I think the kid is just not ready
I have this client that I am waiting on. Her EDD was last Tuesday. During one of our prenatal meetings she mentioned that there was some question about the accuacy of her dates. So the fact that she is now "overdue" is not surprising to me. She is a first time mom, and often times first time mommies go overdue right? I was pastdates with BOTH of my kids. So I know the frustration she is feeling right now.
She called me today to say that she and her husband were thinking of trying to take castor oil as a means of starting labor. I told her that I haven't had much experience with castor oil, and before doing anything she should probably talk to her midwife. As her doula, I felt like I couldn't recommend that she do that. It really does fall outside my scope of practice. We talked about the pros and cons of trying things to get labor started, but in the end I just kind of reminded her that babies are on their own time table. She is feeling some external pressure as well; her parents have been in town for the past two weeks. They extended their tickets until Wednesday.
I remember her frustration well. I was 5 days past my due date with my son, and was SO OVER being pregnant I couldn't stand it one more minute. I ran into a neighbor that night and she gave me her recipe for succes in getting labor started. She said "Go on a nice long walk, come home have a glass of wine, take a nice long hot bath and then have sex with your hubby!" Sounded like a plan to me! I did everything she said, and a few hours later, my water broke.
I know she would really like to have her baby while her parents are in town. It's just unfortunate that she is under this pressure to "perform". It is probably a safe bet that they aren't hounding her to go into labor, but just their presence must be giving her anxiety. Not the best bet for relaxing and getting a labor started. I think the best thing for her to take, is time.
She called me today to say that she and her husband were thinking of trying to take castor oil as a means of starting labor. I told her that I haven't had much experience with castor oil, and before doing anything she should probably talk to her midwife. As her doula, I felt like I couldn't recommend that she do that. It really does fall outside my scope of practice. We talked about the pros and cons of trying things to get labor started, but in the end I just kind of reminded her that babies are on their own time table. She is feeling some external pressure as well; her parents have been in town for the past two weeks. They extended their tickets until Wednesday.
I remember her frustration well. I was 5 days past my due date with my son, and was SO OVER being pregnant I couldn't stand it one more minute. I ran into a neighbor that night and she gave me her recipe for succes in getting labor started. She said "Go on a nice long walk, come home have a glass of wine, take a nice long hot bath and then have sex with your hubby!" Sounded like a plan to me! I did everything she said, and a few hours later, my water broke.
I know she would really like to have her baby while her parents are in town. It's just unfortunate that she is under this pressure to "perform". It is probably a safe bet that they aren't hounding her to go into labor, but just their presence must be giving her anxiety. Not the best bet for relaxing and getting a labor started. I think the best thing for her to take, is time.
posted by T$ at
9:03 PM
2 Comments:
Yep...
I tell clients and classes that duedate are so subjective for a couple reasons.
ALL babies are cooked at the same number of days for one thing, and for another it does seem to have a bit to do with the woman's cycle.
Good advice to say, "Be patient" and baby and body will work together to have things happen at the right time.
Hh
You can pass along that I read a study once on the efficacy of castor oil for starting labor. The results were that it was no more likely than doing nothing to start labor. But it was nearly certain to cause diarrhea and painful stomach cramping.
Too bad the grandparents flew in for the big event. That does add so much pressure to everything. Don't you know her labor will start once they leave and things settle down?
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