were quite regular, but then became like 1 every 10minutes since.. killer ones though.. im hopeful for a birth soon-er than i thought..i wonder how long it'll take..my ds1 showed up within 14hrs after i had a show the last time around..birth is imminent now right??..

still- really dont like my MW ...

Great news!!! Best of luck!

Brilliant news, sounds like you should be having your baby soon!! I didn't get a show until I was well into my contractions, and even then it was just the odd smear of blood.

Great news, hope all goes well! Have to admit am slightly as now 10 days over with no end in sight yet!!

hurrah! hope that is problem solved for you - good luck, let us know the outcome!

sounds very positive - i am always within a few hours of show!

UPDATE
show in the afty on Sunday, killer contractions followed..stayed home, uprighth and mobile until 21.30... went to the lovely welcoming local birth centre and VOILA! baby girl weighing 8lb 14oz arrived 'naturally' with the aid of gas'n'air late Sunday night at 23:45! I'm so so releived and happy, thank you all for all your bits of info and advice, i appreciate it so much. so that makes her 7days 'fashionably' late..1day before the sweep and 3days before the dreaded induction.. I have a lot to be thankful for!

Good luck to all those in similar situations..I feel for you. x

Oh am pleased for you Sam. I am 39 and 5 days. Like you I sooo don't want baby to be 'forced' out (got a sweep booked for next Sat). Congratulations!