Failed Induction
August 11, 2008 – 7:35 pm‘Just after my due date I was advised that, if I didn’t have a sweep now I would have to be induced at term plus 10 days.’ (Note the ‘have to be’. What about the discussion of options, statstics for and against, informed consent.) The sweep caused bleeding which resulted in immediate admission to hospital. ‘I was advised I needed to be induced immediately, and if I went home I’d be putting my baby at risk.’ By this time the bleeding had stopped. ‘After the first prostin I was told I couldn’t go home.’ (Note the ‘told I couldn’t’ rather than ‘advised it would be unwise’ with a discussion of the pros and cons and what could be done to make it safe.) Three days later and three prostins and one prostin gel, still couldn’t go home and was offered a c-section due to a ‘failed induction.’ (Maybe because the baby simly wasn’t ready.) Three days later still they broke my waters through 1cm and hooked me up to a syntocynin drip. The baby twisted into a funny position when my waters were broken and this was later what made her go into foetal distress as from being in the perfect birthing position for 4 weeks her head and body twisted into the completely wrong position and was being squashed for the next 9 hours.’ ‘Nurses and doctors tried 4 times to get an intravenous drip in my hand.’ ‘I was put on one of the highest levels of syntocynin.’ (A high level of syntocinen means strong and difficult contractions for the mother and also, therefore, for the baby which makes foetal distress more likely.) ‘I was hardly dilated. I think my body reached 3-4 cms. When I started to lose hope watching my baby’s heart rate drop every contraction I was advised the best way forward was to have pethidine as it looked like I had a long haul ahead of me. ‘Within 5 minutes my baby’s base heart rate dropped and I was rushed off to have a c-section.’ ‘The only problem was her head was mis-shapen due to being squahsed in the wrong position. They actually had to wrench her out where she had got stuck.’
What about informed consent?
Why the sweep so early?
Could it be that the baby simply wasn’t ready?
As Michel Odent says, one intervention leads to another. And he adds that the first intervention is leaving your own front door. A membrane sweep, led to bleeding, led to pit gel, led to ruptured membranes, led to syntoconin drip, led to pethidine, led to a c-section. How often do you hear that story.
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