It does feel like the waiting has taken forever. I am physically and emotionally exausted by the constant delay in our baby girl's birth. We so hoped that labour would kick in naturally, and I have been having contractions which are now spaced 10 - 15 mins apart and getting more painful, but delaying induction past today -- for another 24 or 48 hours will drive me crazy as I feel as though I have already been bargaining with my sanity for the past 3 weeks. I do not want to put any risk on her life by delaying things further than being 2 weeks 'overdue'.
The arguement to wait is strong & I feel as though I am giving in or being weak in this, but, as Sandy says, sometimes, by delaying things, it is the baby's way to let us know that they are not able to come out as we intend them to. She could still be too big. Both Geoff and I were induced at our births and delivered 'naturally' by our mothers. I try and convince myself that there is not shame in helping things along. There is no shame. Are we being too hasty? We cannot know, so we trust Sandy, who we chose to trust with my and our daughters lives - she has been doing this for 25 years and she has seen things go very right as well as very wrong.
I found an article here which states that "there is no evidence to suggest that labour induced with prostaglandin [gel] is any more painful than labour that has started naturally" which gives me a lot of hope that things will progress and unfold at their own pace. My cervix is already soft & has shortened considerably...
I still hold hope that things will kick off & pick up considerably in the next 6 hours... until then, I am trying to relax and focus on being happy about meeting our daughter - hopefully tomorrow x
Hi Gina!
ReplyDeleteWe had to be induced to have our little one, I felt exactly the same as you, I wanted everything to be natural. Unfortunately my waters had broken on the Monday morning and by Wednesday I hadn't had any further signs of labour. An examination by the midwife found the baby was a little distressed so they put me on a hormone drip to stimulate contractions. All the while I just reminded myself that it meant our little bundle of joy was one step closer to being in my arms safely.
The induction itself really wasn't as bad an experience as I thought it would be and I felt the contractions came on gradually rather than all at once.
I hope you do get the labour you wish for but if it comes to being induced, I hope it goes smoothly for you! All the best for a safe birth for your little one x
Hi Tammy: thanks for your message!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that things also went c-section way for you...but pleased that the induction wasn't as bad as you were expecting: I was quite scared of the induction & very relieved when things started up 'naturally'. I trust you're enjoying your little Layla Jane!! She's gorgeous! :) xxx