No signs of labour at Week 39

Hi just to share my experience and birth story below. I gave birth via emergency c-sect on 19 Oct (my actual EDD at 40 weeks which I was scheduled to be induced because I was GB positive and I wanted to try normal delivery). Previously at 33 weeks Baby was breech so they scheduled me for c-sect but at 36 weeks scan, baby turned so they cancelled my c-sect. I am about 7 weeks post partum now. On 18 Oct morning 7am onwards I already started feeling a different kind of pain that I don’t normally feel throughout my pregnancy. I know how braxton hicks felt like (tightening of the stomach) but this wasn’t it. It felt really painful, nothing like menses cramps at all. So I knew this could be contractions. Mind you, I have Low tolerance for pain. The timing was irregular so I wasn’t worried at all. My mucus plug started coming out in really tiny pieces at noon. Funny to see tiny little blobs of light red on my pantyliner after 9 months of not seeing any colour on it haha. The pain became more intense throughout the day. At dinner time I told my husband I didn’t want to eat a lot cause the next morning I was going to be induced and I didn’t want any “accident” to happen in the delivery suite by eating a lot the night before. Around 8pm the pain build up even more and I could barely walk. My parents advised me to call up hospital to ask if I should come in already due to the contraction interval timing which started getting closer by the hour. The nurse told me to come in and so I told my husband to standby my hospital bag and I took a shower with all that pain. We reached the hospital around 9:45pm and I got myself admitted. Pain was becoming unbearable. Doc came in to check and I was already 3cm dilated. After some emotional discussion with my husband, I finally took epidural. I couldn’t care less about the stories I’ve heard from people about epidural. But hell yes to the shivering. It makes you cold that’s all. Serious intense shivering, just a heads up. 11pm I felt a gush of liquid coming out from down under. I thought I pissed my pants! But I couldn’t hold it in so I knew my water bag had burst. I was told that a normal labour you should at least be 1cm dilated every hour. But I wasn’t. It took me until about 10am the next morning to be 10cm only to have my baby still high up in my tummy. I also had high fever. Baby had also pooped. Both of our heart rates weren’t good as well. Doc advised me that if baby didnt wanna come out naturally, they would have to do an emergency c-sect on me. As I am plus-size, the option for c-sect was quite a risky procedure. And of course, I tried normal delivery, went through all the intense pushing and whatnot. The Nurses and doc kept asking me if I feel like I want to take a huge dump, I told them no, I don’t feel anything. And it definitely felt weird pushing “nothing” and plus my legs were Super numb so it was really hard to get into positon and push. All the pushing had to happen after they lowered down the epidural dosage, which of course, I could feel all the Super painful contractions again! It was hell for me. After about 5 rounds of pushing for every contraction that came, the doc told me that I had to be wheeled to the OT for emergency c-sect as things weren’t looking good for both me and baby. I remember Nurses turning me sideways every now and then to get the baby’s heart rate up and my fever didn’t go down as well. Eventually I was wheeled to the OT and I remember feeling all the 1min apart Super intense contractions which I really felt like dying. My head wasn’t in the game anymore. I couldn’t think at all I just cried. When I entered the OT, it felt surreal, like something out of Greys Anatomy! Better part is coming.. So before pushing me to the OT, they increased the epidural for me but of course it wasn’t instant. When the started “poking” my tummy, the doc asked if I felt anything. It felt like pins and needles poking me I told them. But once they got to my lower right abdomen, I could feel all the excruciating pain!! It felt like my stomach was being teared open! I screamed PAIN!! PAIN!!! And I heard the doc saying something to put me on GA. And so I slept throughout the procedure and couldn’t get any skin to skin with my baby. When I regained consciousness in the recovery room, I saw the clock it was about 12pm. My throat felt like crap and I was thirsty as hell. I thought maybe they had to intubate me for my c-sect. Once I was fully conscious they pushed me to High Dependency Ward because I still had fever. I asked for my baby and only met her at 7pm. It was worth everything that I went through. She was a beautiful headful of hair weighing a hefty 3.7kg. After that I was hospitalised for 6 days because I developed pre-eclampsia which I never thought I would ever get. My blood pressure was always above 150s during my stay in the hospital. My baby also had to be sent to phototherapy for 24hrs because of her jaundice. I got to be honest, recovery period is no joke for c-sect and especially me. I couldn’t get out of bed for the first 3 days. And when I started to sit up and stand, it felt so weird and not forgetting painful. They put me off the urine catheter so I could start to walk and pee on my own. It was not easy. I couldn’t make it to the toilet the first time and made a mess. I was so scared of the pain. It was very stressful for me. The first few weeks of recovery was not easy. The pain is yours, only you can handle it however you want. Take it easy, walk slowly especially. Wearing a binder helped a lot cause my stomach didn’t move much as I walk. Kinda lessen the pressure from the incision. Now at 7 weeks both me and baby are healthy and I can now say I am brave enough to even touch my stomach scar of victory. So to answer your question, it really depends on individual. Some people go for natural and gave birth as planned. While some just need extra help at the last minute which none of us could ever foresee. There are many ways to dilate, though it also depends on your body. Don’t stress yourself out ok. ❤️

I wasn’t dilated at all when I went for check up at week 39 too, even after doing membrane swap. I asked my gynea whether my baby will be too big for natural birth if it drags to beyond week 40 and she said he’ll be about 3.3kg which is definitely ok for natural so she encouraged me to wait. In the meantime I do deep squat at least 5 times a day for 3 minutes each time, and climb stairs at least 2 times a day. In the end I gave birth at week 40+2 days with natural birth. You can talk to your gynea about your concern and see what she says, mine was whether baby will be too big for natural. By the way, talking to baby helps too!! I kept telling baby to come out the next few days and he did eventually!

just like you, i was anxiously waiting with no signs of labour when i was at week39+. baby finally come out at week40+1d via natural birth. i would say just wait it out as baby will def wanna come out when they are ready. unless if baby is big/heavy, i would say u might wanna induce as baby wont be too big to be pushed out naturally. for me, i was being induced when i was 7cm dilated in labour as it was taking wayyy too long to dilate fully to 10cm. and i didnt opt for epidural so it was really painful, but worth it. i guess u can discuss further with ur doc and husb and decide on what way u are most comfortable with. dont stress, stay happy, keep active. baby is def on the way take care!

hi there, i was induced due to baby overdue. and i have to go for e c sect cause bb heart rate drop. however the pain was not painful as i thought. everything was bearable. and recover was fast able to go down to bed to walk the next following day. so do not be afraid, jiayou mummy

Hi Angela, my waterbag broke on 23 nov morning at 39 weeks 1 day but no contractions. I was induced 2 twice as I only dilated from 1cm to 3cm from 11.50am 23 nov to 2.30am 24 nov and ended up emergency C section as my baby heart beat drop.

Do more walking and squats, drink coconut water as well, go for natural birth, only do induce unless your doctor advise you so, both induce/c-sect will hurts, depends on individual pain threshold level. Hope this helps, good luck mommy! (:

What is your gynae advising you? C section is a major surgery, I would avoid it unless my Doctor has asked me to: There are other ways to get yourself to dilate. Sex, exercise, eating certain types of food

Walking & squat are the fastest way to dilate. Keep walking & keep squating. Also can do curb walk which is 1 leg on curb, 1 leg down. Also helps.

for mine i was last min induce at 39weeks too & everything went smoothly i dilated quite fast also after inducing

https://sg.theasianparent.com/the-stages-of-labour