re: Being Induced?

Quoting whollydevoted:“ Do not let them give you cytotec under any circumstances. It has been linked to hundreds of cases of ... [snip!] ... inductions in first time mothers fail. Unless you have pre-eclampsia do not let them induce you. The risks trump the benefits.”

Uhm, preeclampsia is NOT the only reason you should be induced...so that advice was shit.

And if it was 50%, they wouldn't induce first time mothers as frequently as they do. I would much appreciate it if you cited your sources on that statistic.

I had to be induced with my oldest when my water broke and 9 hours in I hadn't a single contraction. He was my Cytotec baby and that stuff really is awful.

With my second I had to be induced due to low amniotic fluid and gestational diabetes (they were worried she was too big...and she ended up being only 6 pounds 9 ounces lol)

and my youngest I had to be induced because my water broke at 20 weeks and I managed to carry him to 39...that and my GD with him as well, being it was out of control due to my bed rest.

There are PLENTY of medical reasons to be induce that are NOT preeclampsia.

Quoting *Wicked Mama*:“ Uhm, preeclampsia is NOT the only reason you should be induced...so that advice was shit. And if ... [snip!] ... being it was out of control due to my bed rest. There are PLENTY of medical reasons to be induce that are NOT preeclampsia.”

I suggest you read Henci Goer's The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth

It has all statistics on the dangers of the way the medical community handles birth that you could ever hope to read. And, most of those reasons given to you for induction were actually not completely necessary inductions. Amniotic fluid levels fluctuate with hydration levels and your doctor was scared of big a big baby with the GD. Most practitioners are nowadays. Women are getting induced early becuase OMG they might have a 9lb baby. And, actually there have been studies showing that as long as you don't take a bath, have sex, or get internal exams the risk of infection does not increase with broken waters for days. Think about the logic with that..the water is flushing bacteria away from the uterus. As long as you aren't sticking things up there that work against that natural system, the bacteria isn't going to get in.

Quoting whollydevoted:“ I suggest you read Henci Goer's The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth It has all statistics ... [snip!] ... As long as you aren't sticking things up there that work against that natural system, the bacteria isn't going to get in.”

My child had a high risk of dying as he had hardly any amniotic fluid at all...as did my daughter.

I think your book is filled with absolute ignorance. Amniotic fluid is their damn life force. If it is low, they run the risk of dying.

I'm sorry...hook me up to a needle and fucking take my baby out. I refuse to sit there and believe one book as opposed to many other studies.

Quoting *Wicked Mama*:“ Uhm, preeclampsia is NOT the only reason you should be induced...so that advice was shit. And if ... [snip!] ... being it was out of control due to my bed rest. There are PLENTY of medical reasons to be induce that are NOT preeclampsia.”

Some other things to add to your reading list...books I have read that maybe you should as well to expand your childbirth education. Then you can make a decision about how much you want to take at face value from your doctors.

Midwifery:
Heart and Hands: A Midwife’s Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth by Elizabeth Davis
Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
Breech Birth by Maggie Banks
Pregnancy, Childbirth and Reproductive Health:
Birth at Home by Sheila Kitzinger
Birth Without Violence by Frederick Leboyer
Birthing from Within by Pam England
Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read
The Birth Partner by
The Farmer and the Obstetrician by Michel Odent
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
The VBAC Experience by Lynn Baptisti Richards
What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Eisenburg, Murkoff, and Hathaway
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susan Weed
Birth History and Anthropology:
Birth by Tina Cassidy
Pushed by Jennifer Block
Reclaiming Birth by Margot Edwards
Rediscovering Birth by Sheila Kitzinger

I also suggest the movies, The Business of Being Born and It's My Body, My Baby, and My Birth.

You have an awful lot of faith in a system you don't know a lot about.

I was induced by midwives...

and I had no problem giving birth to a larger baby due to GD...fortunately, neither of the times I gave birth with GD did my chidlren reach over 9 pounds...

HOWEVER, it wasn't the size of my youngest but the risk of stillbirth due to the complications of my pregnancy. I went with very little water for the better portion of my pregnancy. My blood glucose levels were all over, which can cause the baby physical harm, not just weight gain. It can kill your baby if the levels get out of your control and get too high. I was more than willing to let them induce me for the sake of saving him.

Also, did any of thsoe books mention if you go too far overdue with your child it can cause complications such as meconium in the lungs? Some women don't go into labor in time. Or will you argue that point, too?

It's not at face value...I felt I did what had to be done to keep my children healthy and alive. I did my reading, even if it's only over the internet, I did research my options. I didn't just take it at face value.

And you know what? I was induced three times...and I have three healthy children with EXTREMELY easy labors without a drop of pain medication. So, honestly, I'd do it again. Hell, if there is a next time, maybe I'll even ask to be induced just to be induced instead of waiting .Why? Because it's my choice and it has proven to work in my case very nicely on several occassions.

Quoting *Wicked Mama*:“Hell, if there is a next time, maybe I'll even ask to be induced just to be induced instead of waiting .Why? Because it's my choice and it has proven to work in my case very nicely on several occassions.”

I was so impressed with my induction with my last baby I plan to schedule being induced with this one. If I am making any progress when they check me this Thursday, we'll be setting up the time. If all goes as planned, it will happen on the 22nd, 6 days before my due date.  

I think induction can go both ways. I haven't even had a baby yet, induced or otherwise, so I'm just running off of research here  

If your body is ready for induction (say, a 2-3 cm dilated and 60% effaced) and they start you pitocin there's a good chance that it will go really really well for you, fast easy labour, get the epi and relax.

If they start you on a REALLY high dosage of pitocin, or if they keep turning it up and up and up when they don't need to, then it's going to be shit. Contractions will come one on top of the other, it's going to hurt like mad, good chance baby will go into distress, etc.

If your body is not ready (not dilated or effaced at all) and they start you on pit, then it's going to be terrible.
BUT if they start you on prostaglandins (gel or pill they stick in your vajj) to help your cervix get ready, and then THEN do the pit after, then it should go a lot better.

Biggest problem with pitocin and prostaglandins is that because it's synthetic it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier. In natural labour, as the contractions get worse and the natural oxytocin in your body goes up to make the contractions stronger, it sends signals to your brain to help release endorphins n' stuff and help raise your pain tolerance. Pitocin has none of that, so as the level goes up and your contractions gets worse, nothing tells your brain to do anything to block out the pain.

Also, pitocin-induced contractions are different. Regular contractions use just one muscle group to help push the baby down and out. Induced contractions contract your whole uterus so baby is being compressed from all sides. This is more painful, can make labours longer (muscles to push baby out are contracting at the same time as muscles that would hold baby in), and due to compression on the baby has a higher chance of leading to fetal distress and decreased oxygen to the baby.

So! Good sides and bad sides to pitocin.

Quoting *Wicked Mama*:“ I was induced by midwives... and I had no problem giving birth to a larger baby due to GD...fortunately, ... [snip!] ... induced instead of waiting .Why? Because it's my choice and it has proven to work in my case very nicely on several occassions.”

Reasons to induce:

Large baby (their guesses by ultrasound can be off by 2 lbs, give or take, and even then it depends on the skill of the ultrasound tech).
Small pelvis so induce while baby is small (you can bypass this sometimes by making sure you don't labour and push on your back- squat, all fours, standing, etc make your pelvis much much wider).
Pre-ecclampsia just get the induction, preeclampsia is nothign to mess with
Problems w/ placenta, low amniotic fluid, etc good idea to just do it.
Overdue- be careful with this one. Lots of hospitals induce at 40 weeks which is considered term. Some hospitals induce at 41 weeks- okay, but what if your dates were off to begin with? Most hospitals REALLY want to induce by 42 weeks, but again, what if they're wrong about your due date? You can refuse an induction on this one and go for non-stress tests to measure baby's activity, placenta function, heartbeat, and amniotic fluid level. If anything indicates a problem you can be induced then.
Still birth with post-dates: 1 in 3000 for 41 weeks; 2 in 3000 for 42 weeks; 3 in 3000 for 43 weeks.
Waters breaking without going into labour: most women will deliver within 24 hrs of their water breaking without induction. Of those that don't, the remaning will deliver within 48-72 hrs. Once waters break, baby usually drops into the pelvis and seals a lot of leakage, and a lot of water regenerates on it's own so baby isn't sitting in there drying out. The biggest concern here is infection- if you have strep B it is high recommended that you deliver within 24 hrs. Otherwise it is perfectly safe to go longer than that- in the UK, they'll let you go up to 96 hrs after your waters break if non-stress tests come back normal and baby isn't showing signs of distress. Try to avoid being in hospital as this increases the risk of infection and do NOT do vaginal exams as someone sticking their hand up your vajj pushes all the bacteria inside and up into your cervix.
Meconium in the waters- induce ASAP if there's no contractions.

Quoting *Wicked Mama*:“ My child had a high risk of dying as he had hardly any amniotic fluid at all...as did my daughter. ... [snip!] ... me up to a needle and fucking take my baby out. I refuse to sit there and believe one book as opposed to many other studies.”

Low amniotic fluid, though, is diff. from waters breaking.
If your waters break it can be a forewater breakage but the main sac is still intact, and in most cases even if the water is fully gone, the baby is basically ready to be born and the water will regenerate to help keep the baby healthy.

Low amniotic fluid often means the placenta isn't working well and can cause other problems too, and it also means if your water breaks that it'll regenerate much more slowly. Low amniotic fluid can be a BIG problem, and I totally agree with induction for that sort of thing.

Quoting Astraia:“ Low amniotic fluid, though, is diff. from waters breaking. If your waters break it can be a forewater ... [snip!] ... much more slowly. Low amniotic fluid can be a BIG problem, and I totally agree with induction for that sort of thing.”

They told me with my daughter my placenta was quickly "dying" and wasn't providing what she needed and that it could have something to do with my GD. I just get so angry when someone has the nerve to tell me I was wrong for doing so that I don't think of explaining every little detail to them as to why. I just get so angry.

And with Drake it was a huge deal. They didn't know if he'd make it at all and they do call him a miracle baby. Things like that just don't normally happen. So, when they opted for the induction to end his journey because my blood glucose levels were going out of whack, I was more than willing to have him in my arms and finally, really, safe.

I'll admit, with Brandon the only thing I knew was it could cause infection. But I was very young and did a lot less reading on anything. My labor probably didn't have to be so harsh.

But my other two WERE in danger and to have someone tell me they weren't really, REALLY pisses me off.

Quoting Astraia:“Also, pitocin-induced contractions are different. Regular contractions use just one muscle group to help push the baby down and out. Induced contractions contract your whole uterus so baby is being compressed from all sides. This is more painful, can make labours longer (muscles to push baby out are contracting at the same time as muscles that would hold baby in), and due to compression on the baby has a higher chance of leading to fetal distress and decreased oxygen to the baby. ”

All good research there (seriously), but I was induced with my third baby and the pains were not any worse at all. They gave me the Cervadil and the Pitocin.

I honestly could not tell any difference from when I went into labor naturally with my first two...... they ALL hurt.  

I'm sure it varies from woman to woman though.  

Quoting tigerlily:“ All good research there (seriously), but I was induced with my third baby and the pains were not any ... [snip!] ... went into labor naturally with my first two...... they ALL hurt.   I'm sure it varies from woman to woman though.  ”

Thanks, I appreciate it  

And yeah, i'm sure it varies a lot. I think it can probably depend a lot on how good your hospital is with it - like I've heard of people screaming and writhing in pain even with the epi and they won't turn down the drip <shrug>

This time around i'm going to do whatever it takes not to be induced. The hospital I was at didn't let me get out of bed unless to go to the bathroom. It really sucked! Plus the meds they put me on to induce me cause me to start have two contractions on top of each other.... then three on top of each other... and then four on top of each other.

Let me tell you... that was NO fun at all. Best of luck.

Quoting Astraia:“ Thanks, I appreciate it   And yeah, i'm sure it varies a lot. I think it can probably depend a lot ... [snip!] ... it - like I've heard of people screaming and writhing in pain even with the epi and they won't turn down the drip <shrug>”

My hospital wasn't like that at all. I wasn't hurting at all with the drip turned up high, but because of the strength of the contractions and frequency, they turned it almost completely off...I was all the way to an 8.

I stopped laboring :-D