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Induction of labour

E

Ellie11

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Type 1
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Hello,

I am preganct with my second baby. I had a terrible induction process the first time, we formally complained and had a birth debrief. Not that much came from it. I am still traumatised from it and do not want to be induced this time. My consultant said they are happy to monitor me and I shouldn't need an induction if everything keeps going smoothly. I was just wondering if any one with type 1 diabetes has give birth naturally? I've seen stories online. Just feel like I'm going to be bullied in to something I don't want again.
 
Ellie11 said:
Hello,

I am preganct with my second baby. I had a terrible induction process the first time, we formally complained and had a birth debrief. Not that much came from it. I am still traumatised from it and do not want to be induced this time. My consultant said they are happy to monitor me and I shouldn't need an induction if everything keeps going smoothly. I was just wondering if any one with type 1 diabetes has give birth naturally? I've seen stories online. Just feel like I'm going to be bullied in to something I don't want again.
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Welcome to the forum. I cannot advise you but there are a number of members with type 1 who have been posting about their new pregnancies around the ten week mark and some older type 1s who have been able to pass on tips. I'm sure you will get some solid advice and congratulations
 
Hi, congratulations on your pregnancy!
I'm so sorry to hear you went through all that the first time, I completely understand your trauma and how it must be impacting you.
I would say the birth team has to listen to you, your experiences and how you want to move forward, but they will likely tell you about any risks too.

I don't personally have experience with a natural birth. My first baby was a failed induction resulting in an emergency c section and this baby I'm planning to have an elective c section as I don't want to go through the same thing again and I've heard planned c sections are usually relatively calm and smooth.

Hopefully someone with more experience of natural birth will comment soon x
 
I’ve had a natural delivery @Ellie11 It was the best delivery of my three. Ideally, I’d have chosen that for my third baby too, but I needed to be induced. After a horrible birth experience with my 2nd, I too had a debrief. I also had a long chat with an OB. She wrote up a plan with lots of extra details about my upcoming induction for my 3rd, including specific instructions to the midwife. It was a MUCH better experience. I also had great staff around me who listened and whom I trusted.

You can’t be bullied into anything. It’s always your choice. I wasn’t bullied into my induction. I wouldn’t have chosen it, but I was aware of the increased placental deterioration with Type 1 and I felt I couldn’t risk waiting. I would never have forgiven myself if something went wrong.
 
Not diabetic but I’m happy to share my birth experiences if it’s any help. My first my waters broke then nothing much happened so after the requisite time I went into hospital and was induced. That also didn’t get very far. I had a C-section in the end after a long labour feeling like I didn’t have choices etc.

After that I had a debrief and when I was pregnant with my second we came up with flexible plans as I wanted to try for a vaginal birth. I ended up with another C-section but I had such a different experience and felt much more like I was being listened to and that I was making choices at each stage.

If you are absolutely sure you don’t want to be induced then that can be written into your plan. It may mean you move more quickly to a C-section if that’s needed but hopefully you’ll not need that and will have a lovely birth.
 
It is important that you think about what you want but be prepared to be flexible as circumstances may dictate another route.
My eldest daughter had a C-section as the baby was breach but second time round she had to seek a second opinion to have them agree to a C-section and her surgeon said it was a good job she had as the womb was very thin and it could have ruptured. Other daughter had an emergency C-section at 6 weeks early. She elected to have a C-section with the net one but went into labour the day before. She said it was far worse than the C-section and more uncomfortable afterwards. Third one was again an emergency C-section at 5 weeks early. Being an obstetrician she has seen all scenarios and very often an induction ends up in having to do a C-section so people do need to have a backup plan they are happy with.
Hopefully you will have a good midwife and a consultant you get on with.
 
Isn't the issue with type 1's sometimes the size of the baby they do not want us to go full term? That we can have bigger babies?

My pregnancy was a long time ago, 15 years. I was told I would be induced at 38 weeks, and they had booked me in, however at this same appointment at 34 weeks, they noticed I had pre-eclampsia and we needed to get her out. I had her a few days later, she was 6.4 so would have been a big baby. My birth plan went out of the window, I had been planning on yoga etc during but I was bed bound and they really didn't want to give me a c section so it was all just about getting her out safety.

If I was pregnant now my main point, as with my recent minor operation would be not to go on the sliding scale and to monitor my diabetes on my own. I gave the medical team instructions on what to do if need during, how to use my devices etc, they didn't need to and my diabetes stayed perfectly in range.
 
Yes and No @PhoebeC Baby size is an issue, but the major issue is placental deterioration/ageing and the risk of stillbirth.

The placenta of a Type 1 woman ages approximately two weeks faster than a woman without Type 1. That means that by the time she gets to 38wks, the placenta is already full-term - ie at the same state as a 40wk placenta. As we know, once non-diabetic women get to 40wk they’re encouraged to be induced due to the increased risk from the deteriorating placenta. For women with Type 1 our full-term is 38 weeks.

The kicker is that this increased placental deterioration/ageing happens even in Type 1 women with excellent control. It’s a feature of Type 1.
 
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