Inducing at 37 weeks

I'm planning to induce labor at 37 weeks 1 day this Thursday.

Did anyone else induce and still have a vaginal birth? Any tips? My baby A is head down and he was estimated at 6 lb 12 ounces at our ultrasound last week. Baby B is breech and she was estimated at 6 lb 4 ounces at the ultrasound last week. The doctors have told me that I can attempt a vaginal birth if he stays head down and is bigger, but I'm worried about delivering our girl breech or ending up with a c section for her after he's born vaginally. Should I just opt for a c section? I know that inducing often leads to unproductive labor

 

Is this your first delivery? I think it depends on the state of your cervix and some other factors.

I have had three inductions that went totally smooth- but they were #3, #5, #6 babies...
The research really shows that attempting a vaginal birth with a vertex a and breech b is a really good and safe option. I know it is nerve-wracking to consider....

If I was you, I would definitely attempt a vaginal birth. Why are they inducing at 37 weeks? They won't induce here until 39.

I don't have BTDT experience! But I am 38 weeks and facing my first C-Section.

Just wanted to give some support!
Rebecca

 

I wasn't induced but did deliver a breech baby B vaginally and that was smooth. That should be fine. As for the induction, I agree with the pp. your body and how you tolerate labor is the determining factor. Is there a reason why they are inducing?

 

I wasnt induced, I had a planned C-Section at 37 weeks 1 day due to baby A being breech and B being transverse. Just wanted to say good luck!

 

We induced at 37w 4d. Baby A was head down and Baby B was breech. I had a 'proven pelvis' from previous births. We had a wonderful birth experience. I always knew there was a possiblity of a c-section for Baby B but I tried (tried really hard) not the focus on that. Once Baby A was born my midwife held Baby B in place on the outside of my stomach and the OB reached in and guided him into postion and I pushed him out. They were happy and healthy and we went home as soon as possible. I had an epi so had to wait for a set period of time before I could leave the hospital. Good luck.

 

I was induced at 38 weeks, baby a was head down, baby b was breech. I delivered both vaginally, baby b feet first by breech extraction (and he was the bigger of the two). I had no problems and we went home 2 days later. Good luck with whichever way you decide!

 

I was induced with my first at 41+6 and had him vaginally without any issues. He was 8lbs 6oz.

With my girls A was vertex and B was transverse when I went into labour. When A came out, B flipped vertex and came out head first too.

Have they checked you to see if you are dilated at all? What are they going to do for the induction? For my first I was about 2cm when I went in so all they had to do was break my water and he was born 4 hours later...no pitocin needed. With my girls I really wanted to avoid being induced so I asked for a stretch and sweep at 38+1 and went into labour on my own 36 hours later. Is this something that could be possible? If they are planning to induce you anyway maybe you could ask your OB to give this a try to see if it stimulates things naturally.

GL!!!

 

Honestly, I asked for the induction at 37 weeks because of the size of the babies. I'm very petite and carrying these guys is getting so hard. The doctors told me that they wanted to induce me at 38 weeks, anyway, and they are doing so well in there I don't think they are going to come out on their own! I'm still feeling a bit guilty about the induction, though.

I was 3-4 cm dilated and 50% effaced at 36 weeks. I had hoped I might go into labor naturally on my own this week - I've done a lot of walking and, ah, bedroom activities to try and stimulate labor but no luck. I don't have consistent contractions, but I do have them sometimes. I'm not sure how they plan to induce (these are questions I probably should ask!).

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like it IS possible to deliver a breech baby I'm hoping everything goes smoothly, but I'm preparing for a c section if necessary.

 

It is 100% possible to have a vaginal breech birth! :good: In fact, in Canada the SOGC just changed their recommendation for breech babies so that you are no longer automatically required to have a c-birth. Vaginal breech births do have different potential complications from vaginal vertex births, but they aren't necessarily significantly riskier - and whether or not a vaginal breech birth carries more or less risks than a c-birth would be up to you to decide (with input from your doctor) depending on your specific situation.

I would definitely look into your induction options (and discuss all of them with your doc) - there are pros & cons to each of them, but generally speaking, since it sounds like your induction wouldn't be medically necessary, you can also take it nice & slow. If one method isn't working on a given day, you can always decide to hold off another 24 - 48 hours & try again or try something different, rather than trying to force your body to do something it's not ready for.

Last, but not least, please don't be afraid of your babies' sizes! Your body is an incredibly functioning machine, designed to work with your babies to bring them out, regardless of size. Your pelvis is surprisingly flexible (and so are your babies' heads!), especially when you are able to labour & push in an upright position (squatting, hands & knees, sitting on a birth ball/toilet/birth stool, etc). How a baby's head fits through your pelvis is more art than science and really can't be predicted in advance.

Best of luck with all your choices - sending many smooth & easy labour vibes your way. :hug:

 

Wondering how it all went and if your little ones are here!

Rebecca

 

I was induced at 37 weeks. I had been in the hospital from 29 weeks and my doctor actually suggested 36 weeks, but I said no as the babies weren't in distress. I agreed at 37 weeks because I had no amniotic fluid and my blood pressure was going up and down. I delivered vaginally, but both of mine were had down. When the first baby was delivered, two midwives put their hands on my bump to keep the 2nd baby from turning. I had no problems during the delivery. They both came very quickly.

 

Hi I'm new here and just wanted to say that this has been a really interesting post to read.

I'm 31 weeks pg with identical girls (Mono-chrono) and here in Aus, they say full term for twins is 36-38 weeks. I have been asking these exact same questions and just the other day at my weekly u/s, the ob said that they are trialling all doctors at the hospital to not automatically resort to c-sections if there's a breech in the second twin. I was so glad to hear this because I really am not keen on c/s.

I've been told that if I haven't delivered by 37 weeks, I need to start preparing for being induced. This is my second birth, my first daughter was delivered at 41+3wks 11 years ago.

My cervix gets measured every fortnight and last week hadn't moved an inch ie. no dilation. The only concern so far has been that twin b has a far lot more fluid than twin a, but they both have a good growth rate and bladders, and after two weeks of 4 u/s, the obs have given them the clear.

Back to induction though, what is a "stretch and sweep"?

 

A stretch & sweep (also sometimes called sweeping the membranes or rimming the cervix) is where your caregiver will reach through your cervix (you need to be slightly dilated) and separate the membranes from your cervix. It can kick start labour if you're already pretty close to going on your own. What is great about it as an induction method is that it's low risk (although there is a very small chance that your membranes could be accidentally ruptured during the procedure) and it also doesn't put you "on the clock" (for example, if you choose to be induced by having your membranes broken, doctors usually have a certain time frame within which they want labour to start due to the increased risk of infection - if labour doesn't start on its own, they will have to move on to more aggressive/potentially risky induction methods. There's no going back once your membranes are broken). Also, it can be done more than once if it doesn't work the first time. On the down side, it's fairly uncomfortable or even painful, and often there will be spotting/bleeding after the procedure.

 

Yes it is possible. I was 36 weeks and induced because of severe pre-eclampsia. Baby A was in position and Baby B was Transverse (laying across my rib area). DS came out in approximately 4 pushes, but DD started to go breech and three doctors tried to get her to turn with no luck. My OB looked up at me and said "I can grab her foot and get her out breech or we can wheel you down to the OR for a C-Section". I told her to grab that foot because there was no way I was having both kinds of delivery in one day. I did tear a little from DD's shoulder, but I think just about every women tears a bit. I required about 5 stitches which burned a little for a couple days, but within a week I felt like myself instead of a longer C-section recovery. Good luck with your induction and wishing you a smooth delivery.

 

What if I'm not dilated?

I ask because with my DD's birth, I only had 1 cm of dilation even after 10 hours of contractions and they eventually had to break my water.

Also with this pregnancy my cervix has not shortened at all and is the same as in early pregnancy.

 

Here's a great post by an Australian midwife that will take you through the induction process step by step.

Was your daughter's birth an induction? If your body wasn't ready to go into labour on its own, the labour process can often take a lot longer.

At this point in your pregnancy, it's a good thing that your cervix hasn't shortened yet. It will when it's time. Here's a good post on why the pre-labour cervix isn't a great indicator of what's going to happen in labour.

 

This was great reading !! Thank you

No it was a spontaneous labour and the contractions were two minutes apart by that stage. They broke the water and gave me the epidural at the same time (it was 11 years ago so my memory is failing a little) and I delivered her 8 hours later - 2 of which was pushing

This makes me feel so much better about my body being the way it is !! - on one of the other forums I was visiting, there was a lot of talk about the cervix and it made me feel inadequate that I wasn't dilated when I went into labour with DD and that my cx hasn't changed a bit since early pregnancy.

Rachel, thank you so much for your wonderful and informative reply to my posts. You have given me much 'food for thought' ! :thanks:

 

You're very welcome! :good: