42 week pregnancy - advice!

Jo_R_2 · 20 July 2006 at 8:52PM

Hi all - tried to reply earlier but it seems it didn't appear so will try again!

Baby is here! :j Born Tuesday afternoon in hospital, so didn't get the home birth I so hoped for, but for good reason... Monitoring showed placenta starting to fail and possible trouble with heartbeat so had to make a quick decision and chose induction.

Despite this was a lovely birth, very quick - just over two hours - but very painful (am not too proud to admit it was agony!), though managed on gas and air. Also had meconium in the waters but is not unusual for post-term babies and didn't prove to be a problem as she hadn't breathed it in.

Had a lovely midwife who told me I was fab for sticking to my guns and refusing induction earlier on :cool: - everyone likes a bit of ego-boosting don't they?! She helped things go so well and it helped that the staff are very pro active birth so great advice on positions during labour, using birthing ball, positions for birth and so on which was what I had been after with a home birth.

Found out at initial examination that cervix was softening and was 1cm dilated so who knows, had we waited a little longer things could have happened spontaneously but I couldn't take the risk of placenta giving out knowing what we knew. In that sense I feel we made a good decision, even though I do feel sad we didn't get the home birth I had longed for, and the things I had pictured with it - big sister being introduced and maybe actually seeing the birth, spending the first night as a family all together (had to stay overnight in hospital to monitor baby due to meconium), and feeling comfortable in my own surroundings - but at the end of the day we have a beautiful baby girl who is healthy and that's what matters.

Been reading through everyone's messages - thank you so much for all the support and good luck to the pg laydeez!

:T :T :T to all of you!