My obstetrician backed off not wanting me to go past the 11th, and instead has scheduled an induction for Tuesday 12/18 if I haven't gone into labor on my own by then.
Most likely they would start with prostaglandin gel, which may or may not trigger labor. If not, the next step would be to administer the synthetic hormone pitocin, which may or may not move things along. If not, it is unclear whether more pitocin would be called for, or if breaking the amniotic sac would come next. Docs don't like moms to go too long with a ruptured sac (and the accompanying risk of infection), so more extreme measures like surgery could be called for.
I am not excited at the prospect of being induced. All I really want is to be left alone, and to let this baby decide when she's ready to come out and trigger labor. But being gestationally diabetic earns me "special" treatment. The docs want to take these interventional steps to prevent the tiny percentage of catastrophe (stillbirth) that is associated with pregnancy and diabetes when moms go past term.
I appreciate that they have my best interests, and that of the baby, in mind, but they're not the ones facing the possibility of a pitocin-induced, sped-up, more intensely painful labor that is not supported by the release of hormones and endorphins that accompany normal labor.
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3 comments:
i'm so glad, at least, that they've given you more time.
i've attended a couple of very successful inductions. in fact, in one, when she got into a normal labor pattern, she was permitted to get off of the pitocin, the monitors, everything. she was able to go into the shower and labor naturally, free of all hook ups, horomones, restraints, tubes. she ended up with a wonderful vaginal birth. it was the best induction ever. i hope yours is the same :)
That sounds great to me!
Thanks for a positive story!
i realized that i implied above that you would have an induction for certain, and that is certainly not necessarily the case. more than a successful induction, i hope your body goes into labor naturally before an induction in scheduled. c'mon baby girl!!!!
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