Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Install the app
Install
Reply to Thread
Guest, we'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the
Diabetes Forum Survey 2024 »
Home
Forums
Children, Teens, Young Adults & Parents
Pregnancy
Labour Advice!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="ealingr" data-source="post: 860198" data-attributes="member: 111571"><p>In terms of your delivery date, I understand that most hospitals have a policy of inducing type 1 diabetics at either 38 or 39 weeks so I'd suggest asking your consultant at your next appointment what the policy is for your hospital. That will at least give you a date to plan towards, although the induction could take a few days. </p><p></p><p>From a birth plan perspective, I didn't make a formal birth plan as such, but did decide in advance (after talking through the options with the medical team) that if I had to have the hormone drip I would also have an epidural. I also agreed with my diabetic consultant that I would use my insulin pump until I went into active labour, then move onto the sliding scale until delivery, and go back on the insulin pump (at pre-pregnancy rates less 10%, which I'd pre-programmed into my pump) as soon as possible after delivering. This was all documented in my notes so the team looking after me on the day knew what was happening.</p><p></p><p>My experience of birth was planned induction, but when I was put on the hormone drip it started to affect my baby's heart rate so I ended up having an emergency c-section. There was a lot of monitoring throughout, so I'm not sure a water birth would have been a possibility, but I couldn't speak more highly of the team looking after me - the care was fantastic - and they did a great job of making me feel like a real person, despite the medicalised environment. One thing I would say is that they ask you for your total daily insulin when they're setting up the sliding scale - I was careful to only give them my basal rate for their calculations (rather than my total daily rate, as I wasn't eating during labour) so you might just want to be mindful of that. The sliding scale worked really well for me - very stable levels throughout.</p><p></p><p>It's really lovely that you want to support your friend at her wedding. I don't think there'll be a problem with you attending, but in your position I would probably want to make sure that I had a room I could retire to during the day if I needed to rest. It may also be worth just having a frank discussion with your friend about the fact that you won't know until closer to the time how you feel - if you end up having an infection or a particularly challenging baby then you might not be able to support her as much as you'd like. Perhaps you can agree a backup plan with her so that there is someone who can step in if you aren't able to do as much as you'd like, and then maybe a week before the wedding decide what will happen? That way, she knows you really want to be there for her, but also has a contingency so she doesn't need to stress/you don't need to feel guilty if you can't do everything? </p><p></p><p>My final tip would be to be open to plans changing last minute. My little girl was measuring around average throughout my pregnancy and up to 36 weeks, so I had an induction scheduled for 39 weeks. She then had a sudden dramatic growth spurt which showed up in a 38 week scan, which meant my induction was brought forward. She arrived healthy and well (weighing 9lb 5oz) at just over 38.5 weeks. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>Good luck with it all!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ealingr, post: 860198, member: 111571"] In terms of your delivery date, I understand that most hospitals have a policy of inducing type 1 diabetics at either 38 or 39 weeks so I'd suggest asking your consultant at your next appointment what the policy is for your hospital. That will at least give you a date to plan towards, although the induction could take a few days. From a birth plan perspective, I didn't make a formal birth plan as such, but did decide in advance (after talking through the options with the medical team) that if I had to have the hormone drip I would also have an epidural. I also agreed with my diabetic consultant that I would use my insulin pump until I went into active labour, then move onto the sliding scale until delivery, and go back on the insulin pump (at pre-pregnancy rates less 10%, which I'd pre-programmed into my pump) as soon as possible after delivering. This was all documented in my notes so the team looking after me on the day knew what was happening. My experience of birth was planned induction, but when I was put on the hormone drip it started to affect my baby's heart rate so I ended up having an emergency c-section. There was a lot of monitoring throughout, so I'm not sure a water birth would have been a possibility, but I couldn't speak more highly of the team looking after me - the care was fantastic - and they did a great job of making me feel like a real person, despite the medicalised environment. One thing I would say is that they ask you for your total daily insulin when they're setting up the sliding scale - I was careful to only give them my basal rate for their calculations (rather than my total daily rate, as I wasn't eating during labour) so you might just want to be mindful of that. The sliding scale worked really well for me - very stable levels throughout. It's really lovely that you want to support your friend at her wedding. I don't think there'll be a problem with you attending, but in your position I would probably want to make sure that I had a room I could retire to during the day if I needed to rest. It may also be worth just having a frank discussion with your friend about the fact that you won't know until closer to the time how you feel - if you end up having an infection or a particularly challenging baby then you might not be able to support her as much as you'd like. Perhaps you can agree a backup plan with her so that there is someone who can step in if you aren't able to do as much as you'd like, and then maybe a week before the wedding decide what will happen? That way, she knows you really want to be there for her, but also has a contingency so she doesn't need to stress/you don't need to feel guilty if you can't do everything? My final tip would be to be open to plans changing last minute. My little girl was measuring around average throughout my pregnancy and up to 36 weeks, so I had an induction scheduled for 39 weeks. She then had a sudden dramatic growth spurt which showed up in a 38 week scan, which meant my induction was brought forward. She arrived healthy and well (weighing 9lb 5oz) at just over 38.5 weeks. :) Good luck with it all! [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post Reply
Home
Forums
Children, Teens, Young Adults & Parents
Pregnancy
Labour Advice!
Top
Bottom
Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Ad free.
Join the community »
This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn More.…