When to schedule induction?

[Anonymous]

Any update, OP? Is baby here? Thinking of you and hoping it all worked out.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP whose platelet count had dropped to 57K. I've been on 60 mg of prednisone for the past 3 weeks and they've actually risen to 115K so I'm now eligible for an epidural. I'm 37 weeks 5 days now and I will continue the prednisone until delivery.

Hope this helps someone in the future who may be going through the same thing.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I was induced on 9/1 and it ended up being a bit of a nightmare but not because of the platelets- my platelet count had actually gone up to 145 when I was admitted so I was somehow all good on that front. Induction lasted 50+ hours (it took over a day to get to 4 cm, at which point I got the epidural) and ended in a c section (which thankfully I didn't need general for). Baby was born a healthy boy. 6 days later I developed postpartum preeclampsia (no bp issues during my pregnancy) which I had to get magnesium sulfate for and which I am still working on managing with meds from home. Who knew pregnancy was the easy part! Postpartum has been kicking my butt.

Labor and delivery was traumatic. It's not something I relive constantly but the first week home I was in shock and how difficult everything was. I felt in good hands with my providers but my body did NOT want to dilate/go into labor and I ended up getting the epidural out of hunger/exhaustion and just having no idea how long it would take for me to fully dilate (at 1 am the morning after I got the epidural at 9 am). I wonder how different it would have been had I waited to be induced at 41 weeks, but given he was born one day before 41 weeks after what seems like every intervention known to man, probably not very.

In any case- I hope my story is more of an exception than rule!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was induced on 9/1 and it ended up being a bit of a nightmare but not because of the platelets- my platelet count had actually gone up to 145 when I was admitted so I was somehow all good on that front. Induction lasted 50+ hours (it took over a day to get to 4 cm, at which point I got the epidural) and ended in a c section (which thankfully I didn't need general for). Baby was born a healthy boy. 6 days later I developed postpartum preeclampsia (no bp issues during my pregnancy) which I had to get magnesium sulfate for and which I am still working on managing with meds from home. Who knew pregnancy was the easy part! Postpartum has been kicking my butt.

Labor and delivery was traumatic. It's not something I relive constantly but the first week home I was in shock and how difficult everything was. I felt in good hands with my providers but my body did NOT want to dilate/go into labor and I ended up getting the epidural out of hunger/exhaustion and just having no idea how long it would take for me to fully dilate (at 1 am the morning after I got the epidural at 9 am). I wonder how different it would have been had I waited to be induced at 41 weeks, but given he was born one day before 41 weeks after what seems like every intervention known to man, probably not very.

In any case- I hope my story is more of an exception than rule!

Goodness OP - you had a rough go at the end but congratulations! I'm the PP with the same platelet issue and I actually went into labor on my own on 9/21 - delivered a boy as well! My platelets rose enough (with the prednisone treatment) for the epidural but unfortunately my blood pressure was too high. They ended up diagnosing me with preeclampsia - and my blood pressure was fine for every prenatal visit before then so it was a surprise. I ended up on an IV drip of magnesium sulfate which extended my time in the hospital a few days but the labor itself was fine. I don't know if there is a correlation between the low platelets and preeclampsia but I wanted to share my experience since this area mirrored yours.

[Anonymous]

Did your doctor explain why induction is recommended just because you are over 35? What is the rationale behind this?