ouch, update and grumblewell I did get it checked out and the doc thought it seemed like gall bladder pain, so the next step would be to...
Bad dream hypothetical loss mentHi folks, I had a bad dream last night in which I lost this baby :( Something to do with being given medication for a condition which I thought was acute...
Well, I had a very easy, AROM induction with my third baby and would choose AROM-only over pitocin any day of the week, your list notwithstanding. For starters, my pitocin induction was accompanied by AROM, and at least back then (1997), AROM+pitocin was the typical protocol because it has been shown that pitcoin works better and faster if the amniotic sac is gone. Obviously, the well-informed patient can decline the AROM, but unless things have changed markedly in 7.5k years or so, my suspicion is that most people going for a pitocin induction get all the risks of AROM you've just listed PLUS all the risks of pitocin.
Also, while I know you've had a lot of first-hand experience with births, a lot of the complications you've mentioned seeing with AROM might be purely coincidental. (Remember how people *still* believes that castor oil leads to meconium issues, despite a study that shows it ain't so!) So, while I think one should definitely go into an AROM-only induction with one's eyes open to possible complications, some can be minimized with good planned (i.e., ensuring an engaged, well-positioned baby before AROM, minimizing internal exams, etc.) and others would be just as likely with a spontaneous ROM and possibly as likely with pitocin (because AROM and pitocin often go hand-in-glove). -- Be well, Barbara
