Anyone's wife have labor induced?

[PurdueBrad]

Hey guys,

Odd question I know, but we basically found out today that, to some degree, we're having monster baby. We're at week 32, he's 6 lbs, 1 oz, he's measuring in the 98'th percentile in head circumference, waist/abdomen, and weight, and in the 84'th percentile for femur length. So, they told my wife there is a fairly strong chance of inducing labor which she took very hard. Anybody have any experiences good or bad, just trying to see what we may be in for. Thanks in advance.

Brad

[SackAttack]

I think my cousin's wife did, but it was a similar situation - her first child was monstrously huge, to the point that when he was 4, he was kicking the asses of 8 year olds trying to pick on him at the playground.

He turned out fine and plays pop warner football these days. He's getting ready to turn 13, I think.

[DaddyTorgo]

hahaha

your wife is gonna have a fatty!!!

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

hahaha

your wife is gonna have a fatty!!!

Hehe, yeah, I guess he has big feet/hands and long limbs too. So now I've got to decide, football or basketball! Or Hell, Sumo or WWE!

[FrogMan]

my wife was induced twice, but not because the kids were big, they simply were late. Our oldest son was two weeks past his due date when she was induced and the youngest was only one week.

For the first one, they took the decision at one week past due that if the baby had not come in one week's time, they would induce her. They later told us it was time since the placenta was barely feeding the baby anymore.

What I sorta liked about the whole thing is that it takes away the stress. You go to the hospital on a given day and you sorta know that you'll come out with a baby.

Would your wife have a c-section or would she still have them naturally? Both of our sons came naturally.

FM

[PurdueBrad]

She would still give birth naturally, just a week or so earlier. She's heard a couple bad stories about how bad induced labor can be.

[Maple Leafs]

I know plenty of people who were induced due to being past their due date, and nobody had any bad experiences to report.

[FrogMan]

well, we've not lived through anything else since we've only had two child, but my wife gave birth without any drugs both times. They broke her water on our oldest at 9am or so and he was born at 5:30pm while it was a bit longer for the second one, was born around 11:30pm, but labor took quite a bit longer to start. Once it was started though, she almost didn't push, something like three big pushes and he was out.

Good luck with it!

FM

[Telle]

I would NOT induce for a big baby, unless she has uncontrolled gestational diabetes. I will dig up studies for you tomorrow. Basically, the only way to tell if the baby will fit is by a trial of labor. Inducing does not decrease the risk of c-section and if I recall correctly it can actually increase the risk of shoulder dystocia (baby getting stuck in the birth canal after the head is out).

It is very rare for a woman to grow a baby that is too big for her to birth. Most cases of "failure to progress" in labor are really "failure to wait" on the part of the doctor.

Ultrasounds can be off by as much as 2 pounds. And even if the baby is big, this does not mean that she won't be able to birth it. I had a 10lb 1oz baby just about fall out of me in the car (fun story).

Generally an induced labor is much more painful than one that occurs naturally. The pitocin causes stronger longer contractions. DO NOT let them induce with cytotec. It is a VERY strong inducer and cannot be reversed and has lead to some women having uterine ruptures even without prior cesareans.

If in the end you do decide to induce, find out her Bishop's score to determine if her cervix is favorable. If it is not, she should have her cervix ripened first with cervadil. Very often first time moms do not have favorable cervixes and thus they have a rather high rate of resulting c-sections.

If you have any questions (and I wouldn't doubt that after all my rambling you do), PLEASE feel free to PM me. As RendeR could tell you, I have done a ton of reading up on birth and all things surrounding it.

[RendeR]

She works with a group that teaches this stuff. I was a serious skeptic at first because I was always taught to trust the dotors, but OBY's are not birthing people, they're surgeons.

Size really isn't an issue with babies on the whole.

Feel free to talk to Telle, she's very well informed.

[Warhammer]

We had two 9 lbs 8 oz.+ babies and both were induced. There really wasn't much of a problem with either birth. Our first was trying to come out turned and so he wasn't proceeding down the birth canal. They got him turned around and out. Only problem with that was the labor was all back labor. Our second was easy and my wife hardly had to push.

For your first, expect labor to take longer. The second is typically much quicker.

[Wolfpack]

Our first one was induced because she was two weeks past due and my wife hated every single second of it, basically. She didn't want to induce, but felt compelled because that was the advice we were given. After the baby was born, it was determined that while the pregnancy was at 42 weeks, the placenta was more akin to one found in a 39-week pregnancy.

She was determined to do it naturally with our second child and was able to do so even though once again the baby was two weeks past due. Much easier birth experience on all of us (aside from the frantic drive to our midwife's house when we realized she was going into labor).

[Sgran]

My wife was induced with our first child and then had complications (baby turned the wrong way) leading to a C-section. of course you can never prove causality, but we've always wondered if the doctor didn't just want to get away for the weekend and induced for no reason. The second baby was also a C-section. I would suggest waiting to see if she can't give birth naturally.

[Butter]

My wife was induced the first time due to high blood pressure and the second time due to gestational diabetes. Ended up having a C-section the 2nd time. No major problems, except the epidural didn't really take either time, but that was not due to the induction process or anything.

I just remember her first induced labor being REALLY long. Like 36 hours long.

[CU Tiger]

My wife was induced with both. Both over 9.8 Neither was very difficult. Both times her water was broken and pitocen drip started around 5AM First one was 4:48 and second was 3:31 no more than 5 minutes of actual "labor"/pushing with either one.... All in all no negatives to report here. Both were a few weeks early.

[PurdueBrad]

Wow guys, thank you so much for all of this. I sent my wife the link and am going to let her read through this. I thought I was crazy posting this here first but your responses have been enlightening. Thank you!

Telle, I may be in touch with some questions once my wife reads through as well. She's most worried about something like Butter '69 experienced, an exceptionally long labor with worsened contractions.

[Butter]

That first labor was really long because the baby wasn't ready to come out... they had induced 5 1/2 weeks early due to blood pressure concerns. If your wife is being induced much closer to the actual due date, then I wouldn't expect labor to be quite so long.

But it is a little disappointing to not experience the moment of exhiliration and craziness that accompanies an "unexpected" entry into labor. But when the baby comes, you won't care either way anyway.

[Eaglesfan27]

I would be very surprised if those studies that Telle is referring to are actually in peer reviewed journals. Every study I've read has never linked inducing with increased shoulder dystocias except as a coorelated finding because inducing tends to be done for bigger babies. Any baby over 9 pounds has a significantly increased chance of a shoulder dystocia and is part of the reason inducing is recommended in those situations. I've never read any negative findings on inducing and just did a search recently because of my friend's wife having to have it done. Most people actually find it to be stress relieving because they know when things are going to happen.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

It is true that inducing is associated with a higher percentage of C-sections, but it is important to remember that inducing is only considered in pregnancies that are somewhat higher risk and induction has not been linked as a cause of the C-Section rate being higher but as a consequence of the higher risk pregnancy.

[Samdari]

Wife was induced both times, once due to being late and the second due to blood pressure concerns.

Don't be scared by the horror stories - they both went fine. And EF is right, scheduling the first one led to a significant improvement in my wife's mental health.

Both times, I feel inducing was the right call. The first time, my son was barely able to squeeze out (took a doc putting her foot on the birthing table and yanking with forceps to get him out). Another week, and she could have ended up with an emergency C-section. Like Telle says, if its her first, ask for Cervadil (although that threw my wife into labor and she never got Pitocin).

They discovered at the first birth that she had previously undiagnosed pre-eclampsia. That made the birth experience pretty miserable for her. The second time they watched her bp very closely, and as soon as it started heading north (39 weeks), they induced. A much more pleasant experience (at least, she complained less, that's how I measure) .

[Draft Dodger]

My wife was induced for our first, because we were about 10 days after the due date. Whatever method they used, it wasn't expected to work right away - they thought it might still take a couple of days...so our bags were still in the trunk of our car when we realized that the baby was coming. In our case, the labor was definitely different than the second, but both babies were just fine.

[Telle]

Ok, looking through the studies I have (and they ARE peer reviewed journals.. the likes of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology), induction does not increase the likelihood of shoulder dystocia in the case of macrosomic infants (big babies), but it also does not decrease it either. Outcomes are for maternal and neonatal morbidity (injury) are similar for both induction and expectant management ("wait and see" approach) for macrosomic infants, with an increase in cesarean sections.

So far I've found about five studies saying the same thing, and none saying otherwise. Let me know if you want to read them and I'll email them to you.

[PurdueBrad]

UPDATE HERE:

At 37 weeks, the 'little' guy weights 8 lbs, 10 ounces and we were confronted with the choice of induction this coming week or a C-Section the following week. We've opted for the C-Section because the lungs should be fully developed AND because we were concerned over possible injury. So, in a couple of weeks, my son will be here!

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

hahaha

your wife is gonna have a fatty!!!

OH, and to answer this because I asked the tech, he does not have the typical fat pockets that larger babies have, he's apparently just solid. One colleague just had a 10 lb, 2 oz baby, another had a 9 lb 6 oz, so we're just looking down the line for a great offensive line at our local high school!

[DaddyTorgo]

good to hear PB. You know I wasn't trying to rag on you there - looking back it probably won't the most sensitive thing to say. I'm sure everything will be fine with the c-section

[PurdueBrad]

DT, you actually verbalized something I was personally concerned about so I didn't take any offense. It kind of gave me the courage to ask about it so no sweat! And thanks for the kind words.

[Eaglesfan27]

Good luck with everything these next few weeks.

[Telle]

The International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) has some information you might find useful.

How to make the best of things when you have a c-section:
Family Centered Cesarean | International Cesarean Awareness Network

Recovery from a c-section:
Recovery | International Cesarean Awareness Network