Amy wrote:

"Mary Gordon" wrote in message
m...

Amy, sorry to raise a painful subject, but do you know what caused
your prior stillbirth?
Why I ask is do you have a medical condition that has repeated itself
that requires induction early?

I've known more than a few people who have had tragic late term
losses, and the causes were quite random - and induction wouldn't have
helped i.e. if baby had died at 36 weeks, should they be saying I
wish they'd induced at 35 weeks etc. etc.


It's ok Mary, I don't mind talking about it at all. Partly the problem is
that they don't know what caused my son's death, which happened at 29 weeks.
My placenta was never sent away as I requested, there was a bit of a bungle
there that upset me, but it was observed at birth to be abnormal, it's not
clear whether that was due to a clot or abruption or placental degradation,
but there was something wrong there.
After my son's birth, my midwife made the comment "They'll never let you go
full-term again", and while I went through a brief period of mourning at
never again able to have a 'normal' pg and birth, once I got pg again it
seemed like a great idea. After all most stillbirths happen between 38-40
weeks, and to be honest the less time I have to spend pg the better, because
every day is an emotional battle. I'm under an OB as well this time (great
guy, so I will discuss this with him) and it just seemed a given I'd be
induced at 38 weeks this time, although I never questioned it. I thought it
would be no big deal as I'd been induced for the stillbirth of my son.

However, everything I've read since has opened a real can of worms for me,
and I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. I (foolishly) didn't even
consider that induction for a live baby might be done differently. Best case
scenario I can think of for me, is that I go into labour early naturally
just before a planned induction. That would save worrying about all this.
One thing I'm wondering, is it possible and safe to attempt to ripen the
cervix by prostaglandins etc beforehand, and see if I don't go into labour
naturally before trying anything with pitocin? Or could there be
complications with that too?

~Amy



Well, there's one kind of prostaglandins that you don't need
a Rx for, and which I suppose there's no reason not to go for
unless you've been put on "pelvic rest", IFYKWIM.

Seriously though, I hope this all works out for you. The doula
I had for DS told me that she thought stress in a woman's life
(e.g., from working right up to the due date) is factor leading
to late deliveries. She believed this so strongly, she actually
*charged more* for women who worked up to their due date, since
later deliveries (in her experience) tend to involve longer
labors and therefore mean more work for her. So, if it's at
all possible, you might consider taking it really easy for
the month before your due date, and getting your mind and body
ready to deliver, in the hopes that that might encourage the
baby to come sooner...

--
Emily
mom to Toby 5/1/02
#2 EDD 7/19/04