Support thread for those preparing for induction/interventions

[Sanguine]

Hi... hope this isn't out of line.. but I thought it would be good to have a place for those of us who were hoping to wait until our babies/our bodies initiated labor but find ourselves preparing for inductions/ interventions after all.

I still feel that even if we & our birth attendants have decided it's time to jump-start the process, we can still be autonomous & powerful in birth, however it happens! And I don't want any of us to go into birth feeling defeatist or like we have 'failed'. (Not that I am getting that from ANYBODY here.. but I think some of us might be getting it from within ourselves.)

So... for those of us who have tried everything we can/feel comfortable trying short of some more traditional medical intervention, and need to make peace with it and move on... how about having a place to focus on the positive and powerful as we go forward?

For instance... rather than beating myself up for having had a surgery that resulted in scar tissue on the cervix, as if I could magically have chssen to NOT have a medical condition that I felt needed surgical treatment, I need to realize that any other procedure I'd had to deal with the same problem would have had its own tradeoffs... if I hadn't had the surgery, I would have been gambling with cancer, which I wasn't comfortable with, and if I'd had a cone biopsy instead of laser, I would have had an increased risk of preterm labor to deal with.. in other words, there is no magic wand and no perfect option sometimes, and we have to appreciate what our bodies are able to do and accept and be grateful for options if they need some help.

[dakotamidnight]

I just wanted to say - just because you end up having to be induced does not mean you can't have the birth you want. You may have to work harder for it though!

I ended up being induced with Trinity because my water had broken over 24 hours at the time I went in to the hospital, and I was still only 1 cm and making no progress. Luckily though, I ended up with a wonderful L&D nurse who took my birth plan, discussed it with me, and then made sure it was enforced! The nurse can make or break your experience

[Sanguine]

Thanks for the word of encouragement... You are so right about the nurses. My favorite nurse (from my several visits to L&D thus far ) will be working on Monday-- I am so happy to know I get to labor with her. All of them are really good--it's a fantastic and very unusual little hospital.

Looks like thus far I'm the only one here who knows an induction is for sure in her future... which is good! I'm really feeling fine about it, since my midwife finally got back to town and I got to ask her if we can try Cervidil tomorrow night. My OB nurse friend says, just in her experience, it starts labor on its own in 1 or 2 out of 10 people. I had to push a little to get somebody to call her at home, on a weekend, with my question--but I knew she wouldn't mind. Duh--it's her job!!

So now I get to relax and know that I will be trying the least invasive options first... I'd like to do whatever we can before we go to Pitocin. I'm hoping that the cervidil will blow right through the scar tissue that is keeping my cervix from dilating! My mw said it was worth a try. We'll see...

[gulatigirl]

All the best Susan ~ I'm glad you got to find out that they'd try the gel first before anything else. My thoughts are with you that it works and you'll be well on your way to having your baby in your arms !!

I'm not sure induction is definitely in the cards yet for me but it is more and more likely ~ we're scheduled for Tuesday. Nothing else has worked. As far as the last VE I had on Thursday there was still no dialation of my scarred cervix ~ I've tried a lot of EPO and had a lot of painful contractions since including some blood-tinged plug loss so who knows . . .

Tuesday for me is 41+5, they'll only let me go until 42 but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday an unknown OB will try the gel and as long as baby is ok they won't try anything else to induce until Thursday. If labour starts Tuesday or Wednesday OB will transfer back to midwives and they'll assist with my birth in hospital, otherwise OB will likely not transfer care back.

I'm starting to get over the fact that there is only today and tomorrow left that allow me the possibility of having our planned home birth and trying to keep faith that the in-hospital induction will be ok and hopefully overseen by my midwives. My fears are certainly lurking that the gel won't work, that the pitocin will be hellish and that I'll end up with a c-section.

Please know that I'll be thinking of you tomorrow!!!

[soccermominsd]

Hi there,
I've posted in the Sept DDC somewhat, but was hanging out in the Oct DDC a bit more. However some complications have arisen that may neccesitate an induction this week. I was diagnosed with ICP (Intrahepatic Cholestasis of pregnancy) and it's not good to let the pregnancy progress past 38 weeks for the health of the little one. My DH & I had done a lot of research on this and are very concerned for our son. I only had a confirmed diagnosis with elevated serum bile acids last Monday after 2 months of itching like a crazy woman. They are currently doing NSTs twice weekly and did an AFI last Thursday.

I have done everything in my power to help alleviate this condition and nourish my body and baby-I know it's out of my hands.

We were planning a homebirth this whole time and I've been receiving co-care w/ my HB MW and a group of CNMs. I am currently working with the homebirth midwife to try to get things going via homeopathics and eventually castor oil and epo inserted vaginally (as well as orally). I am hoping the natural methods work, but if not-we are resolved to do anything we need to do to bring home a healthy baby.

I will still hope for a great birth that will bring our son earthbound in the most gentlist of ways-regardless if its here at home or the hospital.

Thank you Sanguine for starting this thread.

[mamajody]

Peeking in from Oct. again....

I wish you luck with the cervidil. I had a pit. induction with my DD at 40.5 weeks, and did not need the cervidil because I was already dilated, however I wanted to say that the Pit. does NOT have to be hellish. That was my first labor so I have no basis for comparison, but I found it manageable. I was so glad to be in active labor at last. The one thing I regret is that I didn't fight more for position changes. My L&D nurse was terrible and didn't want to cooperate with us. Since I will either be induced in 2.5 weeks or have a c/s in the next 3 weeks I am gearing upt to present my case to the L&D nurse manager BEFORE I go into labor. I am having twins which makes following a birth plan rather unpredictable, and I just want to cover all of my options without having to give them 6 pages worth of contingency plans.

Gentle Birth Vibes to all of you! Even if you need a little help getting started it doesn't make the experience less real or powerful. In the end you will still be holding those beautiful healthy babies in your arms.

[Sanguine]

Thanks for all the encouragement!! Mamajody, talking to nurses ahead of time sounds like a great plan. and it's good to hear that pitocin can be manageable--I've heard that from a few friends lately & I'm feeling a lot calmer about it.

soccermomsind --I'm glad they got to the bottom of what's going on and you have a plan to get you & your son safe! That's the most important thing. I'm thankful that there are so many things that mws & docs can do if something is not right... nature works without help a lot of the time, but I'm glad there are options when it doesn't.

gulatigirl--it sounds like you have a great plan! And I understand the fear about 'cascading interventions,' but my mw has told me that once the scar tissue gets busted through, labor should progress normally. That should be true for you, too! Nobody's mentioned c-section... of course there are no guarantees for anybody! But as far as I know there's no more risk for us than anybody else.

What about the upsides of induction? We get to rest up and go into this with our reserves charged up. I've heard that pitocin is much more manageable when you aren't already exhausted... and my doula went through a Friday afternoon to Monday morning labor, with a hospital transfer in the midst and Pitocin coming on board Sunday night... she did it without pain meds & Pitocin was all she needed! She was tired, but she made it through. We can too!

Let's just remember that WE are not defective! And be thankful for the help we can get when we need it.

Sanguine.. preparing to leave for the hospital at around 6 tonight. Woohoo! First I'm baking a chocolate birthday cake. The champagne is on ice!

[PGNPORTLAND]

I just want to say Good Luck Mamas! I'm sending peaceful and powerful birth vibes to you!

[gulatigirl]

Sanguine ~ i hope your induction is going / went well and that you'll soon be enjoying your champagne and new baby!

I went for a second biophysical profile u/s on Monday and amniotic fluid was low so the OB midwives needed to consult with called for an induction yesterday. They gave me cervadil to start the induction, monitoring for a couple of hours and sent me home to wait for labour. About 9 pm last night my contractions were every 3-6 minutes until 2 am, the cervadil tablet fell out on it's own at 1:30 am, then contractions continued every 2-3, lasting one minute until 5:30 am. We went to the hospital early this morning but contractions stopped when we got there. So not a moment of sleep last night but while they did some monitoring in hospital I managed to sleep a couple of hours.

The OB did an exam at 11 am, found me only to be 1 cm, did a stretch and sweep and gave me a second dose of cervadil and monitoring. They sent me home again and I'm waiting for labour to start. Contractions are irregular but I can't get comfortable enough to get some sleep. It hurts so much to lie down, I feel best sitting in a chair or on a ball, positions which aren't helpful for getting the sleep I need so badly before active labour starts. I am really looking forward to active labour and pushing. This early induced labour is HARD!!!!!

[soccermominsd]

gulatigirl - Hoping your labor is progressing now, : that all is going as it should with you and you are getting some sleep.

Sanguine - I hope you have a beautiful baby in your arms by now

[gulatigirl]

well as i feared, intervention cascaded and a secon induction try turned into a c-section - baby's heart rate was terrible and scary durung contractions. they got her out in the nick of time as there was only 2 tsp. of amniotic fluid and placenta was very aged.

will write more later! baby maya is healthy and i'm on the mend :

[_betsy_]

I was induced at 40 weeks, 3 days with high blood pressure and possible low amniotic fluid.

I didn't need Cervidil because I was already fully effaced. I was dilated to 1-2 cms for a couple weeks already at that point, and had been having contractions that I couldn't feel for weeks.

They started the "test dose" of Pitocin at 9:40 a.m. I had a few whoppers of contractions, but learned to handle them through breathing and DH coaching me through them. Around an hour later, the doctor came to check and see how baby and I were handling the drug. I was fully dilated and ready to push, though I never felt any urge to push. I asked to have the Pit turned off, which they did. An hour later, and a small episiotomy later, my baby girl was born.

It was fast, and it was intense, but I did it!

[gwinith]

natural induction methods- i need reminding

hi all, i'm 40 weeks today (1st time mama), have no health concerns at this time but want to try to encourage labor. so far i'm taking Raspberry tea as often as i remember and can tolerate it, DH is getting his fill of sex to deposit all those natural prostiglandins and to encourage my own oxytocin to release... and last nite we got take-out thai food and i ordered HOT chiles as i've heard spicy food can help with induction.

i'd walk more but i have very bad edema in my lower legs and my feet hurt after a while. i am NOT interested in trying the contraversial castor oil, but wonder if and when to do primrose oil?

does anyone have any other suggestions?

[Caroline]

Wishing a wonderful birth to those needing to induce!

I had an induction and had an incredibly beautiful birth with my fourth child. I have a genetic blood clotting disorder called Protein S deficiency and was on a blood thinning medication called Lovenox my entire pregnancy. The medication has to be stopped 24 hours before labor or there is considerable risk to the mother (I hemorraged my last birth and had a placental abruption), AND if the medication is just stopped and you wait for labor to begin on it's own then you risk having a still born baby. Clotting disorders are one of the most common reasons for late term losses (clots form in the placenta and cut off babies blood supply). So....we had an induction at 38 weeks and I hardly experienced any pain at all with pit induced contractions. I was actually already 60% effaced and 2 cm dialated when I showed up for the induction. A nurse-midwife attended us but I "caught" my own baby boy. Also this was a hospital birth but my attending nurse had had 7 babies, 2 of which were homebirths (I have also had two HB's), so she completely respected my need to not allow the cord to be cut, and our son never left my arms for any routine procedures. My Perinatalogist agreed to discharge me the next afternoon so I got to recover at home too which was a concern for me since I hate hospitals.

Anyway, you can still have a wonderful birth despite having to have an induction --- Bottom line, I have a healthy beautiful, baby boy and that is what's important in the end. All the best to you, C

[mojumi]

I thought this was an interesting article on this topic:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20030515/2123.html

Monique

[quinbearzmama]

Very interesting article, Monique! My next appt. with one of my midwives is Tuesday- which would put me at 40 + 4; hopefully they won't start talking about induction possibilities until the following appointment, however I do feel more prepared for the conversation after reading the article. (We are trying lots of the natural induction methods- hopefully one of them will kick in in the very near future!!)

[mojumi]

While the article is obviously pretty mainstream biased ("labor is ... a clinical diagnosis"!!), I thought it was interesting to have so much information about different kinds of alternative and medical inductions and how they actually work ... also to realise that pretty much all induction methods carry some risk. One of my midwives is pro-membrane-stripping. I'm going to bring the article to my next appt and if she suggests it again ask her to produce her evidence-based rational for membrane stripping! (And I was shocked to see it described as a surgical procedure, but I guess that makes sense.)

Twiddle twiddle twiddle ... 41 weeks today.