A friend is 11 days past her due date. All of her previous children have been born naturally without any medication. 2 at home, 1 at a birth center and 1 at the hospial. She does not want to use medication to induce labor, does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone been 11 days or more late?
The best thing to do is to research the risk of Pitocin and the risk of overworking the Placenta.
I had an all natural birth with the exception of use of Pitocin at the last minute. For some reason I was not holding my amniotic fluids.
From what I understand, the big issue with the use of Pitocin is not to continue use for too long...over 12 hours (?).
It is just a decision Mom will have to make. While there is time, make it an educated decision.
In most cases Nature prepares the cervix for delivery in the most efficient, comfortable way. However, if your friend's health care provider is concerned about your friend's health or her baby's health or her pregnancy continues two weeks past her due date, inducing labor may be the best option.Why the concern about two weeks? The longer her pregnancy continues, the larger the baby is likely to be — which may complicate a vaginal delivery. In a few cases, aging of the placenta may compromise the baby's ability to thrive in the womb. An overdue baby also is more likely to inhale fecal waste (meconium) during childbirth, which can cause a lung disease.Remember, there's no right or wrong way to have a baby. If complications make an induction necessary, don't consider it a sign of failure. Though she may not welcome the news, it may simply be what's best for her or the baby.your friend can do few things to trigger labor :
Nipple stimulation — either manually or with a breast pump — may release the hormone oxytocin, which can lead to contractions. But the cervix must be ready to open for labor to actually begin. Other techniques for inducing labor — such as having sex or eating pineapple or spicy food — aren't backed by scientific evidence. Sex is OK, too, as long as her water hasn't broken. But she should always get her health care provider's OK before trying any other home remedies, herbal supplements or alternative treatments for inducing labor....hope everything workout for her the way she wants.
First, is she sure of her due date? My doctor computed a different one than I did on my second because he dated from my last period. I happened to know the exact date of conception, so the date I computed was three days later.
So by my calculations, I was 10 days "late" when my OB started making noise about inducing (he counted 13 days). Having had my first with the Bradley method, I wanted to go natural again. Although there may not be any scientific proof that sex brings labor on, it is known that there are natural prostaglandins in semen. My advice is to try it--but perhaps wait until the morning. I went into labor at midnight and boy, did I miss the sleep!
My baby came healthy and without induction 13 days late. I went into a frantic cleaning mode and was rearranging stuff in my bedroom. I breathed a bit of dust and that made me cough, and the cough broke my water. My baby was large though -- 9lbs, 4oz & she never really looked like a newborn. I'm sure your friend and her child will be fine. It is nerve-wracking at the end though. I'm sure you'll have a new baby in your midst in the next few days.
I've always heard the new old wives tale of eating a salad that has a dressing high in balsamic vinegar. She could always give that a try. At worst, she could have a pretty good salad.
Dear Juanesta, My name is Penny and I was two weeks late with my second son . Itried walking alot and it did help . I have suggested this to friends and they said it helped also .Some times we have just miscaculated our dates . Good luck and a happy and safe delivery . Penny
I say do alot of walking! And alot of praying! I'm surprised that her dr. midwife or who ever isn't insisting that she be induced. I've heard alot about if you go over, especially that many days that you are putting your self in danger but mostly the baby because the plasenta starts breaking down plus their is less fluid in the womb to protect the baby.
To the single woman wanting to be a mother. I'd look into adoption. Rather it's a newborn an older child. Even if the child is from another country. Every child deserves someone to love & care for him or her.
First off, if her Dr. wants to induce, she can tell him that according to ACOG (American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology) states that post-term pregnancies should not be induced unless there is a medical issue, until after 42 weeks. With that said, she may be able to buy a few days.
Tell her to walk a lot, eat spicy (very spicy) food, drink Red leaf Raspberry tea made VERY strong, and have a lot of sex. She also needs to make sure she "enjoys" the sex. This will release the hormones that can cause contractions.
It's possible they were off on the due date, and that little one knows the best time to come out.
Take a bath as warm as you can. And walk a few blocks. Due this a few days she will have a baby.
Its better to be safe and follow your MD.s advise, and have a healthy baby......Pregnant women have to trust their physicians they know best as this is what they do on a daily basis...
She could try to "ripen" her cervix with evening primrose oil capsules.
There are other, stronger, natural ways to induce labor but I would not use those methods without a midwife's or naturopath's assistance. One herb I know of works well, but it also runs the risk of speeding up the baby's heart rate. So please consult someone who knows what they are doing if you are going to go this route.
Lots of sex, walking, spicy food, and maybe just meditate or talk to the baby - that she would like him or her to come out safely and without intervention, so please come out soon so we can have a happy birth experience.
I'm going to disagree with the previous responder that said physicians know best - I have seen way too many docs force babies out before they are ready for no good reason. Also look at the high rate of c-sections. A healthy woman carrying a healthy baby does not need medical intervention.
Probably the due date was calculated incorrectly. She should be drinking red raspberry tea now and also after her delivery.
For my firstborn the last 5 weeks I took black and blue cohash. She should not take the cohash unless it is under the direction of a natural practictioner or someone similar who knows correct dosage. It is also only to be taken close to delivery date.
Generally the more babies you have, the faster the labor.
Her baby is now at risk. She cannot wait any longer. After a week, her baby will start to get dry and irritated because the vernix(white, gooey protective stuff) will go away. It will also make it more painful for her baby to be born. Tell her to bite the bullet and go to the hospital to be induced. Her baby's health is at risk at this point.
I gave birth to my daughter 14 days past her due date. The doctors were really pushing for induction, to keep her "on schedule" but I refused. They put me on the non-stress test to make sure the baby was not in any danger, and she wasn't, so I refused the induction. Finally, they scheduled an induction because it was hospital policy not to let anyone go past 2 weeks regardless. My daughter was born 15 minutes before her scheduled induction. 9 months is just an estimate. It is not an exact science. There are a lot of factors at play. As long as the placenta is not deteriorating and the baby is not in distress (both of which can be determined with the non-stress test), there is no reason to interfere. Every invasive procedure carries risks, and it is unwise to take those risks if there isn't a problem that requires that procedure. When you induce, you raise your chances of interventions that can ultimately lead to a Caesarian birth, which carries many risks of its own. Tell your friend to walk, walk, walk. It prepares the cervix naturally, and will greatly aid in the birth process. I gave birth naturally (no drugs) to a 9 pound baby, thanks mostly, I think, to the amount of walking I did beforehand. She had perfect APGAR scores, so I think that she just needed those extra few days in the womb to be at her healthiest. I really believe that in most cases, nature knows best.
Accupunture!!! I was schedule to be induced when my daughter was almost 2 weeks late. I did accupunture for two days and two days later she came on her own, at 42 weeks on the dot!
My cousin was born a month late. This was 30 years ago in Eastern Europe, so it's a little different, but somehow the doctors miscalculated and had my aunt been in the US and it was miscalculated that way, she'd probably have been forced to birth a premature baby. Not saying that's the case, but you asked if anyone had been more than 11 days late...
As for suggestions, just tell her not to stress. There are people on this board who will tell you that dr knows best, but I believe it's more like dr knows best when it's convenient for them. However, be sure that your friend is checked after 14 days past the due date for any distress in the baby or her own system. She does need someone to advocate on her behalf though, so if she has a doula, or someone who's not afraid to stand up to doctors and say "Are you SURE this is necessary?", but sure to take them along.
My 2nd child was 10 days past due. I stopped feeling movement, so they did a stress test, and there wasn't much amniotic fluid lest, so I was induced. and it was the hardest labor EVER! I hadn't dialated at all. and, when he came out, very little liquid came w/ him.
No worries! I was 3 days early with #1. I was 4.5 WEEKS late with #2 and I was 12 days late with #3.
2 was well over 10 pounds and all of my babies were born at home in a birthtub. #2 had a nuchal hand (meaning his hand was on his cheek) so it made delivery a little more intense, but I still did not tear....with any of them...and I delivered ALL of them by myself without a midwife there.
If your friend needs anyone to talk with, she can contact me. People areound me were stressed, but babies are born when they are ready. In fact, with #2, I had my friend who is a midwife do an internal exam and my cervix was still long and hard. If I had "let" them induce me, it surely would have ended up with FTP on my chart and a c-section.
My first labor was 29 hours. My last 2 labors lasted 2 days, so we went to the movies, ate Chinese, walked around Costco, etc. The intense part of labor lasted about 3 hours with the last 2 babies.
None of my kids had vernix on them when they were born, since they were ready to be born. In fact, #2 had EVERY sign of postdatum and if I had "let" them induce me 2 weeks earlier, he probably would have been 12 pounds, since he had started to use his fat storage as nutrition, as evidenced by sagging skin. There are too many people who freak about the rare real issues. So many problems are caused by interventions.
She'll be fine.
Has your friend tried acupuncture to help induce her labor?