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Natural Birth
sunflowergrl
member
Speaking of water breaking...
sunflowergrl
member
How does one go about getting a natural birth with labor that starts with water breaking and no real contrax? I feel like this is a super dumb question, but both times my water broke during labor.
I guess I'm more asking is it possible to not get pit when your water breaks? How long will they let you go (in general, obviously it varies by dr.) before the recommend pit.? Is it possible to NOT start contrax on your own?
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me. - Led Zeppelin
Chemical Pregnancy 10/5/10
BFP 2/7/11--m/c 2/12/11
TTD pics taken by knottie jen&louie
)
Chemical Pregnancy 10/5/10
BFP 2/7/11--m/c 2/12/11
TTD pics taken by knottie jen&louie
)This discussion has been closed.
Re: Speaking of water breaking...
You try like heck to get things started on your own, but if you can't, I think you have no choice but to get the pit. I think some providers will let you have antibiotics to buy you more time to start things on your own but I have not known anyone personally who has done this. I do know someone who this very thing has happened to...her water broke, they tried nipple stimulation, walking, herbs, etc to start contractions and they didn't start so she got pitocin and still had no pain meds (AMAZING IMO). This was a fear of mine when I was pregnant. Thankfully my water broke during labor! I do think that a lot of times water breaks before labor but the pressure from the baby's head starts it.
This happened to me with my first child. My water broke at 39 weeks and I had no contractions whatsoever. Thankfully, I was going to midwives at a natural birth-friendly hospital, otherwise I'm almost certain I would have ended up with a c-section. My hospital allowed me to go up to 72 hours before induction. I had to come in every 24 hours for monitoring, and I was given a list of instructions and warning signs of infection, etc. They told me that the vast majority of women go into labor on their own within 24 hours of giving birth, and that of those who do not, the vast majority of those women will go into labor on their own within 48 hours. Well, I beat all the odds. Over 60 hours later, I still was not having contractions. I ended up taking cytotec, which I have mixed feelings about today. Surprisingly, I had not learned about things like cytotec or cervadil in all of my preparation for a natural birth, everything was about avoiding pitocin. As I approached the 72 hour mark, I felt like my only options were cytotec or pitocin, so I chose the cytotec. I took 2 doses over an eight hour period before I felt my first contraction. Within 30 minutes I was fully in active labor and dilated to 10 approx. 3 hours after my first contraction. Then I pushed for over two hours because ds was posterior. There were no other interventions after the second round of cytotec. All in all, it was still a really positive birth experience because for the most part, things played out the way I had hoped.
My situation was pretty rare, but that's one example of what could happen.
The thing is, just because your water breaks doesn't mean contractions need to start right away. The timetable that most hospitals put you on is totally arbitrary. Is there a chance of infection once water breaks? Of course, but there are ways to minimize that risk (very important!) and it can totally be monitored in a "wait and see" fashion. As far as a provider recommending Pit it's going to depend. Some will want to start it right away because they've already put you on the clock. More patient providers won't recommend it unless there is an actual reason to be worried about infection. I would definitely ask your provider their POV on this topic at your next appointment.
With that said, if my water broke I would try to get contractions going using natural methods. Typically they'll set in on their own within several hours of membranes rupturing unless it's really premature. Only ~10% of women have their water break before contractions start so ::fingers crossed:: it's not even going to be an issue!
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I've delivered two babies without pit, with my water breaking before any ctx.
With DS1, it broke around 3am...I cleaned this house top to bottom and walked and walked and walked (FAST) to get the ctx started. They stalled out on the way to the hosp, but I got them back by doing more walking there. He was delivered 18hrs after water broke.
With DS2, I had a high leak that I noticed around 5pm. There were no beds available, so I hung out in triage doing nothing for hours (answered the phones and did paperwork and stuff -- I work there. Better than just sitting on a stretcher.) After I finally got a room, I asked them to completely break the water (an unpopular request on this board, probably) because I had faith that my body would take over like it did the first time. I had NO ctx when they did and was 2cm -- had a baby in my arms 3hrs later.
Everyone's story is going to be different, and it's different from kid to kid with the same woman. But it can definitely happen without pit!
I've done 2 pain med free births with early water breaks.
For my first labor, my water broke at 9 pm and there was no contractions or any other signs of labor. Contractions started on their own around 12 am and I had DS around 2pm. I had antibiotics for GBS but no pain meds.
For my second labor, I was having irregular contractions and my water broke at about 3 am. Contractions never really intensified and labor stalled at about 4 cm. I tried all sorts of natural methods - walking, nipple stimulation, stairs, etc. Nothing worked. After discussion with my provider, we chose to start pitocin at 4 pm. The dose was very low and the increases were extremely gradual. Luckily, after just a few doses I was at 9cm and they turned the pitocin off. I was able to give birth again without pain meds.
It is definitely possible to start contractions without pitcocin and it is also possible to have a med free birth with other interventions. Hope that helps.
To answer your question about timing after water breaking, I was given pit at the hospital 24 hrs, per hospital policy, after my water broke because I wasn't in a tight enough labor pattern. I had a midwife.
At my birth center now, the time frame is 48 hours before they transfer you to the hospital for pitocin (because accredited birth centers can't give pitocin.)
It is possible to not go into labor, to have a very slowwww labor, or even for contractions to stall out after water breaks. Sometimes people will be in active labor, have their water break, and stall out because of that. (So, to that end, artificially breaking the bag is not always effective in stimulating labor contractions- sometimes it does the opposite.)