Curious... Cervix never became soft... ????

[Rell183]

Hi everyone...
Well i just wanted to ask a question...
I gave birth to my daughter 5 months ago, She was 2 and a half weeks overdue. I had a ceasarean section because my cervix never softened, it never became favourable. So, I never had a contraction, never lost my plug or anything like that. My OB said it was too risky to induce because my cervix was not soft at all. So, lol, being so over, my placenta started to fail and my amniotic fluid was drying up. I had 2 ultrasounds, 1 when i was 1 week over, and another when i was 2 weeks over. Both said bub was fine, but my fluids were evaporating. So bub had 2 come out, hence the Caesarean. I have to see my OB soon to have bloods done and run some tests to determine what went wrong and why my body just refused to go into labour.
My question is, has this happened to anyone else? I have never heard of it before, and I am just curious. I have a feeling that my body juts cant produce that hormone that starts labour.. Starts with o? not sure, anyway, just asking???

[HappyTomato]

That just doesn't seem right that your OB would automatically do a c-section vs. trying to induce. I've had an unfavorable cervix twice now but have had two successful induced vag deliveries. I was 40 weeks and a few days for the first one and 35 weeks for the second one. Both times my cervix was not soft or dilated but the drugs they gave me did the trick and I avoided the c-section. I think some OBs do a great job at making women believe their bodies will not go into labor on their own. I don't think there is anything wrong with you. Some women just bake their babies longer than others. Its not uncommon to go to 43 weeks if left alone. Your body knows what to do and will do it when the time comes. I think you were the victim of an overzealous OB and hope you find a better caregiver next time that will help you restore confidence in your body. You aren't "broken", the maternity care system is.

[Tizzy]

With DS1 I was 41w2d and my cervix was very hard and very closed. I never lost my mucous plug, never had any early contractions, despite having plenty of braxton hicks throughout my pregnancy. For me I'm positive it was a mental block. Baby slowed down drastically in movement.
The OB decided to try an induction anyway by breaking my waters and starting pitocin, baby did not respond very well *at all* plus there was meconium staining. So it was a C/S for me too.
I was much more comfortable with my labor plans for DS2, everything went totally different and I had a lovely UBAC.

[erin_brycesmom]

With my first I went to 18 days over (42 weeks and 4 days) and was induced at that time. My cervix was hard and shut tight at that time. The induction went fine. It took about 20 hours but he was born vaginally with no complications and only a minor tear. Baby was 9.6lbs and showed obvious signs of post dates and I was 100% sure of my dates. I think even though my cervix was not favorable, being so far along gave me a better chance of success.

I thought the risk of being induced post dates with an unfavorable cervix was just higher risk of ending up in c-section. Is there any other additional risk vs being induced with a favorable cervix? I guess I thought the idea was just to have an elective c-section vs going through labor and ending up with one anyway.

Any who, with my second I was once again 100% sure of my dates (charting). I went to 42 weeks and my cervix was still hard and closed tight. I refused induction and had to sign an AMA. Ended up going into labor on my own and having the baby naturally which was a much better experience then being induced. Baby also same size and showing postdates.

So I pretty much learned that my body goes later than the norm and my cervix doesn't do much before hand. Baby also stays very high even until the end of labor without ever dropping. With my third, I had a homebirth and never had any cervical checks throughout the entire pregnancy and labor so I can't comment on my cervical changes but I went into labor on my own at 41 weeks and 2 days - my first baby to come before 42 weeks, lol. Best birth yet! Baby same size but didn't show the obvious post dates signs like my others, I guess since he was a little earlier. This was my first baby to have vernix.

Any who, I hope my stories give you some hope that you can still go into labor next time around if that is what you want .

[Rell183]

well thanku very much for your replies it has made me feel oh so much better knowing that it can be normal and that maybe next time i can try for a VBAC thanks again

[Plummeting]

I don't know about the particular situation you described, but I can say that my cervix didn't soften until a few hours before DD was born. I had a m/w appt on a Wed at 38 weeks. The m/w had a plan to go out of town for a long weekend the next day and said she'd be fine to go, because my cervix wasn't ripe, I wasn't at all dilated, etc. Then my water broke at about 2:30 that morning. When I went into the hospital at about 5 a.m., they said the same thing (unripe cervix, not at all dilated, etc.). She told me to settle in and not expect to have a baby until the next day. Contractions started at 9:00 in the morning and DD was born at 1:50.

So I guess my point is that having an unripe cervix didn't necessarily mean you were going to be pregnant for a lot longer. You could've delivered the next day. Some women's bodies just choose to do all the work at once. lol