Labor Update

Well, maybe I should have titled this post "Lack of Labor Update."  I did not know this was a possibility, but my body is absolutely refusing to labor.  At all.

As per doctor's orders, I checked into the hospital within an hour of my water breaking.  We expected contractions to start any minute ... but nothing.  After waiting for 8 hours (walking the halls continuously), we opted to add Pitocin to the mix late Sunday night, to speed things up a bit.

Pitocin caused contractions to start, but they never really got uncomfortable, even when the Pitocin was cranked all the way up to 20 units.  Today at noon, my doctor (back in town!) checked me and discovered that despite being on high doses of Pitocin for over fourteen hours, I still had not progressed at all beyond my appointment last Thursday.

At that point, we all agreed to discontinue Pitocin; clearly it was not working.  And the minute the nurse turned off the Pitocin drip, my contractions disappeared.

My doctor recommended trying a different drug instead of Pitocin, called Cytotec.  This drug was originally created to treat ulcers, but has been used by OBs for stimulating labor for years.  After weighing the pros and cons, and talking with our doctor about it at length, we decided to give it a try.

This is our last chance.  We are already well outside the 24-hour window in which most doctors prefer you deliver after your water breaks.  Every hour Otto stays inside me, his chances for infection go up.  My doctor feels confident about monitoring Otto closely for infection, but agrees that time is not on our side and we need to be very proactive.

Tonight they started me on Cytotec, and they will give me a second dose late tonight, combined with some Pitocin.  We hope and pray this combination of drugs works.  If my doctor checks me in the morning, and I am still not progressed at all, we are out of options: I will need to have a c-section.