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41 weeks, scheduled for induction acupuncture tomorrow but a bit nervous..need reassurance
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Anonymous
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I turned 41 wks today, the next OB appointment is Thursday, and I know they will start talking induction even if everything is fine. So I went ahead and scheduled induction acupuncture for tomorrow. Other natural methods did not work. But what if this baby is just not ready to come out yet, and I am imposing acupuncture on him? Please tell me that it will not hurt to try anyway....
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banewman
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Site Admin Offline
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Your instincts are good. Remember, your ob may pressure you on induction, but you don't need to go there. Could you have the ob appointment Thursday (even if you schedule induction for later in the week or early next week, you could squeeze your acupuncture appt. in then, rather than tomorrow if you're feeling unsure)
Keep eating good meals, take some good walks. Trust your instincts. |
Anonymous
| Agree, you don't have to agree to an induction. Its fine to go to 42 weeks at least. My second was born at 41w6 d (she came on her own). Sometimes babies just need longer to cook. |
Anonymous
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OP here, I just wanted some reassurance that acupuncture won't hurt - if the baby wants to stay longer, he will stay...
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Anonymous
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good luck...i know the waiting is hard, and that it's especially hard when you don't want to be induced and feel like there's this countdown til when they start pressuring you. but as PPs said, you can refuse, if you feel comfortable doing so.
my first baby was born at 41 weeks 6 days. i tried acupuncture (and everything else). i don't think the acupuncture hurt anything, but i also don't think it put me into labor, nor do i think there was any reason (other than the provider's imposed deadlines) to do it. in retrospect i wish i would have just waited for the baby to come on her own, rather than going to such great lengths to go into labor. refusing induction would have made more sense than making myself crazy trying to meet my provider's deadline. so the second time around, i found a provider who was comfortable with me going to 42 weeks or beyond if the baby was healthy, made sure i had the lastest possible due date, and decided to not interfere with the process and let the baby come when she wanted to (which was at 39 weeks). i wish you the best of luck. trust your instincts -- if you don't want to be induced and don't believe it is the right thing for your safety or your baby's safety, then follow your gut. you have an excellent chance of your baby arriving by 42 weeks if you wait it out.... |
Anonymous
Oh, trust me. The baby will do what the baby wants to do! And that continue forever! Just try to relax. What will happen will happen and you and the baby will be okay. Don't get crazy....follow your instincts, they are critical right now!
Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Acupuncture induction is a gentle nudge. If mom/baby isn't ready, then it's not going to start labor. Even if it doesn't start labor, it may help relax you and/or help ripen your cervix. It does not hurt in any way, and it is definitely not dangerous. Most women find it enjoyable, and for some lucky women it actually starts their labor and saves them from a long medical induction. |
Anonymous
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OP - just wanted to provide you with this link...
In short, there was a study that found that there was "no evidence of a statistically significant difference in the risk of caesarean section ... for women induced at 41 and 42 completed weeks respectively." http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab004945.html As you probably know, there is a *slight* increase in risk to the baby if he/she isn't born before 42 weeks (i.e., is geniunely overdue). The risk appears insignificant, especially if your OB okays it and you get regular fetal monitoring checks, etc. But I wanted to make sure you realize that when people speak about the cascade of interventions, resulting in a c-section, after being induced, this really does not appear to be the case (at least based on this study) if you are induced at 41+ weeks. It is true that an induction between 37-40 weeks DOES increase the risk of a c-section, but I view these as premature inductions. |
Anonymous
This was not my interpretation at all. What the study seems to be saying, is that the outcome of cesarean as a result of induction is similar in those who are induced at 41 weeks and for those induced at 42 weeks. The study supports the fact that induction leads to cesarean more often than doing nothing (and awaiting spontaneous labor) leads to cesarean. This study is also saying that the risk of c/s as a result of induction is greater when the induction happens at 37-40 weeks, when compared to the induction which happens at 41-42 weeks. It is also important to note that this study is using the word post-term to indicate pregnancies which last longer than 42 completed weeks, which would be 42 weeks and 6 days. That aside, it seems the primary focus of the study is to examine the consequences of going post-term for the baby. The risk of fetal death after 42 weeks is greater in the expectant management group (the group who does nothing but wait) when compared to the actively managed (ie, induced) group. But the statistical difference was extremely small, they were referring to 42 weeks and beyond, AND there is no indication of how the babies were monitored (or if they were monitored at all) during the waiting period. |
Anonymous
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41 weeks? Oh, that baby is ready to come out. Trust me.
Enjoy your soon to be new little one! WOOO! |
Anonymous
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OP here, thanks everyone. My provider is comfortable letting me go even past 42 weeks, but as always the devil's in the detail - as long as the NST/am fluid check etc are OK.
And what if they are not? Even if nobody pressures me I think I would be prone to agree to anything to get the baby out safely. And this would mean being put on antibiotics, continuous monitoring, most probably Cervidil or whatever is used to help the cervix ripen, etc etc. I would prefer to do whatever I can to prevent this situation -as long as it does not hurt the baby. As I understand, acupuncture does not. I am not much dilated, effaced and the cervix is still far back. The baby has not dropped yet. I was hoping for exactly what one of the posters noted - that the acupuncture would help my body get tuned, aligned and what not - and this will help the baby come out on its own. |