Doctor wants to induce

I had my 3rd baby at age 40 and he was born one day prior to his due date. I was huge - and he was huge. Dr thought the baby I was carrying would be maybe 8 lbs, Three different drs on delivery day estimated 7-8 lbs. Surprise! He was 10 lbs 7 oz. I had been unable to drive myself to work the last two weeks and my belly was extended so far I couldnt sleep! I begged for an inducement 2 weeks and then 1 week prior to birth but I was told that we could not induce "for the convenience of the mother". Well, here I am at age 50 with bad prolapse of uterus and bladder and I cant help but wonder if I hadnt gone to term with 10 lb 7 oz of baby if it might not have come to where I am today. It took 10 years for me to notice the symptoms, and I was only diagnosed a couple of weeks ago, but if it were me, and I could do it over again, I would find a dr willing to induce. I went to a different dr after that birth and she told me she had only seen one case worse than mine (of belly stretching that no amount of exercise would heal) and that woman had twins with a weight of baby about the same as my one big boy.

Good luck- I know there are other things to consider, as lung development is what is happening with the baby at the last month gestation, I think. Maybe induce 7-10 days before the due date might be a good thing, as I think I was told the baby gains about 0.5 lbs per week. I would have been ok with a 9lb baby as my previous (2nd baby) was 9 lb 3 oz and I was fine after that delivery.
txswimmer

I had 3 babies, all of them were under 7 lbs, yet I ended up with prolapse (I noticed symptoms 2 months after my third), so I doubt the strong correlation.
Just my 2 cents.

I agree with Clavicula. I had one small baby (6lbs 13oz) almost 3 1/2 years before I got pregnant with my second. During my second trimester, I noticed my bladder and urethral prolapse. I went on to have a natural birth and a 7lb 3 oz baby girl. I would guess that prolapse is multifactorial. I blame mine on the way I carried my first child while pregnant (so super low that the doctors could not get a head measurement on him via ultrasound), and my subsequent precipitous delivery (4 hours start to finish). Who knows? I also had bad posture and struggled as a kid with UTIs. No other female in my family has or had any prolapse symptoms. I think you also have to look into the risk of induction. Hard decision, but try to get as much info. as possible.

Good luck. I hope you go a couple of weeks early the natural way.

Janice

hi,

I had a baby last year, I am all for doing everything completely natural! I was terrified when I showed up for the induction. I had studied hypno birthing it was the last thing I wanted. The doc did the least invasive thing by using a small tablet up by the cervix. He gave the tablet at 1:00pm, I felt a few minor contractions, he did not hook me up to any IV's.. (i was lucky) I walked around outside for hours... Nothing ever happend. He came back at 8:00pm found I was 5-6cm broke my water I still did not feel a whole lot. Got up walked around for another hour at 9:00pm things started to progress I was on the toilet a lot :) Things went smoothly then at about 10:00pm I said oh no not this again. Then by 10:23 I was holding my baby!

So coming from a person who cried her eyes out when entering the hospital, it was not that bad and I would consider it again if it was necessary. But I must say I had a great doc who understood what I wanted and chose to respect it. He did the least invasive thing possible and it worked. He did say if this does not work after xyz.. then we would do this... But everything worked out.

kathy2124

How was your first birth? Di everything go well? you had your baby - was her head really big? or was she just a good sized baby ?- in my opinion 9.5lbs is normal. Most often the extra weight is just fat and that squishes. Induction is a slippery slope- how many women blame episiotomy, vacuum extraction, or forcepts for their prolapses? Once you start with an intervention it can only lead to more interventions.
Your body was made to birth your baby.
Stay off your back and keep them away from your perineum- and all will be well. I know a few women in my area who birthed 10lbs+ with no tearing. You can do it. And since this is your second birth it will be even easier for your body to open......

like the others, my babies were not very big and I still wound up with a prolapse. my last baby was the biggest and did not worsen the prolapse. she was 8lb11 oz but with a really big head (forgot how big, but mw said larger than most). I second what alemama said, stay off your back!
as far as induction, I personally have never been induced, but from what I hear its one thing when it goes well and not so fun when it doesn't. I'd be nervous to force a baby out before her time, to keep her small. I'd worry about trouble with suck/swallow and latching and things like that.
as far as teh doula, are there any doula training programs near you? sometimes you can find a doula-in-training willing to provide the service at no charge.
best of luck to you and I hope it all goes well

what a traumatic birth experience for you! it sounds rather miserable, and pretty much sums up why I hate to labor in hospitals.
I'm not at all surprised you have a few uncertainties going into this next experience, but just like your second child will not be a clone of your oldest, the birth experiences will likely be different as well. I think, aside from the early induction decision, it might be helpful to visualize the way you'd ideally like this birth to go. don't assume your water will break early again, imagine things exactly as you'd like them.
it took me a long time to get over the bad parts of my first birth experience, staying away from doctors helped some. hiring a doula helped some. reading up on natural, active labor and childbirth helped some. visualization and prayer helped some. a better second experience helped alot.
fear is not good for a laboring mother, no matter what the situation.