Here's the scoop. I'm 37 weeks and 2 days along now. I went for my weekly ultrasound today. Last week the perinatologist was cautiously optimistic about continuing to monitor me weekly and waiting at least another couple of weeks to schedule a delivery based on how the ultrasounds look. This week, the perinatologist recommended that this be my last weekly ultrasound and that I and my OB schedule a c-section for next week. Not what I wanted to hear. I asked for details, and he gave them to me and showed me on the ultrasound all the things he was talking about.
Primarily, the stubborn little section of the placenta that is hanging out over the interior opening of my cervix is still firmly fixed in the same spot. I wish I'd thought to ask for a picture of the close-up view he gave us for illustration, but maybe that'd be TOO much info. Regardless, it's still there and the doc doesn't think it's going to move. The cord insertion point is not laying over the cervix anymore, which we knew from last week, but there is a large blood vessel in that section of placenta that concerns the doctor. He is afraid that if I begin to dilate on my own, which is extremely likely to happen after 38 weeks, that the bit of placenta will tear - it could tear away from the uterine wall, or simply tear apart depending on how it's attached, and either way result in dangerously heavy bleeding. That is of course the worst case scenario, but there's a pretty fair likelihood since that part of the placenta hasn't moved away. Of course, there is no guarantee that when my cervix dilates I will bleed at all. It's been about five weeks since my last bleeding episode, and it's entirely possible that when my cervix dilates, that piece of placenta could just sort of go along for the ride and end up off to the side, not cause much bleeding at all, and not hinder the baby's exit. There is no way to know unless it happens. But the doctor feels that the time for taking chances is over since I'll be 38 weeks next week, and he strongly recommended that we schedule the delivery. He said that at this point he would consider me to have "gambled and won" by waiting this long and that 38 weeks should be the stopping point.
So that's where things stand medically. I left the perinatologist's office and went to my OB's office next door to discuss all the things he'd said and let her know that he recommends that I schedule the c-section for next week. By the time I saw my doctor, she had spoken to the perinatologist on the phone and gone over all the info, and had a startling but welcome suggestion for me.
My doctor said that she had discussed with the perinatologist the possibility of admitting me to the hospital, attempting an induction (using a Foley bulb, which is a way to manually begin to dilate the cervix) and monitoring me carefully as I dilate to see what happens. If I begin to bleed heavily, I'm literally a few steps from the operating room and can have a c-section in a matter of minutes. If I don't, they will continue the induction as long as there is no unmanageable bleeding and the baby is not in distress and see if I'm able to go ahead and deliver vaginally. She emphasized that it would be a slow and gentle induction without a time limit (both because of the medical concerns and because I will only be 38 weeks, so it may take quite a while for my body to fully prepare to give birth), so it could take two or three days from when they begin the process. What did I think about that idea?
Ha ha. I think that if my choices are between scheduling a c-section for next week or scheduling an induction and hoping to deliver vaginally with a c-section as a backup plan, I'll vote for the second option in a heartbeat.
This is obviously not the type of birth I'd hoped for in the beginning of this pregnancy. It will be a hospitalized, far-from-natural, induced delivery with continuous monitoring, probably a fair amount of Pitocin, and quite possibly a surgery at the end anyway if the perinatologist's fears are realized.
But the ability to even TRY to deliver the baby vaginally is such an answer to prayer for me that at this point my doctor could probably have told me that I'd have to attempt delivery while hanging upside down underwater and breathing through a scuba mask and I would have agreed.
So I'm going in on Monday morning for my scheduled induction. Those of you who know me very well probably know how much I dislike the words "scheduled induction" - but in this case they are music to my ears, because the alternative that I could be typing right now is "scheduled cesarean." I like this better.
I'm excited about meeting my baby next week one way or another. I'm thrilled that I will have the opportunity I have been praying for so fervently to attempt a non-surgical delivery. If I end up with a surgery anyway, I'll be happy that I was able to try and thus know for sure I ended up with the result I needed. In all things I am giving thanks to God right now. ALL THINGS. Thanks so much to those of you who have been praying with me and for me, and thinking positive healthy thoughts on my behalf.
Please, please continue to do so - I need your prayers and positive thoughts next week. I go in on Monday, and depending on how long things take, I may be able to post a couple of updates on how things are going, on Facebook if not here. But then again, I may not want to be on the computer or my phone at all. We'll see. At any rate, when my baby arrives, I look forward to posting some pictures here so you can see how big her cheeks REALLY are and how good of a job the ultrasound pictures did predicting what she'll look like. I can't wait!
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