Hi all!
I would love to avoid another c-section with this LO, but I've got no idea what happened during my last 'labour' and what, if anything, I could do differently. I went 18 days overdue by LMP and 15 days over by scan dates. I'll use scan dates here, as this is what the consultant will go by (although I believe the LMP dates)
I was given 4 sweeps last time between 41 and 42 weeks. Each time, they said I was 2-3cm dilated, soft and favourable and should 'labour within the next day or two'. At 42 weeks, I went in to be induced. I was given the final sweep, and put on a monitor which confirmed that LO was fine and something was happening, so induction wouldn't be necessary. I was told to go for a walk while they got a room ready for me in the midwife led unit. Went for a walk, but kept getting a really intense urge to urinate, so it wasn't comfortable to walk too far. We managed it for about 45 mins, before going back to triage.
We waited in triage for another 3 or 4 hours while they got the room ready for us. Finally wheeled down to the room, where I was told that I wasn't in labour, and why was I there. We were allowed to stay there for an hour, and they gave my OH massage oils to use on me, which should stimulate labour. Nothing happened in the hour I was there, so I was told I'd be taken back up to the normal delivery unit and induced, probably just by having my waters broken.
A consultant came to see us and basically sent us home. He theoretically gave us a choice, but he said 'you can either stay here and have a more painful, chemically induced labour where you're strapped to the bed, or you can go home and it'll happen naturally overnight. You'll probably be back here during the night, and if not, come back in the morning and we'll induce you then'. So off home we went.
That was about 8 hours sat waiting around the hospital for nothing.
The next day, we went in at 9am. We were left sat until 11, when a woman finally came and offered us a drink. We were taken into a room and the midwife put me onto a monitor. LO was struggling. His heart wasn't accelerating and decelerating like it had been the day before - it was steady, but not as good as she'd have liked. I was put onto a saline drip to rehydrate me, as she thought that might have been the problem. She was finally happy to break my waters. She broke them, but there was no water really, it was all meconium. The midwife's face fell, but she remained positive.
I went to the toilet while she found a consultant. He gave the go ahead for induction. I was hooked up to the drugs, and she left to get a resuscitation machine, which she figured we'd need. About 15 seconds after the drip started, LO's heart rate disappeared. OH called the midwife back. She tried to find the heartbeat for a few seconds, and then she pulled the emergency cord. We were taken for a c-section. They managed to find a heart beat just in time for me to be able to stay awake during the op. LO was suctionned and messed with at birth (I've got no idea what they actually did), and he had trouble with his blood sugar and temperature in the first day. He was kept on a heat mat and given formula as he wouldn't latch on.
Sorry this is so long! I'm almost done...
So my question basically is does anyone have any idea what happened? I was dilated from 41 weeks (possibly earlier - no-one checked) and in theory, I should have laboured. I was very active - walked to and from the hospital for all the appointments and was still walking a few miles a day.
If my body just doesn't labour, then I can't see how I'm going to avoid another c-section. I know they're reluctant to induce after a c-section, although they might break your waters. I'm also not sure whether it was the drugs that caused LO's heart problems before birth, or whether they were just the straw that broke the camel's back.
I just don't know anyone else who's gone so far overdue, been apparently 'favourable' for labour, but has ended up with an EMCS after never being in labour.
I don't want to get my hopes up for a VBAC, only to learn it really is a problem with my body that I just don't labour.
Thanks to anyone who's read this lot. If anyone has any ideas (about what to ask the consultant, about what happened last time, about anything) I'd be so interested to see them
, showing that I have done research and know what I am talking about. So what are the best facts to bring to the table and where get them from (American by the way)?
