Water broke last night at 2:30 - Page 3

[janasmama]

: So excited! Looking forward to hearing your birth announcement.

[leurMaman]

I'm so excited! Keep us posted. I meant to ask how the waters broke (was it a trickle or full-on burst). I was going to say that with a light trickle there is a chance she could get off her feet and let the membrane actually heal/seal itself. It sounds like you guys are way past that now. I hope the cntx get more intense and more regular. Castor oil can be effective, but messy (bathroom-wise) and unpleasant. Hopefully things will go well on their own tonight! Hang in there papa!

[trimestersdoula]

Yay for regular contractions! How awesome. I bet that baby will be born before I wake up tomorrow morning.

[DCRC]

Well the contractions lasted for about 2 hours and stopped when she had something to eat.

They were going good. So maybe she is making progress. Hopefully the will resume in the morning.

[trimestersdoula]

Thanks for the update. Come on contractions!!! They want their baby!

[TaraRae82]

Come on baby! Hang in there Mommy and Daddy. I've been thinking about you a lot and wondering how things have been going. Thanks for all the updates! Hopefully things will pick up again and end in baby this time! :

[DCRC]

Well she had 2oz of caster oil mixed with OJ this morning, To be followed by 2 more oz in an hour, per the midwife.

I really feel for my wife, as this might not be a pleasant experience.

I think our midwife is nervous that we have gone this long.

In some ways I feel OK, but I'm also scared for her and our child.

I sure hope this caster oil does the trick with out causes to much pain.

If not I guess our only option is going to the hospital to get pitocin.

[crosscat]

:
Come on, baby! You've got some great parents waiting for you out here!

[mamanurse]

[DCRC]

She did the castor oil this morning about 9:30. Who knows at this point but maybe it did the trick .

She has been having contraction about 6 minutes apart since 3pm this afternoon.

So we will see if they stay and get stronger and closer together, or fade away.

Last night she had them for about 2 hours and they quite when she ate some dinner.

So maybe these are still part of pre labor, I don't know.

[DCRC]

The contractions stopped about 10 last night when she went to sleep. She did have a few more when she got up to get some water and use the restroom. She is going to try the breast pump this morning to see if she can get them restarted.

I feel she is still in prodromal labor, and maybe close to going into active labor.

But since it has been 4 days since her water broke she is going to be forced into going to the hospital and being induced.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of woman going longer than 4 days and safely going into labor on there own?

The big concern is getting an infection and something happening to the baby or her.

She has had zero exams since her water has broke.

[audsma]

Sorry, I have nothing to offer in the way of wisdom or advice, just a for the two of you.

[Bayleesan]

Monitor her fever and BP hourly, and do not get exams. I understand pumping from my own experince and anecdotally, that pumping works best if you do it consistantly for a couple for hours or more, stoping during contrax to establish a pattern. You might want to go over to the birth professionals forum and ask for some advice. Some would feel it's been too long already, you have to listen to your hearts. http://www.mothering.com/discussions...play.php?f=228

[Changed]

I would go to the chiro. If labor isn't starting I'd suspect the reason is malpositioning. Good luck!

[Turtlemum]

The NICE guidelines out of the UK suggest 24 hours to 96 hours after having one's water break is safe. Unfortunately there isn't any data out there to reassure you that going past 96 hours is safe. This is mainly because there are so few women who do go this long...I am so sorry you guys are going through this.

Is she willing to try castor oil one more time? Also, I can't remember her obstetrical history (ie if this is her first birth or not) but sometimes when someone's belly is really relaxed and kind of hangs very low then the baby just doesn't sit right on the cervix and makes it hard for it to dialate. There is a technique using a rebozo (a traditional piece of cloth used by mexican midwives...oh and in a pinch a sheet will do)...I don't know if I can describe it well...you would stand behind your DW and place the middle of the sheet on her lower abdomen (the sheet would start at her pubic bone and go up to her navel), then bring the trailing edges of the sheet together behind her. When she gets a contraction you gently lift her belly up and in (checking in with her with how it feels). Keep repeating this with each contraction. If you don't have a sheet you can look up the "apron lift"...Penny Simkin describes it quite well if you have the Birth Partner book as reference. Same idea, but instead of a sheet it is your arms that you link together under her belly (still standing behind her) and use them to bring her belly up and in during contractions.

The great things in your favour are that she has had no exams and shows no signs of infection - that is awesome.

However, since she has had no exams no one knows if there is a bulging bag of forewaters that has formed. Sometimes breaking that is all that it takes. Antecdotally I can tell you I have seen this worked very, very, very well for a woman who had waited three days after rupture before intervening (because this is an intervention). Using the rebozo has also worked quite well for other women in the same or similar situations. After days of labour, one woman had her baby within 1/2 hour of starting to use the rebozo! THere is still hope.

If by the time you read this you are in the middle of a medical induction, just know that we are all sending you safe mama and baby vibes and you'll be in our thoughts

[Bayleesan]

Originally Posted by Changed

I would go to the chiro. If labor isn't starting I'd suspect the reason is malpositioning. Good luck!

That too!

[TaraRae82]

No advice, just s. Sounds like Turtlemum has given you some great thoughts though. Good for you for not having and internal checks! That will REALLY help your case if you decide to go to the hospital.

[myrmom]

hope things have picked up for your wife!!!!

[Kim919]

Originally Posted by DCRC

The contractions stopped about 10 last night when she went to sleep. She did have a few more when she got up to get some water and use the restroom. She is going to try the breast pump this morning to see if she can get them restarted.

I feel she is still in prodromal labor, and maybe close to going into active labor.

But since it has been 4 days since her water broke she is going to be forced into going to the hospital and being induced.

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of woman going longer than 4 days and safely going into labor on there own?

The big concern is getting an infection and something happening to the baby or her.

She has had zero exams since her water has broke.

When my grandmother was pregnant with my father her water broke 8 days before he was born. She didn't know that meant you were supposed to go to the hospital so she didn't, and when her labor finally did start she ended up having him in the elevator at the hospital it went so fast. She said that the labor hurt about as much as period cramps. She is 4'10" and he was 8lbs+ and no problems at all.

[Melanie_7773]

Originally Posted by DCRC

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of woman going longer than 4 days and safely going into labor on there own?

Yes. For one example, see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1uEJdKvGM8. The video was more focused on the whole experience of the birth and the lead-up to it, but in this case the woman's membranes were ruptured for two weeks before baby was born.

I ended up with a c-section with my first child due to maternal infection after PROM. Midwives couldn't resist the temptation to put their fingers in my vagina, and I didn't know any better at the time.

If your wife goes to the hospital for an induction she will also be put on IV antibiotics, and the induction is quite likely to end in a c-section.

If you decide to stay home and monitor temperature (and fetal heart tones), two things could happen. If a fever develops, your wife will very likely have an immediate c-section along with a somewhat longer course of antibiotics. If you are very unlucky the baby could also develop an infection and end up on IV antibiotics after birth. Not fun. On the other hand, the fever may very well NOT develop (especially if membranes have re-sealed) and and both the antibiotics and the c-section could be avoided.

Personally, if I were in the same situation again, I would keep everything out of the vagina, monitor temperature, and wait. As long as it takes. But of course you will need to weigh the risks and benefits to decide what is right for your family.

Good luck.