I have a hard time being happy for women who deliver their babies before the 40-week mark. I know that anything within the 38-42 weeks of gestation is considered “normal”, but I liken those 38-week deliveries to the same luck as a speedy metabolism. (I also have a hard time being happy for women with those.)
Going overdue while pregnant is awful. I know it well as I went past my due dates with both girls. With my second pregnancy I went in for my 41-week appointment and begged the doctor to strip my membranes. She tried her best but after a moment’s rooting around where the sun don’t shine, declared, “You’re not even dilated enough for me to insert my finger.” Then I started crying and pleading for an induction. I was just so ready to get that baby OUT. The next day we went into the hospital, they put some magic gel on my cervix and four hours of hard labour later, we had our baby girl in our arms. The pain was horrendous, the contractions didn’t come with any breaks between the agony, but it was fast and worth it. I would totally be induced again.
Of course I think it’s best to let nature take its course, but sometime nature needs a kick in the pants! This time around I am open to getting acupuncture done once I’m full-term to see if that can help things along. Have you heard any stories of women who’ve tried it before? I know there are many old wives’ tales about freaky things that supposedly get labour started (spicy foods, raspberry leaf tea, the horizontal polka) but none of them worked for me in the past. Did you have any success with them?
What are your opinions on induction? Do you think it’s best to let the body decide when it’s ready to go into labour? At what point should medical professionals intervene to get the party started?
My last baby was a week early and an ounce and a half shy of 11 pounds. You can bet that this time around if I make it to my due date that I’ll be screaming to be induced. If I had normal sized babes, I’d be happy to sit for a while!
Oh how we love to pass our judgements based on our experiences and knowledge. Remember we all love our babies and regarless how we decide (or not decide) how to get them here they are welcomed into the loving arms and gaze of a mother then cannot wait to meet them. And we nurture them to grow in the best ways we know how. Let us support each other in our decisions as mothers even if it’s different then our own. What makes a good mother has not to do with whether you do or don’t do certain things (ie. immunizations) it’s that we makes the best decisions we can with the knowledge we’re given and the experiences we’ve had. For those waiting…..be patient and trust your gut! Pun intended.
I have a story too but really….does it matter how I birthed them? No. What matters is I love my kids and would do anything for them.
I went right to my due date with my first and was grateful I didn’t go over, because like Angella, my baby was 9lbs 13oz and I tore like CRAZY. I was SO nervous with the next two, because I just felt like if I went over, the baby would walk its way out and I would split in two. My second baby thankfully came 11 days early (thank you God, as he was 9lbs 14oz)…so I think my body knew that was all it could take so out he came. As I reached my due date with the third, it was all nerves again that this one could be larger. He thankfully ended up being smaller than the first two…so you just never know.
So I was never induced, but believe me, had I gone more than two days over, I would have been begging for some pitocin, because ladies, it wasn’t just that I was uncomfortable and tired of it…unless you’ve dealt with insane tearing that took me months to recover from, you just can’t understand. And the pushing nearly killed me. But the aftermath was the worst part. Anyway….long story short…no I do not agree with induction just for the sake of getting it over with. I know MANY women who were induced and had to labor for HOURS to squeeze out a wee babe that was definitely not ready to come. It makes sense that if everything is going ok, to let it happen on it’s own!
6 babies, 6 inductions. 4 at 10 days to 2 weeks+ ‘overdue’, 1 early due to complications and with my still birth, my body still wouldn’t go into labour naturally. I am praying that this time I will go naturally, but I am not holding my breath.
I’ll add one in the ‘for’ column. I was induced with all four of my kids. 3 with pitocin, one with cervadil. I was 42 weeks for baby one and 41 for the other three. I did it all natural pain meds wise, as in absolutely nothing for pain. So in my experience one intervention doesn’t lead to another. It was a personal choice for me, and if I had to do it a 5th time I would be scheduling that induction date for 41 weeks just in case. (I also love adding the stat of 4 children, 16 hours of labor, just sayin).
Unless medically necessary, I don’t agree with inductions. Your due date is just a guesstimate anyway so while you may *think* you’re 41 weeks, you may only be 39…I stand on the low intervention/drug-free side of labor and delivery and believe that inducing just to induce leads to more interventions and the outcome isn’t always pretty. Your body and your baby know what to do. I was 5 days pass my “guess date” and I while I was uncomfortable and ready to meet my baby I told myself what I tell myself during a long distance run or a grueling workout – “You’ve already been (running/pregnant) for (40 minutes/40 weeks), what’s one more (minute/day/week?) You’ve waited and worked this long, it will happen, be patient. 🙂
I don’t agree with early inductions for non-medical reasons, but I understand the pain of going past your due date. With my first I went into labor nine days past my due date, the night before I was supposed to be induced. Those last few days are horrible, uncomfortable, and nerve-wracking. The only time I couldn’t get out of my own bed was from about 41 weeks on.
My second was born two days before his due date, my water broke about two hours after having my membranes swept. I still needed a pitocin drip because my contractions wouldn’t start up, but he was born healthy and obviously full term (fully cooked and 8 lb 14 oz).
I can’t help you with any myths to get labor started, the only one I have heard that really works is sex, and come on, at 41 weeks?? Not for me in this lifetime, thanks. I could hear the tuba music that would accompany that little escapade.
Good luck, I sure hope this baby is an early riser!!
Really shouldn’t chime in considering my kids were born at 36 and 35 weeks. However, I have also had dear friends who have lost babies at the 41 and 42 week mark and that makes me very nervous.
I was over a month early and desperate for them to come. So I feel for anyone who goes way overdue.
That being said, I also think that ignoring the “due date” is a great idea and giving yourself a “birth month” is the way to go. My Grandma had 8 kids and never knew a due date. She always said “sometime in the summer” and “babies come when they are ready”. Worked for her I guess.
Being a NICU RN I have seen Dr.’s induce at 37, so they can deliver babies before their vacation (on the mothers request) only to find out that the baby was actually 35 weeks, and weighed 3-4 lbs.
I went to 41+5 days and was induced with cervadil gel-that got my labor going-16 hours of contractions 2-3 minutes apart, and 1/2 hr of pushing I got an epidural. Pushed for 2 more hours and my 8lb baby girl was born, she was sunnyside up and would not turn. My midwife would only let me go until 42 weeks because the infant mortality rate after 42 weeks is 50% (this is what she told me). Being a neonatal nurse I did not want a hospital stay in my NICU or complications and so I chose induction after having membrane stripping at 41 weeks, and taking lots of evening primrose oil, and having lots of, well….sex. After birth my midwife said that my placenta was old, and the baby was overdue, so I am glad I was induced. In retrospect I wouldn’t have went past 41 weeks. Post date babies can be larger and have increased chance of complications, they also have a higher rate of jaundice-we had to stay 2 extra days, and this on top of an induction was really difficult for me.
Unless you know actual dates of conception, due dates are approximations, and all babies grow at different rates, but don’t induce out of vanity or convience. Be smart.
I totally disagree with Laura’s comment. Coming from a healthcare perspective, being induced is totally okay! I have NEVER met a doctor during my time working in maternity that has induced or sectioned a mother because she was “sick of being pregnant” at 37 weeks. Physicians will only induce or c-section early if continuing in the pregnancy is dangerous for the mother (or if you want to pay the money to have it done- which is a whole different thing).
Going a week or two past a due date is totally fine, but anything longer than that should be avoided. Not only is it dangerous for the baby but it could also be dangerous for the mother. To say that “babies will come when they’re ready” is a rather ignorant comment in my opinion as we all know that human bodies do not function perfectly all the time. Just ask the millions of women in history (and currently in developing countries) who died because they had no health care to help with their pregnancy if needed.
I was a 38 1/2 weeker with my first… sorry 😉 But I was also kind of induced. Sort of. They gave me Pitocin to ‘get things moving’ because everything stalled out and I had already spent the night in the hospital after having steady contractions and progressing to 3cm and I WAS NOT LEAVING WITHOUT A BABY, DANGIT.
That being said, I would really really like to avoid Pitocin this time around. It was ROUGH and I’d love to see what it’s like without the extra push of the drugs. So as much as it will suck if I go late (or even just to my due date!), I’m going to try to be patient and know that the baby will come with the baby is ready. She can’t stay in there forever! Right…????
Well, I was induced, and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!! And I was 39w2d so not really that early. But let me say that at about week 36 when i started going to the doctor once a week, i was already 3cm dilated. I had contractions EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for a month. Every night I got all excited thinking – this is it, maybe this is it, etc – but no, he was holding tight. Each week i would go back, and i was the same 3cm dilated.
So since I was already dilating, we induced. I actually went into labor on my own that night in the hospital before they started the meds. but being 3cm, i got my epidural BEFORE they started the meds.
I’m pregnant again and I pray that my labor and delivery, and pregnancy experience is as good as the first time. that last month felt like it took forever!!! but overall I was a good candidate for induction, and everything went very smooth.
Oh – and I tried a few things too. Looked up all kinds of ways to make labor come – including taking laxatives, drinking castor oil (yuck), doing the baby dance every night, walking, riding on dirt roads, etc. Nothing worked!
good luck with everything this time around.
Sometimes it is medically neccesary to have an induction. My blood pressure was up, and was dumping protein into my urine, my kidney was stressed. Additionally, there was meconium in my water, so he was cooked! The gel didn’t do it, but my oh my, the pitocin was crazy!! 5 days in the hospital, we finally left with a baby!
All I’m sayin’ is every case is different, you do what you gotta for your babe. =)
I had a very violent reaction to the pitosin they gave me to induce labour. I had originally not wanted to take any drugs for the labour but after 18 hrs of 6 to 12 contractions one on top of the other with only 1 to 2 minute breaks inbetween the clusters of contractions, they had to give me an epidural 🙁 My body was basically spasiming so badly that I hadn’t dilated at all! After the epidural I passed out, and when I came to 3 hrs later I was almost ready to push. Unfortunately they didn’t want to wait until I was fully dilated and told me I could start pushing before I felt I was ready, and his head wouldn’t fit through my pelvis. They told me they wanted to perform an emergency c-section and I told them that I wanted to keep trying. After 1/2 an hour of intense pushing he was out. Believe it or not the labour was not the worst part of my birthing experience. Later that evening I went to get up out of bed to go to the bathroom and I couldn’t walk. At first we thought the epidural still hadn’t worn off. However after further investigation we found out that my pelvis had in fact split during the delivery. Since the doctors had never seen a case like this before and needed my bed for other patients, they sent me home with a prescription for Tylenol 3. My husband and I went and picked up a wheel chair and a walker from a medical supply store and went home. I was in the wheel chair for a month and a half. I couldn’t even go from the wheel chair to the toilet without assistance, it was awful. I needed to have someone there 24/7, luckily my husband was able to take some time off work and my cousin came and stayed with us for 10 days. I couldn’t carry my baby or bathe him or change his diapers unless everything was brought to me. The worst part was when he would cry and I couldn’t go get him myself, I felt very helpless. After a month and a half I was able to use the walker which meant I could at least go to the bathroom by myself! I used the walker for about 2 weeks and then started to stagger around the house using the walls for support. It was about another 2 weeks before I could actually carry my baby, I was so terrified that I would fall when I was holding him.
I know my story is terrifying and rare. But the experience has taught me a lot about what can happen when we don’t let nature take its course and more importantly when we don’t listen to our bodies. Oh, can I also mention that I’m 5’7 with birthing hips and that my son only weighed 7lbs 3oz at birth!
Acupuncture for me was a big fat waste of money. I still went way overdue and was induced at 10 days overdue and my baby was born the next day (I think though, that like another commenter above, I was already in labour). I certainly didn’t find the labour and birth overly painful or medicalised as a result . But I think that, second time round, I probably wouldn’t be induced. The suspense of the unknown when you’re waiting for your first is so intense that I went a bit mad when I was overdue. Next time I hope I’d be a bit more laid back about what lay in store, and wait for things to happen naturally.
ps During my whole labour and birth, my baby’s heart rate stayed totally steady. And she’s a great feeder and good sleeper, plus very happy and chilled. So she doesn’t seem to have been affected by being born when she was not “ready”.
My first was born 6 weeks early after having been on bedrest for a month. I wasn’t induced, but we knew he would be coming early due to some kidney problems I’d had the entire pregnancy. He was small (4 lb. 8 oz.) but perfectly healthy and discharged after the normal 2 nights in the hospital. With my second, I made it full term and literally begged my OB to induce me. Since my first was born early, I truly FELT like I was 6 weeks OVERDUE. I realize this sounds ridiculous, but it’s the way I felt. My OB agreed to induce ON my due date, so I went in that morning expecting (and being TERRIFIED of) pitocin, but instead he broke my water, and said that sometimes this triggers contractions naturally, without needing the pitocin. Within an hour of having my water broken, I was having serious contractions and my daughter was born 6 hours later, healthy and HUGE (for me, anyway) at 8 lb. 10 oz.
I was induced @ 41 wks with my 1st. She was 9 lbs 10 oz. Her head got stuck and I pushed for 3 hours. I actually welcomed the episiotomy. One snip and she was born immediately. With my second I said no way. I was not going over my due date. At 39 weeks I went in for an induction. When I got there they started to hook me up to a machine that monitors contractions. I was having such strong regular contractions that they just let me be. No pitocin. He was born 12 hours later. The nurses said that happens a lot. Women come in to be induced and are already in labor. With my 3rd I had a tentative agreement with my dr. that if the baby didn’t come early we would induce on my due date. When the due date rolled around, my older kids were sick. So was my mother-in-law who was supposed to watch the kids while we were in the hospital. After spending half the day cleaning up barf I called the dr. and said there was no way I was going to induce that day. Unfortunately that baby had other plans. That evening I went into labor. I went to the hospital in my ratty holey sweat pants (the only thing that hadn’t been barfed on). He was born just before midnight. If I could have planned it, I would have waited, but I’m happy that everything worked out. And he is such a bright happy little kid. I’m not against inductions by any means, but sometimes things happen despite your best intentions.
Wow, this seems to be a hot topic. I never gave a lot of thought to it, I just figured if I was to go 10 days-2 weeks over that would be what happened. My sister in Law was induced at 10 days overdue with all four of hers so I thought it was normal. Isabelle was born on her due date. I wanted her to come earlier. I made Andy take me for a bunch of bumpy rides on the back roads of the island. Every time I felt any tightening that I thought could be the stat of contractions I started bouncing on an exercise ball or went for a long walk to try and keep them coming
There was a woman from my church who was due for her baby to be born. She had done everything right the entire pregnancy, didn’t make any exceptions and ate incredibly healthy (including 100% all natural foods). The doctor did an ultrasound on her 41st week and told her he wanted to go ahead and induce her. She said absolutely not, no way, this pregnancy has been all natural up to this point and it is going to continue to be. 2 weeks later her body went into labor and the baby was delivered dead. Granted I am sure there is more to the situation than what I know, but that is what I know. So my opinion, based on my experiences (rather the ones around me), is that induction is sometimes necessary. People have gotten so paranoid about doctors only being out for themselves vs. the patient and they are all about c-sections….but that is just a stereotyped group like any other stereotype (“everyone from the south is a redneck” type of deal).
I have a health condition that will not allow me to deliver a baby naturally ever, so I have to go early. My doctor is aware of my condition, he did an amnio test to check my amniotic fluid for lung development and once the tests came back that her lungs were fully developed he went ahead and delivered her 2 weeks early. My daughter was able to hold her head up at a month old and per the pediatrician is 2-3 months ahead in everything.
I understand when people say that the body knows what to do, and I mostly agree. But what do you say when a couple has issues conceiving and they are unable to make a baby at all? How is that natural? How is that the body knowing what to do?
I’m not saying I understand why things don’t always work how God intended them, I guess I’m just trying to play devils advocate to those that haven’t had the “pleasure” of NEEDING to go early or being induced. We have doctors and medicine for a reason.
Absolutely agree with Kaili, Laura & Julie, but you probably knew that. 😉
That being said, there is a time for induction, like when the doctor has TRUE concerns about the health of the babe or mom. The only reason in the world I allowed my induction at 12 days past my due date was because my blood pressure was starting to spike.
I don’t believe that some babies just need that “kick”. Well, atleast I believe that is VERY rarely the case. Nearly every baby will be born when it’s ready to be born. There is a process, a cycle, that is in place to aid things in going smoothly and it should be honored.
I was induced at 41 weeks. Sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do. I couldn’t have gone another day. And honestly, I enjoyed the day sitting there with my husband. We had all morning and part of the afternoon before the contractions got bad. So, I enjoyed it. We watched tv, chatted, and just enjoyed being together.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Well, you already know my story (Obviously) but just wanted to back you up, here. After going through such a scary delivery with Graham getting stuck because he was so FREAKING BIG, being induced 10 days early with the other two was awesome.
No forceps, no episiotomy (sp?), no fourth-degree tear. Just two perfectly healthy, (8 1/2 pound!) babies in my arms.
I have the opinion of an experienced labor and delivery RN and also of a mum who was induced at 36 weeks. I believe that induction is a useful tool in specific circumstances and that have guidelines around induction are important in decreasing mortality and morbidity.
I disagree whole heartedly with women who have social inductions because they live out of town or they just tired of feeling big and pregnant. I do not believe in induction for women who are ‘overdue’ unless they are at least 41 weeks and 3 days…10 days past their ‘due date’. I have seen induction save babies lives and I have seen inductions put women at risk for more and more birth intervention.
When I was 36 weeks pregnant I had high BP and also had type 1 diabetes, I needed induction for creeping up BP. My induction went perfectly and I had a wonderful spontaneous vaginal birth with moderate intervention and a healthy baby!
When going for induction look at all the risk factors and also weight the benefits. I feel that the body will go into labor when it is ready and intervening too early can add further birth intervention. That being said there is a time and place for induction in the term pregnancy.
I was induced with both my girls. K was born at 41 weeks and L was 41 weeks and 2 days. I bake them long.
I’m ALL FOR induction. As long as your doctor’s okay with it. Some kids just need a swift kick in the butt.
When I reached 40 weeks I scheduled an induction for 41 weeks. The 41 week mark was the “normal” induction date for my clinic. Thankfully I went into labor 2 days before my induction date. I truly just wanted me daughter out. I was enormous and done with being pregnant. I tried all of the wives tales in an effort to speed up her entrance into the world…but I have never heard of acupuncture being used before. I am all for letting nature take its course, but after 40 weeks, enough is enough!
To each his/her own, but I HAD to chime in, cause topic can make me a bit CRAZY!
Who is a doctor or a little wheel chart or an ultrasound to tell you WHEN your baby is coming?!?! To give a woman her “date” is totally bizarre to me!
Lots of Doula’s talk about having a “due month” which seems more on the mark. I wrote on the calendar 3 weeks after both of our boys’ due dates “baby will be here by NOW!!!” And guess what? They were! And I feel like I was more relaxed about it, never waiting or pissed off it hadn’t happened yet.
I feel like SO much hinges on a human being by the way they are cared for in the womb and how they are birthed. Yes there is a place for ALL those interventions and choices. I agree with people having choices. Just makes me NUTS to think that a woman would choose to “get this baby out!!!!!” because she is uncomfortable, feeling like a failure because her body didn’t get the memo on what the little wheel or ultrasound said!! Oh my!
When your baby is ready to be born it releases a hormone which puts your body in labour. It all has an order, one I don’t feel like messing with no matter HOW uncomfortable I feel.
My motto….let it be…let it be….let it beeeeee, oh let it be! The baby won’t stay in there forever.
I was induced at 40 weeks and I wish I would have refused and let some more time go. The gel they used on me did nothing and I hated the way Pitocin made me feel. I think I could have gone a lot longer without an epidural had I not been induced. But it was my first baby and I didn’t know what to expect. Next time I will hold out longer and let nature take it’s course. But I’m all for natural ways of inducing labor, though I may not believe they always work!
Gaaah! Nothing, nothing, nothing works in my opinion. I’m pretty sure I tried it all, including acupuncture, and I was a solid 10 days late. (Even though I don’t think any of it helped, I will try it all again the next time I’m over due.)
People who say they went into labor within 2 hours after trying XYZ were just lucky with the timing. But… as difficult as it is on the mom, I think babies will come when it’s time for them to be born almost every single time and if everything remains healthy, intervention is not an option for me personally.
Having said that, I’m happy to have my own convictions and let others have theirs. It should be the mom and dad’s decision, not the doctors, not the mother in laws, not the neighbors.
Both my boys were born on their due dates.
My daughter was a week late. Typical.
Have you ever tried the eggplant parmesan? If anything you’ll get a good meal out of it – it’s delicious. My dh made it for me with all 3 at 39 weeks.
A girl I work with said she went into labour 4 hours after she had it.
http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm
I won’t comment ’cause my first was 38 weeks 1 day and my second was 37 weeks 2 days. And I was already desperate for them to come out!
Even 38-42 weeks is a guideline, not the absolute truth. I am disgusted with doctors who will happily induce (or section!) at 37 or 38 weeks because the mother is sick of being pregnant. These babies are NOT READY TO BE BORN.
On the other hand, scaring women into inductions at 41 weeks is equally disgusting. Women past 42 weeks should be monitored to ensure the placenta is functioning well and that there is ample amniotic fluid, but other than that, leave the baby alone until it is READY TO BE BORN.
My last little one held on until 17 days past her due date. My 42w3d baby was born at home, a beautifully chubby 10lbs and absolutely perfect. She ate well and slept well because she was READY TO BE BORN.
Do you see my point here? Don’t mess with nature.
i’m all for letting the body go naturally. i’m sure there are times when intervention is necessary but my opinion is that doctors are trained to do things/fix things. a woman sitting there letting her body do all the work is not “doing anything”. i think one intervention leads to another and then it’s c-sections for all. i am so pro midwife it’s crazy! 🙂
i think acupuncture would be a good idea as it’s not invasive. i have heard good things (through my midwife, not personally) but for me a good romp seemed to start things off with my second. apparently it’s his *ahem* contribution that can start contractions. i know from your blog that you seem a little hesitant about your beautiful curves but, honestly, he thinks you’re gorgeous and one last roll in the hay near your due date couldn’t hurt! honestly, he’ll be done so fast you won’t have time to think about what he’s thinking about! LOL
i also believe that stressing and worrying will tense you up and keep things in. i believe that the primitive instincts may take over your body. if you’re tense, why would the body release a helpless newborn into an unknown situation? if you’re relaxed and feeling safe and warm i think your womb would relax and your brain would be sending “safe” signals to your body telling it to release your baby.
i know it’s hard to relax (relax dammit!) LOL but the absence of stress may make a big difference. you’re doing great!