Wanted natural birth, now getting induced

Well I didn't plan much at all re labour but still got booked in for an induction then went into labour naturally so could still happen for you? Still it didn't go to plan by any stretch of the imagination so maybe keep that in mind - even if you did go into labour by yourself it doesn't mean everything would go smoothly. The way you cope will ultimately determine how well you get through and how you look back on the experience.
I decided I was still in control of myself and my attitude even if I couldn't do much about the labour so I focused on being positive and calm. You def need to tap back into that strength coz the one thing I knew with Jake was that my focus and my determination to stay calm saved his life - the specialist confirmed that after he was born.
Can't help with the actual induction but I do hope everything goes smoothly hun xox

an induction doesnt mean you cant still have some of what you wanted. i was induced with all three pregnancies and with my second i spent most of my labour in the pool. talk to your midwife about what you want and how you can still achieve some of this. You dont have to be induced when they tell you, it may mean extra checking with scans etc tho to check the fluid levels and the placenta. if they use the synto drip then they will have to monitor you and you will be very limited as to what you can do. however your body may only need help getting started. some things you can do to help are keeping active, so once they have given you the gel and monitored you for half an hour or so get up and walk about...

all the best!

Just to add to what hippymama said, as long as the placenta is still feeding baby theres no reason why you cant wait it out longer.........My MIL had her 3 at 17days overdue........as long as your not putting your baby or yourself at risk by waiting then i say shove the inducement!!!


But on another slightly different note, dont make too many "plans" to have a perfect birth, cos all plans go astray and then you may have feelings of disappointment towards yourself again afterwards if things dont go exactly to plan and you really dont want any of those sorts of feelings creeping in when all you should be focussed on is the beautiful baby boy you have just brought into the world

I am having my third csection, and yeah i wouldve liked to have had at least one baby naturally but unfortunately some things just dont happen, but i am grateful that i can have children full stop regardless of how they come into the world

Totally know how you're feeling. I have even paid to do a hypnobirthing course and have been told that this wee madame is breech and only has a 5% chance of turning. I have even tried ECV and actupucture and yoga to turn her. I am lucky that I have been offered a breech vaginal birth, but it will have to happen at Chch Womans and all the reading I've done doesn't make me very confident about this (also the OB and widwife didn't look that keen...), so it looks like we'll have to opt for a c-section.

I have done a lot of soul searching about waiting til I go into natural labour to see if madame will turn, but the fact that it will most likely end in a emergancy c-section has pushed me towards the elective. To be honest I still feel a little up in the air about things.

But, my midwife asked if I got pregnant to have a baby or to have a natural birth. And I did get pregnant to have a healthy baby - and the best chances of her being healthy are if I go with the elective.

So, I have focussed all my energy and positive visualisation on having a great c- section and a body that is strong and will heal well. I'm not going to pretend that I'm not disappointed, but I will have to live with this decision and might as well start focussing on what i can do to come to terms with it....

Best of luck, I do hope you get your natural birth, but if not focus on the baby. It will all be worth it!

The most sensible birth plan to make...

Go with the flow, make plans, and prepare for the unexpected. Prepare for all eventualities and hope for the best

I think it is just part of the preparation of being a mother, learning that it is impossible to be 100% in control at all times, and that sometimes your offspring will do their best to confound you best laid plans

All the best, and ask your LMC all your questions, and get as much information as you can. Knowledge is power.

Thanks for all the reply's!

So you are allowed to choose which way your are induced? I never thought this would happen so haven't done much reading up on this topic. Everyones so right about not having to do anything i don't want to, im waiting until next Monday to even decide anything I've decided so i'll be 42+1 (According to scan). I no that due dates are just estimates, so hopefully they were wrong and he decides to come out on his own this week! But i do feel alot of pressure from my MW to not go past 42 weeks, and im pretty sure she had told me i would change care into the specialists at the main hospital. But i will try to keep thinking positively, telling myself i CAN do this!

Surfergirl that comment you said your MW made, thats quite true! And hope your lil one decides to turn around. I guess when i sit down with my MW and talk it all over i can sort out what i want to do, and how to want to handle it. In the end it is about getting him out safely, but i just can't begin to imagine all that intervention and him being taken from me when he should be having skin-to-skin. And the other pain is all the monitoring i'll have to do, i live an hour away from the hospital and don't drive so becomes an extra hassle.

But thanks for all your kind words to support I'AM strong and i will try with all my might to still try and get a few things i wanted!

I'm not much help on the induction advice, except to say that for a few people i know (myself included ), all it took was booking the induction for natural labour to begin! DD was born 9 days over due date, but next time round, I think I would leave it longer if necessary (as long as the placenta was working fine and all other health issues were ok). Have you had a scan to check for placenta function/level of fluid etc? That might set your mind at ease that everything is going as it should, and your baby just needs a little extra cooking

ETA: I forgot to mention that I honestly think me *giving up* on having a natural birth, and just relaxing about the whole process (not stressing about induction as I was doing) was the instigator for my labour starting by itself.

Edited by blondy

I was induced with my second and actually had the best labour of the two....and it ended in a c-section which was the one thing I didnt want. I still look back and say, I enjoyed that labour. If he had been a little smaller, I might not have needed the C-section either.

My induction was very gentle and as noninvasive as possible. It started with a) a scan that showed concerns that the placenta wasnt holding up and b) my concerns about returning home...a 3 hour drive away from the hospital to a MW I didnt trust. The OB suggested induction and I decided it probably was the best in my situation.

I was admitted in the morning and they inserted a gel on a tape (so that a little of the tape hung out like a tampon string). That way, if bubs didnt like the induction, it could be quickly and easily removed. The plan was to wait till contractions started 12-24 hours later...with more gel inserted after 12 hours if nothing had started. I had to be monitored at the start and then every now and again. That was ok...I enjoyed hearing the heart and watching the contractions that I couldnt quite feel...or confriming those I could that they were real.

After about 3 hours of twiddling my thumbs and going nuts I begged to be set free....and was allowed to go within 1 block of the hospital as long as DH was with me. So, he went to put money in the car meter and I went to the cafe....I was unattended he he he....and wouldnt you know it...contractions started!!! So we finished our coffee and went back to the hospital.

I continued having contractions all day but they still wouldnt say I was "in labour". at 8pm I went into the pool to relax as I was fed up and bored and tired but not ready to wind down. I LOVED THE WATER!!! I stayed there for the next 4hours!! By this stage, I was in labour, happy in the water, using gas and getting the hang of that (which I never did first time round). I felt totally in control!!! So in control that I requested an epi well before I actually needed it and even let the woman who was screaming in the next room go first....ok, I started to regret that decision.

I got my epi, they broke my waters and 2 hours later I was fully dilated and thats when they realised that in those 2 hours James had moved and was stuck. The call was made to go to C-section and even though I begged and begged not to...we still went there. I knew deep down it was the right call but my epi had worn off and I was in pain so not thinking rationally.

So that was not the "ideal" birth but I can honestly say the induction part was so easy and gave me so much more control over my labour. If he hadnt got stuck, I know I would have birthed him easily. I also know now that I could have done it without the epi (since the damn thing ran out)...but I requested it as I was getting tired and it was getting more intense and I didnt want to wait hours once I had got to the point of not coping...which is what happened first time round.

And just to add......the only thing I really had in my birth plan was a healthy baby (he was...I got skin to skin and BF whilst in recover) and a new MW...which I also got.

Just popped in Berg to day, dont give up hope yet hun!
I rooting for ya to have a natural birth!!

GL HUN, cant wait to see some pics of your new baby boy over in Young mums thread!

lurker out**

GL Berg us chicks in the young mums thread are all thinking of ya like Nic said.

I was booked in for an induction when i would have been nearly two weeks along but my MW said she would do a stretch and sweep a couple days before to see if that would help anything. The morning of my stretch and sweep i went into labour naturally so im hoping the same kind of thing for you. And you definately can do it hun!!