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Baby Girl will be one month old on September 22, and this week I’m finally sharing her birth story! Be sure to go back and read part 1 here!
This is a terrible phone pic…but it’s my last pic pregnant. I was 41 weeks here!
As I wrote in part 1 of my third baby’s birth story, at the very end I was impatient–and fearful. Each day after my due date seemed to last forever, and I woke up each morning incredibly discouraged.
Like my friend Leigh Ann, I don’t believe in inducing labor unless medically necessary. And although there are many ways you can try to naturally induce labor, I don’t believe in trying much of anything to bring on labor unless you are trying to avoid a medical induction for whatever reason.
And that’s the point where I was a month ago. My midwife group is overseen by OBs, and they do not let any woman go over 42 weeks pregnant. (And, honestly, the more I’ve researched it, I don’t know that I personally think it would be safe to go much past the 42-week mark…but that’s another post for another day.)
When my due date came and went on August 10, my midwives didn’t once pressure me to speed along an induction. In fact, at every visit, they encouraged me that they were sure this would be my final prenatal appointment, and my baby would soon come on her own.
But as days turned into a week “overdue” (I also think my due date was off my about 5 days, which would have still made my baby a week overdue), they told me I needed to get some tests run to make sure the baby was still OK. I would call myself a cautiously “crunchy” mama. I love natural living–don’t get me wrong. But I believe there is a time and a place for medical intervention, so I had no qualms to undergo these tests. I just hoped and prayed they would turn out OK.
Around 41 weeks, I went in for an ultrasound with an OB, Dr. Al, to check my amniotic fluid as well as a NST (non-stress test) with one of the midwives, Cindy. Both Dr. Al and Cindy said there was no reason to talk about induction because everything still looked fine. I did have a trace amount of protein in my urine (one indicator of pre-eclampsia), so they wanted me to collect a 24-hour sample to be tested the following day. I also asked for my iron levels to be re-checked since I was anemic. To my disappointment, my levels were even lower than before! I determined to get my iron levels up as quickly as possible. Cindy was sure I’d have a baby that weekend!
Image by blue2likeyou
But the weekend came and went–and no baby came. And it’s really a good thing because I believe I overdid it so much on the iron that I got iron poisoning! I literally spent that Friday and Saturday eating as many iron-rich foods as I could think of as well as take my iron supplements. I woke up Sunday morning feeling very nauseated and was sick all day. My doula came over and encouraged me. There’s no way my body could have handled labor that weekend!
On Monday, Aug. 20, I had another prenatal appointment. This time, I saw the midwife Lynn. I did not have an ultrasound, but I did have another NST. While the NST results weren’t quite as good as the week before, the baby still seemed to have a good heart rate and be moving well. My urine still showed some trace protein, which was concerning.
And Lynn had some disappointing news. If the baby didn’t come by Friday, I’d have to be induced. I don’t typically get cervical checks because I really see no reason for them, but at this point, I wanted to see if I were dilated at all because I knew if I were or weren’t would help determine any methods of induction.
Lynn checked me. I wasn’t dilated–at all.
Thinking it would be the more “natural” route, I asked about rupturing my membranes if I were to go much longer. She said my practice no longer does that after a baby whose mother was GBS positive died after the mother’s membranes were stripped.
I said I absolutely did not want cytotec. She said because my cervix was no ripened, the induction would most likely involve me coming in on Tuesday night to get cervidil–in hopes that it would start to ripen–and then get pitocin on Wednesday morning if I weren’t already in labor. I never once felt pressured by her for the Wednesday induction. I believe she knew who I wanted to deliver, and that particular midwife would have been on call Wednesday.
But she also knew my wishes for a completely natural birth–and to not be induced. I discussed a few natural induction methods with her, and I left with the agreement that I would call and let her know when I had made a decision.
Have you ever had the experience of being “overdue” with a baby? Did your OB or midwife run special tests on you once you passed your due date? Did you ever feel pressured to induce?
Have I bored you yet? I’m also recording all this for Baby Girl…but I hope you can learn from my experience as well! I hope to have part 3 up on Saturday!
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I was 3 weeks overdue with my first one, she was fine but was induced because I LITERALLY couldn’t move without pain. They did do special tests on me and she is a perfectly rotten 11yr old princess today
I hope it all works out for you! I WOULD suggest however, walking. alot. walk until you feel l ike you are going to drop! And then do. on the couch. 
Back in my day of having kids there was no such thing as induction or any of those awful meds they use now days. The older generation used to say ‘when the apple’s ripe it will fall’. I was over due once or twice but all was well. However the method of delivery was something from a horror story….strapped to a cold table with feet in stirrups flat on ones back…. still gives me chills to think how different it could have been…… my first delivery room doctor told me to ‘shut up it can’t be that bad’ ….and he knew this how? I was 16 and very small …….. it was just plain horrible.
When I was first pregnant and went to the doctors, I have to say I worked out exactly when I should be due myself, from ovulation dates and then ‘adjusted’ my last period date so the doctor would come up with the ‘right ‘due date, not one based on my last period start date, so I did feel confident that my due date was at least correct. I was told I would have to be induced, no question, at 10 days over, which I refused, to then be told, actually, you can go up to two weeks, but we don’t advise it and it’s at your own risk, etc, etc and then we really will have to induce you. Fortunately, on an Easter Sunday morning, two weeks over exactly, labour started. Don’t think I worked out what to do if I’d gone past the two weeks!
Yes, I was 6 days past due date and although I was content to wait the CNM practice I was with was getting anxious. They stripped my membranes 1x but it didn’t do anything so they told me if I dilated at least a little that they could help me dilate by using a foolery catheter balloon. They wouldn’t use cyotec or cervedel on me because of possible stress to the previous c-section scar. I started having contractions on a Wednesday and that evening I was dilated to a 3cm and they used the cath that night and by morning I was 6! I had baby girl by that evening. They did insist on a small dose of pitocen during pushing since she was supposed to be a big baby. I had an epidural at the very end and hope to avoid it next go around. Over all it went very welll an 9 lb 5 oz baby was healthy.
Correction : Folley Cath
I had my first baby last spring, and she arrived on her due date. I was not induced, but my midwife started talking about doing an induction a good week and a half before my due date. She scared me half to death because I do NOT do well with outside pain (pain from my own self, I can handle), and don’t like to be touched or constrained (I have PTSD), so I ended up doing a bunch of fairly stupid “tricks” to try to induce labor on my own. I think my daughter would have happily cooked another few days or even a week, but I ended up taking Castor Oil the same day I ate five or six bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, and ended up with the world’s worst case of gas I’ve ever had in my LIFE, and that finally started labor – right about the time I thought maybe I would go ahead and just die, already. It. Was. HORRIBLE. NEVER EVER AGAIN, my friends. Also, everyone says doctors won’t “let” you go past 2 weeks over due. If your baby is still healthy, and you can stand it…why? What exactly are they going to do if you refuse induction, tie you down and force you?? Pretty sure that’s assault.
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Oh no! I have always, always been afraid of castor oil!