Failed to dilate 1st time...2nd time chances?

[Bubsta]

Hi there, I know I'm posting this early, but I'm hoping to hear some feedback from mums that failed to dilate first time around and what their 2nd birth was like?

I failed to dilate beyond 2cm after being in labour for several hours and being induced. I ended up with an emergency c-sect due to DD being in distress. I'm going to try for a VBAC this time around (but will be ok if I have to have another c-sect) and I would love to hear any stories from anyone that has had a 2nd bub after failing to dilate first time around? Or anyone that knows about this? Thanks!

 

[Jadey121]

This happened to me with my 1st i got to about 4cm but wasnt progressing. Babys heart rate was dipping so was wheeled off to theatre.
My 2nd i tried for a vbac... my waters broke had a few mini contractions and all tailed off. Again i didnt progress. However i feel like i was left to it in hospital and they told me to just rest up in bed. Looking back i should of tried to kick start labour by walking around more etc. So for me it wasnt the best outcome as i didnt have any support and didnt know what was best to do! My advice would be to stay as active as possible... im planning on trying for my 3rd vaginally now. Good luck xox

 

[Bubsta]

Thanks for replying. I must admit, I am hopeless with pain. After being induced, I could hardly change positions on the bed let alone get up and walk around. It was probably only an hour and a half after being induced that I had to go to theatre. I had been in labour for a while with no progress and that is why they induced me. Guess all I can hope for is that I can progress naturally (I can't say I'm overly optomistic). Thanks for the advice. I'll try and be active as I can. X

 

[Nikki_d72]

It's very common for baby's heart to show decellerations after induction as the synthetic oxytocin can cause almost constant contractions, not allowing the baby to recover between them, so it may well have been more a "failure to wait" on your hospitals case than your "failure to progress". How long were you in labour before they decided to augment, and what was the reason? Were you post-dates or had your membranes ruptured or something or did they just want you to progress to a schedule? It's so common also for labour to be prolonged if your baby is in a posterior position, do you know if this was the case?

I am hoping to VBAC soon too after the old FTP chestnut and have reviewed my notes with my current MW, she was quite horrified that they only gave me an hour after augmentation to progress before sectioning me. I had ruptured membranes though so probably why they wanted things moving but there was also a bit of not dilation to schedule going on. I was also flat on my back last time for most of it and did find it very hard to get up once there - this time I'm not going to lie down in the first place if I can help it!

I'm also very angry to discover that despite being told that baby was in distress, it states all over my notes "no fetal distress" and she had very high apgar scores so clearly wasn't. There is only one decceleration on the trace and it was shortly after epidural was placed and augmentation started, which she told me is very common indeed.

My advice would eb to research the hell out of it all, including your choices and to try tp get baby into a good position before or during labour if you had a posterior labour prior - look at www.spinningbabies.com for help with optimal fetal postioning and www.vbacfacts.com for evidence based VBAC info. GL! xx

 

[Nikki_d72]

Also, don't believe you are hopeless with pain because it was after induction that you were struggling - it's not a natural labour pattern in this case and your body's natural painkillers don't get a chance to build up like they do in natural labour - it's all on all of a sudden and is very hard to handle for most women.

 

[NaturalMomma]

I agree with the post above me.

True failure to progress/dialate is actually not very common. Usually the hospital staff are just impatient, they put a time limit on you once you come into the hospital doors. Most first time labors take anywhere from 12-48 hours, a little over 24 hours is the norm. But most hospitals will not let a woman wait that long, especially if she's been induced.

Induction is unnatural contractions. They are a lot longer and a lot stronger. So the baby does usually become distressed after a little while. If the Doctors would have shut off your pitocin drip the baby probably would have recovered as the pitocin left your system.

Unless you need to be induced for a medical reason, I would decline this time around which will allow your body to contract the way it needs to and put less stress on your baby. Also remember that all labors are different and some people just need longer to dialate than others. It is not a failure, it is just a longer time frame.

My own children were longer, 27 hours and 25 hours.

 

[Bubsta]

Thanks heaps Ladies! I didn't feel right (ongoing cramps) from about noon the day before my DD was born. I went to the hospital about 4pm just to get checked out and the OBGYN saw me and said it would be cruel to break my waters because it was too soon and gave the impression I wasn't in labour. Just after walking out the door of the hospital, I felt I had to go to the toilet and called into a public toilet and had my 'show'. I personally think I was in labour from about 4:30pm. I went home and the cramps continued throughout the night. Had a spa etc trying to help. Didn't improve. After no sleep, I decided at about 7:30am it was time to go back to the hospital. They agreed I was in labour. I probably had my waters broken at maybe 1pm and still no progression from the 2cm. I was induced probably a bit before 4pm and my DD being born about 5:20pm. So I have no idea as to whether that is the way things are supposed to go or not? Should I have just waited longer to see if I would dilate? After 24hours nothing had happened so I assume that is why they thought they would try and bring it on. This time around, don't I have a chance of uterine tearing because of the c-sect scar? I was told by the midwife that my OBGYN won't allow me to labour beyond a certain amount of time because of this risk (I don't know what that amount of time is). So I guess, these answers, have opened up a whole heap more questions now. Clearly I'm not as informed as I would like to be. Any advice or info is greatly appreciated. Thanks heaps girls! Xxx

 

[Bubsta]

Also, don't believe you are hopeless with pain because it was after induction that you were struggling - it's not a natural labour pattern in this case and your body's natural painkillers don't get a chance to build up like they do in natural labour - it's all on all of a sudden and is very hard to handle for most women.

Bless you Nikki, I was feeling like such a sook, lol. Thanks for making me not feel quite .... So..... Weak compared to a lot of other women. Xx