Feel like my birth plan got thrown right out the window

celestialnyte · May 2012

My original plan was to have a natural birth. I've been diagnosed with GD and will be induced at 39 weeks if LO doesn't come before. I'm so frustrated that my idea for a natural birth is being thrown out the window before it even happens. I'm SO hoping that LO comes prior to needing an induction.

Did any of you have GD and still able to go natural?

Mycrimsonheart · May 2012

Other ladies will have more info for you but you may try natural induction techniques. I also know a few women who have been induced with pit and been able to still go without pain meds.

Lipstick&LeopardPrint · May 2012

You read my mind! I JUST got the same news today and was about to ask the same question. I'm so frustrated! I'm supposed to get once or twice a week NSTs starting at 32 weeks, so as long as baby is fine and my sugar is where it should be, why should we have to be induced? I plan to argue about this at my next visit, since I was too upset today when all this was dumped on me.

bunniekrissy · May 2012

I feel your disappointment, though I didn't have GD. I wanted a natural birth but I had to be induced (well, turned out to be augmented) at 38+4 for hypertension. I had my membranes stripped twice the week before and it definitely seemed to help get things moving, though I didn't go into labor until several days later on the day my induction was scheduled for, and still ended up "needing" to be augmented with Pit. Also lots of sex seemed to get the contractions going, and after several days, they stuck. I ended up getting the epi :-/ But it's ok, all went smoothly and really once the baby was here I was over the disappointment of the birth experience not being what I had envisioned. Still hoping to have an all-natural birth next time around. Good luck and I hope your baby comes before you need the induction!

QueenofAnything · May 2012

FYI, getting induced for GD does not necessarily have to do with size of the baby. Having extra glucose in your system stresses the placenta more and makes it deteriorate faster. If you are careful about what you eat and your blood sugar numbers are fine, you should be able to hold off and go natural. If you need insulin to control your blood sugar, they'll be more concerned about how well your placenta is functioning.

I'm not knocking NB; I've got GD and I'm hoping to go natural myself, but I just wanted to make you aware that there is a legitimate medical reason behind being induced with GD and that it's not "the baby is too big", even though your risk of shoulder dystocia does go up as well when you have GD.

stahlop · May 2012

Why is it an automatic induction? I would make sure you eat a good diet and exercise and get retested closer to the time. My friend was diagnosed with GD. She kept it under control with diet and exercise but they still wanted to induce. The doctor threatened that her baby would be too big or could die. She switched to a home birth at 39 weeks. Had the baby at 41 weeks. The baby was 7lbs 2oz and almost 23 in long. I can only imagine how small she would have been if she'd been induced at 39 weeks. I know this isn't always the norm, but if you feel that you don't need the induction (make sure you do NST's and such as well), then you don't have to have an induction,

rebbieW · May 2012

I personally feel that such decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis as opposed to routine (e.g., always inducing GD moms at 39 weeks). As long as your sugars are diet and exercise controlled and you are not on medication, can you suggest that you'd like more intense monitoring during those days after 39 weeks instead of the induction? They can do U/S and NSTs to check size of baby, placental function and fluid levels. Of course if anything seems off you can still be induced. I went to 41w1d with my GD pregnancy and delivered a very healthy 8lb. baby. Good luck!

EDD June 25

ridesbuttons · May 2012

Yes. GD does not mean you cannot go natural.

I would revisit the induction date. Why 39 weeks? You might consider it at 41 weeks, you might not.

pepomntpat · May 2012

I would discuss with your OB careful monitoring and only do the induction if necessary. Regular blood sugar checks and NSTs can monitor the condition of you and your baby. I agree with PP that this can be a legitimate reason for induction, but it also should be looked at on a case by case basis.

kmm2150 · May 2012

I was induced for other medical reasons, not GD, just 2 days before my due date, and went without any pain meds. I had cervadil for 12 hours, made a teensy tiny bit of progress with that, and they started pit, low and slow at my request. A few hours in, contractions got going pretty good, and with about 4-5 hours of "real" contractions that I had to breath through (and that, in the moment of transition, made me think I hate everyone and I'm never having another baby), she was born. THis is my first, so I can't compare to labor without pitocin, but it is definitely doable if you prepare yourself for it.

Definitely keep talking to your doctor about the need for induction, what you can do to stay healthy and minimize risk, as well as your options if induction does end up being necessary.

5dogs · May 2012

I had GD that was diet/exercise controlled. I ended up being induced after my water began to leak and labor didn't follow at 37 weeks. I did cervadil for 12 hours and then moved over to pit. After three and a half days of no sleep & severe cramping/vomiting from my Crohns I ended up getting an epidural (moved from 4cm to 10cm in less than 3 hours while I napped after it was put in - just long enough for all of my medicine in the machine to get used!).

Talk to your OB and ask what they will do if your child stays on a normal growth pattern. I was told I could go to 41 weeks and then they'd induce given how easily my GD was controlled.

As a bonus - my OB signed off for me to eat/drink during labor to keep my sugars in check. It was heavenly to be able to eat real food!

HomelessParrot · May 2012

I had GD, and I was on insulin 5x/day towards the end. When I was fist diagnosed, I panicked - because I thought all of my planning for a natural birth was out of the window. I was so upset!

Luckily, I was with a midwife that worked within an OB practice. The OBs wanted to push me for induction at 39 weeks, but after speaking with the extremely knowledgeable endocrinologist who handled my GD, I realized it wasn't necessary. The MWs were perfectly comfortable with me going to 41 weeks if necessary. It didn't wind up being necessary, as the MW stripped my membranes and that put me into labor. I had a natural birth with absolutely no intervention - no IV catheter, nothing. It was wonderful.

GD doesn't = high intervention birth. You need to be with a practice that you trust and with people that respect your decisions. You also need to make sure that they can CLEARLY explain WHY an induction is necessary and back it up with literature.

Good luck. It can be done!

Still free to be me · May 2012

With my last GD pregnancy, I went into labor on my own at 39w1d, and delivered DD with no pain meds. The only intervention we had was my OB broke my water to move things a little faster. (I had two days of mild, but regular contractions, got to 4cm, broke my water, and had a baby an hour and a half later.)

This time, the induction subject has already come up. My blood sugars are much more difficult to control, so if baby doesn't make her appearance by 39 weeks, we will most likely be inducing.

blonddnyc · May 2012

I dont know much about GD - but I can swear that I came across literature or a video where Dr. Marsden Wagner (it may not even have been him, but it was some authority on childbirth) said that GD was actually totally normal response to pregnancy and doesnt need to be treated like this big thing that causes all these interventions. It sounded like GD was "invented" by the medical industry - I wish I rembered the source but perhaps you could google for it?

ETA - FOUND IT!!

In Marsden Wagner's book Born in the USA: . . .

Obstetric Practices That Should Not Be Done:

"Screening for 'Gestational Diabetes,'" the authors put gestational diabetes in quotation marks because there's no such thing as gestational diabetes. It is an invention of obstetricians that describes an elevated glucose level in the blood, a level that is normal in pregnancy and without complications.

Also check this article:

https://www.drmomma.org/2010/06/gestational-diabetes-emperor-has-no.html

aliciaroset · May 2012

I had PROM, labored fine on pit without pain meds. It's totally possible!

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