42 week pregnancy - advice!

*Louise*

I think if your health is fine, and the baby is okay, then you should be allowed to just wait it out...after all, it won't stay in there forever!!

I don't know why you are worried about being induced though....I was induced with DS2 and the labour was only 8 hours (as opposed to the 23 with DS1 who came naturally!)

but if a home birth is what you want...then that is what you should have, and don't give in to any pressure - as long as the baby is healthy of course.

*Louise*

PLEASE don't use casstor oil though...it can be dangerous for the baby.

Rachie_B

induction is different for every woman

but i think the thing people dread is that the pains come " thick and fast" without the gradual build up ,this can be a bit of a shock to the system !!

jenniferpa

As I said - or I meant to - I wouldn't do it again -way too fast. However, I have not seen anything to indicate it's intrinsicly dangerous - it's quite a common suggestion from midwifes. See here http://www.birthingnaturally.net/cn/technique/castor.html

jenniferpa

Rachie_B wrote:

induction is different for every woman

but i think the thing people dread is that the pains come " thick and fast" without the gradual build up ,this can be a bit of a shock to the system !!

Agree with this, totally. Also if things move fast, you may have to argue that you're about to give birth i.e. Me "I need to push" Nurse "you can't be there yet, you've only been here 2 hours, oh my god he's crowning...."

Jennifer

Lillibet_2

I flatly refuesed to be induced as long as Baby & I were fine, (I was only 7 days over but pressure to induce as it was "procedure" was immense, I was convinced they had the wrong dates & Spud eventually arrived 2 days prior to my date). They can offer daily scans, heatbeat traces etc to continue checking everything is OK, you can refuse to be induced as long as you like. It sounds like you have a sensible head & will reconsider if anything changes. If they induce then you aren't going to get a HB anyway, if you wait for spontanous labour you may or may not get a HB, as long as babes continues fine then you don't really have anything to lose. Stick to your guns. Don't let anyone bully you just to save them having to fill in an extra form. They may have your best interests at heart, but these are generic best interests not espeically your best interests.

In France pregnancy is calculated to be 42 weeks anyway, they only induce at 42 weeks +5 days. How one country in the world can have a longer gestation of the same species is beyond me but their births are as healthy as any other 1st world country so they can't be doing too much wrong by waiting, and they have a lower c-section rate!

finc

Not all inductions are a negative experience.

I was induced at 41 +5 with my daughter and went straight onto a drip and had my waters broken. The contractions don't come thick and fast as they gradually increase the speed of the drip so it wasn't a huge shock to the system! The labour lasted 8 hours which wasn't too bad. :eek: Overall my daughter's birth wasn't the best, I hemorrhaged and my daughter inhaled meconium and ended up in SCBU but I don't think these were connected with being induced.

I was also induced with my son at 40 +2 as I had severe SPD and could barely walk. This time I had the pessary gel (didn't know it was pig semen _pale_ :eek:) and needed 3 doses. The cramps from the gel are painful but not quite as bad as contractions. It was a much better experience though as my labour only lasted 3 hours from 1st contraction to birth and no pain relief. (He was 9lb 15oz as well )

Anyway, my point is don't worry too much about being induced as there are positive experiences with it and not all inductions are horrible.

honeychunky

Katyag wrote:

I also remember reading somewhere that the prostoglandins in sperm were more likely to trigger labour if taken orally than thru sex! :rolleyes:

Was this written by a man by any chance?????????????:rotfl:

Jo_R_2

jenniferpa wrote:

As I said - or I meant to - I wouldn't do it again -way too fast. However, I have not seen anything to indicate it's intrinsicly dangerous - it's quite a common suggestion from midwifes. See here http://www.birthingnaturally.net/cn/technique/castor.html

The reason castor oil is not recommended as widely anymore is that it has the same effect on baby as it does on you -ie it acts as a laxative as has already been mentioned. This basically put means that it puts baby at risk of releasing meconium and swallowing it whilst still in utero.

Not that I would try it anyway - oil?! :eek:

Been a bit crampy this evening but again it has passed - it's not something I experienced with #1, labour with her came on at 2am and there was no warning! I am guessing that baby may well come before Tuesday when I have my scan and 42-week appointment with these signs but you can't predict these things can you?!

CDP

Hi

The stop and start cramps are all a agood sign that your baby is probably turning into an optimum position for labour. Often when this happens the labour is v starightforward as babe is just ready to be born.

Remember the hormones that stimulate contractions are the same that got you pg in the first place ( oxytocin) so try that instead! Otherwise just try and relax and just enjoy the rest of your pg. ( easier said than done I know!)

Good luck
CDP