Induction when baby not engaged? any experiences?

[Lilly123]

Hi ladies

My doc wants to book me for an induction as I have borderline gestational diabetes and she does not want me to go overdue for health of baby.. baby is also quite big.

anyone been induced and baby not engaged.. mine is not at all engaged and cervix shows no sign of dilation... would love to hear experiences..

tx

 

[NickyT75]

I didnt think induction was possible unless cervix was favourable and im guessing baby would prob need to be engaged before cervix would be in right position?? but there is still time for baby to engage so maybe he is thinking she will be engaged by the time he wants to induce you?

you need to speak to your MW or doctor for clarification hun xx

 

[babythinkpink]

First babies usually engage, and the pressure of this helps your body go into labour, subsequent babies usually don't always stay engaged if they do they can pop back out and in again!
Assuming a first baby they i would think you would need to be engaged to induce labour, but perhaps like the other post said the doctor anticipates you will be by then, if not a first baby then it is not unusual for the head to not be engaged it just drops down in labour in preperation to be born.

With the thought that the head is not engaged and it is a big baby perhaps you should ask a few more questions about induction, and what you should be expecting, ie how induction works in your case, and what happens if the head is not engaged.

Hope you get some answers xx

 

[Lilly123]

Thanks ladies.. will ask questions at my appt next week...this is my 1st baby and i have noticed all of my pregnancy buddies that are due around my time seem to be engaged by now... and their cervix's are dilating or starting to become favourable and mine is tightly shut..

I just dont want to go through a long induction, which fails and puts stress on the baby and then have to have an emergency c-section...

I would rather then go straight for c-section as i have heard of ladies being induced and in labour for 3 days and then baby becomes stressed and have to be rushed for c-section.. and i dont want that not fair on baby...

thanks ladies xxx

 

[dacosta]

my waters broke and my lo wasn't engaged, i was subsequently taken into hospital because they were worried about the cord dropping down first and getting trapped. i was then induced as my labour wasn't progressing. i was determined not to have pain relief but ladies that are induced usually do as the body hasn't fully adjusted. anyway i ended up having an epidural then a c-section but mainly because nothing was progressing. the induction was fine, they pop you on a hormonal drip to stimulate contractions. it does mean you're stuck in bed though which was a bit of a pain. i'd say don't worry about expectations and just take things in your stride as they come. where i went wrong was planning everything and being a bit dissapointed.

 

[Lilly123]

my waters broke and my lo wasn't engaged, i was subsequently taken into hospital because they were worried about the cord dropping down first and getting trapped. i was then induced as my labour wasn't progressing. i was determined not to have pain relief but ladies that are induced usually do as the body hasn't fully adjusted. anyway i ended up having an epidural then a c-section but mainly because nothing was progressing. the induction was fine, they pop you on a hormonal drip to stimulate contractions. it does mean you're stuck in bed though which was a bit of a pain. i'd say don't worry about expectations and just take things in your stride as they come. where i went wrong was planning everything and being a bit dissapointed.

thanks hun.. i have accepted it more now... i was just really wanting a natural birth but who knows i may still have one... if not - i will deal with what is given to me.. as long as my baby girl is healthy..

take care

 

[babythinkpink]

Thanks ladies.. will ask questions at my appt next week...this is my 1st baby and i have noticed all of my pregnancy buddies that are due around my time seem to be engaged by now... and their cervix's are dilating or starting to become favourable and mine is tightly shut..

I just dont want to go through a long induction, which fails and puts stress on the baby and then have to have an emergency c-section...

I would rather then go straight for c-section as i have heard of ladies being induced and in labour for 3 days and then baby becomes stressed and have to be rushed for c-section.. and i dont want that not fair on baby...

thanks ladies xxx

I totally agree, you want the baby to not get hours of stress, and you, if baby is large it may be that she is just not going to engage and not going to come naturally.
I had my ds 'naturally' after 24 hours of slow labour, i tore, i was cut, had blood transfusion and was in no state to nurse a baby when he finally came out, and he was in a mess, had to have lots of attention, poor love had a cut down his face from the force of the forceps, and it took me months to get over the trauma and start to bond with my baby.
Don't beat yourself up over what kind of birth you want when all you need is the safe arrival of baby with the least trauma to yourself.
Hope the doctor helps you with your choices, and baby behaves for Mummy!

 

[sobersadie]

I have 3 babies by induction and none of them were engaged in the slightest! They basically did the inductions as normal (gel, then drip and breaking waters etc) but they just had to be careful when breaking the waters and with my 2nd i had the midwife pushing on my tummy as doc was breaking waters to make sure the head came down and not the cord (cord prolapse). It didnt hurt just a bit odd really. With my 3rd my wtares borke early and i had no contractions so was taken in for induction but they left me for 2 days b4 induction and i couldnt leave the bed in case of a cord prolapse. Apart from that i had 3 quick (between 2-4 hours for all 3) easy labours with no epidural so i cant say i have any bad experience of induction. Also with my 3rd i had a clip put on babies head to measure the heartbeat and that way i wasnt stuck in bed and i cud sit up or stand beside the bed no problem.

 

[angelstardust]

I was induced at 35 weeks with DS1 due to pre eclampsia. You do not need to be dilated or the baby engaged to be induced.

At 6am I was given a dose of gel on my cervix. Not painful at all, literally her fingers went up and back down quicker that a 3 sec fumble. I then had to stay in bed for an hour (I went for a wee before the gel)

7am I got some toast and coffee the was told to walk about for a while. Had no pains except for some mild heavy feeling (like I would get a few days before my period).

9am I was taken to labour ward and given an epidural (to keep my BP down) then put on the syntocin drip. Took a few hours for us to work out to correct dose for me, first contractions were too close, then too far apart but it didn't bother me at all.

About 7pm it was decided to break my waters which was sore. The doctor had to keep her hand up there to let my waters drain (and bring baby down)as the membranes were just closing back up. It's unusual for that happen, usually once they pierce the membranes our waters go.

8pm I began pushing as DS1 was starting to become distressed (due to him being a small and early baby not so much the labour). Ended up having to be helped along by vontuse as I was on my back in stirrups (DS1 had wires on his head to keep an eye on his heart rate) but he finally graced us with his presence at 9.33pm.

Was it hard? Not really, it was labour and labour is hard anyway. Sore? I fell asleep between contractions so no. The epidural gave no pain releif due to the odema I had, it was simply to lower my BP before anyone says it was easy because of the epidural, I could still move my legs.

A vaginal birth is preferable to a GD baby due to the risk of fluid on the lungs (baby is compressed during birth which sqqueezes out the fluid, this doesn't happen in a c section). Remember that after a c section you will have a catheter in for 12 hours so will need to buzz everytime your baby wants fed. It is also a longer recovery time. A GD baby is at high risk of low blood sugar levels after birth and may need to spend time in SCBU. Trust me that you do not want to be walking up and down to SCBU several times a day the day after a c section. It is a killer! I know, I did it with DD (and DS2).

I would have preferred a VBAC with Amber having been through an induction and an em c section (crash section under GA after an abruption).

Even if the induction fails, they won't leave you 3 days due to your GD, they will have a time frame, usually about 24 hours (which is what a natural labour can last) after that then they will consider a c section, but unless something goes badly wrong, even an em c section in these circumstances are not rushed.

Do talk it over with your midwife or consultant, ask how long after the induction starts they will leave you if you are not progressing.

 

[Lilly123]

wow thanks ladies... you have made me feel alot better.. i will do everything i can to avoid c-section but if i have to will do... i am so glad to hear of successful inductions with no engagement or dilation.. feeling much better and informed and will speak to MW and docs next week

 

[angelstardust]

Take some peppermint tea along with you for if you do have a C section. I drank soem after I had Amber and I swear that it helped. I had no bloating, wind or stomach upsets at all (usually after a C section you get a lot of fartypops and it can be very uncomfortable).

There is a lot of research to suggest that an induction is more successful if you are relaxed before it and have managed to accept it as 'natural'. Thats based on the theory that women will only go into natural labour in a safe environment. But like everything, who knows! It will help for you to try and relax anyway, but I'm not guaranteeing it will work.

 

[quaizer]

My DS was induced at 37 weeks due to poor growth. I was given gel on my cervix at 12pm and nothing happened. At midnight I started with pains similar to AF, at 12.15am the MW broke my waters which I must admit I found uncomfortable. At 2am my labour was in full swing but I opted for an epidural which slowed things down. By 2.30am I was off the epidural due to a reaction to it and was given a hydroquartizone drip and a drip to re-start my labour. Got on all fours and gave up with the gas and air and went au-natrel at 6am. At 7am DS was born after 15 mins of pushing. My only mistake was having an epidural (which didnt work anyway) as it stopped my labour. The wole labour would have been about 4 hours without the epidural.

Daniel (my DS) was nowhere near engaged and I wasnt favorable either. On the whole, as labours go, it was an easy labour

Good luck to you both xxx

 

[ryder]

yep... some babies dont engage in natural labour until labour has started. Im in Canada and they never measured engagement because it is so common for babies to come in and out of engagement throughout third tri. I was slightly disapointed after reading on the UK girls posts about everyone knowing and getting excited about engagemenet... LOL.... They also dont check your cervix here until actual labour.

 

[Sarahkka]

I was induced as I was 10 days overdue. I had two rounds of cervical gel on a very tight, high, closed cervix. the second dose kicked me into labour quite intensely, and as my son was posterior, I had about five hours of back labour before requesting an epidural. That worked beautifully. I was given a pitocin drip to manage dilation, was able to relax and sleep and had a fantastic delivery with full sensation and a very healthy little boy (pushed out in just under an hour). So, I don't think you are doomed to a C-section at all if you are induced (this was very much my fear, as well), but I would stay open-minded to pain relief, particularly the epidural. If they are done well, they can actually assist and support labour, not just slow things down and interfere. Induction can be more intense for some as your body doesn't always get a chance to "warm up". My contractions came really quickly: very little time between them and quite intense right off the start. Everyone is different though and it could be no problem at all for you!

 

[Lilly123]

thanks so much ladies.. i am feeling much more positive and informed.. and relaxed about what will be will be.. thank u so much for sharing

 

[quaizer]

Youre very welcome. Im sure everything will go great for you. Just listen to your own body, it knows what its doing! ;-) Good luck xxx