thoughts on using meds to stop labor??

[emeeorevan]

hey all,
to start with I have conflicting edd's. Baby could be 34-36 weeks right now. I also grow big babies fast as both ds's were born at 37 and 38 weeks (but i still think they were further along at large weights for those gestation)

Ds #1 was born at 37 weeks but not before labor was stopped with meds TWICE. and when he was born he had all the signs of being late or in distress that wasn't caught. I didn't get an us or anything. just doc put me on the monitor and said baby looks fine and blood pressure was normal so he decided to stop my labor to give baby a chance to stay in longer. ( I was about 34 weeks then 35, by doc's dates, i KNOW i was further along though, but I felt like I didn't have an option)

Currently with #3 I am wondering how I should deal with the doc if he wants to stop labor (if I go within the next 2-3 weeks)
Asking because I saw a different doc yesterday (this one female) who happened to agree with me and believe that I am further along right now (35-36 weeks) and she believes that babies will come when they are ready. She believes that if a baby in a completely healthy pregnancy decides to show anytime after 36 weeks then there is probably a reason for it.
I do believe most of what she does BUT I also know the longer they are in there the better off they usually are.

IF I go into labor within the next week original doc will say she is preterm by his dates but i don't believe she is.

I guess I am just trying to make a decision on something that probably wont happen (must be my OCD and control issues flaring up!!)

I want a natural drug free birth. I feel that any time after Dec 5 'ish' baby will be considered "term" (37 weeks in development)

would you opt out of stopping labor with drugs?? why and why not?
oh, and I was never given option of getting steroids to mature lungs just in case, just meds to stop labor that took nearly three days to fully work the second time!!

 

[purplecupcake]

I'm surprised your doctor would stop labor after 34 weeks...my hospital said they wouldn't stop it past 34 weeks when I had preterm labor at 33.

 

[Selaphyna]

It's a personal decision. For me, if it was before 36 weeks, I'd hope they would stop labor, but after, I'd be fine. At my hospital they attempt to stop any labor that is before 36 weeks. I would just want to make sure baby was as developed as possible, especially their lungs.

 

[sethsmummy]

I would push for another ultrasound hun. They will be able to tell how far along you are by what baby is doing/what features baby is exibiting. you might very well be where they say you are and just naturally make bigger babies. my sisters were all born at 38 weeks and the last 3 were 10lb plus so just big for gestation.

I would want them to stop anything before 35 weeks.. but after that id want to just let it happen.

if you only think your 2 weeks ahead then going to term is nothing to worry about and id just insist they induce at term if you havent gone by then (so in your eyes youd be 2 weeks overdue which is the limit). And can i ask how you "know" your further ahead? I dont mean that to sound rude.. im just intrgued as iv never known them to be that far off with dates xx

 

[skunkpixie]

At this point it's near impossible for them to determine the fetal age of the baby from an ultrasound, as babies grow at different rates from early on in the second trimester. That's why dating scans are only accurate bet ween 10-14 weeks. I'd say unless the sonographer was negligent at your 12 week scan, to go by that due date as the most accurate. Babies born at 34-36 weeks will not have to have special care because of their size, but because of their internal physical development, their underdeveloped lungs most specifically. Xxxx

 

[sethsmummy]

^^ i was always told they could give a gestational age depending on what kind of things they are doing as most of the time babies do things at the same time like opening eyes etc. Although i guess yeah at this stage it could be tricky.

Im with you though.. id definitely go by their date from the 12 week scan unless it was an ivf baby and you know the exact implantation date x

 

[emeeorevan]

I would push for another ultrasound hun. They will be able to tell how far along you are by what baby is doing/what features baby is exibiting. you might very well be where they say you are and just naturally make bigger babies. my sisters were all born at 38 weeks and the last 3 were 10lb plus so just big for gestation.

I would want them to stop anything before 35 weeks.. but after that id want to just let it happen.

if you only think your 2 weeks ahead then going to term is nothing to worry about and id just insist they induce at term if you havent gone by then (so in your eyes youd be 2 weeks overdue which is the limit). And can i ask how you "know" your further ahead? I dont mean that to sound rude.. im just intrgued as iv never known them to be that far off with dates xx

unless sperm can live for very close to four weeks, impossible for me to have implanted on the timeline they give. Also, they refuse to acknowledge my lmp as that would mean that I ovulated around two days before next period was due (which I didn't have). When I went for my first appointment and they said was six weeks along I hadn't had a period in 10 weeks!! And sex for us is VERY regular (meaning once, maybe twice a month and never too close to normal ovulation dates as we were NOT trying.

I do plan on stopping anything before 35-36 weeks by their dates as that is still too early. I'm afraid of going too far over. full term (40w) to them or approx 42 weeks if dates are wrong scares me cause my ds#1 was born at 37 weeks with meconium staining and aspiration. Of course, like I said I wasn't even given an us to check on lo when labor was stopped the first time. I feel the doc could have missed some signs of distress and my lo was lucky.

just wanted to hear other opinions. My doc/hospital must have the "stop anything before 36 weeks" policy

 

[emeeorevan]

Don't know if I mentioned this earlier but ultrasound (even the 12 week scan) and fundal heights have put me 2+ weeks ahead regularly but doc wouldn't even consider moving dates. I have been a consistently measuring the same 2+ weeks ahead the entire pregnancy. This lo measured in the 89th percentile at 22 weeks anomaly scan (done at docs 21w5d date) and measured 23+ 6 days all round (well head actually measured 24+2)

 

[sethsmummy]

yeah they wont move your date for measuring 2 weeks ahead.

but wow yeah i understand why you say your further ahead hun! Surely they should be fully aware that not all cycles are "normal" cycles :s

 

[skunkpixie]

I'm guessing you're in the US? In the UK they won't give you a proper due date until you have a scan at 11-14 weeks (called the dating scan funnily enough) and then the measurements by that scan give you a due date, and that's that, it's not moved as scans between 11-14 weeks are very accurate at identifying fetal gestation. All other methods eg fundal height, ovulation charts, scans later in the pregnancy are way less accurate than the dating scan. If you still have your info from your 12 week scan I'd trust that as the most accurate. X

 

[Selaphyna]

Did they give you a dating scan in early pregnancy? What date did that say?

I had one at 9 weeks. Though I was surprised to have one as I never had one with DS1. With both, I knew my due dates were correct as my periods were somewhat regular. With DS1 I had the perfect 28 day cycle, so I knew when I conceived (his father and I were in a LDR too, so that was the only time we had sex). With DS2, my periods were anywhere from 29-40 days, but I had no idea when DF and I had sex (didn't keep track of it that month), but everything correlated with my LMP. Dating scan said due date was Nov 8th, but by LMP it was Nov 4th. Doctor's still had it as Nov 4th, mostly because it was only a difference of 4 days. He was born on the 29th of Oct, so if you go by LMP he was born at 39+1.

I'd talk with your doctors, express your concerns and what not.