No labor!

[jd11365]

Last week, the dr. tells me I'm 1.5 cm dilated/70%effaced/-1 station and I could have an Easter baby...definitely a baby by Wed. (today). Of course today came and went...after a whirlwind of cleaning, preparing at work, and loss of sleep with anxiety because the baby was coming all of a sudden. Now, after today's appt. he tells me the "stats" are still the same, but my cervix is really high and it could be even past my due date. This is fine because he also told me he is going out of town from Friday until Monday 5/5. Now I want everything to slow down. I don't want the baby until my dr. is here! I'm not technically due until 5/12 even though my US showed a few days early 5/9ish. Do you think I will make it until he returns???

Thanks!
Jamie

Also, can anyone explain how my cervix can be really high, but the baby's head be really low at -1 station?

[KathyO]

I believe that station refers to the baby's position relative to the opening in the centre of your pelvic bone... whereas your cervix is at the end of a vagina which slants rather than being a vertical tube. So the cervix could still be relatively "high".

As to whether you'll make it to 5/5 is really up in the air! It's not inconceiveable that you could, but you also very easily couldn't! Try not to sweat it too much (yeah, I know, easy for me to say!) My beloved OB/GYN was in Australia accepting an award (good for her but waaahh!!!) when I finally went into labour one week late. Her stand-in was someone she felt comfortable leaving her patients with, and I found him very easy to get along with. Okay, I wish I'd had her, but he was nice, competent, friendly and really, the labour and delivery nurses were the ones I interacted with the most. Does your doctor have a stand-in appointed, and what does he have to say about him?

HTH,

KathyO

[zen_bliss]

i'm with you! i am trying not to think about it and just enjoy day by day without getting consumed. my doc is also OOT until tuesday. i saw her partner who is supposed to be covering her patients on tuesday. She said "oh, you're one of Dr. X's patients, you can see her tuesday" and refused to check me! so i have no idea if my dilation has progressed from last week. I told my belly 'plleeeassse hang in there until our OB is back!'

if i recall my prepared birthing classes correctly, the +/- stations are where the crown is in relation to the ischial spines -- those two protruding bones in the pelvis that the baby has to pass by (and twist her shoulders sideways through) on the way out.

[jd11365]

No, I don't know the back-up...my dr. (dr. B) is in practice alone...he just has another dr. covering for him. The irony of the whole thing is that I changed drs. at 18 weeks because my 1st dr. (dr. A) only delivered at a hospital which is 45 min away and my new dr. (dr. B), who had been my dr. for many years prior, delivered at the hospital 2 min from my house. Now, I've been given the option (of course only if I go into labor before he gets back) of having my original dr. (dr. A) deliver for him at the original hospital (the one farther away) since the two of them are actually friends. Seems stupid that I left dr. A in the first place and I feel kinda weird that he will be a little upset with me that I left and now he's delivering anyway. I'm sure that's not the case, but I feel a little weird about it nonetheless. Though if I have to and given the option to deliver with the back-up (someone I completely don't know) and dr. A, I'm definitely going with my original dr. What a pain in the rear! I just hope she stays inside until May 5th when my dr. returns!

**Gee, did you keep up with all of that? lol :-)

Jamie

BTW...I understand station is the location of the baby's head in the pelvis...and mine is low at -1, but I still don't understand how my cervix can still be high... I thought the cervix was a the mouth of the uterus...below the baby's head. I guess it all really doesn't matter anyway, she's comin' when she wants. I can analyze it up one side and down the other, but only she knows when her birthday will be...

[parkersmama]

I *think* the cervix being high must mean that it is still elongated instead of flattened out and ready to be passed through. Basically, your uterus and the baby have moved deeper into the pelvis but your cervix hasn't shortened yet. Does that make sense?