Advice for avoiding repeat c/s

[AbiSolsticebaby]

Hi I am a CBE and have a doula friend assising a woman that is about 41 weeks. She wants a VBAC but at the last appointment she was told she had low levels of amniotic fluid(I don't know exact numbers here). They scheduled her for a c-section for Friday. Her cervix is not dilated nor effaced. With her first she was induced at I believe 41 weeks and after 12 hours of contractions and not enough cervical changes she gave birth by c/s. Could it be that her cervix just will not open for her or does she just need more time to cook this baby?
Oh and she has been doing acupuncture, massage, epo oil, rasp. leaf tea, sex and nipple stimulation.
Today we are going to try castor oil and clary sage rub on the belly, pinapple, inversion(spinning babe), and meditation.
Please any advice is welcome
thanks in advance

[JessicaE]

She just may need more time to bake her babies. My first VBAC client had her first (failed induction) at 42 weeks, and her VBAC at 42w3d.

Fluid levels can be affected by hydration, perhaps she could drink, drink, drink (a gallon or more per day) and have another ultrasound/biophysical profile on Friday instead of a repeat c-section.

She could certainly be asking a lot of questions about what the range of normal fluid is, and exactly where she falls in that range. I have a client right now who is convinced that her fluid levels are low-low-low, but when you really dig into the numbers the actuality is that she's simply on the lower end of normal. So not LOW at all.

Remind her that she is the ultimate decision maker for her body and her baby. Her health care team are important consultants, but final decisions (and consequences) rest with her. At every turn, parents have to weigh benefits and risks and make their best decisions based on that -- of only there were easy answers for every situation.

Best wishes for a beautiful VBAC!

[eastkygal]

Tell her to drink a gallon or more of water for a few days and then ask for another u/s. Tell her to refuse a c-section until then. This is one of the new "you need a c-section" scare tactics. It is quickly getting as popular as big baby. The math used to assess the fluids can be very skewed and be different depending on who is looking at it. They measure fluids in 4 quadrants around the baby. It can look like more or less depending on how the babe is lying. It's just not accurate. I just don't think an induction is ever successful if the babe isn't ready. She can't assume her body is broken. She needs tons of reassurance. I hope it ends well for her.

[momileigh]

ITA w/ the above.

They tried to scare me into an induction for oligo w/ my first. The oligo was diagnosed by biophysical profile alone, not by abdominal exam or fundal height or any other suspect finding. My AFI was 4 at 41 weeks. I spend the next day drinking so much water it seemed ridiculous, demanded a repeat biophysical, and got an AFI of 5.3. Over 5, not oligo (technically!). They still said it was "low" and wanted to induce but I refused. Had a natural labor/birth at 41w5d and everything was GREAT. So, yeah, I think oligo is overdiagnosed and used as a scare tactic, especially when they are nervous about you for some other reason (past your due date, VBAC, whatever).