What Should I Do? - Fairfield,IA

I suggest being very blunt with your doctor that you are concerned that you will not make it to the hospital. Did he deliver your other kids? I also deliver quickly and had a dr (who had not delivered my earlier children) who wanted to wait til 39 weeks. I described the timing of my previous pregnancies and the fact that I deliver quickly. Hearing specifically how quickly (for me it was within an hour of the first contraction) made him willing to schedule to induce at 38 weeks. (Baby came earlier anyway.) Your dr is being irresponsible to put a set number on this pregnancy. Ask your doctor under what conditions they would induce prior to 39 weeks. Since you're dilating AND you're bp is going up AND you have a history of VERY fast labors, it seems very reasonable to schedule to induce.

My other thought is that if you have ANY contractions after 36 weeks, go to the hospital. I've been told that they won't stop contractions after 36 weeks. (With my last son, I was having contractions at 35 weeks but they stopped on their own. The nurses told me that if I'd been a week later, I would've been having a baby.)

Be blunt with your doctors about your concerns. Sounds like you carry about the same number of weeks each time, and he should be looking at that information.

Good luck!

i would say your dr is being irresponsible since you have a past history of high bp. that is very serious.
and i think like the others said, be very blunt and persistant. get more information before having your next conversation with your dr. and as was mentioned, ask what conditions would warrent him to be concerned.

my blood pressure was high but only once i went into labor with my son.

i have had a friend who was dilated to a 4 for a few weeks before going into labor so maybe your dr isn't too worried about that.that alone wouldn't be a big deal if you didn't have other factors involved as well.

good luck.. i wish you well

Honestly I would say that you need to let nature take its course. After 35 weeks you are no longer considered pre-term, and as long as your babies are born healthy, and you are in no danger you shouldn't worry. Good Luck!

Once you hit 34 weeks in a normal pregnancy you can safely deliver, All dr's are different but if you're dr is telling you he won't until 39, I'd ask specifically why he says that. Because just to say so because that's what he does is a cop out. There is not reason that you couldn't deliver at 36 weeks.where you're dialated doesn't really mean a whole lot because you could be at 4 for 3 more weeks or you could go from 4 - 10 in a 20 minute time span. A friend of mine was dialated to 3 at 30 weeks and stayed like that until almost 39.

However, if you have fast deliveries, you should probably look into be induced. my dau. arrived within 40 minutes. (that's from the first sign of contractions to her out) and the nurses told me that if I plan to have anymore that I probably want to consider be induced. they had no time to give me drugs. Barely enough time to get the IV in.

And since generally babies get larger with each pregnancy and this is your 4th, then than extra week might be the difference between delivering and extra pound or a cesarian if baby is too big.

A., I would be concerned about your high blood pressure too. That is a dangerous condition for both you and your baby. I would do some research on toxemia, and preeclampsia. The more informed that you are, the better you can talk to your doctor. Some blood pressure increases are nothing to worry about. If you are have other symptoms that are associated with toxemia and preeclampsia, then it is definately time to worry, but until then, all the worrying that you do will just increase your blood pressure.

T.

I have two children, and both were late..but I was on bed rest with the first. He tried to come 3 months early when I fell and started contracting. But what I was going to mention was that you should get a massage. I am a massage student, soon to be graduating, and there is lots and lots of benefits to getting a massage while pregnant. It can help you relax, which will benefit the baby. It will also help you relax, and maybe slow the contractions from coming too soon. Massage has proven beneficial to the mind, body of mom, and baby. In fact, massage on the mom has made less labor problems while delievering, and the baby's often do better on the tests after delivery. It can also help any swelling to go down(feet) and sciatica, and all those other horrible pains you get.
I hope this helps, and if you have any questions, or would like me to mention any places that are good to go, just send me an e-mail. I also know some cheap places to go..if money is the issue. I hope that your pregnancy finishes well, and you have a healthy baby!

My doctor did the same thing, except I was having different issues. My baby was growing too fast and I was in a lot of pain, but she refused to do anything about it. She said that we had to make sure his lungs where fully developed. The baby (according to the ultrasound) was eight and a half pounds three weeks before delivery. I had him two days before his due date and he was over 11 pounds and 23 inches long. I am still having problems with my back, and they had to cut me wider because he was so big (my third c-section), and apparently He left behind alot of scar tissue. If I had to go back and do it over again, I would have gotten another opinion. Have you talked to your family doctor, if you have a good relationship with them that would be a good place to start. Good luck to you and your baby, I hope its a girl for your sake. I just had my third boy and got my tubes tide.

A.,
Have you considered seeing a different doctor...With your history, it seems they should allow you to be induced early. I was induced at 36 weeks with my last 2 children.
K.

Hi A.,
I had pre term deliveries with all my babies also from 7 weeks early to just a couple of weeks. I have 3 boys all healthy. My BP always rose really high when I was in labor, for me it was the sign I was actually in labor since I never actually went into it till my water broke. I had to use the oxygen mask the whole labor and delivery.
Stay off your feet as much as possible and try to relax, my favorite OB's saying was the baby will choose his/her birthday not the doc. Good Luck

I experienced some issues with my doctor right when I started losing weight. She kind of rode my back about it but just when I was going to tell her off...she let it go and said it was fine since the baby was healthy and still growing. She just wanted to make sure I was eating properly and wasn't "trying" to lose weight. I ended up losing 30 lbs and she was fine with it cause some people just tend to eat healthier when pregnant. I don't think changing doctors would be good right now, you are WAY past the half way mark. Just relax and let the baby come when it comes. Worry won't help the BP. Now days there is so much knowledge and medicine that they hospital and nurses will take good care of you. (I've found that the nurses sometimes know more than the doctors.) If you are overly concerned then buy a blood pressure machine and monitor it at home. We bought ours for about $35 at Walmart. There are cheaper ones and more expensive ones. It's digital and all you do is pump it up and then release it when it says. I know that headaches are signs of high bp so is fatigue but when you are pregnant...fatigue is just a daily thing. :-)

If it were me, I would change doctors.. also sounds like you should eat lots of grapes and get massages lol..
But on a serious note.. keep a journal and make sure to talk to the person above your dr if they still won't induce and you can't change doctors. :)

C.

They can induce at 36 weeks because my 2nd child had a ureathra reflex problem and they induced him and I also have fast labors after my water breaks they are coming. So my doctor induced me and then for my 3rd child we had moved and the doctor would not induce so I went over by 10 days and then he did induced me and I think he did it wrong he had me on Pitocen full blast not like they did with the 2nd one gradually so I was out of control with pain no drugs and I only labored for 42 minutes.(wow) I think that you should talk to your doc and if he/she doesn't listen then you can see another one or talk to the cheif of staff. If they won't do anything make sure you write down in a journal what your doctor will not do and what you did in the last labors and give it to your husband so that if something happens to you or your baby (pray it doesn't) you will have proof, for a legal battle. That is what I did and thank God nothing happend. I wish you luck with everything and I will be praying for you

Hello! I had the same problem with my pregnancies. For me, they were always concerned about the bottom number - it would be nice to know what that is. With the twins, they wound up taking them due to failure to thrive of one of them and I had pre-eclampsia. With my daughter - it was just the blood pressure I was fighting. Once my bottom number hit a certain number, out she came. They did not mess around with that. The boys were 7 weeks early and Macy was a little over 3 weeks early. I was on bed rest with both pregnancies - on my left side to lower my blood pressure. Once my bottom number got over 107 that's when they got really concerned and then it shot up to 118 and she was delivered. I don't know though - your top number got extremely high with your last one though - I guess I don't know what the difference in the top and bottom numbers mean. That all affects the blood supply to the baby so it is not something to take lightly. At least with my body, there comes a time when they are better off outside than inside :) Once I hit 36 weeks with my daughter - they just played it by ear - I had to monitor my bp at home and report daily what it was and that judged when she would be delivered. I had C-sections with both deliveries so I don't know much about the fast delivery stuff!

I have one son, and it was a scheduled C-Section, so I don't know what it's like dilating and all that...I haven't dealt with that yet. My son was big, so the doctor said that as soon as his lungs are mature enough, then we could go as soon as he was 8 1/2 lbs. with the c-section. So I had an amnio so they could test where his lungs were at, and he was like 25, and they want it to be at least 52, so he was only half way there, 3-4 weeks before my due date. At that point, he would have more than likely been ok had I HAD to have him, but he would have had to be in the NICU for a few days/weeks until his lungs were ready. So, maybe you can ask about an amnio, see if the lungs are ready, and then go from there. If the lungs are ready, and you are having problems, there wouldn't be much of an issue, would there?

Is this the same doctor that delivered your other two? Try to keep your stress level down, keep your feet up, and eat lots of green grapes! The are almost all water, so that will help with the water retention associated with pre-eclampsia. and keep a very close eye on things. They won't put your health and your baby's health at risk.

Hi A.,
Congratulations on your little one coming soon! My last couple of weeks, I made a point to RELAX as much as possible. Many little naps, warm baths, trashy novels, nibbling on finger foods instead of heavy meals... Call on everyone you can to help you with your three boys so you can focus on taking care of yourself and being very in tune to where your body is at. Preparation is important....When the first signs come, you need to be able to drop everything and head to the hospital immediately without taking hours to prepare & transition everyone around you.
Good Luck on having a girl!!
K.

I am not sure what kind of a financial situation you are in, but have you considered bed rest? And does your dr know your past history? I would think that if you had problems in the past that they would do something. If this is a new dr I would contact your past Dr and see what their advise would be. I know the feeling of a Dr not listening to you, but as long as your BP stays at a normal level then there is really nothing that they can do. Except put you on bed rest.