4 Most Common Labor/Delivery Scenarios and Questions to Ask Your Obgyn

by Ivanna Campbell at http://www.empoweredmommies.com/
Expectant moms need to demand that there is an honest and open discussion of all reasonable alternatives with pros and cons for common scenarios that tend to come up as we prepare for labor and delivery. We can no longer accept: “the baby is too big, we need to induce, do a c-section” etc. The ultimate decision regarding care should rest with both the mom and doctor in an equal partnership.
Assuming you have no pre-existing medical conditions or issues (such as diabetes, preeclampsia, placenta previa, etc) here are some common scenarios you may encounter as you prepare to give birth and below are some important questions you should feel empowered to ask your doctor so that no matter what ends up happening (even if it wasn’t part of your plan) you’ll feel that you understood all your options and made the best decision for you and your baby.
Scenario 1: You are “overdue” getting close to 41 weeks. Your doctor advises that you must induce or your baby will be “too big” and could be harmed.
• What’s the absolute latest date I can avoid induction?
• What are the realistic risks if I wait versus risks of induction?
• Couldn’t my due date be off by 2 weeks?
• Are there natural ways to encourage the onset of labor (diet, exercise, etc)?
Scenario 2: You’re told that your baby is breech. Your obgyn tells you the baby must be delivered via cesarean due to the high mortality risk
• Can you attempt an external cephalic version (ECV) to try to correct any sort of mal-presentation (be it breech, transverse, etc) before considering the scheduling of a C-Section prior to due date?
• What’s the absolute last date I can wait to see if baby corrects itself in its presentation?
• What are risks of C-section?
Scenario 3: You’ve had a previous C-section and would like to try for a VBAC.
• Do you support VBACs and does the hospital?
• If not, why not?
• Risks of VBAC versus surgery?
Scenario 4: You are told you have narrow hips and vaginal delivery may not be doable.
• Why do you perform pelvimetry? (many obgyns don’t since there is more to the the pelvis than the apparent visual aspects of size and shape)
• Can you describe the 4 Ps of labor assessment given the size of my pelvis?
• I'd like to still attempt a vaginal delivery and then determine if c-section may be necessary. What would you look for in that situation?