What happens when they induce when you go past your due date?

[PeterPan]

To be clear, I'm NOT pregnant. I'd just like to understand some things now, when I'm not and I'm sane, haha, not driven by hormones or anything else. My ds4.5 was 11lb and 2 weeks late. From that alone you can tell that I'd like to understand options better. I've done 9lb and 11 lb, but I really don't want to hit 13. ;) Oh, and those were home births. I know nothing about hospital births except what I've read in books or seen on tv, neither of which sound appealing frankly. So that's where I'm coming from.

 

1. I've heard of the gels and prostaglandins and junk. That's a stage you go through *only* if the cervix is not ready? I don't recall there being any issue with that. Presumably by the time you're overdue that's no longer an issue?

 

2. When they do pitocin (the normal thing, right?), they do that via IV? So then are you in a fixed location or can you move? I know things vary with the hospital. I'm trying to figure out what CAN happen to know if I'd be selecting a set-up that was as ideal as what I would want or could get. What is the most ideal set-up possible for a person who prefers natural birth but has found it time for some interventions?

 

3. Is pitocin the kind of thing where they get some in and then you go labor in water, or is water out? Or maybe they haul that IV thing over and you can labor in a birthing tub?

 

4. If you use a CNM, does she continue to provide care when interventions are decided on, or does that immediately turn everything over to the OB? Does the CNM then work with the OB or totally leave the room?

 

5. Are there things about a hospital or scenario that matter if you're doing vag that don't matter if you're being induced? For instance, if you can't labor in water when you're induced, then the availability of birthing tubs/pools would not be a selling factor, could have been in any old hospital and had the same experience. Are there things I'm not anticipating that ARE a factor in having a positive experience in a non-ideal situation?

 

6. Anything else I should ask or understand?

 

Again, not pregnant. Just wanting to think. :)

 

Thanks!!! :)

[Parrothead]

Dd was 10 days late. When my water finally broke, labor stalled and they pumped me full of pitocin. Dd was born 4 hours later.

[Mnemosyne]

I had to be induced with my daughter, who was born just a couple days ago. This was at an Army hospital, FYI. Pitocin was via IV. I had to have monitors on my stomach and wasn't allowed to get off the bed, but was allowed to be on my side if I wanted. Tub wasn't an option for me, either. It made for a more painful labor (though still fairly quick, in my case), especially as I wasn't allowed to really move around.

[Soror]

Congrats Fiona!

 

For my friend a few years ago her induction was the breaking of her water. They wanted to avoid pit as she was a vbac and also because it makes contractions more painful. It went well for her.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Many of the answers are going to depend on where you go, the policies of that hospital and doctor, etc.

 

To be clear, I'm NOT pregnant. I'd just like to understand some things now, when I'm not and I'm sane, haha, not driven by hormones or anything else. My ds4.5 was 11lb and 2 weeks late. From that alone you can tell that I'd like to understand options better. I've done 9lb and 11 lb, but I really don't want to hit 13. ;) Oh, and those were home births. I know nothing about hospital births except what I've read in books or seen on tv, neither of which sound appealing frankly. So that's where I'm coming from.

 

1. I've heard of the gels and prostaglandins and junk. That's a stage you go through *only* if the cervix is not ready? I don't recall there being any issue with that. Presumably by the time you're overdue that's no longer an issue? Prostaglandin gel (Cervadil) is usually only given if the cervix is not ready. However, even if you get the gel, your odds of having a successful induction are not as good as when your body is ready. You can be overdue and still have an unripe cervix. Another medicine that is very controversial is cytotec. This is an off-label use of a medication that has prostaglandins in it. They insert a pill (or partial pill) vaginally. The problem with this medication is that it can work too well - causing hypertonic contractions which can cut off oxygen to the baby for too long. Unlike an IV, if it goes wrong, you can't turn it down.

 

2. When they do pitocin (the normal thing, right?), they do that via IV? So then are you in a fixed location or can you move? I know things vary with the hospital. I'm trying to figure out what CAN happen to know if I'd be selecting a set-up that was as ideal as what I would want or could get. What is the most ideal set-up possible for a person who prefers natural birth but has found it time for some interventions? Pitocin is given through an IV. If you are on pitocin, you need to have full-time fetal monitoring. In some places, they insist that you be in bed and not move around too much (because the belts can slip which means someone has to come in and adjust things.) In some places, you may have the opportunity to use telemetry and, thus, have some freedom of movement. The problem with being stuck in bed is that it can be difficult to find comfortable positions. In some places, they will start you off slowly on pit and increase gradually until you develop a "normal labor pattern." In other places, they keep turning it up - "pit to distress" which is basically where they keep turning up the pitocin until the baby shows signs of distress, then they insist upon a c-section.

 

3. Is pitocin the kind of thing where they get some in and then you go labor in water, or is water out? Or maybe they haul that IV thing over and you can labor in a birthing tub? In my years of a childbirt educator, I had never heard of anyone on pit being allowed to labor in the tub, due to the fetal monitoring. I have heard of someone who had some pitocin and they turned it off due to developing a good labor pattern. After the mom was monitored for a while without pitocin, she was allowed to get in a tub. This was at a VERY natural chilbirth-friendly hospital.

 

4. If you use a CNM, does she continue to provide care when interventions are decided on, or does that immediately turn everything over to the OB? Does the CNM then work with the OB or totally leave the room? This will depend on where you go and the reasons for inducing labor. Most CNMs around here to manage inductions themselves (while in contact with their supervising MD) or co-manage with the MD. They typically do not turn over care unless some bigger issues present that are outside her scope of practice.

 

5. Are there things about a hospital or scenario that matter if you're doing vag that don't matter if you're being induced? For instance, if you can't labor in water when you're induced, then the availability of birthing tubs/pools would not be a selling factor, could have been in any old hospital and had the same experience. Are there things I'm not anticipating that ARE a factor in having a positive experience in a non-ideal situation? Having labor tubs themselves are not necessarily an indication of how woman-centered a hospital birthing environment may be. Some have them, but no one ever gets to use them - they are just for show. Some places don't have them, but really work with women to have low-intervention births. I would ask more questions about how they conduct birth from someone who would like as few interventions as possible even if you need an induction.

 

6. Anything else I should ask or understand? I would definitely check out the Childbirth Connections website for the best evidence-based care recommendations. Also, the Coalition to Improve Maternity Services (CIMS)has some excellent downloads that could be helpful for you. I recommend Having a Baby? Ten Questions to Ask.

 

Again, not pregnant. Just wanting to think. :)

 

Thanks!!! :)

 

Hope this helps.

[Erin]

I had pit with both of my kids (see sig. for ages! lol)

 

#1 was in the OB wing of a regional hospital and an OB attending. Er, rather, showing up to catch. The nurses attended. After they started the pit, I was hooked to a monitor and stayed in bed.

 

With #2, I was in a 10 bed rural hospital. The L/D room was designed by my CNM.

She was the only physician I had and she was there both days (Pit. was started because I had been in full labor, then stalled out and begged her to try it). I was allowed to continue to move around and had to check in every 10 minutes or so to be monitored. I was also allowed to labor in the tub.

By the time DD was about ready, my drip had been dialed back to nothing, so maybe that had something to do with it.

I remember my midwife begging me to get out of the tub, because her water-birth class wasn't until next summer. lol

[PeterPan]

Thanks ladies, y'all are reading my mind (and blowing it!). Wendy, I'm with you. These birth stories sure don't make a woman want to give birth. I've had two experiences that were so different, so woman-centered and healthy, I can't even imagine broken tailbones and forceps and all this stuff. And as I'm hyperventilating right now just thinking about it, I'm SURE glad I'm not pregnant and trying to ponder this! :scared: Fiona, thanks, I had totally forgotten about those monitors. I've seen them on tv.

 

Ellen, thanks, that was EXTREMELY helpful. I'll go through those links. Where we live, I have an astonishing number of options within a 1 1/2 hour circle. That's actually why I felt I needed to take some time and read about this, because I didn't even feel like I knew the questions to ask. What I sort of have this dream of is a set-up where a CNM does my prenatal care, a direct-entry midwife assists in a homebirth if I go naturally, and with the CNM I head to the hospital/birthing center/whatever to get induced if things don't kick in on their own. But I have NO CLUE if that's even possible. And there are stupid things. Like if you're willing to drive around here, within an hour and a half you can have your choice of accredited birthing center, hospital with beautiful water birth facilities, amish hospital with a super low pricepoint and no frills, etc. That's when you stop and go ok, does it actually MATTER about the beautiful water birth facilities if all they're gonna do is slap me on a bed with straps and pump me with IVs? And is it worth paying multiple times as much for? And is that reasonable to want a homebirth but a really comfortable intervention option?

 

This is all stuff I don't know. And it's way too complicated and emotional to sort out when your prego, mercy. When I was prego, I walked in, saw the hair of the midwife's assistant, and left saying I wouldn't have the woman in my house. For real, lol. :smilielol5: Ok, there was more to it than that, as neither my dh nor I liked what we saw. But still, I just don't want to be sorting things out when I'm all emotional. That issue of back-up though, when what you really like/want is homebirth, that's tricky. And knowing that it's not some sort of distant thing but actually something with some probability that you have to be calm and rational and comfortable with.

[PeterPan]

I was allowed to continue to move around and had to check in every 10 minutes or so to be monitored. I was also allowed to labor in the tub.

By the time DD was about ready, my drip had been dialed back to nothing, so maybe that had something to do with it.

I remember my midwife begging me to get out of the tub, because her water-birth class wasn't until next summer. lol

 

Thanks Erin, you're explaining things I hadn't understood. And what a hoot, get out cuz I haven't had the class, lol. Yeah, waterbirth is it's own thing. I was nervous about it going in, but my midwife (whom I trusted) had done a lot. Once you get a large baby and the head is out and the water is a mess, things get pretty intense pretty fast. My (otherwise very quiet-demeanored, dainty midwife) was YELLING at me. Pretty wild. But laboring in water, that's amazing. Birth in water, I don't know, the water feels fine, you're already there. But definitely laboring in water.

[Embassy]

I had an induced labor, but not because my child was past the due date. I had to have pitocin, but was able to get in the tub. It didn't help at all so I ended up getting an epidural which required me to stay put. When I birthed another child naturally at the hospital, the tub was very helpful.

[ktgrok]

How about you plan a homebirth with a midwife (or birth center birth if you prefer), then if you get to the point where you want to be induced you transfer care at that point to a CNM that can do inductions. The homebirth midwives must have people than can transfer your care to, given that if you went past 42 weeks they would have to anyway.

 

REally, you need to talk to your midwife.

 

Also, as for baby size, the best thing I can suggest is to be close to your ideal weight before getting pregnant. That seems to correlate to baby size in the literature, and in my experience. My kids have been 7lb 13oz, 9lbs, and 10lbs 2oz. I gained the most weight with the smallest and the least weight with the biggest. But...I was fatter each time.

[PeterPan]

Kate, this is exactly what I was wondering about! That's what I'm working on now. :) I gained weight the past couple years with all this therapy driving. Now I'm back, doing Curves (just started), which is how I got pregnant 5 years ago. But when I got pregnant then, my weight didn't go all the way back down to, well to a fully healthy weight. We were actually surprised when I got pregnant, because it had been so long. So yes, I had sort of wondered if getting my weight back down all the way to ideal would help. You've pretty much confirmed that. And yes, that's what's driving this. That's not safe, sane, or rational to have a 13 lb baby at home or let the baby go that big if you know it's happening. And we know full and well that DE midwives are pretty stinkin' good at knowing the size of that baby without an ultrasound. Doctors may not be, but DE midwives do. She knew full and well it was gonna be 11 pounds. We had even talked about it at one point, when I just mentioned it in passing.

 

So anyways, if you're saying getting my weight down (thanks for mentioning that in public, hahaha) will help, then I'm all for it.

 

The other thing that happened around ds's birth was unusual amounts of stress, something we hope not to replicate.

 

Ok, now back to the CNM transfer thing. I hadn't thought about that. DE midwives in Ohio are not legally protected (or at least weren't last time I checked 5 years ago). It makes for weird scenarios and lots of idealism (oh, I'll never need that...). I just want a better plan this time (if we get pregnant), that's all I'm saying. So you're right that maybe I had it flipped and that maybe what I'm really wanting to know is whether a CNM practice will take you at the last minute if you go over.

[Tiramisu]

I need to come back when I have more time to read the responses well.

 

Not what you're asking I think, but I had a CNM do the protaglandin thing for me for my third child. My water broke as it did in every previous labor and I knew in the US that I had 24 hours or a C-section, so I chose to use to use the stuff. In my previous labors, water breaking did not lead to a quick birth only because of the cervix of steel. I had lived in a place where they were content to wait three days but would give antibiotics in the meanwhile.

[ktgrok]

Kate, this is exactly what I was wondering about! That's what I'm working on now. :) I gained weight the past couple years with all this therapy driving. Now I'm back, doing Curves (just started), which is how I got pregnant 5 years ago. But when I got pregnant then, my weight didn't go all the way back down to, well to a fully healthy weight. We were actually surprised when I got pregnant, because it had been so long. So yes, I had sort of wondered if getting my weight back down all the way to ideal would help. You've pretty much confirmed that. And yes, that's what's driving this. That's not safe, sane, or rational to have a 13 lb baby at home or let the baby go that big if you know it's happening. And we know full and well that DE midwives are pretty stinkin' good at knowing the size of that baby without an ultrasound. Doctors may not be, but DE midwives do. She knew full and well it was gonna be 11 pounds. We had even talked about it at one point, when I just mentioned it in passing.

 

So anyways, if you're saying getting my weight down (thanks for mentioning that in public, hahaha) will help, then I'm all for it.

 

The other thing that happened around ds's birth was unusual amounts of stress, something we hope not to replicate.

 

Ok, now back to the CNM transfer thing. I hadn't thought about that. DE midwives in Ohio are not legally protected (or at least weren't last time I checked 5 years ago). It makes for weird scenarios and lots of idealism (oh, I'll never need that...). I just want a better plan this time (if we get pregnant), that's all I'm saying. So you're right that maybe I had it flipped and that maybe what I'm really wanting to know is whether a CNM practice will take you at the last minute if you go over.

 

 

Ugh, here in Florida they are legal and licencsed and there is a protocol to follow for transferring care. I'd talk to your midwife about that and find out. And yeah...practice birth control until you get to a good weight :)

[PeterPan]

Interesting Tiramisu! I was just realizing, my midwife ended up breaking my water with both babies. Wow, the things you forget. Seriously though, she did. And I know about prolapsed cords and how they can be born with an intact sac, blah blah. At some point you just trust the provider in the moment, and she seemed to know what she was doing and have her good reasons. Anyways, maybe I have super durable sacks or something? LOL, hadn't thought about that. I remember her commenting on it. That has nothing to do with anything, but there you go. Broken twice, right toward the end, within a short time of the baby being born.

[vonfirmath]

To be clear, I'm NOT pregnant. I'd just like to understand some things now, when I'm not and I'm sane, haha, not driven by hormones or anything else. My ds4.5 was 11lb and 2 weeks late. From that alone you can tell that I'd like to understand options better. I've done 9lb and 11 lb, but I really don't want to hit 13. ;) Oh, and those were home births. I know nothing about hospital births except what I've read in books or seen on tv, neither of which sound appealing frankly. So that's where I'm coming from.

 

1. I've heard of the gels and prostaglandins and junk. That's a stage you go through *only* if the cervix is not ready? I don't recall there being any issue with that. Presumably by the time you're overdue that's no longer an issue?

 

2. When they do pitocin (the normal thing, right?), they do that via IV? So then are you in a fixed location or can you move? I know things vary with the hospital. I'm trying to figure out what CAN happen to know if I'd be selecting a set-up that was as ideal as what I would want or could get. What is the most ideal set-up possible for a person who prefers natural birth but has found it time for some interventions?

 

3. Is pitocin the kind of thing where they get some in and then you go labor in water, or is water out? Or maybe they haul that IV thing over and you can labor in a birthing tub?

 

4. If you use a CNM, does she continue to provide care when interventions are decided on, or does that immediately turn everything over to the OB? Does the CNM then work with the OB or totally leave the room?

 

5. Are there things about a hospital or scenario that matter if you're doing vag that don't matter if you're being induced? For instance, if you can't labor in water when you're induced, then the availability of birthing tubs/pools would not be a selling factor, could have been in any old hospital and had the same experience. Are there things I'm not anticipating that ARE a factor in having a positive experience in a non-ideal situation?

 

6. Anything else I should ask or understand?

 

Again, not pregnant. Just wanting to think. :)

 

Thanks!!! :)

 

 

I have been induced with both babies.

 

2. Pitocin is done by IV. But that did not prevent me from getting up and walking around (the room). Or from laboring in the water (with DS. I found I did NOT like that so ended up in the much reviled tradition position on your back as it worked the best FOR ME) You just take the IV bag and stuff with you on this little wheeled trolley.

 

3. The pitocin is constant and they keep increasing the rate until your labor is progressing. I know at a certain point they turned it off on my second. But they didn't take the IV out -- so it was there for other medication as needed in the future.

 

4. For the first I had a CNM and she stayed in care with me until the end -- in fact I had two CNM in the room at the end because it was just at shift change. If a OB was involved I didn't know about it. For the second I had an OB because the only CNM with hospital privileges and I had a distinct difference of opinion. When she told me she would NOT induce for a big baby, I changed practices. From day 1 I'd told them that was a requirement as an option for me due to my experiences with the first. The other CNM in the practice thought it was no big deal. My body had already proven it dealt with induction fine. But she split with the CNM over differences of opinion, left the practice, and I followed her because I couldn't trust this lady anymore.

 

5. Ask about the baby rooming in with the mother. Find out where the nursery is -- in the hospital with my second birth there were NO nurseries. Babies whose parents needed a break stayed in their bassinet with a duty nurse at her station! That certainly does not lead to pushing you to relinquish your kid. They did all the baby checks, etc IN THE ROOM with you so the baby never left my room (Though we had it set up so DH would go with baby.

 

At both hospital, I loved the rolling bassinets they had for the baby so the baby could go where mom went.

 

DS was born in Bellevue, WA. He was induced 2 days before his due date. Born 8lbs 15 oz.

 

DD was born in Austin, TX. She was induced 1 wk past her due date. Born 9lbs 6 oz.

[gingersmom]

I was induced with both my children.

 

With my second it was easy. I showed up at 6am, had my water broke, got pitocin, spent the next few hours wandering the hallways with an IV pole.

 

3 pushes and out he came.

 

No evil hospital stories here.

[PeterPan]

I was induced with both my children.

 

With my second it was easy. I showed up at 6am, had my water broke, got pitocin, spent the next few hours wandering the hallways with an IV pole.

 

3 pushes and out he came.

 

No evil hospital stories here.

 

In this case were you overdue? Theoretically ready to pop already, and so the pit was a nudge to get things going?

[twoxcell]

Every induction is different and it really just depends on your OB/CNM and your particular circumstance. I have had 4 inductions and each one was a bit different.

 

1st

I was 2 week over due. I had an OB and he sent me in for induction. When I got there I was 5 cm dialated and not in active labor. I was given an IV drip of Pitocin on a very low dose. That did the trick and I was ready to push by morning. My OB came in near the end of labor and stayed with me until he was born 4.5 hours later(he was posterior and I had to push for a long time.) He was 9lbs 7oz

 

2nd

According to my original wack head CNM I was only 37 weeks(according to me I was 40 weeks).

I was sent in for an induction due to Cholestasis and macrosomia. I was checked in and given a pill of cytotec. When I got there I was 2-3 cm dilated. The other CNM that I liked came in and checked on me off and on throughout labor. When I was further dilated she broke my water and I was fully dilated not long after that. I was not given any pitocin until after delivery. dd was 10lbs 7oz and had shoulder dystocia, but my CNM was awesome and with the help of the nurses was able to get her shoulders free very quickly.

 

3rd

I was induced 2 weeks early due to Cholestasis and Macrosomia. I had cytotec again with her and my CNM ruptured the membranes. I had the good CNM again and refused to see the other after my 2nd. No pitocin with this dd either I was 2-3 cm when I went in. This dd was posterior also and my CNM was with me during much of the labor and all of the delivery. dd was 8lbs 10oz

 

4th

I was induced 2 weeks early due to Cholestasis and Macrosomia. For some reason my CNM wanted to skip the cytotec this time I think I was over 3cm dilated. We used a low level of pitocin to get things started. At one point they disconnected the pit so I could go in the tub. I didn't really like it and my contractions stopped. I was reconnected to pit. His labor was strange because it was really slow at first but once it kicked in labor was very fast. My CNM broke my water and I dilated quickly after that. When it was time to push my CNM noticed a cervical lip(I think that is what she said) I had to push while she help the head get past it(this was painful). ds was posterior so I had to do hands and knees etc. until he turned. He was my fastest coming out and was 7lbs 9oz. My CNM was with me on and off during early labor and the whole time once I reached about 7cm.

 

I had a really good OB for my first and I love the CNM I had for the other three deliveries. Our hospital is very friendly to natural birth. I did not use pain killers for any of the births and I was able to move around and try different things. HTH

[gardenmom5]

I was induced once. stripping my membranes (more common than people realize because the dr can do it during an office exam without telling you.) didn't do much.

 

at 41 weeks, I had my membranes ruptured. that was all. He was 9lb 15.

 

I told my dr I didn't want another macrosomic baby. I only gained 20 lbs that pregnancy. I spontaneously went into labor a week early. (my membranes ruptered. Just as I was going to sleep. of course.) US had guestimated he would be no bigger than 9 1/2 lbs. yeah. right. He was 10lb 5oz. at 39 nine weeks. He was also forceps to speed delivery. it messed up his neck (four cervical vertebra) and wasn't diagnosed until I took him to a chiropractor - it's common with forceps. years ago I had a chiro who so detested forceps, he demanded his wife's ob do a C-section rather than use them.

[Dory]

I had pit with my third. He was almost 3 weeks late. They hooked me up to an IV and I paced the halls. I could've had a shower if I had wanted to but I wasn't interested, I just wanted to keep moving. They would have me come back so they could check the babies heart rate every so often and when the contractions started getting strong I stopped pacing so they left me hooked up to the monitors. It was a quick labor. From the time they put the IV in to the time he was born was about 5 hours. No problems, no stress. Best delivery of all three of my kids. 7lb 13oz. and 17 3/4in.

[elfgivas]

i have the same discussion with each ob/gyn/midwife i meet. it goes something like....

i do not want to go past 40 weeks for any reason at all. are you okay with that?

if they aren't, then i see someone else. if they say they are, then i ask what they would do.

then we negotiate.....

 

as i kept having babies, this switched to : they have all been born at 37 weeks, and 20.5 inches in length. so i know you think i'm doing on x date, but could we imagine that it might be earlier?

 

the other thing is to have regular blood tests for gestational diabetes, because that can also really boost a baby's birth weight.

 

hth,

ann

[Hwin]

1. I've heard of the gels and prostaglandins and junk. That's a stage you go through *only* if the cervix is not ready? I don't recall there being any issue with that. Presumably by the time you're overdue that's no longer an issue?

 

I think it's possible to go past your due date and and have your body still not be ready for labor, even if your baby is ready to be on the outside.There are lots of natural things you can do once you hit 37 weeks that are supposed to help. I wouldn't know. I drank raspberry leaf tea and used Evening Primrose oil faithfully, and had a 10lb 14oz baby at 42 weeks.

 

2. When they do pitocin (the normal thing, right?), they do that via IV? So then are you in a fixed location or can you move? I know things vary with the hospital. I'm trying to figure out what CAN happen to know if I'd be selecting a set-up that was as ideal as what I would want or could get. What is the most ideal set-up possible for a person who prefers natural birth but has found it time for some interventions?

 

 

3. Is pitocin the kind of thing where they get some in and then you go labor in water, or is water out? Or maybe they haul that IV thing over and you can labor in a birthing tub?

 

I can't see any reason they couldn't do that for you, but I'm sure most hospitals don't permit it. I would search high and low for a hospital/doctor that will make an exception for you. I think pitocin is continuous, unless your labor just picks up on its own. I did labor at a hospital that had wireless waterproof telemetry, meaning I could be continuously monitored while moving around and laboring in the water (didn't happen that way for me, but they offered it).

 

4. If you use a CNM, does she continue to provide care when interventions are decided on, or does that immediately turn everything over to the OB? Does the CNM then work with the OB or totally leave the room?

 

The CNM can do anything except surgery, although mine deferred to the doctor who was present. I am thinking that was because the doctor wanted interventions and the midwife was not as keen on it.

 

5. Are there things about a hospital or scenario that matter if you're doing vag that don't matter if you're being induced? For instance, if you can't labor in water when you're induced, then the availability of birthing tubs/pools would not be a selling factor, could have been in any old hospital and had the same experience. Are there things I'm not anticipating that ARE a factor in having a positive experience in a non-ideal situation?

 

I think I would still want the "less medicalized" hospital (hopefully you know what I mean with that nonsensical statement) because you are dealing with synthetic hormones being pumped into your body - I'd want doctors and nurses who take that seriously, not people who hold you to a schedule "baby's not coming fast enough. MORE PIT" you know?

 

6. Anything else I should ask or understand?

 

I think that, with Pitocin being associated with other interventions/greater likelihood of c-section, I'd want to find out more about what to expect if I did end up with a surgical birth. I had a VBAC, but I put in my birth plan that I would be attempting VBA2C with future children and to please keep that in mind as they were stitching me back together ;)

 

Is hiring a doula an option for you? I think I would definitely want someone experienced by my side if I was aiming for an unmedicated induction.

[PeterPan]

Hwin (good name btw), this is interesting. Our stories are very similar. It sorta seems like you're saying that if you're not willing to induce early (and risk the consequences), then you end up with a big baby anyway and just add the mess of dealing with the hospital stuff. So could I take it then to mean your advice is as long as it's 11 lbs or less and 42 weeks or less, just stay home? But if the midwife things bigger than 11 pounds or goes longer than 42, then induce? Those are scenarios I also hadn't thought over. I just assumed the next time around the practitioner would be horrified about the 11 pounder and not want me to go over. Hadn't even considered that they'd still want to let it go over.

[Whereneverever]

I've had two hospital births and two home births. My last birth was in a really good hospital and was by far my best birth, and my third birth was a home birth and by far my worst.

 

I had an induction with my fourth baby. As soon as I had regular contractions they turned off the pitocin. You could labor and deliver in the tub with an iv if you wanted. They offered TENS machines for pain relief. No well baby nursery, so baby never left my side. Very, very breast feeding friendly.

 

It really seems to come down to care provider and hospital. My last was with a high risk ob and I loved her care more then the midwives I've seen. Take time to not only look at options on paper, but tour them, talk to the nurses, and interview care providers.

[ktgrok]

Hwin (good name btw), this is interesting. Our stories are very similar. It sorta seems like you're saying that if you're not willing to induce early (and risk the consequences), then you end up with a big baby anyway and just add the mess of dealing with the hospital stuff. So could I take it then to mean your advice is as long as it's 11 lbs or less and 42 weeks or less, just stay home? But if the midwife things bigger than 11 pounds or goes longer than 42, then induce? Those are scenarios I also hadn't thought over. I just assumed the next time around the practitioner would be horrified about the 11 pounder and not want me to go over. Hadn't even considered that they'd still want to let it go over.

 

 

The issue is that bigger doesn't mean harder/longer. Position has just as much to do with it. And inducing may mean baby isn't in a good position yet. So it can actually be harder. By the end they aren't gaining that fast,and most of it is body fat, so it often is a wash anyway.

[PeterPan]

Ok Katie, I'm trying to expand my mind to think with you here. But I think you and I both know that once you've done 11, you don't take that lightly. I really thought I was going to explode and die. It left me pretty mentally traumatized. I haven't spent the last 4 years going Oh God give me another baby, iykwim. It's taken 4.5 years to go ok, I think I could be game for this again.

 

The weird thing is, when the midwife did her eval that they do based on how the baby looks, she said he was only a week overbaked. I *thought* I had good dates. Obviously I could be wrong, but that was weird to me. And once you start down that road, you go ok, was he really 1 week over, not 2 (like we thought) and thus would have been even BIGGER if I had gone 2 weeks? I don't know. So you've done just shy of 11. What is your thought for your next baby. Or are you in the excuse me but birth control is sounding mighty fine stage? Even the way my midwife put it was she had an 11 lber that didn't go well the week before (not sure exactly what that meant, I didn't ask), then mine that was fine. I just don't look at it lightly and go oh yeah, what's a little more flab, kwim?

[Carrie12345]

 

1. I've heard of the gels and prostaglandins and junk. That's a stage you go through *only* if the cervix is not ready? I don't recall there being any issue with that. Presumably by the time you're overdue that's no longer an issue?

 

I had cervadil at 42 weeks in hopes of avoiding pitocin.

 

2. When they do pitocin (the normal thing, right?), they do that via IV? So then are you in a fixed location or can you move? I know things vary with the hospital. I'm trying to figure out what CAN happen to know if I'd be selecting a set-up that was as ideal as what I would want or could get. What is the most ideal set-up possible for a person who prefers natural birth but has found it time for some interventions?

 

I was completely mobile (with IV pole, of course).

 

3. Is pitocin the kind of thing where they get some in and then you go labor in water, or is water out? Or maybe they haul that IV thing over and you can labor in a birthing tub?

 

I labored and almost delivered in the tub.

 

4. If you use a CNM, does she continue to provide care when interventions are decided on, or does that immediately turn everything over to the OB? Does the CNM then work with the OB or totally leave the room?

 

My CNMs (both times) were my sole providers throughout.

 

5. Are there things about a hospital or scenario that matter if you're doing vag that don't matter if you're being induced? For instance, if you can't labor in water when you're induced, then the availability of birthing tubs/pools would not be a selling factor, could have been in any old hospital and had the same experience. Are there things I'm not anticipating that ARE a factor in having a positive experience in a non-ideal situation?

 

That definitely varies by hcp and individual hospital.

 

6. Anything else I should ask or understand?

 

Again, not pregnant. Just wanting to think. :)

 

Thanks!!! :)

 

[Tiramisu]

Interesting Tiramisu! I was just realizing, my midwife ended up breaking my water with both babies. Wow, the things you forget. Seriously though, she did. And I know about prolapsed cords and how they can be born with an intact sac, blah blah. At some point you just trust the provider in the moment, and she seemed to know what she was doing and have her good reasons. Anyways, maybe I have super durable sacks or something? LOL, hadn't thought about that. I remember her commenting on it. That has nothing to do with anything, but there you go. Broken twice, right toward the end, within a short time of the baby being born.

 

 

While I was pregnant with my last one, I read that vitamin C strengthens membranes so I increased my intake. It was the only birth where my water did not break prematurely. And when it broke, wow, did it break. It was like a cannon. I shot poor dh who was standing on the opposite wall. No kidding.

 

ETA: This was fun birth. It took place at a hospital that is known for being very interventionist. I came in in full labor and was very natural, and I got the feeling they had never seen anything like it. The nurse kissed me before she left and during my stay, other staff came in to meet me. I felt like a movie star. :001_cool:

[Tiramisu]

Just wanted to add that the cervadil made for a very nice birth. Contractions intensified very gradually over several hours, intense transition where I screamed like bloody murder and begged for an epidural but didn't get one, baby came out, everyone happy. I got the cervadil in the morning and had the baby by dinner time.

[PeterPan]

Oh Tiramisu, somehow that doesn't SEEM like a nice birth. LOL I was SMILING when I hit transition this past time. We had been having talks about vacation options and homeschooling and all sorts of things. I got up, told them I was going to go pee and that I'd be back and we'd have the baby. (Yes, that seems sorta surreal, but I must have been really in my zone or something.) Came back, I think maybe then she broke my water, got back in the tub and pushed him out. Insert screams. Loud. Like ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE loud, lol. But he was 11 pounds. I think one should always give birth where you're allowed to be as loud as you want. Definitely not amish on that one. :lol:

 

Well interesting. Y'all have given me a ton to think about. I really didn't understand all these nuances. I did go through and read the info sheets on induction on that link from Dirty Ethel. I didn't realize there were so many variances in practices. Now I have a lot better sense of questions to ask, thanks ladies!

[ktgrok]

Ok Katie, I'm trying to expand my mind to think with you here. But I think you and I both know that once you've done 11, you don't take that lightly. I really thought I was going to explode and die. It left me pretty mentally traumatized. I haven't spent the last 4 years going Oh God give me another baby, iykwim. It's taken 4.5 years to go ok, I think I could be game for this again.

 

The weird thing is, when the midwife did her eval that they do based on how the baby looks, she said he was only a week overbaked. I *thought* I had good dates. Obviously I could be wrong, but that was weird to me. And once you start down that road, you go ok, was he really 1 week over, not 2 (like we thought) and thus would have been even BIGGER if I had gone 2 weeks? I don't know. So you've done just shy of 11. What is your thought for your next baby. Or are you in the excuse me but birth control is sounding mighty fine stage? Even the way my midwife put it was she had an 11 lber that didn't go well the week before (not sure exactly what that meant, I didn't ask), then mine that was fine. I just don't look at it lightly and go oh yeah, what's a little more flab, kwim?

 

 

Oh, i don't take it as no big deal. I'm only 5ft 1inch tall...that was a LOT of baby for me to carry around, and deliver. He pressed on some nerves in my pelvis/sciatic area and I had horrid nerve pain in my leg during pushing, and then a large portion of that leg was numb from the knee to the little toe for about a month after the birth. The thought of one bigger does scare me a bit. But inducing scares me too, so yeah, I've got a Mirena IUD for now :)

 

IF we have another kid I would want to be much thinner than I am now. I'd want to be about the size I was with the first kid, and I'd stick with a pretty low carb diet while pregnant, and then see what was what at the end. Personally, if I thought hte baby was the same size or smaller I'd stay home again. But mine was smaller than yours. And my only hospital birth ended in a c-section, so I have issues with going back to a hospital. Plus very few doctors would be happy inducing me.

[PeterPan]

Yes Dr. K, will do! :D

[Hwin]

Hwin (good name btw), this is interesting. Our stories are very similar. It sorta seems like you're saying that if you're not willing to induce early (and risk the consequences), then you end up with a big baby anyway and just add the mess of dealing with the hospital stuff. So could I take it then to mean your advice is as long as it's 11 lbs or less and 42 weeks or less, just stay home? But if the midwife things bigger than 11 pounds or goes longer than 42, then induce? Those are scenarios I also hadn't thought over. I just assumed the next time around the practitioner would be horrified about the 11 pounder and not want me to go over. Hadn't even considered that they'd still want to let it go over.

 

I actually would be willing to take my chances on the baby not being any bigger the next time, and would want to go into labor spontaneously. 43 weeks is my personal comfort level, since 90% of the women (I just made that number up, but it's a LOT) in my family went past 42 weeks, and I don't know of any family history of birth complications.

 

It sounded like you were planning to choose induction, so I responded accordingly - assuming you have reason to believe the induction will work, I don't think it's a bad idea. My c/s was the result of a failed induction, though, as I did not respond to the Pitocin at all even though I was well past my due date. If my baby had to be evicted :p I would go the surgical route rather than put myself through another bad induction.

 

As far as my feelings on big babies - I KNEW my little guys were going to be two weeks later and 10lbs. I actually won the office baby pool with date and weight LOL (and they had to do the pool twice because the first time no one wanted to be mean and pick a date that late in December.)

 

Anyway, about my prep - the thing that I did to prepare for birthing a giant baby was pore over websites like spinning babies. When the time came, he was properly positioned and that definitely mattered.

 

There's, uh, also another thing I did. I lied about my due date to my OBGYN practice and gave myself an extra week, so that their post dates policy would match up with my own personal postdates policy. Not something I recommend for everyone. I am generally not into bold face lies, but it seemed to be the lesser of two evils. I was hooked up with a doula who happened to be a RN/CNM and knew the truth, and kept an eye on me as well.

[PeterPan]

Well Hwin, you've got more hutspeh than I've had. I hadn't really talked myself into another 11 pounder. Sigh. I just sorta assumed I'd walk in the door, they'd take one look at me and that history, and go oh yeah, no way, due date comes and you're on the drip. I had no clue they'd let it go over, irrespective of the size. (hear my jaw and head thunking) So it wasn't so much that I *want* to be induced (not my preference, and again, not that I'm pregnant) but that I assumed I needed to have a much better game plan for it. This idea that it's more realistic to plan on going to 42, plan on it being 10-11, eat low carb, hope for the best, that induction (in general) is worse than late + big. That's all a scenario I hadn't considered. (Thunk me more.)

 

It must be late at night, because I'm just sorta reeling on that one. I'm glad to have my views and assumptions challenged, absolutely, but I'm still kinda reeling. That 11 was nasty, like traumatic. I didn't get hurt or anything, but you just end up with an extreme respect for the gravity of it. My midwife was really cool about it and said any woman who can birth a 9 pounder can birth an 11. I'm just not sure can and *should* insert equally in there.

 

Well thanks for the perspectives. I really appreciate it. Not at all what I was expecting, but that's good.

 

And yes, as soon as I found out ds was posterior at (I forget how many) weeks, I got frantic. I just had that strong sense that I REALLY didn't want to be pushing out a big, posterior, ill-positioned baby. Ended up doing Webster chiropractic with a doc who got the baby turned back correctly in two sessions. After that did maintenance to keep him that way. May have been part of why we didn't get hurt during birth. So you're right, things can help and it was a good experience for a large baby, compared to how it sometimes can go.

[Sara in AZ]

How about you plan a homebirth with a midwife (or birth center birth if you prefer), then if you get to the point where you want to be induced you transfer care at that point to a CNM that can do inductions. The homebirth midwives must have people than can transfer your care to, given that if you went past 42 weeks they would have to anyway.

 

REally, you need to talk to your midwife.

 

Also, as for baby size, the best thing I can suggest is to be close to your ideal weight before getting pregnant. That seems to correlate to baby size in the literature, and in my experience. My kids have been 7lb 13oz, 9lbs, and 10lbs 2oz. I gained the most weight with the smallest and the least weight with the biggest. But...I was fatter each time.

 

 

I actually did the opposite of this. I really, really wanted a homebirth last time, but DH was not on board because we've had complications in the past. We ended up compromising. I found a homebirth midwive that I really liked who was willing to attend the birth, but I did all of my prenatal care with the CNM practice that delivered my other three hosiptal births. That way DH felt comfortable that if something came up in the pregnancy we were set to deliver at the hospital, but if there were not complications I could do the homebirth. It worked out perfectly for me. I helped that I was already very familiar with the CNM's and that they were pro homebirth, otherwise that could have been a sticky situation. It also worked out better financially. ;- )

 

I've also had two preterm inductions with CNM's that worked out very well with only breaking the water. No gels or pit. But I was pretty far effaced and a bit dilated.

 

And, lastly, I'm also getting fatter and my babies are getting bigger. Hmmmmmmm.

 

ETA: I think it's really wise to be exploring these things before hand. I had a really rough time emotionally last time trying to figure out how to get the birth I wanted.

[Bree]

You might look into having your membranes stripped prior to an induction. My dr did that on my second pregnancy real well and I was in labor the next day which was her due date. My next 2 babies were way overdue and my midwife wouldn't do it so we ended up being induced. Definitely check the policies where u are about that because here they are really friendly at only 1 hospital the rest you are stuck in bed. Also a foley bulb can be used to start labor at times and requires no mess given. That is how they started my induction this last time and it went real well :)

[PeterPan]

I actually did the opposite of this. I really, really wanted a homebirth last time, but DH was not on board because we've had complications in the past. We ended up compromising. I found a homebirth midwive that I really liked who was willing to attend the birth, but I did all of my prenatal care with the CNM practice that delivered my other three hosiptal births. That way DH felt comfortable that if something came up in the pregnancy we were set to deliver at the hospital, but if there were not complications I could do the homebirth. It worked out perfectly for me. I helped that I was already very familiar with the CNM's and that they were pro homebirth, otherwise that could have been a sticky situation. It also worked out better financially. ;- )

 

I've also had two preterm inductions with CNM's that worked out very well with only breaking the water. No gels or pit. But I was pretty far effaced and a bit dilated.

 

And, lastly, I'm also getting fatter and my babies are getting bigger. Hmmmmmmm.

 

ETA: I think it's really wise to be exploring these things before hand. I had a really rough time emotionally last time trying to figure out how to get the birth I wanted.

 

Yes, yes, yes, this is what I was thinking!! So you're saying the trick is to have a CNM who's pro homebirth. If she is, and she does the prenatal and is your back-up, then you've got what you want (the option to homebirth and a solid, comfortable plan if for some reason that's not how it ends up. So then how did your DE/CPM midwife see you? Around here they charge a flat fee that covers prenatal and the birth, so you pay them whether you birth with them or not. Would your homebirth midwife have come in as the doula if you had used the CNM?

[ktgrok]

 

Yes, yes, yes, this is what I was thinking!! So you're saying the trick is to have a CNM who's pro homebirth. If she is, and she does the prenatal and is your back-up, then you've got what you want (the option to homebirth and a solid, comfortable plan if for some reason that's not how it ends up. So then how did your DE/CPM midwife see you? Around here they charge a flat fee that covers prenatal and the birth, so you pay them whether you birth with them or not. Would your homebirth midwife have come in as the doula if you had used the CNM?

 

This may depend on your area. In my area, a homebirth midwife won't take you on if they haven't been seeing your for prenatal care. They need to know you are low risk, and that involves seeing you in pregnancy. But the hospital/doctors/cnm WILL take you on at the last minute, as they are delivering in a hospital anyway, so don't need to know your risk level in the same way. So here you would see a direct entry midwife for prenatal care and if at some point it became advisable to induce for any reason they would transfer your care to a doctor/CNM. But...midwives are legal here so there are defined protocols for this kind of thing.

[Hwin]

Well Hwin, you've got more hutspeh than I've had. I hadn't really talked myself into another 11 pounder. Sigh. I just sorta assumed I'd walk in the door, they'd take one look at me and that history, and go oh yeah, no way, due date comes and you're on the drip.

 

 

We just had different experiences :) We both pushed out big babies, but we had different responses. I was high on life and bebopping around afterward. Couldn't have been happier. Definitely want to do it again! XD

 

Some ultrasound techs are better than others, so that might be another thing to look into - if there's one whose predictions are famously spot on, then get her/him to give estimates toward the end. My friend has big babies and a good tech, and she actually chose a c-section for her 11lb 9oz baby, because she had genuine concerns about delivering a baby that big. (PS this was at 39 weeks!)

[Sara in AZ]

 

Yes, yes, yes, this is what I was thinking!! So you're saying the trick is to have a CNM who's pro homebirth. If she is, and she does the prenatal and is your back-up, then you've got what you want (the option to homebirth and a solid, comfortable plan if for some reason that's not how it ends up. So then how did your DE/CPM midwife see you? Around here they charge a flat fee that covers prenatal and the birth, so you pay them whether you birth with them or not. Would your homebirth midwife have come in as the doula if you had used the CNM?

 

 

 

Okay, I want to make sure I have the terminology right...DE is direct entry, that's a home birth midwife? I hear the term "lay midwife" here a lot. Is that the same thing?

 

And you are saying that the homebirth midwife would charge you a flat fee regardless of whether you had a hospital transfer, emergency or on purpose, at the last minute?

 

Yes, the tricky part is to find the right providers who would be open minded to this. I knew the CNM's really well, having worked with them in previous births. Also, they had both been DE midwives before becoming CNM's. I don't think all CNM's would have been willing to work with my crazy plan.

 

We interviewed several DE's before deciding on the one we used. She was really laid back and flexible about everything. She charged us for the delivery plus a la carte for the few prenatal visits I had with her. I saw the CNM's for most of the prenatal visits, so that was all covered with my $20 co-pay. And a couple of weeks before my due date I started having visits with the DE midwife. I only had two or three before the baby was born. We never talked about having her act as a doula. Since I'd had the other three births in the hospital with those midwives I felt pretty comfortable with that option if it had played out that way.

 

I would hope that you could find a midwife that would be willing to work with you and flexible enough to let things kind of stay up in the air that way without charging you for the entire package.

[PeterPan]

 

 

We just had different experiences :) We both pushed out big babies, but we had different responses. I was high on life and bebopping around afterward. Couldn't have been happier. Definitely want to do it again! XD

 

Some ultrasound techs are better than others, so that might be another thing to look into - if there's one whose predictions are famously spot on, then get her/him to give estimates toward the end. My friend has big babies and a good tech, and she actually chose a c-section for her 11lb 9oz baby, because she had genuine concerns about delivering a baby that big. (PS this was at 39 weeks!)

 

 

Well yeah I guess we're different then. LOL I was pretty TIRED after I got done, and I was tired after dd (only 9lb4oz, virtually slid out) too. Don't know what to say. It is what it is. I consider myself to have had a good, safe birth, but going two weeks over, having a very large baby (which CAN end unhappily), etc. etc. leaves you pretty somber. I'm not of the it was no big deal camp. The only person I've met who had an 11 pounder and then had another had a *13* pounder next. That was here on the boards, check my thread from 4.5 years ago. 9,11,13 was her progression, and I've done the 9 and 11. So I'm just trying to be realistic. I have no guarantee we'd only be talking 11.

[PeterPan]

Katie, that's what I figured. And it's not that DE midwives are *illegal* here. They just don't yet have legislation *protecting* them, or at least didn't last time I checked. Maybe they've had some legislation in the past few years? Anyways, it varies by state. In our state, last I knew, it was not illegal, just not protected by law. Nuances.

 

Sarah, thanks, it sounds like I'm at the stage where I just have to talk with people to see what my options are, now that I know the issues involved.

 

Thanks for chatting everyone. It has been extremely helpful! :)

[happypamama]

CNMs can do homebirths too. It just depends on the state. (My second birth was a homebirth attended by a CNM.) If you want the most options, you want a C*P*M/DEM, but really, you need to talk to the various people and see what they can/will do. A lot of midwives will do well-woman care, so that can be a good way to get to know them.

 

And so much is just variable, period. My first was almost 9 pounds at 40w6d; my second was almost 10 pounds at 41w1d. (I was the thinnest when I got pregnant with him, and while his labor was my second shortest, it was also my hardest, not necessarily because of his size, but because of his position; he was very far forward on my pubic bone, and it hurt like the dickens to get him off of it and under. Otoh, my first, who was completely posterior, was my gentlest, although longest, birth, because it was slow and gradual.) Then my third was 9lbs. 5 oz. at 40w5d. So we didn't expect #4 to show up until about a week past his due date, and we expected him in the 9 pound range. Ha! He showed up at 38w3d and was just barely 8 pounds. (His birth was the fastest -- 4 hours of labor and one push.) Do what you can re: diet and health and all, but sometimes, it's just luck of the draw.

[phathui5]

"I would hope that you could find a midwife that would be willing to work with you and flexible enough to let things kind of stay up in the air that way without charging you for the entire package."

 

I don't think that's fair to the midwife. With an out of hospital practice, we only take on a certain number of clients per month. You're talking about asking someone to leave their schedule and their income up in the air until you decide what you want to do. If you want the homebirth midwife to be on call for your birth, she should be paid accordingly.

[MrsJewelsRae]

I had a homebirth with 2 CNMs with my 2nd, and had planned another with my third. I went a week overdue and my blood pressure went up a bit so I went for a stress test at the hospital, everything was fine but the OB on staff decided to cancel my homebirth (midwives in ontario are covered by government healthcare and have hospital privileges or homebirth for low risk patients, but the OBs can still trump them, even if its a load of bill apparently) because I had pre-eclampsia (despite my bloodwork showing I didn't)- in his words "it's because you're having a boy". Ya. He stripped my membranes, very vigorously, it was incredibly painful and I did not consent to it. He then said he was going to "let me" be delivered by my midwives, but I'd have to go to the hospital when I started labor. I also went to my chiro and got an adjustment and she did some pressure points for induction. I went into labor that night and my son was born pretty fast (2 cm -birth in 45 minutes, the first 6 hours or so of labor were not very productive but the last 45 minutes were *intense* to put it lightly), just shy of 9 lbs. My midwives were the only ones in the room, I had no drugs or IVs, and I went home a few hours later, so for a hospital birth it was pretty good.

 

Did your midwives ever try to encourage labor with some of these methods? I'd definitely try those before resorting to pitocin or cytotec if I had the chance. :)

[Word Nerd]

I had a CNM with my first, who was 9 1/2 pounds at 10 days past the due date. She did pit and the other interventions, delivered the baby, then turned it over to the OB because I tore so much inside that I had to go into surgery afterward. (I still wish I could slap the mean L&D nurse who acted like I was a whiny drama queen because I was still crying from the pain even after delivery and admittedly was not very cooperative when they were attempting to assess the damage and I hadn't even seen my baby yet. Nasty woman.) My second arrived 3 weeks early (just under 8 pounds, so she'd have been big too), but they still did pit because I wasn't progressing fast enough according to hospital policy.

[PeterPan]

I had a homebirth with 2 CNMs with my 2nd, and had planned another with my third. I went a week overdue and my blood pressure went up a bit so I went for a stress test at the hospital, everything was fine but the OB on staff decided to cancel my homebirth (midwives in ontario are covered by government healthcare and have hospital privileges or homebirth for low risk patients, but the OBs can still trump them, even if its a load of bill apparently) because I had pre-eclampsia (despite my bloodwork showing I didn't)- in his words "it's because you're having a boy". Ya. He stripped my membranes, very vigorously, it was incredibly painful and I did not consent to it. He then said he was going to "let me" be delivered by my midwives, but I'd have to go to the hospital when I started labor. I also went to my chiro and got an adjustment and she did some pressure points for induction. I went into labor that night and my son was born pretty fast (2 cm -birth in 45 minutes, the first 6 hours or so of labor were not very productive but the last 45 minutes were *intense* to put it lightly), just shy of 9 lbs. My midwives were the only ones in the room, I had no drugs or IVs, and I went home a few hours later, so for a hospital birth it was pretty good.

 

Did your midwives ever try to encourage labor with some of these methods? I'd definitely try those before resorting to pitocin or cytotec if I had the chance. :)

 

Chiro and pressure points for induction? I saw several chiros while I was prego (my normal one, two others to get Webster, a 4th for something weird). Clearly I didn't mention to the right one that I had gone over! So where are the points and what technique had the chiro learned that he knew them? Now I'm totally skunked. I'm totally on board with chiro and pressure points for things, mercy. That's how we got the baby to turn when he was posterior. If there are pressure points for this and it's just a matter of connecting with the right chiro, well wowsers...

[PeterPan]

I had a CNM with my first, who was 9 1/2 pounds at 10 days past the due date. She did pit and the other interventions, delivered the baby, then turned it over to the OB because I tore so much inside that I had to go into surgery afterward. (I still wish I could slap the mean L&D nurse who acted like I was a whiny drama queen because I was still crying from the pain even after delivery and admittedly was not very cooperative when they were attempting to assess the damage and I hadn't even seen my baby yet. Nasty woman.) My second arrived 3 weeks early (just under 8 pounds, so she'd have been big too), but they still did pit because I wasn't progressing fast enough according to hospital policy.

 

Now see that's what's freaky to me. Just because there's a CNM on their name doesn't mean they know how to handle large babies or are going to give you the kind of intimate care you need. I didn't rip AT ALL with my 11 pound baby. To me that's the standard. Granted, I was in water and had been for a number of hours, meaning I was all softened up. But the care you got (or lack of care) is appalling.

 

Thanks for telling your story. Guess I needed my bubble burst on the idea that a CNM would be just as good as my DE/CPM midwives.

[PeterPan]

Ok, I'm want to come back to this accupressure thing. So in theory you could find someone who does accupressure and they'd know how? I found a video on youtube for it. And that person might give good care the whole way maybe? I don't know, that's just something I didn't know about. How EFFECTIVE is it? The woman in the video mentions studies.

 

I think this may be called grasping at straws, lol. Not even pregnant, and here I am hoping that accupressure would solve the problems I don't yet have. But you know it's the first thing I've seen that seems like something you could actually take responsibility for and DO. (woman as driver vs. woman as victim, hate that)

[Word Nerd]

 

Now see that's what's freaky to me. Just because there's a CNM on their name doesn't mean they know how to handle large babies or are going to give you the kind of intimate care you need. I didn't rip AT ALL with my 11 pound baby. To me that's the standard. Granted, I was in water and had been for a number of hours, meaning I was all softened up. But the care you got (or lack of care) is appalling.

 

Thanks for telling your story. Guess I needed my bubble burst on the idea that a CNM would be just as good as my DE/CPM midwives.

 

They think it may have been the internal fetal monitor (which I never had to have with my second, as they only used the external one that time and it was a different hospital), though it isn't normal for that to cause tearing either. It still makes me want to cry to think about my first childbirth experience because it was so traumatic—and much more invasive than I ever guessed a CNM-assisted birth would be. She should have called in the OB much sooner, though I know that would have meant a c-section. She even said as much at my follow-up appointment. My second experience was so easy in comparison that I laughed as DD was born because I couldn't believe it was over already.