Carson and I had a doctor appointment this morning. The good news is we are both healthy and doing great! The bad news is that he is still not head-down! There is a chance that he will turn in the next few weeks, but to quote Dr. Grana, "If nothing changes in the next two weeks, we are going to have to start making a game plan."
What does this mean?
My options are either to go ahead and schedule a C-section at 39 weeks (on or around November 5th), or have them attempt an external cephalic version (ECV) at 37 weeks (October 22). If the ECV procedure is successful (they are able to turn him head-down, and he stays that way), I will be able to avoid the scheduled C-section. If not, they will proceed with the scheduled C-section at 39 weeks.
The ECV procedure is only about 50% successful, and there is always the potential for the baby to move out of the head-down position after a successful ECV. It will also be relatively painful for me. Other risks include my water breaking prematurely during the procedure (in which case they would admit me to the hospital and begin an induction) or the baby going into distress as a result of the procedure (in this case, they would do an emergency C-section). Because of these risks, the procedure is done at the hospital. We are not sure what we will choose to do yet (if it becomes necessary to make a choice), but we plan on discussing it more with Dr. Grana at my next appointment.
Their other concern is Carson's size. I am already measuring a bit big, and based on my previous childbirth experience, there is a good chance that even if Carson does turn into the head-down position (either on his own or via the ECV procedure), they will induce me at 39 weeks to help ensure that he does not get too big for me to deliver.
Other than the fact that he is facing the wrong way, we are both healthy as I mentioned. They did a quick ultrasound today to confirm his position, and we saw him making practice breathing motions (apparently a sign of a happy, healthy baby), and he had a strong heartbeat as usual :-) As for me, my blood pressure, weight gain, measurements, etc all were fantastic according to Dr. Grana. They will probably be doing another ultrasound around 36 weeks to check his size, and whether or not they choose to induce me will likely be determined at that point.
Bottom line: It looks like there is a very good chance that Carson will be arriving on or around November 5th!
Stay tuned...my next appointment is on October 5th at 9:30 am.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment