# Labor not progressing, alternatives to pitocin



## yakochica (Oct 13, 2009)

I am currently pregnant with my 4th child and very excited, but in search of answers to previous labors.
In my first two labor my labor was extremely long. The first one was at home with a midwife. I think we did everything under the sun to help my labor to progress - walking, black cohosh, nipple stimulation, you name it. My contractions would come and go but were never very consistent. I would also dilate and then close up a little. I eventually went to the hospital where I was given pitocin and delivered an hour later.
The second baby I chose to deliver in the hospital with a regular doctor. I went to the hospital thinking my water had broke, to only find out that it was the fore-waters - not the actual waters. Since I was dilated at a 3 they decided to go ahead and keep me there. I labored naturally for about 7-8 hours and was dilated to an 8. When the doctor came in he broke my water and I shrunk down to a 5. after a few more hours of not going anywhere, I was finally placed on pitocin. Labor was still slow but I continued to progress steadily and gave birth that evening around 5 (about 17 hours of labor in all, much shorter than the first).
With the last one I chose to be induced (a choice that I will not make again) and my labor went by very quickly, but completely on pitocin.
Now I'm pregnant again and really wanting a natural birth but not sure it is possible. My ideal is a homebirth, but with my failure to progress, I think I would likely end up with the hospital with pitocin again. I mostly want to understand what is going on with my body and know if there is anything I can do about it.
Thanks in advance to any advice.


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## AlexisT (May 6, 2007)

Well, first, there's no guarantee that it will happen again. You don't know exactly what would have happened the 2nd time if they hadn't gone for AROM. You were on pit the whole time last time, so don't know how fast that would have been either. So, really, you've had one naturally slow labor... and it was your first.

I would not worry, relax, take it as it comes. And if you do actually need pit this time, it's okay. Find a midwife you trust, who won't rush you to the hospital but also knows when enough is enough. The best goal, I think, is to feel that regardless of the outcome, that you made the best choices for your situation and that you were informed and empowered to make those choices.


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## Turquesa (May 30, 2007)

Nipple stimulation. Ask for some privacy with your DP. REEEEALLY sped things up for me.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Given the limited details that you provided, I would have to guess that you have not had a normal labor. Your first labor very well could have been "rushed". You said the contractions came and went, it is likely that your body was gearing up for labor but not in active labor, thus it might have been better to just relax and wait a while rather than trying to speed things up. Perhaps it would have had a different outcome. The same could be said about the second birth.

It may be that you are just one of those that cooks her babies longer and your body has just not been ready to deliver when it was forced to, thus it took longer than it might have if it had gone in its own time.

Of course, that is all speculation based on one strangers assessment of limited facts.

I would say, give it time. Relax and just wait it out. It is likely that you will go into full labor at the right time, when your body is ready, and it being your fourth, is likely to be "easier" than your first three.

Again, just speculation on my part. Hope you get the birth you are wanting.


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## katelove (Apr 28, 2009)

Are you able to get hold of Ina May Gaskin's books? She talks about ways to encourage the progress of labour - nipple stimulation, kissing, relaxation, laughter etc.


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## ann_of_loxley (Sep 21, 2007)

Can a labour really not progress?... I mean, if you wern't being watched like a kettle with trigger happy doctors surrounding you, making you feel rushed and that something isn't happening as its supposed to... if there were no 'time limits'?

???


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## mummy2jess (Nov 7, 2006)

my third was induced because of pre eclampsia. They used the gels they insert near the cervix (or in the cervix i dont know!) to start off labour, so I never had any drips or anything like that as they are seen as a last resort. I had two doses of gel - nothing happened just sat aorund waiting for labour to begin. Then a wonderful doctor came it told be to get up and stop lying around doing nothing and sent me and my husband to the canteen for a big cooked dinner lol then when I got back there was a birthing ball waiting for me with instructions to bounce around the ward on that for a while then go for a walk around the hospital grounds and repeat for a few hours, making sure to eat and drink plenty. My daughter was born less than 4 hours later, she came so fast she was nearly born in the hospitals bath (i had decided to have a bath to ease the cramps i was having!).

anyway I would really recommend a birthing ball when I was bouncing around on it not only did I have loads of fun with the other ladies on the ward having bouncy ball races (each induction ward has 4 beds) but i could honestly feel her moving down into postion ready to come. the walking around the hospital really got the contractions kicked in and the huge meal (seriosuly it was giant) gave me the energy i needed to get her out!

sophie


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## AlexisT (May 6, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ann_of_loxley* 
Can a labour really not progress?... I mean, if you wern't being watched like a kettle with trigger happy doctors surrounding you, making you feel rushed and that something isn't happening as its supposed to... if there were no 'time limits'?

???

Yes, it really can, and once upon a time, mothers and babies died because of it. You get too exhausted to push. This is why sometimes pit or an epidural means the difference between a vaginal birth and a section.

Her first birth was at home with a MW, too.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AlexisT* 
Her first birth was at home with a MW, too.

Actually, her first was an attempted HB with a midwife:

Quote:

My contractions would come and go but were never very consistent. I would also dilate and then close up a little. I eventually went to the hospital where I was given pitocin and delivered an hour later.
And it seems to me that if the contractions would come and go, and were not consistent, then she was not in full labor. I had many episodes of those types of contractions, and I have always called that "pre-labor"; although, some people might have labor like that.


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## kcparker (Apr 6, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *yakochica* 
I am currently pregnant with my 4th child and very excited, but in search of answers to previous labors.
In my first two labor my labor was extremely long. The first one was at home with a midwife. I think we did everything under the sun to help my labor to progress - walking, black cohosh, nipple stimulation, you name it. My contractions would come and go but were never very consistent. I would also dilate and then close up a little.

There could be a lot of reasons for this - you were still in a pre-labor or latent phase and never hit truly active labor, but might have if given more time and rest; the baby could have been high or in a funky position and not applying good pressure to the cervix, or maybe you weren't quite mentally ready for true labor to come on...

Quote:

The second baby I chose to deliver in the hospital with a regular doctor.... I labored naturally for about 7-8 hours and was dilated to an 8.
So, you know your body works well on its own.

Quote:

When the doctor came in he broke my water and I shrunk down to a 5.
Not unheard of if the water was applying pressure to the cervix and baby was up high - no water, less pressure, cervix can go backwards. This isn't abnormal. And the augmentation with pit. may have been unnecessary if everyone was willing to wait - hard to say.

Quote:

_with my failure to progress,_ I think I would likely end up with the hospital with pitocin again.
My advice is to work on dismantling this mental construct - YOUR BODY DOES WORK!!! Honestly, if you have "I fail to progress" as your mantra, you probably will fulfill that. Try to do some work with self-hypnosis and relaxation (look at one of the hypno programs and/or _Birthing From Within_ by Pam England for good exercises for dealing with baggage from past births) to replace that idea with "my body has dilated on its own before, and it will do it again," "My body is capable and strong," etc.

Quote:

I mostly want to understand what is going on with my body and know if there is anything I can do about it.
Thanks in advance to any advice.
I think it's impossible to say how those other labors would have gone if the augmentation had been different/absent. How much work have you done with positioning prior to the birth and during it? You might benefit from chiropractic work, good posture, spinning babies techniques, sifting with a rebozo. Do what you can to make sure your babe is laying anterior and is able to descend. Maybe your kids tend to ride high for much of labor, so you can figure out things to do to help them descend - movement and upright positions are going to be helpful - stair climbing, asymmetrical lunge positions, dancing and/or hulaing your hips on a birth ball, more rebozo work...find a midwife or doula who is well-versed in these things to assist you.


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## AlexisT (May 6, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kidzaplenty* 
Actually, her first was an attempted HB with a midwife:

And it seems to me that if the contractions would come and go, and were not consistent, then she was not in full labor. I had many episodes of those types of contractions, and I have always called that "pre-labor"; although, some people might have labor like that.

Yes, sorry, I should have said "attempt". But it wasn't doctors impeding her labor, was my point. I think that part can be ruled out. Why her MW transferred when she did or didn't think it was just pre-labor, we don't know.


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

True, I would not assume the docs were responsible for number one, but I would think the MW was the one that "rushed" things. Who knows why? Perhaps the OP was pushing her to, perhaps the MW was in a hurry, perhpas there really was a reason to "rush" delivery (hey! I have had one of those, so I know they do happen), there is really no way to know.

That is why I think, with the limited info provided coupled with my knowledge, research, & experience, that the OP's labor was not in full force and it was "rushed".

First time babies tend to take a while, and can be extremely long and tiring. I would think a MW would know that and allow for that. But, I have heard of plenty of instances with MWs that seemed to contradict that.

Anyways, the OP has not returned yet. I hope she finds her answers.


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## Sudonk (Nov 29, 2005)

What do you know about the position of your babies? Malpositions can certain cause what you described, as can exhaustion, a need for nourishment or rest, etc. If you're not familiar with rebozos or the belly lift, I would educate myself about them and consider using one or both if you experience another stalled birth. It can really help a poorly positioned baby move to the right spot, and it can apply more pressure on the cervix from the head of a well-positioned baby. Either way, the birth will likely speed up as a result.

My first two births were around 24 hours long. The first one included stalled dilation at 4cm for a good 8+ hours, despite a regular pattern. In both cases, I suspect the baby's position was to blame, although I don't know exactly how the first was positioned. I do know that with my second, I had SPD and he was transverse for a couple weeks before turning vertex shortly before the birth, and was born with a nuchal hand. Things stalled with him, too, but not until I reached full dilation and remained there for 3 hours until my water broke and he was born 8 minutes later. (As far as I know, I didn't go to the birth center or get any other checks until I was fully dilated - so who knows if things has stalled for awhile earlier.)

With my third, I really focused on good positioning using chiropractic care, carefully chosen exercises and spinningbabies.com information. The baby was posterior until less than an hour before my water broke (I was doing The Inversion from spinning babies and clearly felt him turn and experienced movements in an area that they hadn't happened previously, so I am confident he had re-positioned) and I had him 3 hours later. I always assumed I just gave birth slowly, but my third proved that I wasn't a slave to a particular type of birth.


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## lunita1 (May 12, 2008)

I would suggest not doing anything like cohoshes to encourage prodromal labor to progress. I would especially recommend against having your water broken, as that can put you on a timetable for having the baby on soomeone else's schedule (since many caregivers aren't comfortable with the risk of infection if your water is broken too long.) If your water is already broken it makes sense to avoid vaginal checks if at all possible, so that you don't introduce infection. Just wait to maybe be checked when you feel like pushing.

There are a couple of reasons by labor might putter out. A big one is positioning -- a posterior baby will definitely contribute to this. Your body might also just be warming up and not ready to birth that baby yet. There might also be emotional or mental barriers that are keeping your body from surrendering to labor. Whatever the reason, encouraging a long labor to speed up can be counter productive. After hours of puttering around with ineffective contractions, you're TIRED. My midwives (CNMs at a hospital) would instead give you something to help you sleep (I think what they give is morphine, but I'm not totally sure.)

My mom gave birth to two posterior babies. I'm her second child. She was admitted to the hospital, dilated to something like a 5 or 6 and labored for several hours and then her labor STOPPED. Her dilation went backwards.This was the mid seventies. They sent her home. She had me the next day, after another 13 hours or so of labor, but no interventions. (I think that practices like that were what kept the c/s rate in those days so much lower than it is now).

I think the only real "danger" in a long labor is maternal fatigue, so maybe make plans for what you'd do after a certain number of hours of labor. I have had unmedicated births but I do believe in the compassionate use of labor drugs sometimes -- after a set number of hours, I might give myself permission to do something to get rest, whether it is an epidural at the hospital, or sleep meds or whatever. For whatever reason, I'm more comfortable with this than with doing things to speed labor, but that might be just my own hang-up.

With my third daughter, I had nightly bouts of contractions. I would time contractions every evening. They'd settle into steady patterns of 4-5 minutes apart, sometimes more often, and then stop. About a week after my due date, I woke up with contractions. It felt a little different than the other nights. I hopped into the shower, and talked to the contractions, telling them to come harder, longer, and more often. About two hours later, my daughter was born. It was a wild and crazy ride. If we had pushed those earlier bouts of labor to progress, with herbs or nipple stimulation or whatever, I might have had dd earlier but not anywhere near as easily.

Your body has lots of experience birthing babies. Trust it. Relax into the contractions, rest in early labor if at all possible, look into labor positions to help posterior babies turn if that's an issue, and just be patient for baby.

Good luck! I'm also pregnant with #4.


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