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Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
Raspberry plants are hardy perennials in the rose family. Red raspberry leaf is part of the raspberry plant that has been used as a traditional remedy for pregnant and postpartum women. Although red raspberry leaf has been cultivated for its culinary and medicinal benefits for centuries, modern science has not been able to confirm all of the claims traditionally made about red raspberry leaf…
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I became a mum for the first time at 23 in August 2015.
I had this idea in my head that my birth would be natural, in the water and with no drugs whatsoever.
From around 30weeks my baby would have no movements for long periods of time, and I was constantly being scanned and monitored. My cousin lost her son at 34weeks, he was stillborn, and this was a fear I had throughout my pregnancy, so naturally every time there was no movement I feared the worst. At 37+5, and after the 5th case of reduced movement, it was decided that I would be induced. I was given a pessary to induce labor, then a second one 12 hours later. Shortly after the second pill, I was having really strong contractions. My babies heart rate was constantly dipping, dangerously so. The doctors decided that an emergency section was required there and then and I was whisked away to theatre. At the time I was so devastated; my whole labour plan had gone out of the window, and I felt like a total failure.
Looking back now, the section I had saved my daughters life. I have a scar to show how she came into this world. Caesarean are certainly not an “easy way” to have a baby. The recovery is painful, and long, and difficult. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to breastfeed because of my section (I don’t know why I thought that) but we are now 7months into our breastfeeding journey and it’s wonderful.
Would I like to have had my water birth? Absolutely. But would I chose to have a section again? I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Elsie MacBean, 9th August 2015, 6lb 10oz, Inverness Scotland.
Whether your cesarean section is planned or an emergency to save your baby’s life, it can be scary and traumatizing. At no point is it the “easy way out,” though. We are amazed and wowed by the hard work and sacrifice you showed to save your baby.
Share your birth stories at www.themidwifeisin.com/submit
Can you break your own water at home?
Well yes, but I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU DO NOT DO THIS.
What is the “water” that we’re talking about? When you’re pregnant the fetus hangs out inside your uterus, floating in a sac of water called the amniotic sac.
Inside of the amniotic sac the fetus floats in sterile fluid, the amniotic fluid. The membranes of the sac keep out bacteria and viruses to protect the fetus as it grows.
If the amniotic sac breaks when the fetus is fully developed (full term which is different for each pregnancy but any time after 38 weeks) about 80% of people will go into labor within 24 hours.
Because of the chemical/hormonal reaction that happens, sometimes people use breaking the water as a way to start labor or speed labor up once it has begun. However, once the water has been broken the fetus is at a significantly higher likelihood for infection.
If you are trying to put yourself into labor, there are a bunch of better ways to do it before you go to breaking your amniotic sac. Read all about them here.
If you’re asking because you think you may have broken your water and you’re not sure, yes you can break your water at home. Sometimes your water will break on its own before labor, sometimes it will break on its own during labor. Sometimes it will break after you’ve had a trauma such as a fall or car accident. If your cervix is already dilated, its possible that a finger (either during sex or exploration) could puncture the membranes, but this is much less likely. Usually the membranes are tough enough not to break that easily.
Last year I had a baby when I was 5 months pregnant and I was induced I'm pregnant again and I was wondering if going into labor naturally would hurt more or less and if the size of the baby matters
A lot of people feel that going into labor on your own (without medicinal or mechanical labor induction/augmentation/stimulation) is an easier way to do it. While I wouldn't necessarily say it's "less painful," I will say that it's slower, and the contractions aren't quite as sharp. When you go into labor on your own, you (usually) go slowly through the stages of early labor, with gentle contractions that come irregularly and hormones that soften the cervix and get your baby into position. That way you've had time to get yourself into the right mindframe for labor by the time the contractions start to get stronger and more intense.
When your labor is being induced, we bring you from 0 to 10 right away - the contractions are very strong and close together, and many people say they feel a little "sharper".
Now, the thing about labor is that no 2 labors are the same, whether it's for 2 different people or the same person having more than one kid. You never know ahead of time what will happen, so my advice is always the same:
Be prepared with all the "things" you need - chapstick, breath mints, snacks, etc
Have someone you can rely on to be there throughout the whole time
Instead of writing a birth plan, write a birth flow chart. Be prepared for things to go in many different directions, and don't stress if they do in a direction you didn't predict.
Be kind to yourself.
Good luck!
Before 41 0/7 weeks of gestation, induction of labor generally should be performed based on maternal and fetal medical indications. Inductions at 41 0/7 weeks of gestation and beyond should be performed to reduce the risk of cesarean delivery and the risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality.
ACOG - Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery
From ACOG, a strong recommendation on when labor should be induced. Note that they do not recommend inducing prior to 41 weeks unless there are other medical indications. They instead recommend inducing at 41+ weeks essentially for concerns about going "too late." Also note according to current ACOG standards, 41 weeks is now considered "late term." 42 weeks is "post term."
The researchers also found that the drug prostaglandin E2 -- widely used in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to induce labor -- was linked to a reduced risk of cesarean delivery. However, use of the hormone oxytocin, and amniotomy (the deliberate rupture of the amniotic sac) -- also widely used to induce labor -- did not lower the chance of C-section.
Induced labor may lower risk for C-section
Is this the beginning!?
Today I had my 40 week appointment at my OB and they did a vaginal exam. He told me that I am now 4cm dilated and 80% effaced, and that her head is way down. He also commented that my amniotic sac membrane was 'bulging', meaning there is a lot of pressure on it. Based on that asses he said that he felt like my membranes would rupture at anytime.
Ever since that exam this afternoon I have been really uncomfortable, which I know is normal. I felt like I was MORE uncomfortable than the last 2 vaginal exams I had though. It was really hard to walk and it was a mix of aching pain and the feeling of having to pee TERRIBLY (but then I either couldn't go or only a very tiny amount would come out).
As soon as I got home and laid down I started to have 'episodes' of what felt like really uncomfortable period cramps way low in my pubic area and I think was accompanied by my uterus tightening. I tried to time then but they were so irregular and inconsistent. They last anywhere from 20-40 seconds and come very inconsistently - anywhere from every 5 min to every 15 minutes. I really do not know if this is just cramping from the exam (normal) or VERY early labor?
Anyways...the bigger news is that after a lot of questions and discussion we decided to schedule me for an induction on Saturday (omg?). I figure it this way: I will be 40 weeks and 4 days on Saturday, only a mere 3 days away from 41 weeks which is when they would want to induce me anyways. The farther past 41 weeks you go the riskier it gets for a few reasons (placenta starts to not function as well, can run low on amniotic fluid, etc). SO...although I have been against induction this whole time, I am agreeable to this. I am still giving her 4 more full days to come out on her own (and I am still fully hoping that she does) but if she doesn't at least I have an official LIGHT at the END of the tunnel!
I did a lot of reading about induction and asked a lot of questions. I learned that a lot of the risks that come along with induction moreso occur in women whose cervix' have not gone through ANY changes; meaning they aren't dilated at all or effaced or softened at all. This obviously does not pertain to me.
I found information on something called the Bishop score, which is a scoring system used to help doctors predicting whether or not induction will be required, and also to assess the odds of spontaneous delivery. I calculated out my score as follows:
4cm dilated: 2 points 80% effaced: 3 points Station 0: 2 points Cervix soft: 2 points Anterior position: 2 points Minus 1 point for this being my first child/first vaginal delivery Total Score: 10
A score of 5 or less suggests that labor is unlikely to start without induction. A score of 9 or more indicates that labor will most likely start on its own.
This made me a bit more optimistic that my labor may start and be successful on its own.
I am feeling a lot of feelings! Shock, excitement, fear, disbelief. I can't believe my baby girl is going to be here no later than Saturday. I am praying that it happens within the next 24 hours though! Pray for me!
In one study, researchers compared 143 first-time mothers who were electively induced with an unripe cervix, 286 first-time mothers electively induced with a ripe cervix, and 1,771 first-time mothers who went into labor on their own. All of the inductions were done with Pitocin, and the women with unripe cervixes had their cervixes ripened using the Foley bulb method. The researchers found that women who had an unripe cervix and were electively induced were 3 ½ times more likely to have a C-section compared to those women who went into labor on their own. The women who did not have a ripe cervix when they were induced also had a much slower labor compared to women who were induced with a ripe cervix (Vahratian et al. 2005).
Friedman’s Curve and Failure to Progress: A Leading Cause of Unplanned C-sections « Evidence Based Birth
