Late....

Hi Everyone,

I just did a cervical examination yesterday which indicates that I am not dialated yet (but cervix is thining). My OB said I would definetly not be giving birth this week, maybe next week. I was upset by this because I am worried about the health of the baby once you are overdue. Is it very dangerous to go over? I was thinking of giving it till next weekend then if not, induction. Was anyone in the same situation? I am getting a scan done on monday morning to determine the blood and oxygen flow from the placenta to the baby so at least that will give me peace of mind.

Thanks ladies
xxxooo

As annoying as it is to go 'over', there is really not much we can do about it. Just because your doctor said you wont be having the baby this week, doesn't meant that you wont. Changes to the cervix to start labour can happen within hours. I think having a scan to check placental function is a great idea because if everything is OK in there with bubs, then there is no need to use induction and if the baby is not ready to be born, quite often inductions can fail, meaning that can lead to further intervention too. Many Doctors wont even discuss induction until you are at least 7-10 days post dates.

I know too well what late pg is like and you just want to get the baby out, but we just have to have patience and see what happens, Because it is so much better for you and the baby for them to come on their own.

I don't want this to sound like I am being all preachy and anti induction, but so much can happen in a week and you may not need that scan on Monday at all.

Good luck

angelique,

There has been so much of a media frenzy over this - but it's completely ridiculous in that it's done this to mothers. A full term baby is classed at 38-42 weeks. It's funny we use so many machines to tell us about our baby which can be useful, but for things like giving us an EDD they are terribly inaccurate. For starters 3% of babies are born on their due date! If you are post-dates, you will likely be sent for a scan to check amniotic fluid levels and placenta function - if all are fine (which is likely) then there is no need to worry. Mortality is at such a low rate these days, and those who are in the figures I believe are a good part from interventions gone wrong or problems with the mother where she's had heart problems or something combined with something else, so don't quote me.

This needn't be a stressful time for you, remember if baby isn't here yet, it's probably for good reason - you don't want to induce them too early as you have the chance of unexpected prematurity and other complications of it's own which may eventuate with that including breathing difficulties etc.

I'll leave you with this from one mother:

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My pregnancies were all long: twins by induction at 40 weeks, the next child by induction at 42 weeks. By child no. 4 I had decided on a homebirth which meant that I Had to go into labour naturally... finally at 43 weeks and 4 days that happened. It isn't recommended to go that long, however he was fine, although his skin peeled off everywhere. Baby no 5 was 42 weeks and 3 days, also born at home. I tried acupuncture, I drank gallons of raspberry leaf tea, I had so much sex I was sick of it. I believe that some women naturally have longer pregnancies and some have shorter. The women who spontaneously labour have their babies at 37 weeks fall into the 'normal' category and the unlucky women who go longer than 40 weeks unfortunately get landed with all the interventions. Choosing to wait for labour to occur naturally was very hard work as there was a tremendous amount of pressure to agree to an induction, however I believed that my body Must eventually labour spontaneously. I did agree to regular CTGs in the last week to check that the baby was OK.

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Hi guys,

Thanks so much for your replies. I was just a little upset because this is my first and have no idea what to expect. I expected to go over and don't mind as long as the baby is healthy and getting what she needs, that is my most pressing concern. Induction is very stressful so I am crossing my fingers that this wont happen.

xxxooo

Angelique, i was induced 10 days overdue with Nick and i so wish i had said no, but llike you he was my first so i just went along with what my OB said, i ended up having a c-section due to fetal distress because he was not ready to come out.
As long as you and bub are fine, then she will come when she is ready

i was induced at 40w6days it didnt work then again at 41w6d Makon was born 42w2d perfect!! (of course hehehe)
that week was really the only week i enjoyed in my whole pg because i got to the point where i was thinking "it' will come when its ready! although he didn't but they checked the placenta once he was born and said it was grainy (better then crumbly)

So you can go over and have a healthy bub!!!

I was induced at 10 days overdue, and although I would have preferred not to have been induced, it only took I lot of gels to get things happening, and once I went into labour Milo was born within 6.5 hours.

Your OB should be able to ultrasound to check the placenta is functioning etc if you are concerned.

The doctors here admitted me into hospital when i was 10 days overdue. Apparently this is "standard procedure" here in Germany.... What i didnt expect was 3 full days of failed induction attempts.

It was an annoying process, getting my hopes up every contraction, only to be heartbroken when they went away again. AND THEN, the midwife telling me that they wont try anything else for a while made me so very upset i burst out crying (that very night i went into official labour! It lasted 3-4h hours).... BUT in saying that, i was so impatient to get my baby out, and was so excited as my obs told me i would have my baby in my arms before the weekend (i was admitted on a thursday, ben was born late Saturday night), and just simply BEING in hospital overdue made me want stronger induction methods tried. Ben was born 12 days overdue (nearly 13). So thats almost 2 weeks!

I am not Pro, nor am i against induction... And i realised that my hospital was just doing the best for me and my baby.
When i reached 40 weeks, the baby was monitored every 2 days, and then once admitted into hospital, at least 3 times a day. I was sent for a special ultra-sound to check the placenta a couple of times.. And the hospital tried "natural things" before trying the chemical things... And was very patient, and careful to what they did try. The doctors told me that a baby can go 4 weeks over with special observation in hospital.

I was induced at +11 days because the scan i had showed some concern with placenta function..

If it wasn't for that i would have def. said no to induction... The only reason i believe to induce is a medical reason, otherwise if the baby is fine and healthy, why play around with things... The baby will come out when it is ready to, and as long as you are being monitored to make sure everything is ok, there is no reason to worry. Often inductions end up with more complications, so you might as well wait and let nature take its course!

When i was induced i had my waters broken (i was already 4cm and had started having contractions the night before anyway), and refused the oxytocin drip so at least i could do it in the most natural way possible! This was all i seem to need, and after a bit of trying (walking around to get things going etc), i was in proper labour a few hours later, and 14 hours later i had my baby!

I would suggest speaking to your obs and asking them why they want to induce (benefits and risks of not doing it), and what your options are.

Remember, its your body and your baby, and you have the right to determine what you want to happen. I had a lot of pressure all morning of my labour to go on the drip, but i am so happy i held my ground and said no!

There are quite a few good books with a lot of info about induction ("a thinking womens guide to a better bith" i found very good). I found it great to be a little better informed, so at least that way i knew what was going on.

This was also my first, so i was a little scared, but remember to ask lots of questions, and make sure you are comfortable with any decisions reached.

Good luck with your decision, and don't let anybody pressure you into something you don't want!

Yael

I was induced at 16 days overdue. I think this time I will just ask for monitoring where I go to the hospital daily to check the babies movements & some hospitals will do scans to check the placenta & how it is going. The biggest danger in going overdue is that your placenta will stop providing for the baby, having said that it is dependant on how long your cycles are previously and the development of the baby. Matilda actually showed no signs of being "overcooked" & was 17 days overdue from the actual due date. The OB said to me this week that over 42 weeks is now considered overdue and not before then. HTH!

With Declan, I was 11 days over and it was s frustrating and upsetting at times.When I was 40w 4 days I had moitoring done and then was going to have more done a week later but Declan decided to come on his own. Honestly I am so glad I waited as long as I could before being induced.

I am sure everything is fine with bubs, he/she just probably isn't ready to come out yet. They are probably just so comfy and warm in there. :) That's good you are getting some monitoring done, even if just for peace of mind. I bet though once you have had the monitoring done, bubs will decide its time to come out and see you, a day or 2 later.

Good luck. Sending you lots of *labour vibes*

I was 11 days over with DD.

I just wanted to say that you shoudn;t worry too much about the cervix! My cervix was 3cm dilated and only 25% effaced just over 3 hours before i GAVE BIRTH! I had been 2cm dilated and 25% effaced for nearly 3 weeks. My midwife wanted to check me and see if i was in active labour yet and my baby girl was crowning!

Our bodies are mysterious but they know what to do, you can dilate so fast you won't have time to blink, so the internal might mean nothing at all. Your baby will get born (looking at when you posted, you could be holding bubs already) when it's ready. Trust your pelvis, your baby and your body's hormonal systems - they all know what to do.

Also, i certainly didn't appreciate it at the time, but the patience needed to get through those 11 days of people saying "are you STILL pregnant?", 11 near sleepless nights, 11 days of back ache and pelvic pain, braxton hicks and leg cramps, that patience really helps at 3am when my wee sweetie can;t get back to sleep and i am singing her lullaby and settling her again for the 20th time.

HTH

Hana