WWYD - Induction (I made a decision)

[Pernillep]

So, I am 41,5 today. I have tried all possible natural and some less natural induction methods. I had my membranes swept 3 times now and while I get a little more dialated everytime still not enough to push me over the edge. We tried castor oil yesterday and while it cleaned me out it did not produce enough contractions to start labor. I was a large 3cm and 80 effaced yesterday afternoon and as she said definitely a lot softer. I am now in pain, exhausted from not sleeping well and extremely emotional about this whole situation. I need some outside perspective.


So, here are my options:

....Have her break my water today so there is a chance she can attend the birth and my mom would still be here to help. The con is I know it may not start labor and then I would have to go to the hospital for pit. It is a very natural minded hospital and my midwife would attend as my doula. She used to be a midwife at the hospital and it is where I gave birth to DS. They may allow her to serve as my actual midwife so I don't have to have anyone else there.

.... Do nothing and go into labor this weekend. I would not have my mom here as support or to help with DS as she leaves Friday night. No way to extend. I would also not have my midwife attend my homebirth but one of her backups who I have not met. The assistant who I have met will still be there but I have only met her twice.

..... Do nothing and not go into labor before Monday. I would be over 42 weeks and legally my midwife cannot keep me as a homebirth. We are not comfortable with UC due to some issues with DS birth. I would be transferred to her backup OB and scheduled for induction probably Monday. My midwife would serve as my Doula. Again my mom would not be here and we would have a difficult time with care for DS while I am in the hospital.

I am completely lost. This is not the decisions I was planning on having to make. I must admit I am leaning towards option 1 right now but that is also very much because of my mental state. The though of a stranger at my homebirth without a support system makes me very sad as does a scheduled induction. I would like to option of the homenbirth with the support I need even though it is not starting as I had hoped.

[texaspeach]

I know you said you tried it all - even nipstim? on a breast pump?

do you have options available other than arom?

[GradysMom]

with my first I went a full 42 and 6 before they cried for induction. I had two or three sweeps a week, RRL, vaginal EPO, Nipple stim, sex and TWO 2 oz castor oil inductions that didn't work.

I know the child care factor is really weighing on you but I feel like you should wait it out...

It is a really hard call to make. After my induction began, I did 10hrs with no pain relief then caved to epidural. They used a follybulb to dialate me, and between that and pit and poor support team I was stuck at 5 cm, until they recommended Csec, 20 hrs after it had begun. Sometime that morning they broke my water and it did nothing for me.

I am now 41 plus 3/4 and for the time being feeling calm. I have since learned that my MIL, grandmother both carried babies to 42-43 weeks, actually my grandmother carried to 46 once.

You might be able to calm yourself into trusting your body it there is any kind of family pattern to it. I have noticed women who go early have alot of relatives who go early and in my case vis versa.

Do nothing? walk, wait, eat pineapples and eggplant parmesean. Is there at all another option for your DS that you could start putting together.

I should add my current relaxed demenor comes after 4 weeks of prodromal labor, excellent check ups and a Midwife in Disguise who will to let me go all the way to 43 again.

[Pernillep]

Originally Posted by texaspeach

I know you said you tried it all - even nipstim? on a breast pump?

do you have options available other than arom?

Yep, stimulated until I was sore. Been working the pump for several days with no luck.

Honestly, if you look at the natural induction list I have done it and several multiple times. I have not tried the coroshes which is the only thing. My midwife has not had great luck with those if none of the other things work. She is pretty much at a loss. Never has she had this hard of a time pushing a multip into labor. Especially when there is no question about the dates. We used ovulation indicators and charted and I know my cycle very well.

At this point she said we can try another enema to see if that will work but beyond that we have been through her arsenal of methods and arom is the last in line.

[texaspeach]

the way I look at it, if you AROM and nothing happens you have to go to the hospital - but if you do nothing and labor doesn't happen by Monday you still have to go to the hospital. Since your mw is going out of town and your mom is leaving, I'd probably try AROM knowing that there's a chance it might not work.

I wish I had a crystal ball so I could tell you that you'd go into labor tomorrow or something (and tell myself when I'd go into labor!)

[Pernillep]

Originally Posted by GradysMom

You might be able to calm yourself into trusting your body it there is any kind of family pattern to it. I have noticed women who go early have alot of relatives who go early and in my case vis versa.

Do nothing? walk, wait, eat pineapples and eggplant parmesean. Is there at all another option for your DS that you could start putting together.

Unfortunetely there is no history in my family of having to cook longer. Actually the opposite. Both me and my brothers came before 40 weeks as did my mom and her sister.

We have DHs sister here who could help with DS but she cannot take him to her house (if you saw it you would understand) and I am not sure I would want her here during a homebirth, especially a homebirth with a midwife I didn't know well. Too much distraction. SIL would come in handy in case of a hospital stay as they could just stay at our house.

[spiritedmama]

Hmmm...this is a hard one. Especially since if you wait you could end up at the hospital with an induction anyway...My friend went to 44 weeks and she knew EXACTLY when she conceived and ovulated bc she was charting. Have you tried different positioning techniques. She says that sometimes you don't go into labor because the baby is positioned wonky and if you could get it into position it might just happen?

Other than that, if you aren't going into labor with the natural methods, it might not be any easier to go into labor with pit and then you are looking at a c-section.....So, I don't know. It is hard and I am sorry you have to make this decision! I think FWIW, I would wait. If your body isn't ready and you will have to go in Mon. for an induction, that gives it a few more days to get ready and possibly go on its own. The risk of having a traumatic birth after failed induction that ends in a c-section might outweigh the fact that your mom will leave and your mw will have to be your doula and you will have to find backup care for your kiddos.....I don't know.....I know it is awfully tempting!!! Good luck with your decision!!

[Spring Sun]

Are you sure about your conception date? That would be the biggest thing I would be scared of through this whole this. I honestly think I would try maybe water breaking and the castor oil together if the water does not do it. I can't imagine how miserable and even a little scared you are about this right now. What does your mw think?

[puddleduck]

I would prob wait it out, i'd be worried that the baby was in a bad position and inducing could cause more problems... Can you get any more days past monday? what happens if you refuse induction?
I had the same thing but we can legally refuse to be induced - once the pressure of having to go into labour was lifted, i relaxed and the baby arrived. I guess biologically if your under stress you wont go into labour, fight or flight responce. So relax/meditate/pray, talk to your baby and trust that everything will go exactly as planned.

You might go into labour at night so your ds can sleep through it and it wont be an issue - or your SIL can take him out for the day?
ds1 was 2 when ds2 was born at home, he watched dvd's in his room most of the time.

also maybe some reflexology/accupuncture/homeopathy?

hoping you go into labour tonight and the pressure is off.

[mysticmomma]

have you been to spinning babies? Obviously, this baby is not ready to come yet.

[brooklynbabymama]

i think you only really have two options:

1) your option one, get this baby out on a schedule that works for you, or

2) relax and reconcile. Get a massage, try acupuncture, spinningbabies, but above all you'd have to commit your mental state to accepting this baby's birthday and all the details and changes of plans involved. I don't know you personally, so I don't know if that's a state of mind you can truly achieve. I don't know if I could do it. I was starting to tweak at 41+3 about my options, but I kind of spazzed on DB and got it out and boom, labor started that night.

Lots of luck and ELVs, mama!!!

[dislocator3972]

go ahead with option one. It sounds like that is what is really best for you and for your family. Honestly, I'd do it and not look back. You've tried what you can, you've been patient, but if you keep waiting much longer and let all your plans get screwed up you're going to have SO MUCH weighing on you during labor.

Good luck!

[Pernillep]

Thanks for all your insight.

After a 2 hour crying session where I tried to process all the anger and fear I have because of this situation I decided to wait it out.

Even if we break my waters right now there is no guarentee he will come naturally before my midwife has to be at the airport. Or that he will come at all without medical intervention. If I wait at least he still has a chance.

About going past Monday. I may be able to push it a day but beyond that nothing much.
I can of course still refuse induction, that is my right, but my midwife would not be able to be available for me even as a doula if I did. She would loose her license and I wouldn't do that to her. If it comes to induction I will need someone there as I would have lost my other support and can't even considered doing it with just DH. Great as he is, seeing me in pain is really hard for him and he is not great at making decisions under stress.

So, I am going in for an ultrasound tomorrow and an NST test. Then I just wait. Come monday I will have a baby.

I think we may try to do something tomorrow night after my mom leaves. Maybe go see a movie. In the theater, something we haven't done since before DS was born.

[wombatclay]

BIG huge hugs and hopes that things work out for the best.

With dd1 I went to just past 42 weeks... it turns out she was posterior and asynclitic. After a long, hard, extreme labor I had a c/s. With dd2 I went at just 40 weeks, possibly because she was lined up really well. Despite that though her birth caused a lot of physical trauma (one reason we're not homebirthing this time) and made me wonder if there really is something funky about my anatomy or (more to the point) post-c/s anatomy that might be throwing my babes off center. I'm currently 42 weeks and have a NST scheduled for tomorrow... babe has been twisting and spinning from position to position and I've had 3+ weeks of prodromal labor at this point.

The hospitals here don't support vbac after 41 weeks so my care provider has been fudging my dates (and we're really confident on the dates) to give me this extra week. But if tomorrow's NST shows any problems they'll ask me to be sectioned then and there. If the NST looks good they'll do another sweep and expect me for a c/s Monday morning if nothing happens over the weekend. So I know the sort of performance anxiety you're facing!

And I know how hard it can be not to blame the babe for messing up plans. The primary employer here has an on site day care program, but there is a huge waiting list. If you get into the center you HAVE to start paying the fee exactly 6 weeks after the due date you put on the application. So if a babe ends up being 2 weeks "late" then mama either has to give up her opening, give up part of her maternity leave time with the babe, or pay for the weeks when the babe isn't actually at the center. We're seeing a lot of scheduled inductions and scheduled c/s... and a lot of anger and emotion on the part of mamas who feel rapped, or pressured, or abused. And once you add in the normal postpartum hormonal roller coaster... well. It's not a good scene.

Is there anyone local you could talk to or ask for support from? A LLL group or AP group? Maybe a postpartum doula (some have sliding rates or discounts)? A SOLACE group or other birth group? No matter what it's important to have support, and when you've found your whole birth world turned upside down it's even more crucial. I'd also suggest giving your partner a list of common PPD signs (there are some good articles from recent Mothering Mags too) and having a few gentle treatment options already lined up... things like homeopathics, bach remedies, and herbal teas... to take as a preventative measure.

I'm glad you've found the balance you need... and I hope that just having a decision made will help you relax and have this babe pronto! A movie sounds like fun, and you know... it may be worth giving Murphy's Law a run for the money. Maybe if you plan some really fun outing the babe will show up?

[marlygf]

I'm sorry you have to make this choice. Could you go for a massage? something to relax you? I know that's when I've gone into labor. When I've exhausted all posibilty and tried to make the baby come and just cried all day and let my body go. Something about that release that made me finally let go and have the baby.

Again, I'm so sorry its not working out very well. You can just have your sil take your other child to a park or something, then they wouldn't have to be there and she could come back after the baby is born.

oh and I totally agree with the positioning stuff. My baby keeps pulling his head out and putting on my right hip. I've started hanging out on my hands and knees and swinging my hips. I did this over and over last night and was able to get his head out. Then I stood up and swung my hips and he went down in me. Although of course, after he pulled his out but I figure if I keep doing this, eventually he'll figure it out

I know I'm starting to get desperate and I'm only 39 weeks.

[GradysMom]

(((HUGS)))
it can be so hard to make these decisions when we are overdue.

Maybe a foot massage and a glass of wine will restore your spirits. You're being really strong, keep it up. Soon...

[spiritedmama]

Good luck Pernillip! I will be thinking about you this weekend and checking the threads often!@!!

[Michigan Mama]

I pray he comes soon, Mama, so you can avoid the induction...but even if you have to do that - I pray all goes well and you are joyfully holding your new babe soon!