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Dreading an induction...help needed

1K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  neonalee 
#1 ·
Im now 12 days overdue with my second baby. My first came on her due date so the wait for this one to make an appearance has been truly unbearable.

I am a booked home birth. I hired a birthing pool from the hospital & had high expectations of actually giving birth to my beautiful baby at home. Of course, now having reached this far overdue, I am starting to recieve pressure to have an induction, the first of which was booked in for me tomorrow. I have refused this and actually my midwife has been very supportive but of course has advised that I will need to go in for daily monitoring until I decide an induction is right for me, or, by some miracle this little guy decides to start the process himself.

I'm just feeling hugely demoralised. I so badly wanted my lovely home birth experience. But as each day goes by, I'm becoming more and more upset and frustrated that this isn't happening. My husband is very supportive but he thinks we should go for induction on monday (40+15) and "start our lives" with the baby rather than waiting forever. I feel like the induction is like a feast in front of a starving man, to think that I could have my baby in my arms in a matter of days is almost too hard to resist. But I don't want to go into the hospital, have to find child care for my daughter who has never been away from us, for who knows what length of time ?

I also don't want any intervention but I have read stories (only very few) that have shared awful experiences of babies being still born or inhaling meconium from being so overdue.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do??
 
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#2 ·
How solid are your dates? How are you feeling? How do the baby and the placenta look on NSTs?

One of the possibilities is that your dates are off. If you're using the standard LMP dating methods, that can happen pretty easily. If you had a dating ultrasound, or IUI or IVF, that's far less likely, but if you're possibly only 40 weeks pregnant, maybe it's time to hang in longer (although, if it were me, I'd want to be sure NSTs looked okay).

There's some evidence that induction may help reduce the risk of c-section (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145922.html) when compared to expectant management (the wait and see approach you're taking now).

And there is such a thing, IMO, as too long to wait. Somewhere between 41 and 43 weeks, I start to think patience is no longer justified. The entire point of pregnancy (again, IMO) is to start the part of your life that has your baby in it. I think it's fine to get to that point by any road that leads there.

What were your contingency plans for your daughter if you needed an emergency transfer from home to hospital? Can those be called into play to care for her if you go to the hospital in the beginning?
 
#3 ·
Can you have your membranes stripped? Not the most natural choice but it sure beats induction!
Also look into baby spinning, sometimes the baby just needs to get into a better position and labor will start.
Sorry I don't have more suggestions. Hopefully a wise mama will share some truly needed advice. Hang in there, one day at a time!
 
#4 ·
Have you tried warm washcloths on your nipples? This and stripping the membranes were the first steps to inducing in the hospital I birthed at. The washcloths worked but did make the pain and closeness of the contractions too strong for my body so I don't think you should do it without supervision. I was put on oxygen until the effects slowed up a bit.
 
#5 ·
Thank you for your replies. I did have a dating scan, so I'm as sure of my dates as the scan permits. Certainly at no point did I have any indication that I wasn't measuring as I should be etc.

I have also had my membranes stripped once and it didn't work :-( I was told I was 2cm dilated and 'favourable' but it did not start anything off. I completely agreed that membrane stripping although an 'intervention' was much less invasive than an induction. I'm due to go in for my first day of monitoring today so I will see what this brings. I'm willing to accept another sweep in a last ditch attempt to get something started, which I wasn't before because I felt like it added to my feelings of frustration when it hadn't worked.

Babe is moving wonderfully & I have had an upset tummy for 2 days now.
 
#7 ·
I have an home birth midwife who will give overdue mamas a "labor drink" that includes castor oil and other ingredients it is very effective. Hopefully you have started labor or birthed your baby by now! Good luck and keep us posted!
 
#10 ·
I'm guessing too late for this mama, but I'd also add walking (lots of walking) and bellydance movements to the things to try.

The reason my labor never started with my first was that he wasn't positioned right & his head wasn't pressing where it needed to. Walking might or might not have helped, but I certainly wasn't walking around at that point.
 
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