I feel pressured!!
So today I am 32+3 and I have an OB appointment tomorrow. I know during this appointment it's going to be the same talk that it's been my whole pregnancy, so let me back up.
My son is just over a year old and I had to be induced with him at 40+5 and delivered at 40+6. I had one episode of decreased fetal movement which made the doctor at the hospital want to induce me (this was Wednesday). My midwives let me decide, but if I didn't go by that next Monday, I would be induced Tuesday. I didn't want to be induced my whole pregnancy and it was something I had to deal with emotionally, so I accepted because I went with the better judgment of the medical staff and I was induced Wednesday night. I had hip and back issues my entire pregnancy which put me out on disability at 22 weeks. My hips refused to stay in alignment which made anything painful and difficult, so physical therapy it was 2x a week. During the induction, they had to cut off the pitocin twice because his heart rate would drop with every contraction and he wasn't reacting well. I was in labor for 26 hours. After pushing for over an hour, his head finally came out! Yay! But then he got stuck, with the cord around his neck twice! So they pressed the emergency button and everyone rushed in and people starting pressing in my stomach, anything to get him out. My midwife looked at me and said in the most stern voice "I know you're not contracting, but I need you to push!" So I pushed for what seemed like forever, but was probably about a minute and a half until they could maneuver him and pull him out. He was perfectly fine after that although I lost tons of blood and had a huge tear on the inside from the maneuver. So, I had a case of shoulder dystocia.
Now back to my concern. Because of this shoulder dystocia, I am at a higher risk of it happening again. Every single appointment has been about how delivery will go and risks and blah blah blah. I have the same hip and back issues as last pregnancy, but midwives don't believe that has anything to do with it. I had to have an appointment with the doctor instead of the midwife 2 weeks ago and he made me feel a tiny bit better, but not really. He explained that we will do a growth ultrasound at 35 weeks and another at 39 weeks, if the baby is bigger than 8 lbs, he does not recommend that I risk a vaginal delivery and to move forward with a c-section, but under 8 lbs, he sees no issue. My son was 8lb 5.4oz, which was the determining factor for the weight limit. I feel like I'm being pressured into making a decision based on my new baby's anticipated weight and that could be stripping me of my chance to have a normal vaginal delivery. Now before anyone says anything negative, I want to do what's best for myself and my child, so if a c-section is what it needs to be, I'm ok with that, but I guess I'm just trying to understand how that decision can be made before I go into labor. What if my delivery was to be normal even if he's over 8 lbs? Sorry this is so long, it's been weighing on me my whole pregnancy.
Add Comment
Let's Glow!
Achieve your health goals from period to parenting.