I was wondering given the following how you would be feeling and what you would do:
Scenario - previous labour from start to finish was 2hr 19min - you live in a rural area with limited mobile reception however only 20-30 mins from the Hospital. You are having a normal pregnancy so far. You mention to your DH (darling husband or D'Head however you choose to interpret) that you are slightly concerned you will not make it to hospital however YOU do not feel its necessary to bring up with your MWs or your Ob therefore haven't at any of your previous appointments.
Your DH decides to bring it up on YOUR behalf at an appointment with your Ob, who then decides that it MAY be in YOUR best interest to check the cervix around the 38-39 and if its soft, to then proceed to do either a Stretch and sweep, rupture the membranes or insert those balloon thingys to Induce Labour.
The ONLY reason Ob is talking about Induction is because you have laboured quickly in the past and you live out of town and you MIGHT (which is hypothetical afterall) NOT make it into the hospital. There is nothing wrong with yours or your babys health, there are no medical reasons whatsoever for such intervention only the "what if"
so how would you feel about it?
Would you consider an induction (especially if you have had a previous C-sect and never wanted to go down that road again unless it was an emergency).
I have to say I am still pretty livid and thanks to the conversation am now really scared about all the what if's that I had not considered before hand..
Um... no. And I would tell my DH that how I preferred to give birth was up to me to raise with my care providers, not him. He is welcome to talk to ME about what he wants, but we agree on what we ask for or suggest to the ob, m/ws, etc.
I can so hear the frustration in your post here. FWIW I made my DP agree at our only ob appt at 12 weeks that he could only ask about homebirth in the context of feeling out his general impressions of the whole thing, rather than specifically say that we were considering one. But that we would be absolutely highlighting our insistence on a VBAC and grill him on hospital policies in that respect. It worked, we walked out of there with all the info we needed and DP thought our homebirth was a much better idea.
Maybe talk to your DH about the risks that come along with induction and why you are so against it?
Ginger there are "other" methods of induction for women who have had a previous C-sect, they do not apply the gel or do the drip but other things for induction they certainly do.
My initial thoughts were "if u deliver at home, u deliver at home and it makes me wild that birth is so medicalised and there is this urgency to make sure all pregnant women are in hospital in time to deliver. Women have been delivering babies since the dawn of time, its a natural process".
I dunno, i say if you feel comfortable waiting till baby is ready then do that and dont let them bully you into doing something you dont want to. Be sure that YOU feel ok doing this though, and keeping in mind any risks there may be from your previous cs, if they are minimal then go for what you want
I have fast labours too and ive been told to call an ambulance on my first contraction but i never have and i was told that 3 babies ago.
the thing that gets my goat so much is DH knows, he knows my feelings on interventions of any kind, he knows that I have had nightmares of having another c-sect. He knows all of it. Just as he knows that I ONLY want to be offered gas assuming the labour is progressing normally and I want to use water (either shower or bath).
I just couldn't believe he did that, now I feel like I am going to have to fight for the birth I want. I almost feel like I have been backed into a corner.
I am under a Midwife lead program (Know Your Midwife) KYM, and the Middies in this program are great so I will be needing to bring this up with them so I know I will have SOME support. I have also told DH in no uncertain terms he is forbidden to come to any more appointments.
I am thinking I might book myself into a caravan park or motel closer to the hossy the week I am due
there is not a hope in hell I will be delivering at home - would rather be in the car on the way to the hospital, especially considering my first was a section.
No, in those circumstances I wouldn't allow myself to be induced. Personally, my attitude would be that if it happens even faster this time around and we don't make it to the hospital then we have an unplanned homebirth (or roadside birth). As long as you are comfortable with that possibility then it isn't an issue. But I think it's also important that your DH is comfortable with that possibility too.
It probably wouldn't hurt for you both to start doing some reading and prep on what you need to do if you were to end up birthing at home, so that if it happens you have everything ready to go at the time. I think this would be especially beneficial for your DH, as I imagine he might be the one who would 'catch' and at the moment that possibility probably scares him to death. If he feels even a little bit prepared, he might be more comfortable with it.
But hey, I totally get your frustration! My DH has asked some really unhelpful questions at my OB appt's too. But then I tend to figure that if he isn't allowed to partake in the conversation, alleviate his concerns and generally be part of the process it isn't really fair for me to have him there either.
kuraiza - yep thats the plan its more if I need to start pushing on the way there (or I cough and out she comes ) and we need to pull over then with all the hills we have no reception to call for help.
I have rung the local Ambos and had a chat with the guy at the station and he has given me some good advice too. I think getting into the car and getting to the hossy as quickly and safely as we can will be our best option as an Ambo could be coming from anywhere, not necessarily the closer small town we live near and could take anywhere from 15min - an hour. We can ask them to meet us enroute which I didn't know would be an option.
The Ob has just thrown me into this loop of panic unnecessarily because of DH which is less than helpful. I was already worrying about a few things that I have not aired in here and this talk of induction has made me worse. Even his views on my choice of pain relief excluding other options unless under emergency situations left me feeling less than thrilled.
I just cannot wait to see my Middies nowI need to know SOMEONE will be supportive of my decisions
No, I wouldn't consider an induction under those terms. Given all is going well in your pg and even having a previously quick labour, I still wouldn't and I don't even think I'd consent to a stretch & sweep. I know my gf had the balloon thingy with one of her pg and she said it is very painful. I actually didn't think an OBS would consider induction if you have had a c-sect but perhaps I am mis-informed??? My gf is pg with her third, previous two labours very quick, with the last being 23 mins! I have no knowledge of her being considered for induction (she lives about 15 mins from hospital)
i wouldn't consider induction under those circumstances. i agree with PP that i would educate myself (and it sounds like you're already doing it) on my options (i.e. get into the car & drive there, home birth etc) and that your DH needs to do the same.
has he said why he brought it up at the appt? does he need to talk through some of his own concerns with you? as in, maybe there's an underlying worry that he hasn't shared with you & it would be better all around if you guys could get all of your concerns out into the open.
I absolutely would not have an induction under those circumstances and especially not 2 weeks early!! You are not far from hospital, you're closer than I am and I live in a city. You will make it in time. And if you don't, help will not be far away.
I would also not be so hard on your DH. Maybe he is scared? You told him you didn't want to ask the OB about it but that leaves him worried that you will not make it to hospital and being the one in charge of delivering the baby. He has all that responsibility but isn't allowed to ask questions about it? I imagine it would be a pretty scary thought even if it's not accurate (because it's more likely you'll make it to hospital). He was only trying to get information. The OB is the one that came up with the crazy idea of an induction 2 weeks early when he could have just said 'come in as soon as you go into labour.'
Sloane - yeah we had a "discussion" last night about it, he brought it up because I hadn't He is not too concerned about the birth etc, not squeemish, not phased by anything really (afterall he has been shoulder deep in a cow on more than one occasion)
RCC - they DO consider inductions for previous sectioners, the process is a little different but they do still do it - well I know my Hossy does. They do not use the gel or the drip but do the S&S, rupter membranes, balloon thingy and there was something else but I cannot remember for the life of me what that is.
I'll be horse back riding before I'd let them at me though well at least sitting on the washing machine
No. I would never accept an induction again after what I went through. But my story is fairly out of the ordinary. All the same, no.Fight as hard as you can.
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Would you choose an Induction?
there is not a hope in hell I will be delivering at home - would rather be in the car on the way to the hospital, especially considering my first was a section.
its more if I need to start pushing on the way there (or I cough and out she comes
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