Anyone thinking they might be induced? - Page 2

[Danelle78]

Originally Posted by madiesmommy

I had pregnancy induced hypertension, not to the point of pre-e, but bad enough none the less with my first. I was induced at 38 weeks, had a great labor and delivery, but it was not exactly as I wanted. I wanted drug free, but I just could not relax any further so I got the epidural man to come rescue me. Thank goodness I was the model TV birther - the doc put in the epidural, I went to 10, the nurse turned it off, and I got to push with little effect from the medicine.

This issue has kept me with an OB for care this time, and he has broken the bad news to me that I will most likely have the same problems this time... He also said there is a chance I will not, but the probabilities are with me having PIH again.

I am plus-sized...and weigh about 50 more than I did with the first. I swear a good bit of my higher blood pressure is "white coat" induced. My doc is really good, won't force meds on me, not without doing home monitoring etc. to truly diagnose a high blood pressure condition (that I don't have when not preggo). Between birth and this pregnancy, I learned that I was hypothyroid. I am hoping that condition affected my blood pressure last time, though medically, noone can tell me that.

I am sort of dreading being induced again, but also expecting it at the same time. The emotions around these thoughts are hard to explain, and the planner in me doesn't see it as being so bad to know when and where.

Is anyone in the same boat as me?

I was put on bedrest for the last month due to pregnancy induced high blood pressure. If you have the means, get one of the OTC blood pressure checkers. And keep a chart. Chart it upright and after resting on your left side. I never went Pre-e and followed the brewer diet/basically ate what my body told me too within reason. (and sometimes by the end is was a pound of ground beef on a salad at a time. Now that turns my stomach just thinking of it.) The chart might help keep the doctor at bay and show you what effect White coat hypertension is really having. (There was one doctor in the practice I was with that scared the crap out of me and after seeing him my pressure used to SHOOT through the roof. They'd make me lay there in the office and rest and retest until it got to an acceptable level.) After two 24-hour pee tests, I delivered at 42 weeks without induction. So it can be done!!! Best of luck to you.

[madiesmommy]

Thanks to home monitoring, I never had to take a 24 hour pee test last time! I was at a different job, and there was one boss who would visit our office from Charlotte. Whenever she would come up, my pressure would spike up SOOO high, it wasn't funny. The doc almost wrote her a letter to say stay away. I wish he had, but wouldn't have helped my career any Now I work for myself, so if I stress myself out, I'm basically screwed...

[SeekingSerenity]

Originally Posted by madiesmommy

This issue has kept me with an OB for care this time, and he has broken the bad news to me that I will most likely have the same problems this time... He also said there is a chance I will not, but the probabilities are with me having PIH again.

...I swear a good bit of my higher blood pressure is "white coat" induced.

Just out of curiosity, how does he KNOW that you will most likely have the same problem this time? I don't mean to sound skeptical, but as you said, a lot of it can be "white coat" induced. I was told and told and told in my 3rd pg that I would DEFINITELY go into preterm labor because my MSAFP levels were elevated. And because they brought me in for monitoring every two weeks, did an u/s scan every month, and constantly questioned me as to whether or not I was experiencing labor yet, I believed eventually that I was in preterm labor. I was induced at 37 weeks, and even with Pitocin it took 27 hours - turns out that baby just wasn't ready yet. They practically had to force her.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know you have several risk factors that make it more likely, but it doesn't necessarily make it MOST likely, does it? I just hope for the best for you, mama, as inductions are no fun. I've had two. I won't do it again unless it is totally necessary.

Originally Posted by Tenk

Please don't critisize ladies, until you've walked a mile. I don't mean this to be negative. I just think the effects of my stress will be worse on the baby than coming before her due date will be. I hope you all understand.

No way you'd be judged for that decision, mama, especially considering your reasons! No one would EVER want you to take a risk that something would not be right with your sweet little one, and considering everything you've been through, you deserve the peace of mind knowing you're making a decision that feels right to you.

Whether induced or not, the most important thing is not HOW the baby gets here, into mama's arms, but that the baby is safe and healthy and so is Mom. to all the mamas.

[madiesmommy]

There is a lot of truth to they take my BP once and it is higher, then the next time I am stressing even more about will it be high, so it is higher, and they cycle just keeps on going. They basically psyche you into thinking you are having a problem.

I'm sorry inducing was not good for you - as it is not for most people that are induced. Really, it was not bad for me here, only 6 hours in labor where I felt the contractions and 40 minutes of pushing. I just wish I could have done it without the 30 min of epidural help...no worries now. She is healthy and happy at 3. Just wish she had a volume control button some days

[formerluddite]

i get the white coat thing, too, and had to deal with it for both pregnancies.

it was often high at the OB's office (for dd1), so i self monitored at home and kept a log. when i'd sit down to take it i could feel my chest clench, feel the adrenaline of "what if it's high?" hit. so of course it'd be high (say, 140-150/90-100). but if i'd sit there, and check every few minutes a few times in a row, switching arms, so each arm gets that ?5 min break that is supposed to happen before retesting (or else the results are not valid, not that that ever stops the nurse from pumping the cuff back up when she misses the upper #), i would feel the anxiety pass, and get bored, and read the paper or watch TV, and then i'd get a real reading, which would be normal.

thankfully my midwives for dd2 were cool with me taking my own readings (although we did liver/kidney function testing, and one 24hr urine to be on the safe side). when i was with an OB for dd1 they had me doing NST's, which stressed me out to no end, but luckily dd1 passed each one. and both times i delivered a week early, so i didn't have to deal with the added pressure of going "post dates." which of course 50% have to, since 40w is the friggin MEDIAN.

i don't know what my BP was DURING labor for dd2, since it was at home and too fast for the midwives. but with dd1, i took it when first realized i was in labor (at midnight), and it was 165/100. kinda overexcited, much? so i called in to the hospital, and they didn't act like it was any emergency, but said i should come in early rather than later. once i got to the hospital (~2 hours later, since i had to wait for dh to come home from working graveyard shift), the one time they measured it was ?135/85. i think that was when i first got there (and i was no longer giddy, it was starting to hurt), since later they didn't have time to do much: when they finally got me into a room, they just barely got ready to catch her.

i think when it's white coat HTN, often once mama really gets into "labor land," she's too focused and internal to be reacting to the people around her. like normally i hate needles, but with dd1 i didn't even notice the nurse putting in a heplock, until i felt the blood drip down my arm because she screwed up. and normally that would make me freak out or pass out, but at the time i didn't care a bit, i was too busy dealing with a lightening fast strong labor (4cm to delivery in <2hrs).

so in labor it isn't so labile, and really reflects what is going on inside, instead of reflecting your fear of what someone will make you do if it's high (like that anxiety that authority figures can bring on: being sent to the principle's office, or your boss showing up at your old job).

so it's possible that if you measure at home you will have a better picture of what your body is doing when you're NOT scared. and that info will help you make decisions when pressed by your OB, who from the sound of things is already giving you the heads up that he'll WANT to induce you.

but you also say "this issue has kept me with an OB for care this time," and if that's because you think that a midwife won't take you, well, you might be wrong about that. i thought so too, until i talked to them. all 3 of the midwives i interviewed were willing to work with me on the issue. so if you haven't interviewed any, it's worth a shot.

[CallMeMommy]

Originally Posted by Khourtniey

Not I.. Im the opposite of induced.. whatever that would be called but I hope all of you inducers have good labours and births.

Yeah, instead of making our kids come out early, they do everything in their power to keep them in as long as possible!

As the mom of a 31-weeker, I'll be ecstatic if this one is late.

[mommymia]

Tenk and apecaut - No judgements here either. It's totally understandable that you'll be induced. You deserve the peace of mind.

[meowee]

I'm concerned because the ultrasound gave me a due date 7-8 days before what I'm 99% is my real due date (I know when I conceived, unless there was some kind of miraculous sperm events ). So I'm worried about being called "overdue" when in fact I'm not at all... plus I am with an OB this time and not a MW, and while they are nice, they aren't as laid back as my MWs were... . Not much I can do but wait and see! I would hate to be induced, pitocin scares me.

[BetsyS]

I don't know.

I am currently going to a practice I won't deliver with (it's close to my house, but they don't do VBACs). Our house is on the market, and we're hopeful to move before my due date. If that happens, I'll deliver in our new town, with new midwives, and I won't be induced (well, I might consider something like AROM close to 42 weeks).

However, if we stay here because we haven't sold our house, for complicated reasons, they hospital I'm most likely to deliver at has ONE physician that does VBACs (and no midwives that do). That doc induces people if they are favorable on weekends near their due date, because logistically it is much easier for him. He's in solo practice and hospital rules dictate he's at the hospital 24/7 with a VBAC, forcing him to cancel all his patients that day. So, I understand the need for induction in that instance.

I'm still up in the air about it, and hopeful that we'll just get to move, though.