41 weeks and needing options

[jingwen]

I'm 41 weeks tomarrow and my specialist will start discussing induction. I am petrified of Pitocin, since i had it with my last child and had a horrible labor and experience. Plus, i'm a high risk pregnancy.

I was wondering if anyone can give me advice so i can be more mentally prepared with discussing with the specialist about ALL my options.

1. What is the danger of waiting another week or two?
2. A week ago my membranes were swept and then 2 days after the procedure my every 10 minute contractions subsided. Yesterday and today they seem to have picked back up mildly. Is that a good sign or do you think it's a false alarm?
3. I have tried all the natural induction methods except Castor oil..there seems to be some debate regarding it. What's your opinion?

Thank you for any advice... Desperately needing it!!

[EkkaGrrl]

I'm kind of in the same boat so I'm going to pay close attention to this thread. I'm 40 weeks 3 days and at my last appt the dr started with the induction stuff. He even went so far as to write " book induction" on my chart. He has some kind of thing about letting women go over 41 weeks. It just doesn't happen there I guess.

Anyway, I need some info too, some back up for my next appointment because if everything is fine with the baby there is no way I'm even going to entertian the idea of induction.

[lilsishomemade]

I went 10 days over with first and 12 days over with my second. I tried everything besides castor oil and what finally worked with my last was getting into a hot tub and relaxing, talking to the baby and letting it know that it was okay to come now.

Remember, even if your provider does schedule an induction, you don't have to show up.

[Jster]

I went to 42 weeks with dd2, and the day before I took castor oil. A 2 oz dose at 5pm, another 2 oz at 7pm, contractions were regular by 8pm and baby was born around 7:30am. I didn't have problems with diarrhea, more just loosish stools, and it was kind of nice to be all cleaned out so to speak.

I'd previously tried blue and black cohosh, to no avail.

With this one, I dtd quite a bit, plus a little nipple stimulation, and the combo got things going nicely. I was determined not to do anything that my body didn't have naturally!

Oh, in terms of the risk, for caucasian first time moms, 41w1d is actually AVERAGE gestation, according to a Harvard study, so don't be dissuaded into thinking you are "overdue" when actually, you're doing fine! There is a slightly increased risk of stillbirth after 42 weeks...other than that, things are pretty much the same. And don't worry about having "too big" a baby

[clancybaby]

there was a similar thread recently and one poster provided these links. i found some of this quite helpful and you might too:

http://www.transitiontoparenthood.co...datespaper.htm
http://www.fensende.com/Users/swnymph/refs/due.html

i carried my singleton to 42 wks back in 2002. he was the healthiest baby anyone had seen in a long time. now i'm at 40 wks with twins and was recently told that i'm killing my babies by keeping them in my tummy past 38 wks, so i'm right there with you. try to trust yourself, your body and your babies. you know much better what is right for you than the doc does.

excerpt from the first link above:
--quote--
95% of babies born between 42 and 44 weeks are born safely. Only a small percentage of pregnancies that last beyond 42 weeks result in babies with post-maturity syndrome. These numbers may reflect issues addressed above: the period for normal prenatal development for a human infant appears to span several weeks. Some so-called late babies may merely have been slow to develop, and are born at the term that is appropriate to their development.

So, there is some question whether it is appropriate to induce labor at 42 weeks of gestation, and this issue is further complicated by all the concerns about inaccurate dating of conception, as described above.

Nichols (1985b) states that 70% of women classified as postdate in his study were incorrectly dated. If the choice to induce is based on menstrual dating, this is likely to result in a high proportion of unnecessary inductions. “In studies where conception has been estimated from basal body temperature charts, and ultrasound measurements, it has been shown that the error in menstrual dating is heavily skewed to the right - i.e., there is a tendency to overestimate gestation.” (Odutayo)

Ultrasonography in the first half of pregnancy could reduce the number of pregnancies classified as >42 weeks from 11.5 to 3.5 (i.e., by 70%). (Odutayo)

However, even with multiple methods for dating the pregnancy, there is still a margin for error in determining the age of the baby, and further questions regarding the age at which this particular baby will reach obstetrical maturity.

Therefore, some research based protocols for post-date pregnancy recommend that with late date pregnancy, tests may be started to evaluate the mother and fetus for signs of postmaturity. Tests include fetal movement counting, ultrasound examination, non-stress test, contraction stress test, and estimation of the amount of amniotic fluid. If these indicate potential postmaturity, the doctor can perform amniocentesis to check for meconium staining of the amniotic fluid before pursuing labor induction. If the fetal well-being tests do not detect signs of postmaturity, a post-date pregnancy may be allowed to continue until labor begins spontaneously.
--end quote--

[luckydog]

I did reflexology at 41w5d on the recommendation of my (unusually crunchy) OB and went into labor ~10 hours later (gave birth 42w1d - post due date mamas have all my sympathy!!). Best wishes!

[UrbanEarthMama]

This place of waiting and not knowing is so hard. Any mother wants to protect her baby and yet, there seem to be conflicting choices - both ends of the spectrum usually voicing their opinion with great conviction.

My first baby entered the birth labyrinth this way. I crossed the threshold into my birth experience not with contractions or water breaking, but with anticipation and anxiety and waiting. To do or not to do...?

A question like this is often easily answered in retrospect so be gentle with yourself now. Be gentle with yourself later - whatever you choose. Right now you will make the best choice you can with the information you have, with what your heart is telling you to do.

One tiny piece of advice that I would like to offer is this - stay hydrated. Many calls of intervention at 41+ weeks are made based on an amniotic fluid index (AFI). This very subjective measurement considers pockets of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby. If it is low, you will be encouraged and even pressured to induce. If you are dehydrated, your womb will also show this. So keep drinking...whatever tastes good. Water mixed with juice, electrolyte drinks like Recharge or coconut water.

The other thing I would like to offer is the chapter on postdates induction in Henci Goer's book The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. In this chapter she outlines the pros and cons of waiting and augmenting. You might find it helpful.

Wishing you so much love as you walk into this birth journey...you might not know it, but you have already entered. Blessings.

[katsam]

I was induced at 42 weeks one day due to possible medical concerns about my baby that were found on a biophysical profile (these had nothing to do with being past my due date by the way).
Anyway, I was scared to death of pitocin too, and was able to go into labor by breaking my water and using an electric breast pump. No pitocin! It was a fast labor, about four hours. I think my body was ready though.
Good luck with your decision.

[EkkaGrrl]

Originally Posted by UrbanEarthMama

The other thing I would like to offer is the chapter on postdates induction in Henci Goer's book The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. In this chapter she outlines the pros and cons of waiting and augmenting. You might find it helpful.

Wishing you so much love as you walk into this birth journey...you might not know it, but you have already entered. Blessings.

Thank you for this! I own this book and I'm not sure why I didn't think to pick it up. The last time I read it was when I was pregnant with DD.

[jingwen]

Thanks everyone for such great advice and support. I went to my appt today "armed and dangerous" but interestingly enough my specialist was very supportive. He asked what "I" wanted to do? I think i was so shocked by his question i didn't know what to say.

He even quoted a study done in Kaiser, he's a Kaiser doc by the way, that a research of 15,000 women studied showed no ill effects of having a baby after 42 weeks!

He checked me over, baby, fluid levels all doing well and sent me on my way.. he scheduled me for induction on Friday, because he will be on hospital duty and if i change my mind. But then said, "you know you don't have to show up if you don't want to."

Amazing, there is hope. For anyone that has Kaiser, you might want to mention to your doc the study that was done for "overdue" patients. I'll see if i can get access to it and post it later.

Thanks again ladies for all your support!