I didn't find Wanna-Bump's posts insensitive and I don't have a problem with her posts. Why shouldn't she point out the risks? The OP didn't mention she knew what they were, and she asked for "people's thoughts". Presumably when she has this discussion with her MW, she'll get the same response there. By all means refuse, no-one can do anything to you that you don't want.
I find it helpful when HCPs come on here with information.
I wasn't offended. WB, i hope you don't take it too much to heart, people get very defensive, and we all enjoy lively debate on here!
For what it's worth, I didn't have an induction, but would in hindsight have been glad of the constant monitoring as I was left to my own devices and then it all went wrong and was a massive, uncontrolled rush at the end. My birth needed more intervention and pain relief than I had strongly wanted in the run-up, and while I carried a lot of resentment round for a long time, at 10 months I'm just glad he's here and safe and healthy, and I am too. it could have had a worse outcome.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy mich, and hope it all goes how you want.
Wanna-Bump - you should see the weaning/breast of formula feeding debates that take place here!
i was induced at 37 weeks but Toby didnt arrive till 37 +5.
I guess on paper it was horrendous - 4 lots of gel - back to back - failed epidural - 3.5 days of active labour and went for c section in the end.
I loved it all - every second that past was getting me closer and closer to meeting our much longed for baby. So for a rather long but positive induction my birth story should be on here somewhere too!
Wanna - bless your heart felt posts - i couldnt work in that environment - it must be amazing to help so many babies though so tough when it doesnt work out. I personally wouldnt want to go past 41 weeks but thats because of a friend who lost a 42+5 baby due to problems with placenta deteriorating. I wouldnt want to take that risk
Mich - i really hope all goes well and loonk forward to reading your birth story - get bouncing on that ball!
I think there is a huge difference between someone saying something that accidently offends and upsets people like wannabump did... and DELIBERATELY saying something to hurt someone and then pretty much saying "good-i'm glad" when you realise you have hurt them!!
Even worse if this is done over and over again! i agree with the poster who said it smacks of bullying.
mich just wanted to say as you your hv has scared you re all intervention that it isn't that bad either, I know most want as natural a labour as possible but sometimes that just isn't possible and if intervention is needed its not the end of the world
with ds1 i had no idea what labour was going to be like so I 'went with the flow' and followed the advice of the midwives, i had spurious labour (starts and stops) so had to get the drip in, I then had gas and air, pethadene and an epidural, i reacted to the pethadene and gas and air loads as my iron was so low (like drinking on an empty stomach) so was really high and didn't like this but once I got my epidural all the pain vanished. I did find bonding with ds1 hard for the first 24 hours so that coul dbe a downside but on the other hand his heart rate was dipping and they got him out alive and well so I didnt mind all the extra help!! (forceps as his head was 'up' not chin to chest so wedged)
I learnt from this experience that i didn't like drugs that made me high so with ds2 i just had an epidural at 7 cm dilated which wore off just before delivery and I was shocked that it wasn't that bad, I was very happy with the birth and even though I was v high delivering ds1 i couldn't have forseen that that would happen as I didnt know my iron would drop so much, also ds1 was 'wedged' so he was forceps and an episiotomy which healed fine.
hopefully you will get your natural birth, I hope for the future (want another 1) that I will do it without the epidural but if I need it I need it, also in my hospital after 40 weeks you cant have a water birth either, it probably just varies from one hos to the next good luck.
The birth DOES matter, in my opinion. (By the way, I had an induction, with drip, and couldn't move an inch from the bed - and it was my idea of hell - I have to be honest.)
I completely agree with this - I went into labour on my own but had to have oxytocin to help me progress and wish I'd considered this when writing my birth plan.
Weigh up the pros and cons before you decide which path to choose but bear in mind that even going into labour on your own won't guarantee you the birth you want and plan for it accordingly. I know now that I should have put on my birth plan that I wanted an epidural I ended up having to go through the labour being monitored on a bed. As it was I wasn't offered one and forgot it was even an option!
I would say that you need to consider all possibilities and resign yourself to the fact that induction may be what is best for baby. However, if you are not convinced that it is best for baby, you have every right to refuse it.
I had my son at 41+4, he was born perfectly healthy and no overdue complications (c-section). Waters were clear however the membranes were described as 'ragged' no idea what that is
Induction means you're more likely to have a c-section and this can create complications for mother & baby so it works both ways really.
I was induced and will hopefully not be induced again, it was horrible. Contractions came on so quickly, there was no build up at all, BANG I hit 3cm dilated and I went from feeling OK to being in pure agony!!! I had such a long labour I was also completely out of it, did not sleep for 36 hours, by the end of it I was 7cm and my body was giving up, I had a temperature and cold sweats and vomiting, nothing was happening and they had tried EVERYTHING over 2 days (2 pessaries, drip, ARM).
I honestly believe if I hadn't been induced I wouldnt have had such a hideous drawn out labour....In our area they induce at term + 10 and next time I'll refuse an induction until term + 14 which is a fair compromise.
----"Wow-Baby you asked why I couldnt have a sweep at home- I didnt even know this may be an option so could definately be something I can bring up with my midwife!! I sincerely hope I can come back in the near future with a positive outcome whichever way it goes Happy x"-----
like all things maternity, it tends to vary from place to place, but i know with ds iwas offered a sweep at 40+1 and the mw was coming to my home to do it as she figured its far more comfortable for the woman to be at home rather than have to bus/drive/walk back home afterwards, she asked if i wanted i sweep and i said yes, i then asked if i needed to come to clinic and she said no we can do it at home if u like, which is fab, never did get my sweep, she arrived that day and took my bp which had gone shockingly high (had been creeping up for a few weeks) so i was sent to DAU, who then admitted me to the ward (where i then got my sweep, and again the next day, and then the day after they started inducing)
i would definately ask ur mw if it would be an option, and i can't see why it wouldn't ben its not like they can only see pregnant women on clinic days, the other 4 days of the working week are for home visits if needed. hth xx
WoW Baby- I think this is why I've been tempted by the idea of refusing induction- where I am they only offer sweep at 41 weeks and then automatically book you in for induction at 42 weeks- surely every little helps and they should at least have a 2nd attempt before strapping you up lol, and I hadnt thought about driving home in discomfort- that shall be fun at 41 weeks lol!! cheers for the info!!
as far as i'm aware the NICE guidelines state that every woman can ahve two sweep, general practice in my area is that they start sweeps from 41 weeks and then again at 41+4/5 (in prefectly healthy pregnancies), but mine was booked for 40+1 because i ahd pregnancy induced hypertension (high bp) so chances were i'd be induced earlier anyway (which i was), but yeh normally its the same as u, 41weeks then again a few days later to give u the best chance of avoiding induction but still going into labour at term
I think wanna-baby's reply was well written and not personal. Quite refreshing that people dont just agree with the OP incase not too offend.
Basically yes refusing induction will give you risks, this cant be denied.....this is why the hospitals like to induce after 42 weeks. However there will always be a friend of a friends uncles cousins who did it and it was fine (and a few ladies on here). At least wanna-baby highlighted the risks.
I am sure refusing it will be fine but personally I couldnt go against medical advice and then god forbid something was wrong.
However as some ladies have said the chances of going past 42 weeks are so small anyhow. I am sure it will be fine for you....and I think this post has actually been quite nice in seeing so many different POV's. Its also nice to hear the 'true' stories of the MW's and Doc's in hosptial.
sorry to bump this back up but i needed to post my experience of being overdue...
i was induced at 13 days overdue, had a text book pregnancy with no complications apart from morning sickness from 12-36 weeks. thought "no problem, this'll be fine". 15 days overdue still no baby, he was perfectly happy it was me that was distressed having contractions every 3 mins and being sick with the pain (none of this is relevant to the point i'm making, i'm just going into the story slightly) so ended up fighting for a csection. the consultants wanted to leave me for another 24 hours but the midwives refused and said i couldn't be left for another 24 hours.
when ds was born my placenta had failed and was "black and gritty".
another 24 hours and my son would have died.
2 points to take away from my story. 1 is to not trust all health professionals and 2 don't take it for granted everything will be fine with "regular check-ups" as my story proves, just 24 hours can make a big difference.
it would NEVER cross my mind to refuse induction, if i had, my little man wouldn't be here today!
What an exciting time for you!! You're only a couple of days over now so you have plenty of time for things to kick off naturally!! Get scrubbing floors and doing lots of walking and you'll be fine!!
Im sure it wont come to induction - my experience of induction was that i could only manoeuvre myself around the bed as the battery life in the ctg monitor didn't last long enough to do anything more than let me use the loo! Same goes for the drip which is also on some kind of battery which controlls the flow of the syntocinon or whatever it is but they try other things before they hook you up to all that.
For now though you shouldn't even stress about that sort of stuff - hang in there until the time comes for those decisions but hopefully you will get the birth you've planned for x
I'm sorry but I find this post so bizarre! Michmummy2b _ WHY would u want to go past 42 weeks without any intervention???? I know I wanted my lo out asap!! As its sooooooo bloody uncomfortable. Ok so if u refuse induction what happens if u do need ctg monitoring when u do go into labour???? Wat if the baby poos in ur woMb??? U will need monitoring until u deliver, I'm sorry but u don't get to pick n choose how ur labour will go. I take it this is ur first?????? This aint about wat u want/dont want think about ur baby eh! N don't piCk on wannabump she was only giving u a insight into wat can happen???? I'm sure as a nurse she sees this day in day out! N if u don't like wat I've written tough! I just tink ur being a snob n have no idea
Yes but when u get booked in for induction u get told all the pros n cons. This lady just doesn't want to be strapped down end of. She aint thinking about her baby here! Induction or not u may still need intervention at some point! Its not like it is on the telly. I can't believe this is going on, if I went over I wouldn't hesistate about being innduced! Yes it bloody hurts there's no getting away from which route u wanna choose! Refusing induction is silly n ur putting ur baby at risk !!
I've never heard of refused induction, or any one has ever mentioned this ever. So why was I never given the option to refuse??? No dr/mw ever said that to me! I've always assumed u go over u have to be induced. N what's happens if u do refuse n don't go into labour on ur own
Quote "I think a lot would disagree with that, of course we all want a healthy baby at the end of our pregnancy- but not at all cost.
Many of us want to feel what it's like to go into labour- to see how wonderful our bodies are and how amazing they work- without intervention from the medical profession. I was one of them- still am.
I am well aware that things can and do go wrong and when they do, timely intervention by those same medical professionals is much appreciated, but knowing the difference makes all the difference."
Yes everyone would love a nice birth experience, just like everyone would love to win the lottery. To me it had sod all to do with how amazing my blinking body was, it was to do with bringing my LO here safe and sound, they could've dragged him out of my nose for all I cared!!!!!!!!!
[Modified by: dollywotsit on July 10, 2010 06:02 PM]
Not that I'd refuse induction, but I never got the option! My edd was 25/309 n I was seen a 40 wks at the hosp were a auxillary nurse came with my note s n said ok ur booked in for the 4 april, now. I thought that was commmon practice!
I haven't commented on this thread at all but have been following it from afar but i feel now, from the final comments from Elmo have driven me to add my opinion!
Mich has never said she wants to pick and choose her own labour...she just wanted to avoid an induction if possible which she has every right to do, and just wanted any opinions and personal experience of those who perhaps have gone through the same.
She has never actually said the words 'even when i get to 42 weeks i'm still going to refuse' - she's keeping an open mind about it all and i know for a fact she would NEVER put her baby or herself at any risk...and nor was she suggesting that!
Sadly, as always on thread that cause a differ in opinion (that Mich has never objected to, except for those perhaps being a little 'forthright' in thier views) a few have jumped on the merry 'bullying/bitching' bandwagon and seem to have lost the point of the thread!
Yes, it is extremely sad to hear what CAN happen to post-term babies but i personally feel that it wasn't strictly neccesary to go into that much depth/detail and scare...health professionals opinions are very valued (and i am one myself), especially on a site like this but i feel when the very negative aspects/personal opinion shadow what advice is being given, then it perhaps shouldn't be shared - that i am making as a GENERAL comment for all threads and not just this one before someone jumps down my throat (not that i really give a monkey's whether you do or not).
So what if it's Mich's first baby Elmo? It doesn't make her or any other first time mum any different to a mum of 2,3 or more and it certainly doesn't mean she isn't thinking about her baby!
Seriously elmo...a snob?? How was Mich being a 'snob'??
You don't have to blindly go along with what you are told to do just because it fits policies and guildlines for goodness sake!!! I am not saying don't listen to HCP's but you do have a choice in the matter and are 'allowed' to express your opinions and feelings about how you would like your OWN baby to enter the world. And for that poster who said you won't care once they are born...totally wrong. I hate to scare people but I had to have counselling to get over my first birth.
I think many of the experiences shared in this thread show that there are no 'fixed' situations and every woman, labour an birth is totally different. Which is ironic considering some people are so fixated on what we are all 'meant' to do at a particular time.
Replies
I find it helpful when HCPs come on here with information.
I wasn't offended. WB, i hope you don't take it too much to heart, people get very defensive, and we all enjoy lively debate on here!
For what it's worth, I didn't have an induction, but would in hindsight have been glad of the constant monitoring as I was left to my own devices and then it all went wrong and was a massive, uncontrolled rush at the end. My birth needed more intervention and pain relief than I had strongly wanted in the run-up, and while I carried a lot of resentment round for a long time, at 10 months I'm just glad he's here and safe and healthy, and I am too. it could have had a worse outcome.
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy mich, and hope it all goes how you want.
Wanna-Bump - you should see the weaning/breast of formula feeding debates that take place here!
K xx
I guess on paper it was horrendous - 4 lots of gel - back to back - failed epidural - 3.5 days of active labour and went for c section in the end.
I loved it all - every second that past was getting me closer and closer to meeting our much longed for baby. So for a rather long but positive induction my birth story should be on here somewhere too!
Wanna - bless your heart felt posts - i couldnt work in that environment - it must be amazing to help so many babies though so tough when it doesnt work out. I personally wouldnt want to go past 41 weeks but thats because of a friend who lost a 42+5 baby due to problems with placenta deteriorating. I wouldnt want to take that risk
Mich - i really hope all goes well and loonk forward to reading your birth story - get bouncing on that ball!
Even worse if this is done over and over again! i agree with the poster who said it smacks of bullying.
with ds1 i had no idea what labour was going to be like so I 'went with the flow' and followed the advice of the midwives, i had spurious labour (starts and stops) so had to get the drip in, I then had gas and air, pethadene and an epidural, i reacted to the pethadene and gas and air loads as my iron was so low (like drinking on an empty stomach) so was really high and didn't like this but once I got my epidural all the pain vanished. I did find bonding with ds1 hard for the first 24 hours so that coul dbe a downside but on the other hand his heart rate was dipping and they got him out alive and well so I didnt mind all the extra help!! (forceps as his head was 'up' not chin to chest so wedged)
I learnt from this experience that i didn't like drugs that made me high so with ds2 i just had an epidural at 7 cm dilated which wore off just before delivery and I was shocked that it wasn't that bad, I was very happy with the birth and even though I was v high delivering ds1 i couldn't have forseen that that would happen as I didnt know my iron would drop so much, also ds1 was 'wedged' so he was forceps and an episiotomy which healed fine.
hopefully you will get your natural birth, I hope for the future (want another 1) that I will do it without the epidural but if I need it I need it, also in my hospital after 40 weeks you cant have a water birth either, it probably just varies from one hos to the next good luck.
I completely agree with this - I went into labour on my own but had to have oxytocin to help me progress and wish I'd considered this when writing my birth plan.
Weigh up the pros and cons before you decide which path to choose but bear in mind that even going into labour on your own won't guarantee you the birth you want and plan for it accordingly. I know now that I should have put on my birth plan that I wanted an epidural I ended up having to go through the labour being monitored on a bed. As it was I wasn't offered one and forgot it was even an option!
I would say that you need to consider all possibilities and resign yourself to the fact that induction may be what is best for baby. However, if you are not convinced that it is best for baby, you have every right to refuse it.
Induction means you're more likely to have a c-section and this can create complications for mother & baby so it works both ways really.
I was induced and will hopefully not be induced again, it was horrible. Contractions came on so quickly, there was no build up at all, BANG I hit 3cm dilated and I went from feeling OK to being in pure agony!!! I had such a long labour I was also completely out of it, did not sleep for 36 hours, by the end of it I was 7cm and my body was giving up, I had a temperature and cold sweats and vomiting, nothing was happening and they had tried EVERYTHING over 2 days (2 pessaries, drip, ARM).
I honestly believe if I hadn't been induced I wouldnt have had such a hideous drawn out labour....In our area they induce at term + 10 and next time I'll refuse an induction until term + 14 which is a fair compromise.
like all things maternity, it tends to vary from place to place, but i know with ds iwas offered a sweep at 40+1 and the mw was coming to my home to do it as she figured its far more comfortable for the woman to be at home rather than have to bus/drive/walk back home afterwards, she asked if i wanted i sweep and i said yes, i then asked if i needed to come to clinic and she said no we can do it at home if u like, which is fab, never did get my sweep, she arrived that day and took my bp which had gone shockingly high (had been creeping up for a few weeks) so i was sent to DAU, who then admitted me to the ward (where i then got my sweep, and again the next day, and then the day after they started inducing)
i would definately ask ur mw if it would be an option, and i can't see why it wouldn't ben its not like they can only see pregnant women on clinic days, the other 4 days of the working week are for home visits if needed. hth xx
xx
Basically yes refusing induction will give you risks, this cant be denied.....this is why the hospitals like to induce after 42 weeks. However there will always be a friend of a friends uncles cousins who did it and it was fine (and a few ladies on here). At least wanna-baby highlighted the risks.
I am sure refusing it will be fine but personally I couldnt go against medical advice and then god forbid something was wrong.
However as some ladies have said the chances of going past 42 weeks are so small anyhow. I am sure it will be fine for you....and I think this post has actually been quite nice in seeing so many different POV's. Its also nice to hear the 'true' stories of the MW's and Doc's in hosptial.
Good luck......
i was induced at 13 days overdue, had a text book pregnancy with no complications apart from morning sickness from 12-36 weeks. thought "no problem, this'll be fine". 15 days overdue still no baby, he was perfectly happy it was me that was distressed having contractions every 3 mins and being sick with the pain (none of this is relevant to the point i'm making, i'm just going into the story slightly) so ended up fighting for a csection. the consultants wanted to leave me for another 24 hours but the midwives refused and said i couldn't be left for another 24 hours.
when ds was born my placenta had failed and was "black and gritty".
another 24 hours and my son would have died.
2 points to take away from my story. 1 is to not trust all health professionals and 2 don't take it for granted everything will be fine with "regular check-ups" as my story proves, just 24 hours can make a big difference.
it would NEVER cross my mind to refuse induction, if i had, my little man wouldn't be here today!
Im sure it wont come to induction - my experience of induction was that i could only manoeuvre myself around the bed as the battery life in the ctg monitor didn't last long enough to do anything more than let me use the loo! Same goes for the drip which is also on some kind of battery which controlls the flow of the syntocinon or whatever it is but they try other things before they hook you up to all that.
For now though you shouldn't even stress about that sort of stuff - hang in there until the time comes for those decisions but hopefully you will get the birth you've planned for x
N what's happens if u do refuse n don't go into labour on ur own
Many of us want to feel what it's like to go into labour- to see how wonderful our bodies are and how amazing they work- without intervention from the medical profession. I was one of them- still am.
I am well aware that things can and do go wrong and when they do, timely intervention by those same medical professionals is much appreciated, but knowing the difference makes all the difference."
Yes everyone would love a nice birth experience, just like everyone would love to win the lottery. To me it had sod all to do with how amazing my blinking body was, it was to do with bringing my LO here safe and sound, they could've dragged him out of my nose for all I cared!!!!!!!!!
[Modified by: dollywotsit on July 10, 2010 06:02 PM]
Mich has never said she wants to pick and choose her own labour...she just wanted to avoid an induction if possible which she has every right to do, and just wanted any opinions and personal experience of those who perhaps have gone through the same.
She has never actually said the words 'even when i get to 42 weeks i'm still going to refuse' - she's keeping an open mind about it all and i know for a fact she would NEVER put her baby or herself at any risk...and nor was she suggesting that!
Sadly, as always on thread that cause a differ in opinion (that Mich has never objected to, except for those perhaps being a little 'forthright' in thier views) a few have jumped on the merry 'bullying/bitching' bandwagon and seem to have lost the point of the thread!
Yes, it is extremely sad to hear what CAN happen to post-term babies but i personally feel that it wasn't strictly neccesary to go into that much depth/detail and scare...health professionals opinions are very valued (and i am one myself), especially on a site like this but i feel when the very negative aspects/personal opinion shadow what advice is being given, then it perhaps shouldn't be shared - that i am making as a GENERAL comment for all threads and not just this one before someone jumps down my throat (not that i really give a monkey's whether you do or not).
So what if it's Mich's first baby Elmo? It doesn't make her or any other first time mum any different to a mum of 2,3 or more and it certainly doesn't mean she isn't thinking about her baby!
SF - 27+5
Seriously elmo...a snob?? How was Mich being a 'snob'??
You don't have to blindly go along with what you are told to do just because it fits policies and guildlines for goodness sake!!! I am not saying don't listen to HCP's but you do have a choice in the matter and are 'allowed' to express your opinions and feelings about how you would like your OWN baby to enter the world. And for that poster who said you won't care once they are born...totally wrong. I hate to scare people but I had to have counselling to get over my first birth.
I think many of the experiences shared in this thread show that there are no 'fixed' situations and every woman, labour an birth is totally different. Which is ironic considering some people are so fixated on what we are all 'meant' to do at a particular time.