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Can i be induced @ 38wks-ish?!

Hi
i have an appointment with my midwife today - but i wanted to come on and ask all you ladies what you thought. Basically my oh is in forces and cannot get time off - this is our first & i obviously want & need him there! He has Easter Leave from 15th-24th March and then goes away for a month (i'm due 7th April!) We have recently moved, so i have no friends or family that could be with me ... just my husband. What are the chances that i could get induced so that i don't have to go through it all alone and so my husband can see his son being born? I'm in such a panic over this - please help?
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Replies

  • im really not sure that they would risk it to be honest. you should discuss it with your midwife though as alot depends on the size of the baby and if the lungs are mature enough. i think inducing you before the 23rd of march would be very dangerous
  • really? i honestly didn't know that. i thought i could go into labour 2wks before or after my due date
    oh no!!!!!!!!!!
  • really? i honestly didn't know that. i thought i could go into labour 2wks before or after my due date
    oh no!!!!!!!!!!
  • i would ask your midwife, they may do it as baby should be a good size and lungs will be mature at 38weeks ur technically classified as full-term at 36weeks so my midwife said and should be prepared for baby to arrive at any point after this.
    And u are right that its geneally suggested that babies can come 2 weeks either side of due date.
    That being said they may still say you have to wait but theres no harm in asking!
    xxx
  • i think they prefer not to interfere unless its for medical reasons on the NHS. alot depends on if the cervix is ready for labour, if it isnt they dont like to do it. you should find out though, no harm in asking.
    i had to be my sisters birth partner because her husband was in afganistan, he was due home 4 days after her due date she went 3 days over and he missed the birth by 24 hours

    [Modified by: l&c's mum on February 07, 2008 10:56 AM]
  • Hi hun

    Your midwife will probably recommend that if you were to be induced it should be no earlier than 39 weeks because baby could have a wet lung or problems breathing if it's any earlier, they are classed as full term from 37 weeks however my midwife told me at my 39+3 appointment yesterday she wasn't prepared to do a sweep until i was over 40 weeks because it was better for the baby, she also told me that they only come when they are ready so if nothing has happened yet it's becasue he or she isn't ready to make an appearance.

    I know it'll be tough for you but you never know things might be different and due to your circumstances they might agree to it, could any of your family or friends come and stay with you around your due date if you can't be induced, in the hope that you have some support during the labour?

    Take care and i'll keep everything crossed that your lo realises it's daddy is home so decides to make an appearance before he goes away again.

    Take care x x
  • HI Poor you. Its awful not to have your other half there and awful for him too.
    It really all depends on your mw and consultant.
    If baby good size and no obvious problems then it should not be a problem but you know what they are like about covering their backs. Try crying??? sobbing???begging???? could you not go to where family are to have baby or could family come to you.
    Ofcourse you want your OH there I totally am with you on that but imagine if baby had breathing probs when born and you would feel just awful. Also, it goes on your medical notes as a social reason for inducement which make it sound liek you booking a facial..

    I know this as my 2nd was induced at 37 weeks. They have it down as social reasons..I dont like that at all as sounds like I wanted him out so I could go to bingo. it should be down as medical as at the time my OH was getting chemeo for cancer and was not doing well at all. My iron was 8 so needed blood transfusions. I was not eating, sleeping etc etc... they decided baby better out than in. he was fine but small and was chronic asthmatic from about 9 months! I have to live with the fact that it may have been because he was forced out to the world early. My OH was due in hosp for another weeks chemeo when my due date but I wish I had waited.
    Good Luck with whatever happens and if they say no remember its for your and the babies good! It does not hurt to ask. If OH misses it then I really feel for you and hope you can get someone to assist you. What about hiring a Doula????
    Take care
    d x
  • I would definitely ask. At 38 weeks your lo will be a bit smaller than he would have been at 40 weeks, but 37 weeks is considered full term. As long as your lo is a healthy weight I don't see why it's a problem, a lot of consultants prefer to do c-sections at 38 or 39 weeks.
    Having said that I'm not sure they will do it for a non-medical reason. There's no harm in asking tho xxx
  • deedee - crying wont be a problem - i'm sat sobbing replying to this!
    ...what a tough time you had - i feel silly for getting so upset with my situation now.

    i have seen adverts for doulas but i don't want them i want my husband :'( my family are miles away and not really made any friends here yet. obviously i speak to people - just not what i'd call friends - ones that could be at birth - if u get me?




  • Of course you want your other half there! There are ladies on heresuffering from spd who are being booked in for ceasarians at 37 weeks and like others said fullterm is from 37 - 42 weeks so im sure as long as baby is healthy they will take this into consideration. Have the army wives sorry what ever forces he is in. have they got any body you could talk to. Maybee there have been other wives in your situation. x
  • Hi! I think the MW will consider induction at 38 weeks, so its def worth mentioning. I had my first baby at 37 weeks and he weighed 7lb 7oz and was absolutely fine. If your baby is engaged there should be no problems. MW may even just do a membrane sweep to get things moving. Hope all goes well. XXX
  • try pineapple, curries, rasp leaf tea and a teaspoon of castor oil..may get things moving on own. And while you OH home..lots of sex!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Dont feel guilty for wanting OH there. He is off serving his country and the least he can expect is to see his baby born! its sad they dont get leave to see babies born.
    Let us know how you get on!
    d x
  • hi ladies
    cant sleep so thought id reply @ 03:45!
    just to let you know - the midwife didnt even consider it! kinda thought that would be the case. she said they only do it for a reason such as death. & i was told to go home near family & have baby there or hire a doula! so if i cant have him early - then i want him late! i brought this up at appointment too - just said can i state i dont want induction at 42 wks (which i can - but will be monitored every day)

    so...
    ''try pineapple, curries, rasp leaf tea and a teaspoon of castor oil..may get things moving on own. And while you OH home..lots of sex!'' it is!!!!!

    westbrom - yep it is army! the midwife went through her book and gave me addresses and names of everyone else ''army'' that are pregnant. which i thought was unprofessional but maybe thats me!! she is under impression i can just turn up at someones house & say look im pregnant too - fancy watching me give birth! ha!
    xx
  • I didn't think she would go for it tbh, as there was not a medical reason.
    It is all well and good saying I want him late, but as anyone knows, babies come when babies are good and ready.

    Having him kept in there is all well and good for you, but think about the baby. There will be no room for him, so it may affect his limbs ( i was late and coz i had no room i had club feet), he will be having bowl movements and will be swallowing his own poo etc.

    I am sorry, but in my eyes you are being just a touch selfish. With partners in the forces there are times this is going to happen. I am not saying it is right, but it happens. In an ideal world all our partners would be there or family, and all would be glorious, but the reality of being an army wife is very very different I am afrid.
  • I think the way you are feeling is completely normal and a natural reaction...

    I would have been gutted and scared (well even more so) if my OH had not been there for the birth of our lo and I'm lucky that with his job there is no reason he own't be there for our current peanut...

    My brother is in the army and he had to fight tooth and nail to be able to come to our wedding last year and literally went to Iraq 48 hours after our wedding...having partners and family is the armed forces is hard as it does impact on everyone..

    At least the midwife has taken the desicion out of your hands for you and you don't have to get anxious about whether or not you are making the right desicion and what might and might not happen...

    Mother nature may well suprise you with an early arrival, I had my daughter at 38 weeks and she weighed 8lbs 10oz!!!!! God knows what size this one will be if I go to full term, or even late, ha ha!!!!

    I have heard of women choosing not to be induced at 42 weeks and instead being monitored and having scans to check amniotic fluid levels, space etc but I would think carefully about that. Do some research on google about it...I have to be honest though I don't know anyone who on reaching 42 weeks who wouldn't have given their right arm to be induced!!!

    Maybe try looking for support groups for women who's partners are in the forces, I know of a couple of girls in the trying for a baby section who have OH in the forces and it makes trying to concieve hard....

    Above all else I wish you a happy healthy rest of your pregnancy and if things don't go as you would have liked I hope they are a great 2ud best!!!

    xx
  • OOh thats a shame for you. I really think its terrible when these men are fighting for Queen and Country and are never thanked or appreciated. If they are out at the front line then OK it is not practical to bring them home but I think they should be allowed when possible to see their child into the world.
    Elspeth..I think you are been very very harsh. Hormones make us all say things we dont really mean and I am sure she would not put her baby at any risk. she is understandably upset and needs the support of people on here. You are right that babies come when ready etc... but here in Middle East where I currently live C section babies are always booked in for delivery at 37/38 weeks.
    I am getting induced at 38 weeks with this baby but it is for medical reasons (big babies, huge loss of blood after birth, very quick labours and been group strep b). I understand why its best in most cases to wait till baby cooked but the mother getting very distressed about been alone is not going to do the baby any good either.
    I really do feel for you and I hope you get something sorted out. Push him down the stairs so he breaks a bone then he will be off on medical grounds (kidding).
    Good Luck and try not to let this get you down. Wish there was more I could do!
    d x
  • elspeth - i take it you are a clubbed foot pads wife then?!
  • Oh my god im sorry but that has made me laugh Sorry . Anyway chick im sorry it wasnt what you wanted to hear. And no way are you being selfish you just want your oh there that is only natural. Is it an option for you to go to hospital near your family?
  • First off, it is not ELSPETH.. read, it is ELSBETH

    No gem i'm not. I had intense physio as a baby and they managed to rectify my condition, but it has left me with a teisted pelvis, fucked knees and spine, arthrits and degenerative disc disease!!!!! Not so fucking funny now is it. I am also not an Army wife, but I am the child of an ex forces man and I know how it is not to have dads around for important things. My dad wasn't there when I was born, my first day of school etc. Shit happens.

    I do understand that she wants her hubby there, and maybe I was being a touch harsh, but the only person who really matters is the baby. You can make all the plans in the world, not to be induced etc, but reality states that you could simply go into labour the day after he leaves through sheer stress chick. All i am saying is that as much as you want him there, if there are valid reasons for baby having to come quicker then that is what is gonna happen. yes, that sucks arse big time, but it is life. Lots of women have babies without their husbands being there when they are in the forces.
  • button happy oops

    [Modified by: Elsbeth on February 08, 2008 04:43 PM]
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