P.s.- Induction Thought

[fahawk]

I feel if baby is healthy.. preg. is healthy..mom is fine..and there is no real reason for induction.. got me to thinking...
that when I was preg. the midwives all told me if I started labor ( esp. with my 'first' birth) to relax..not panic..let my body work..as it may take time for me to dialte..get into real labor.. your body hasnt done this before and sometimes it does take time esp with the first...

During birth class..and a birthing assistants (doula) class I took..it was discussed that many times women rush to the hosp..and then one thing leads to another..it seems labor is taking too long..the hosp. is uncomfortable with the length of time etc.. (mom is getting tired..where if she stayed athome she could rest in her own surroundings...)
and that many times intervention could be avoided if the lady stayed at home..and really let herself "get" labor started at home.
I realize sometimes excitement, being uncomfortable..fear for the baby..might have a lady rushing off to the hosp..but a friend- midwife or doula..might offer reassurance at home before you rush..( and you body isnt really ready yet) and then are induced cause things are not proceeding fast enough..

I am not saying that sometimes "help' is needed to get labor going..and there are cases it is needed..(so please everyone dont get upset)..just giving your body time at home..where you can relax..( or a good birthing center- where they wont rush you) can at times avoid the need for meds..

[Ceres]

i like the analogy of a cat giving birth since lots of ppl have seen this. your cat, when she is about to give birth, starts looking for a safe, often secluded place to have her kittens. when its time, she quietly goes to that selected place and unless u catch her going there, or see her choosing it earlier on, you may very well miss the whole thing. she might invite you to be there....my cat did this too.
imagine now what would happen if we monitored the pregnancies of cats as we do humans! at the first sign of labour, instead of going off to a quiet secluded place, we rushed her into the vets office with glaring overhead lights, scary looking equipment and lots of ppl she doesnt know all around her. we as humans know intellectually we are "safe" in a hospital, but millenia of evolutionary process has taught us to do much as our cats still do. i think the impact on our subconscious of going against that instinct is telling in the birth intervention that has become neccessary.
Theresa

[Autumn]

Most Birthing classes tell people that it is wisest not to go to the hospital for as long as you can hold out at home.

If you live more than a half an hour from te hospital it may be wise to hang out closer...but not at the facility.

[mara]

I lived in a rural area, 45 minutes away from the hospital with a couple of them, and have a history of having very rapid labor (2-3 hours from start to finish) , and my husband worked nights..I also had tearing problems, even with an episiotomy..I don't think any of those things made it an absolute medical neccessity for me to be induced, but I don't see anything wrong with it. Under normal circumstances I think it's best to let nature take its course, but sometimes things just aren't as cut and dry. My last child came three weeks early, so absolutely nothing went according to plan..I was supposed to be induced, but he didn't wait. It was my only labor that lasted 7 or 8 hours..It"s
kind of funny because I had a doctor with all my other births..with my last child I had a midwife, and was the only one I had an epidural with.

[aluokaloo]

it depends on each pregnancy. You know about the tim,ing between contractions? Well if theystart becoming shorter then it might be time to go to the hospital, if they are jhust starting off slowly, unless there is a problem then it is perfectly ok to stay home and wait a few hours, I remember I started laboring in the early evening, and didn't get to the hopsital till eleven at night. They sent me home two hours later because my water hadn't broken yet, and after a lot of walking and two hot showers I was ready to roll. It depends on your pregnancy. Buty good luck anyways and your right your body will know what to do.

[HorseCrow]

What are you told in the US, as to when you should contact the hospital? It sounds as if you just go in when the first contraction is felt?
Where I am, we tell first time moms to call when the contractions are 5 min. apart and have been so for 1 hour. Women who have given birth before are told to call when contractions are 7-8 minutes apart and have been so for 1 hour. That is the basis og the advice and from that we give individual advice, fx if the womans other births have been very fast, we will tell her to call earlier, or if she lives far away and has a long drive.

If a woman comes in and we find that she is very early in her delivery (below 3-4 cm dilated), then we tell her to go home, take a warm bath, relax and call us again later- this is done very deliberately to avoid all the medical "help" many ob-gyns opt for when they get impatient.

I do not know if it is the same in the US, but here in DK, there is often somewhat of a struggle going on between ob-gyns and midwives, since ob-gyns are much faster to opt for medical + instrumental intervention, where as the midwives place a much greater trust in the womans/Natures own ability to get everything to go as it is supposed to.

[Temair]

What are you told in the US, as to when you should contact the hospital? It sounds as if you just go in when the first contraction is felt?
Where I am, we tell first time moms to call when the contractions are 5 min. apart and have been so for 1 hour. Women who have given birth before are told to call when contractions are 7-8 minutes apart and have been so for 1 hour. That is the basis og the advice and from that we give individual advice, fx if the womans other births have been very fast, we will tell her to call earlier, or if she lives far away and has a long drive.

If a woman comes in and we find that she is very early in her delivery (below 3-4 cm dilated), then we tell her to go home, take a warm bath, relax and call us again later- this is done very deliberately to avoid all the medical "help" many ob-gyns opt for when they get impatient.

I do not know if it is the same in the US, but here in DK, there is often somewhat of a struggle going on between ob-gyns and midwives, since ob-gyns are much faster to opt for medical + instrumental intervention, where as the midwives place a much greater trust in the womans/Natures own ability to get everything to go as it is supposed to.

My hospital has pretty much the same policy. I went as soon as I could time them regularly, because if I waited until they had lasted for an hour, I wouldn't have time to get to the hospital. My hospital also relies more on the midwives for the deliveries rather than the OB/GYNs. I also know that my hospital (and general community) is more holistic than other places. If I had waited for my water to break, three of mine would have been born at home. The first was deliberately broken by a very old school doc whom I hated, the middle two were born in their water, and the last was born 5 minutes after her water broke.

[HorseCrow]

Are there always ob-gyns present at deliveries?

Here where I am, there are only midwives (hospital as well as home) and an ob-gyn will only ever be called in case of major complications.

[Temair]

The midwife handled the entire thing for my last two. As I said, I had an old-school doctor for my first, and my second was caught by the first qualified person the L&D nurse could find as my daughter crowned. He happened to be an OB/GYN. He caught her one handed because one glove broke as he put it on and was reaching for a new one as she slid out. My hospital has three certified nurse midwives, and four or five OBs. The midwives handle most of the deliveries, but the OBs do take shifts being on call for deliveries. I think there is a 5/7 chance of having a midwife instead of an OB on call. Having never had major complications (excessive hemorrhaging was the only thing), I don't know at what point they call in an OB.

[HorseCrow]

So do you have both nurse-midwives and midwives... or is that the same thing? Where i am, there is nothing called a nurse-midwife. Nurses and midwives are completely seperate and a nurse can't deliver. Only the midwife can.

Another thing on the induction topic, is the fact that the way the due-date is calculated is based on Nagel's method, which states the length of the pregnancy to be 280 days. Nagel's method dates back to 1700 and something. New research has indicated that the correct length of the pregnancy is 282, maybe even 283 days. Imagine the reduction in p.p.meds. there would be if this was taken into practice! So many women would go into labour naturally within those 2- 3 extra days, thereby avoiding induction.

[Kahlan]

I was told to go to the hospital if my water broke other than that weight for the contrations to be about 5 min a part for and hour. My water broke, so I went to the hospital about an hour later because I wasn't to worried. I wish I had gone later I was at that hospital for 18 hours. Oh well, like my grandmother told me its not the birth thats important its that the baby is okay when its all said and done. :)

[Ceres]

what they are worried about when your water breaks is if the cord prolapses into your vagina. this is rare, but very dangerous as it squishes the cord and prevents your baby getting oxygen thru it. infection is an issue once your water breaks too, but as long as you are checking for the cord with a VERY clean hand, (wear a sterile glove just like they do) you can see for yourself. you could also go to the hospital and have someone check to make sure the head is well engaged and then sign yourself out. its your show, educate yourself and conduct it how u like ;)
Theresa

[HorseCrow]

Cord prolapse is extremely rare, so do not worry yourself too much about that. The risk is TINY and only in connection to water breaking in a cascade, not in a trickle. If the head was not engaged the last time you had a check up, then the rutine is that you lie down flat as fast as you can, preferebly with your bum/legs elevated and have someone call the hospital.
Checking yourself or going in to the hospital to be checked, will do no good if there is indeed a prolapse- by the time you check or get to the hospital it will be too late. A prolapse needs aid, in the form of someone holding the cord in while pushing up on the head to prevent squeezing- and that cannot be done by oneself, and it'll be too late by the time you get to the hospital.

So, if the head was not engaged last time and your water breaks in a cascade, lie down and have someone call the hospital or an amulance.

Also, infections is only a worry after about 24 hours after the water breaking.

[Tzhebee]

I was told to wait as long as possible before going to the hospital. With my son, my water broke around 8am. I stayed home, showered, ate breakfast, etc. etc. I also put in a call to my OB-GYN. His office called and asked how my contractions were. Well...I wasn't having any. There was no doubt it was my water that broke (with the gush of water and all) but I was having NO contractions what-so-ever. They advised me to go to the hospital so I could be monitored to see if there was anything else going on.

They ended up speeding up my "labor" with pitocen (sp?) since I was still not contracting 6 hours after my water broke. I don't know if it was an issue with drying out or what.

[HorseCrow]

They ended up speeding up my "labor" with pitocen (sp?) since I was still not contracting 6 hours after my water broke. I don't know if it was an issue with drying out or what.

That's a classic, sadly. Many ob-gyns and midwives have a hard time leaving well enough alone. Here where I am, nothing is done until about 20-24 hours after the water has broken- until then, Nature is free to go as fast or slow as wanted.

No, you do not "dry out"- the amniotic fluid is produced contionously. This is also the reason why, after your water has broken, it continues to trickle right up till the baby is born.

[Ceres]

your body continues to produce aminiotc fluid even after your water breaks....the drying up thing is a hollywood myth ;) six hours without contractions is NOT that big a deal either!
horsecrow: we ought to talk labour and delivery over coffee sometime and we can compare notes. things are different here (ontario canada) and certain risks (infection being one...cord prolapse another) are highlighted that obviously arent there....and vise versa(overmature placentas and shoulder dystocia). where are u by the way?
Theresa

[HorseCrow]

where are u by the way?

I am in Denmark :)

What is your background?

[fahawk]

I think the water breaking, and nothing happens for along time period..it is more about risk of infection.. so they advise to keep very clean.. avoid internals..which could add to infection risk..

[Ceres]

my background is in business ;) i have obviously moved away from my original training.

on infection risk: a doctor who attended my first homebirth told me the same thing about internals, but he also said the risk is minimal since there is a constant wash of amniotic fluid on its way out. an author friend (birthing the easy way, learning the hard way)says "ïf they would just keep their damn hands outta women, it wouldnt be an issue" lol
Theresa

[Llewyth]

Hehe, with my second I stayed home until I started getting the shakes. I kept waiting for the contractions to really hurt. Well they never got to "really hurt". When I got the shakes I called the midwife and got bum to the birthing home. I learned getting the shakes means you're 7 cm dilated. :lol:

[Llewyth]

So do you have both nurse-midwives and midwives... or is that the same thing? Where i am, there is nothing called a nurse-midwife. Nurses and midwives are completely seperate and a nurse can't deliver. Only the midwife can.

Another thing on the induction topic, is the fact that the way the due-date is calculated is based on Nagel's method, which states the length of the pregnancy to be 280 days. Nagel's method dates back to 1700 and something. New research has indicated that the correct length of the pregnancy is 282, maybe even 283 days. Imagine the reduction in p.p.meds. there would be if this was taken into practice! So many women would go into labour naturally within those 2- 3 extra days, thereby avoiding induction.
That makes sense, I always knew exactly when I conceived for both my kids and in both cases they were born 10 to 12 days later then what I was told was the "correct" time span. The doctors kept pushing for an induction, but I'm too pigheaded. I "knew" they weren't ready. I must've done something right, because they're the cutest kids in the world! :D

[Ceres]

i know exactly what u mean! my last baby was taking longer in there than my first two but i knew he was fine. the midwives here are under strict regulations in exchange for getting full provincial health care funding and so they didnt have the luxury of waiting. the appointment was set with an ob/gyn and i knew that would mean induction hassles.......
so i went on a long walk and had a long talk with my baby about hospitals and interventions and the need to avoid these things ;) by the next day things were starting to happen and i never did make that ob/gyn appointment. lol
Theresa

[Temair]

So do you have both nurse-midwives and midwives... or is that the same thing? Where i am, there is nothing called a nurse-midwife. Nurses and midwives are completely seperate and a nurse can't deliver. Only the midwife can.

Pretty much the same thing. If you see CNM after someone's name, it means Certified Nurse Midwife, as opposed to a self-taught midwife, I assume.

[HorseCrow]

so i went on a long walk and had a long talk with my baby about hospitals and interventions and the need to avoid these things ;) by the next day things were starting to happen and i never did make that ob/gyn appointment. lol
Theresa

That is so wonderful and I really believe that it can help :)

[HorseCrow]

i have obviously moved away from my original training.


What was your original training?

[HorseCrow]

:bumpsmili

[Ceres]

in business..magangement, human reources, that sort of thing...after i had my first, i got heavily involved in la leche league, then a local home birthing group. seems funny to me now: all those hours wasted in class and working on projects for a business diploma ;) but, if i had it to do over, i would likely not have changed a thing because i love my life now.
right now i am tied up with homeschooling my kids. as they grow older i plan another metamorphisis: writing fiction. i have tried to write now, but it requires too much focus for me and my younger two are still at an age where they need most of my focus.