Induction Info (UK Hospital [nhs])

My Missus is scheduled for induction at 41+6, so I suppose she is given
plenty of opportunity to go into labour naturally.

An ultrasound today indicates she ain't dilated at all, but her cervix
is apparently shortening.

I suppose I have to continue administering her daily prostaglandin
medicince

They gave us information regarding their induction procedures, I
thought some may find it of interest - refer to the links below;

http://members.lycos.co.uk/kernow/mid.jpg

http://members.lycos.co.uk/kernow/frontback.jpg

(might have to cut & paste into your browser)

Maatt

maatt wrote:
My Missus is scheduled for induction at 41+6, so I suppose she is given
plenty of opportunity to go into labour naturally.

Perhaps not...there are those who would still watch
and wait at that point.

An ultrasound today indicates she ain't dilated at all, but her cervix
is apparently shortening.

This sort of information is of very little use,
especially with first timers. You can walk around very
dilated and effaced for weeks without going into labor,
or you can be closed and long and go into labor that day.

They gave us information regarding their induction procedures, I
thought some may find it of interest - refer to the links below;

http://members.lycos.co.uk/kernow/mid.jpg

http://members.lycos.co.uk/kernow/frontback.jpg

(might have to cut & paste into your browser)

Oh my gosh, I can't believe they give out information
that is *that* misleading! No known problems, indeed! How
about hypterstimulation, uterine rupture, cesarean section,
instrumental delivery, etc.?

http://tinyurl.com/7fvbm
http://tinyurl.com/cfwl6
http://tinyurl.com/942v8
http://tinyurl.com/ajdnl
http://tinyurl.com/99qxa

That's not to say that one should never induce. There are
times when it is necessary to induce, and fortunately the
risk of serious damage is quite low. However, that doesn't
mean that there is no risk. And even if you're just talking
about the stuff that is annyoing (must have an IV, must have
continuous fetal monitoring, etc.), that can make a real
difference in how labor is experienced which shouldn't
be pooh-poohed. I'm just absolutely flabbergasted that
they claim there aren't any risks to induction, as there
absolutely are.

Are they advocating induction purely for dates? If so, is
there any possibility that dates are off? How were the dates
calculated? LMP? Ovulation? Early dating ultrasound? Does
your wife have a longer cycle than 28 days (in which case
LMP dating is likely to place her due date too early and
thus this induction date too early)?

Every day induction can be delayed gives you a significant
chance she'll go into labor spontaneously, so even if dates
are just off by a day it can be worth delaying that single
day.

Best wishes,
Ericka

Oh my gosh, I can't believe they give out information
that is *that* misleading! No known problems, indeed! How
about hypterstimulation, uterine rupture, cesarean section,
instrumental delivery, etc.?

arrgghh, yes, I'm with Ericka, the first page was ok, though very rigid (eg.
we will break your waters, not we will dicuss and decide if breaking your
waters is a good way to procede), but then the back page is absolutely nuts,
totally against the NICE guidelines for induction that I read yesterday (for
those unaware, NICE is the national institute for clinical excellence and
NHS hospitals should be following what it says). It really is total and
utter ******** (I rarely use such strong words, but then I've never seen it
in print that induction is risk free). To be honest I wouldn't be trusting
people who are that blase(/) about induction to be delivering my baby, I've
had 1 full on induction and one attempt in an NHS hospital and both times
risks were discussed with me and though I wasn't entirely happy with how
they presented it, at least they didn't say it's absolutely fine, nothing
will go wrong etc.

Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:
Oh my gosh, I can't believe they give out information
that is *that* misleading! No known problems, indeed! How
about hypterstimulation, uterine rupture, cesarean section,
instrumental delivery, etc.?


arrgghh, yes, I'm with Ericka, the first page was ok, though very rigid (eg.
we will break your waters, not we will dicuss and decide if breaking your
waters is a good way to procede),

Oh, yeah, I totally forgot to address that! My
SIL ended up with a c-section because they ruptured her
membranes shortly after starting an induction. Well,
the induction didn't get her to really active labor
right away, and she went a long time with ruptured
membranes. Sure enough, she got an infection, the baby
was in distress, and she ended up with a c-section as
a result. Once those membranes are ruptured, you're on
the clock and will have to produce a baby within a
certain amount of time before they'll get all antsy
about the infection risk. If the induction doesn't
succeed? Oh well, c-section for you. Not to mention
the fact that once the membranes are ruptured, the
baby has less ability to reposition. If the head
hits the cervix in a less than ideal position, you
might be stuck with it (which can make the birth
more challenging). There are times when it makes
sense to rupture the membranes, but immediately
following an induction attempt isn't necessarily the
time to do it unless the induction is really urgent.
(Rupturing the membranes does increase the odds of
success for the induction, but it's a small increase
and waiting for more active labor to start has some
significant advantages.)

Best wishes,
Ericka

There are times when it makes
sense to rupture the membranes, but immediately
following an induction attempt isn't necessarily the
time to do it unless the induction is really urgent.

another good point! I refused rupture of membranes, despite it being
presented as "now we have to rupture your membranes" as Ada was posterior,
in fact I had discussed this with more than one doctor beforehand and they
agreed, but the midwives were just in the mind set "we are dealing with a
prostin induction". Ironically I ended up with ARM a couple of hours later
because after an hour of being fully dilated Ada was not descending, so
there is a time to do it and a time to refuse, I just managed to have both
of them on the same day!

Anne