has anyone experienced using expectant monitoring late in third tri?

[mummypeanut]

hubby and I are seriously considering this if we get to the stage where induction is being suggested. Our midwife has been very supportive about it and has offered to come to the consultants appt with us if we get to that stage so we can put our case forward.

I know this is a very emotive subject - last time i posted about it in third tri, there were some very upset mummys of angels who got quite upset about me suggesting it for my pregnancy. However, I would prefer a home birth, i (and my midwife) think my due date is a little later than the scans suggested and I personally believe in as little intervention as possible so long as its not putting the baby or myself at a significantly increased risk.

i understand there are slightly increased risks with this route and its not for everyone but i think it might be right for us.

Has anyone here had experience of undergoing this type of monitoring - from what the midwife has said so far we would take it on a day by day basis. It seems i would attend hospital every other day for fetal monitoring, have a scan to check the health of the placenta and make sure its not degrading and the days where i dont have monitoring at the hsopital the midwife will come and listen in to the baby.

Thanks for any info in advance, please dont lynch me ....I mean that in the nicest possible way, i know its contraversial and I'm not suggesting its right for everyone.

 

[dippy dee]

Aww hun sorry if people mad you feel like that.
Personally i haven't knowingly gone down this route but when i had ds 2 he was very over cooked by around 14 days they think.
IN MY OPINION as long as they are keeping a super close eye on you, the mw is happy about it then if you feel it is for you then go for it, do you have a doppler? if so then perhaps keep a close eye on yourself and bubs as we know things change quickly and also learn to count lo's bpm then at least you are montitoring it as well as closely as the hospital and mw would.
Good luck with the delivery and i hope it is as quick and painless as possible and be sure to update us how you go on. xx

 

[enola]

I have NO experience of this but just wanted to say I think you're SO brave to trust nature to take it's course...it's so difficult when we're constantly bombarded with science and medical intervention to remember that women have been birthing when they birth for centuries. I know two ladies who have lost their babies from going over and so I'm personally quite scared of that idea myself...it's all very confusing and such a difficult subject.
But anyway, the absolute best of luck and we'll be thinking of you x

 

[sezzlebum]

WSS

you should be able to ask what you want without fear of being lyched, i mean isnt that what all these marches and protests are about, labour the mothers way?

people should think before they type

 

[mummypeanut]

Well i'm hoping that baby will come before all of this becomes an issue ) I'm more worried about baby being forced to be born before he is ready. I have a 5 week cycle and the due date i was given for the dating scan was early for a 4 week cycle. I dont think im actually 'due' until next week - though if he would come this weekend that would be lovely (mothers day baby woooo)

We will be looking at more research if we find ourselves at 42 weeks and will make a decision then based on the risks and how uncomfy I am.

As far as i know for babies without abnormalities the risks of going into week 43 rise from 1 in 1000 still births at 42 weeks, to 2 in 1000 for week 43. Basically when they say 'the risks double' they are right but it sounds a lot more scary than it is.

This link has been really useful https://www.homebirth.org.uk/overdue.htm

 

[becstar]

Ilana finally arrived 16 days late and I was induced... it was a miserable experience and I feel ungrateful saying that as I have a beautiful daughter who is safely here, but truly, I hated being induced. I wanted my homebirth, hated being one of the cattle in the barn of the hospital and would do anything to avoid that happening again.

I too thought my dates were wrong as I KNOW I ovulated at day 17 at the earliest, not day 14, and I think she would have come in her own time. I was too scared to argue though, although when they refused to do a homebirth after 12 days we did get them to change their minds and give us a couple of extra days to go naturally and get a homebirth. I say we, it was my husband - he was amazing!

If you have researched it and are happy to go for it then fight your corner... and good luck to you.

 

[becstar]

PS I never reached the uncomfy stage and could have gone on being pregnant for much longer! They showed me my placenta and it was healthy still, not at all ragged or aged.

 

[mummypeanut]

p.s. I'm trying out reflexology to bring the baby along - i dont think i ever realised my husband was a comical sadist but he seems to be finding how sore it is very funny ( although the soreness is apparently a good thing, as is my feet being 'gnarley' - go figure, hehe)

 

[enola]

Oooh I'd like to try reflexology, does he copy how to do it from a book or on the web?

 

[mummypeanut]

Ilana finally arrived 16 days late and I was induced... it was a miserable experience and I feel ungrateful saying that as I have a beautiful daughter who is safely here, but truly, I hated being induced. I wanted my homebirth, hated being one of the cattle in the barn of the hospital and would do anything to avoid that happening again.

I too thought my dates were wrong as I KNOW I ovulated at day 17 at the earliest, not day 14, and I think she would have come in her own time. I was too scared to argue though, although when they refused to do a homebirth after 12 days we did get them to change their minds and give us a couple of extra days to go naturally and get a homebirth. I say we, it was my husband - he was amazing!

If you have researched it and are happy to go for it then fight your corner... and good luck to you.

awwww, your profile pic of u and ur daughter is beautiful - thanks for writing about ur experience, sorry you felt bad about the way your birth went...im really scared about arguing too so i completely sympathise!

 

[anothersquish]

Theo went 18 days over his "due date" my placenta was 100% healthy (wish Id got OH to take pictures of it actually) Theo was healthy and continues to be. My birth was easy and I had him at home.
TBH I was really nervous about going this far over his due date but he was closely monitored, scans showed no problems, his traces were text book perfect and now I would have no issue with going this far with another as long as baby was VERY closely monitored and there was no concern over babys health or placenta condition.
Thinking back my first scan put me an entire two weeks further forward than I had worked out, this would have meant I ovulated incredibly early in a cycle (between CD5 and CD7) and now I think that the scan was out and Theo actually arrived well within the "normal" 37-42 week range.

 

[anothersquish]

Oh and I argued my head off....infact I changed hospital on the friday before he was born because I was NOT happy with the quality of care we were getting, particularly that they had made some mistakes and were getting really stupid about checking by scan and trace trying to push me really hard at an induction/section even though the consultant admitted there was no REASON to do it.
I ended up having a midwife come to visit me at home on the Monday (17days over, the day I was going in to be induced) who rang the hospital and did the fighting for me as I was contracting properly when she came to see me, that was pretty amazing

 

[purple_socks]

i was going to opt for daily monitoring instead of induction but Kian arrived at +13 days so it never became an issue.

I'm sorry to hear u had some issues when u posted on this subject before

you might b interested in this:

https://www.drmomma.org/2009/06/lie-of-estimated-due-date-edd-why-your.html

 

[mummypeanut]

Oooh I'd like to try reflexology, does he copy how to do it from a book or on the web?

I went to a reflexologist and she showed me the points so i could show john.

I tried looking online to see if there was a desciption i could link here but i cant find one. DONT do these before 40 weeks! Also i'm not trained and these descriptions are gonna be a bit confusing so dont hold me to it. Having said that the reflexology woman said if you press the wrong bit you cant do any harm assuming your due and not trying to use them prematurely.

Your cervix is on the inside of your heel. You rub your thumb in a diagnol line from the back of your inside arch to the bottom of your achilles tendon. The diagonal line should run about half way between your inner ankle bone and the back of your foot. The more 'ready' you are to give birth the more tender it gets - It might not hurt at first but the more you do it the more it hurts!!

The uterus is linked to the top of your foot. You rub ur thumb firmly from under your outer ankle bone around your ankle to what feels like an indentation just infront of your ankle, then rub your thumb over the top of your foot at the crease where it joins ur leg - you should find an indentation in the middle of the top of your foot. Follow the line round until you find the indentation infront of your inner ankle. Basically you should rub that line joining the indentations repetatively. The more 'lumpy, gnarley' it feels the more close to birth you are.

 

[mummypeanut]

Oh and I argued my head off....infact I changed hospital on the friday before he was born because I was NOT happy with the quality of care we were getting, particularly that they had made some mistakes and were getting really stupid about checking by scan and trace trying to push me really hard at an induction/section even though the consultant admitted there was no REASON to do it.
I ended up having a midwife come to visit me at home on the Monday (17days over, the day I was going in to be induced) who rang the hospital and did the fighting for me as I was contracting properly when she came to see me, that was pretty amazing

fab story - I think im in a similar situation re:due date. I hope I can be as strong as you if this is the route we decide to go down and the hospital starts being difficult. I feel very lucky to have a midwife who seems so laid back about it all. I just hope the consultant doesnt do that 'gate keeper' thing they always do. One of my freinds who is due around the same time asked for expectant minitoring and the consultant's reponse was 'yeah, thats not gonna happen'.....erm why?? She's now booked in for induction but she says she might still fight it

 

[anothersquish]

The consultant I saw when I changed hospitals was really good, he came and sat in at the scan and looked at the trace, read all my history and actually LISTENED to me and he was actually very supportive. I think he realised that I wasnt just being stubborn and disregarding my babies health (as some seem to think!) but that I wanted the absolute best for baby and for my own health hence why I was trying to get the monitoring to be sure baby was fine...even though with everyone I stressed that if at any point there was ANY doubt about baby I would immediately agree to induction/section some still treated me with distaste. I cant figure out why really because a non induced birth is better for baby if induction can be SAFELY avoided.
I mean I had my moments, Femme Im sure will remember that I had a bit of a meltdown at one point! However Im really glad things happened the way they did, I know I did everything possible to ensure baby was still healthy and happy in there and at no point was he put at risk for "my benefit".

 

[mummypeanut]

The consultant I saw when I changed hospitals was really good, he came and sat in at the scan and looked at the trace, read all my history and actually LISTENED to me and he was actually very supportive. I think he realised that I wasnt just being stubborn and disregarding my babies health (as some seem to think!) but that I wanted the absolute best for baby and for my own health hence why I was trying to get the monitoring to be sure baby was fine...even though with everyone I stressed that if at any point there was ANY doubt about baby I would immediately agree to induction/section some still treated me with distaste. I cant figure out why really because a non induced birth is better for baby if induction can be SAFELY avoided.
I mean I had my moments, Femme Im sure will remember that I had a bit of a meltdown at one point! However Im really glad things happened the way they did, I know I did everything possible to ensure baby was still healthy and happy in there and at no point was he put at risk for "my benefit".

Can i steal your consultant ;0)

I think theres a slight attitude in the medical profession that if you dont fit thier timetable youre just being difficult. Some of the professionals dont seem to be able to see beyond the negative stats about increased still birth to the postiive stats about less c-sctions, less intervention, less pain relief etc etc. Yes there are negs but then there are postiives for both mother and baby too and surely as a parent its your right to weigh those up and decide what you want to do. Its not like induction doesnt have its negatives too, its just that the negatives of induction are mostly for the mother and baby and not for the hospital.

Monitoring takes more time on thier part and is seen as 'hassel', even though the outcomes (Assuming the placenta stays healthy) are more likely to be positive if you go into labor naturally rather than be induced. Its like theyre ok for you to have to deal with the hassel of being induced but theyre not ok for them to have to see you regualrly for a week.

I think they just like timetabling things and induction means they know within 48 hrs they will have got you off the list and into post natal care - maybe they like the certainty??

 

[becstar]

Oh ps the hippy midwife I liked told me the night before La was born (when they were already inducing me) that reflexology and acupuncture are better than anything for getting stubborn babies out! Bit late to tell me, but it sounds like you have it in hand.

PS Thanks for saying that about my picture!

 

[PinkyLou]

I managed to persuade my consultant to give me the full 2 weeks over when I was pregnant with Indie. He agreed to let me go 15 days over before he induced me (I was already high risk) Luckily I went into labour at 14 days over and had her on my induction date around the same time they would be starting me off. Same with Lylah, I was more high risk with her but I asked for 14 days but they said 12 due to me being high risk, I had her on day 11 lol.
With Indie my placenta was starting to calcify but would have been on with another few days, with Lylah I had a retained placenta, it came out in chunks and would not have gone another day it was calcified so much. But I was never sure of dates with her because I hadn't had a period since having Indie.
They never offered scans unless I was to go over 15 days so no one was to know so I think you should do what you wish but ask for scans to check the placenta, I dread to think what would have happened if I was induced on day 12 with Lylah and she didnt come out til day 13 or 14 or whatever. xxx