low amnio

[blueeydvixen]

i just came back from my 36wk apt. and the doc said my fluid is low, a 6 out of im not sure but he said its low. is there a way to build up more fluid this late. this is my 3rd kiddo and the other 2 never had this. i have a history of hbp while pregnant. they are having me come in monday for a nst and fliud check. if its down to 5 dr. said they will need to induce me.

[lalazap]

Measurements of amniotic fluid are notoriously inaccurate. Imagine trying to estimate the amount of water around a person wedged into a plexiglass bathtub while you are looking at them from underneath. (And imagine that person is wiggling all over the place!) The fluid may measure totally differently on a different day, with baby in a different position, with a different ultrasound technician.

The number 6 (cm) represents the sum of the four deepest pockets of fluid found around the baby, one in each quadrant of the uterus. This measurement is called the amniotic fluid index (AFI) ~ normal AFI at term is 6-18 cm.

Drink LOTS of water this weekend and make sure that you drink at least 2 litres of water in the hours leading up to your ultrasound on monday. There is research showing that maternal hydration can increase the AFI by 2 cm.

Nat mur is a homeopathic remedy that can also be used to help increase the amount of fluid around the baby.

[MsBlack]

Second the pp on this--low fluid volume CAN be associated with inadequate maternal hydration, and will respond to higher fluid intake. It can also come with underlying problems for baby such as poor or absent kidney function, other issues--unlikely to be impacted by mom's higher fluid intake. Was just reading a thread on another list about this very thing. Seems that for a normally healthy baby, evidence does not point clearly to harm in a lower fluid volume--and that in fact, u/s 'science' does not have a clear idea yet how much fluid there "should be" at this stage of things.

Mainly, if fluid levels continue to be low and induction is pressed, I would first ask this doc WHY induce--WHAT does s/he percieve to be the benefits of induction at this stage...and of course, what are the risks of induction now, and what are the options including the option of doing nothing for now. In other words, obtain real informed consent before going ahead with anything. Also, I would insist on getting the best sonographer in town to do the u/s and read the results, sometimes these 'findings' are found by techs and/or docs who aren't the best with this stuff.

[courtenay_e]

Also, I'd be wary about the doc's reasons for doing an ultrasound in the first place...simply because in my area, there is a practice of OBs who are NOTORIOUS for inducing for low amniotic fluid levels. For some reason, they either have a really high random percentage of women who show up in their office with low levels of fluid, or the use that excuse to get women who want a natural birth in their Alternative Birth Center into the regular L&D at the last minute. Most of the birth workers in the area who have noticed the correlation between the number of inductions in that practice on women who were supposed to be in the ABC, and the percentage of those women who are induced for a low AFI, feel that it's just a reason to get you out of your "natural birth" mode and hooked up to some tubes and belts. Of course, that's the cynicysm of a somewhat jaded birth worker...but I'd also take a look at the reasoning they give you for induction and seriously consider whether that's the only reason (or the REAL reason) they want to induce. I'd frankly seek out several of their past clients and ask THEM whether they were induced, and if so, why. That's how we notice a correlation as birth workers...so many women who say, "Oh, I WANTED a natural birth, but I HAD to be induced..."and then we ask who their practitioner was, and what the reason for induction was...and so it goes.

I agree strongly with MsBlack that you should drink LOTS of fluids over the weekend, and then if the index is still read as low, explore all of your options. Ask the doc NOT just for anecdotal evidence, but ask them to show you studies that show that your baby is safer with the risks of induction than the risks of being in utero with a low AFI. Ask what will happen if you do nothing.

If you are seriously considering induction, ask about your Bishop's score, so that you are aware as to whether or not the induction is even likely to "take"...and if it DOESN'T take...what are your options THEN? I'd avoid having them break the water, because that way if the induction doesn't "go anywhere" you could always have the option of going home and waiting either to go into labor or waiting for a more favorable Bishop's score.