Being Induced

Hiya people,

Just wondering, what happens if your due to be induced and the baby is head down but not engaged???

Hi Emz, Not a professional, just done it afew times.Lol. I think everyone is different but with me I have been successfully induced with three of my pregnancies (1st was natural) I carry my babies OP which means around the wrong way (spine to spine) and none of my babies have engaged before active labour. I have used the gels and had my membranes ruptured, the thing they have to be careful with is making sure the cord doesn't come down first, very uncomfortable when they slowly guide the head down but safety first. and I've delivered within hours of this taking place.

Hi Em, have you read this article about natural methods of induction. maybe if you try some it could help get things moving along so the induction works a bit better IYKWIM.
AFAIK its fairly normal for a baby's head not to engage until during labour especially for women who have given birth before.

Thanks for the replies ladies.

I asked the Midwife about this at our class on tuesdsay. She told me that even if bubs is head down, but not engaged at all then they shouldnt do anything to induce me and it would be a c/s..... :-k

Still pleanty of time i guess... when do 1st babies engage? Ive got till 37 weeks. They do it before labour dont they?

Hi emz

That is not true!!!
You can be induced if the babies head is not engaged. They can use the gel or the drip. However they should not break your waters due to the possability of a cord prolapse.

Ohhh I see.... thanks Alan. I thought being induced and breaking the waters were the same thing- that they went hand in hand.

So what would they do, just do the gels and the drip and wait for her to get down there?

Also Alan, when do they usualy engage if its a first bub? oh and just one more question... is having a high level of amniotic fluid something to worry about? As far as i have been told (which is never "everything" when it comes to this very confusing pregnancy) its not the fluid itself that is the problem, its what it might represent- Dr told me its another sign of downs but more of a sign of GD...... I think from memory the level was 23 if that means anything to you.

Thanks

Alan is so right. Maddy was 3/5 engaged right up until my waters broke when she decided she really didn't want to come out at all and she completely 'disengaged'. The midwife who checked to see my waters had properly ruptured (I was three days overdue) was very suprised! *L*

Anyway, I went home for 5hrs, came back 1.5cms dilated and they put the drip on me to speed up the dilation as they don't like 12-24hrs to pass after your waters break. C/section was NEVER discussed as a realistic thing, it was only suggested another 4hrs later when I was still dilating slowly - probably to encourage the labour along! *L*

Maddy was born perfectly healthy with 1.5hrs of pushing after I dilated from 4cms to 10cms in less than an hour. Despite the fact that she was my first baby and not engaged when I went into actual labour, I still birthed her vaginally.

If you are induced via gel/drip I would say to be prepared for a little more intense/painful contractions as opposed to those you'd feel without an augmented labour.

As Kelly suggested, DO ask for another scan at 37/38wks if you can.

Hi emz

First babies usually engage at about 36-37 weeks but it is not unusual for them to not engage until you are in labour.

Breaking the waters is one form of induction. The other things they do is putting some gel on your cervix. This helps the cervix to ripen. The contractions can be a little more painful that for a non-induced birth.
Another thing that can be done is to connect you to a drip. The contractions are usually quite a bit more painful than a natural birth. This is because your body does not have time to produce endorphins, (endorphins are a natural pain killer produced by your body and are a little like morphine).
When doing either of the above types of induction there is no need to break the waters, if fact if using the gel the waters should not be broken until a few hours after the gel has been inserted.

What Alan is saying is right EMZ. I have had four completely different birthing experiences. Wth my last baby Gels were inserted at 8am (much to my OB's disgust, he wanted to strip my membranes, I refused, slow and steady wins the race), I laid there for 30-45 mins as you're suposed to and then I walked and walked and rested on my birthing ball and walked some more. As with my previous labour the contractions were not very strong, enough for me to just stop and breathe but not white knuckle stuff. With my third my water broke and then whooo look out it was very intense (white knuckle stuff) but she was born with in an hour of rupture, but I didn't tear and I did it drug free. With my last one everything stopped at about 4pm, I was devastated and I had to wait for the OB to come and break my waters, because the midwife didn't want to rupture them because she (bub) was still so high up and was worried about cord prolapse. He (OB) finally got to me at about 7.30pm made a sarcastic comment about how I should have let him rupture my membranes that morning (like hell). Because she was still so high up and he could feel the cord he had to guide her head down slowly, It was the most disgusting feeling, not painful, but very uncomfortable, I just wanted him out of there. Anyway DD4 was born about 1 1/2 hours later, no drugs, no tears and in my own time. I'm doing it all again in June on my terms yet again and I'm positive it will be a great birth experience.