Well, as it turns out, after telling all my friends that I was having the baby induced yesterday we decided against it. I'm still hoping I will go into labor on my own and if not we will induce him next week on Wednesday morning.
More than anything, I was irritated at how the hospital staff seemed to rush me into wanting to induce the baby yesterday. Hospitals here are notorious anyway for shoving their way in between a married couple so we are always on high alert when we're in there. It just bugs me how each time we go in they make every attempt to separate James and me and then ask me if I'm being beaten. Just another reason I hate the Nanny State of California. Any wonder my blood pressure shoots up in the hospital? Ha!
Anyway, so I told the nurse what I thought about their stupid "policy" yesterday and then was being monitored for hypertension. Obviously, the BP was high throughout. So they were concerned about pre-eclampsia. Here is the most precise information I have found on Wikipedia. Yesterday, they insisted I had it, even though I had only "trace protein" in my urine (from not having eaten all day - thanks for making me run around, hospitals!) and my blood tests were normal. I finally had to ask the doctor how much protein was in my blood and she said 20mg. Excuse me? Pre-eclampsia diagnosis needs 300mg!!!
But the doctor kept wanting to send me for an induction. "But you're 40 weeks, so there's no problem." She kept insisting that it was our call but there was nothing in her demeanor that made it seem like I had a choice after SHE had decided what was best for me. Ugh. If I have another baby, it will not be in California.
So that put me on high alert. But when they start talking about how I could have a stroke or the baby could die and/or we could both have neurological damage, it gets scary real quick. But what they don't mention is that C-sections have their own issues and complications. Heck, life can be a complication - there's no way to rule out all risks. I was feeling like a trapped animal, so we decided to schedule an induction for next week. That way the boy has until 41 weeks to get here, it's still before Christmas (so he won't feel like everyone is "partied out" when he gets older and it's his birthday) and I still have a shot at this going naturally.
We'll see. Here was the caveat though. The nurse saw what I said she told me that the hospital was highly interventionist. She said she had PIH throughout both her pregnancies and her kids are just fine. She said she refused induction and an epidural for her second as well and he was healthy as can be. I think if hospitals really meant all the crap they spouted about respecting their patients and treating them well, their approach would be vastly different than just pushing people into unnecessary procedures. If you trust US hospitals with labor and delivery, do some research into the statistics. They're appalling. Appalling. And yet they have the nerve to get you to sign a waiver that says you are leaving against medical advice.
Which I did yesterday. We'll see how much more crap I have to tolerate before this baby is home.
Makes you wish you could always have a laptop at every doctor appt. or hospital visit so when they tell you something you can research the facts on your own! Babies are supposed to be o.k. up until 42 weeks aren't they? I hope you do go into labor on your own because I hear it is much less painful! Good luck! BTW what the heck, why would they assume just because someone has high blood pressure the husband had something to do with it? I had high blood pressure with Alyssa because I let myself gain 55 bls, which had nothing to do with my husband!
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