Have You 'Planned' Which Day You Are Giving Birth?

Hi R.,
I sort of planned mine. I was due on a Tuesday, and saw my doctor on that day. I was only 1-2 cm dilated. My blood pressure was starting to rise, so he suggested that we induce on Friday if I didn't go into labor before then. I didn't, so I was induced on that Friday (which actually happened to be our 5th anniversary). I also wanted to be induced that day because it was our 5th anniversary, and because my OB was on call that day, so I was guaranteed that he would be there to deliver my daughter. I agree with Deanna Leigh and Susan, and get all the information first to make sure your insurance will cover it. Mine did, but I had the pregnancy-induced hypertension as a valid medical reason for inducing labor.

As far as inducing and your labor, it all depends on your body and the baby. I have "child-bearing hips", and I walked for an hour every day during my pregnancy, so I had a relatively short labor even though it was my first child. I've heard that the pitocin creates stronger contractions, but I don't have anything to compare it to. They started the pitocin at 6 am, the doctor came in and broke my water around 9:30 am, the contractions got stronger and I had the epidural around 10:30 am, and I delivered a little after noon. But I have a friend who was induced on 3/6/09 (right around her due date) because she thought that would be a cool birthday to have, and she was in labor for 36 hours and ended up having a c-section on 3/7. So no matter what you plan, God and the baby may have a different idea!

Good luck to you!

R.,

I was reading Susan's post and it was basically the same thing I was going to write!! I have three friends who have been induced...all three hated it.

My friend three weeks ago, was advised by her doctor that she could and they planned it down to the moment...she did it last Thursday to plan around her firefighter husband's schedule. And told me the next morning, she would never do it again. It was worse than the labor with her 1st son and it lasted much longer. She is very healthy and works out, so that wasn't the issue. But, after the fact her doctor explained to her that this was sometimes the case.

Then, by Friday afternoon she and her husband were getting news from the billing clerk at the hospital that their insurance was not covering the birth of their child. After review it was deemed not medically necessary for the health and well-being of either the child or the mother...so, even though someone at the insurance said it would probably be okay they are now going to have to pay.

Get all the information first, before you plan!

Inductions lead to higher incidences of c-sections. I would try and avoid an induction again if my life depended on it. Those contractions are not natural and the medicine takes a toll on not only you but your little one. No one could ever get me to induce again. Let baby come when he/she is ready. That also cuts back on time spent in the NICU. Due dates are a window from 38-42 weeks. What if baby wasn't ready till closer to 42 weeks but was induced at 38 weeks? that would make him/her born 4 weeks early and most likely requiring NICU time. I had a NICU baby and would never wish that upon anyone. Nothing worse then walking out of the hospital empty handed over and over again. I do pray that you can have a peace about whatever decision you make.

Ask your OB/GYN about it.

My friend was induced, and she did NOT like it. She said it was not pleasant, but her baby was 1 week late and she said it was unavoidable.

SOMETIMES, if it is not medically "necessary" insurance won't cover it. My other friend, wanted to be induced for reasons similar to yours.. .and her insurance would not cover it.
THUS, she just had to wait to give birth, naturally.

So check on these aspects as well.

Good luck,
Susan

Ugh. Avoid an induction at all costs. I was 10 days over due, wasn't dilating or effacing, so I was induced. Wow, I wish I had done my homework on that first. If I had, I NEVER would have agreed to it.

Induced around 1pm on a Thursday, baby didn't arrive until 11am on Friday. She really wasn't ready to come, even though she was considered "late." Horrible contractions (I had back labor) and when I got shot up with the pitocin, I went from a 1 dilation to 10 - in less than 2 hours. Then my water broke and low & behold, the baby had pooped due to all the stress my body was going through.

Pushed for 2 hours, but the baby was not given enough time to get in the right position to come down the birth canal. So I had to have an emergency c-section.

I don't mind so much that I had a c-section (great recovery, no problems nursing), it's that the induction really left me no choice but to have one. It was a pretty miserable experience and makes me mad that I didn't get to enjoy my daughter's arrival like I had wanted to.

Good luck with your decision, but if it were me, I would wait for the baby to decide when to come - not the doctor.

Inducing HURTS!

Take it from someone who was at 9.5 cm in under 2 hours and then the 60 year old "lunch relief nurse" came in and didn't read the chart and shot me with pitocin while I was distracted with a contraction.

Daaaaaaang. I will NEVER. EVER. EVER. Allow that to happen again. Literally, I will write with sharpie on my forehead, and screw the pictures.

Pitocin is the natural chemical released by your body when your baby first starts to nurse...it contracts your uterus from every direction. Which sounds good, right? Very natural?

Nope!

You don't WANT your uterus contracting from every direction. You want it contracting in a fluid motion from up to DOWN and on out. It's also why inducing doesn't always "work"...and a cesarean has to be preformed.

It's rare, these days, that a woman's uterus will tear when they've been induced, but it's been known to happen. I certainly felt like I'd been ripped 6 ways from sunday. It crashed my labor, too, also a known side effect. I went from being estimated at a noon birth to not birthing until 7:20 pm.

Granted, there are cases where it IS medically necessary, and the risk and extra pain are worth it....but if you have a CHOICE? Avoid it.

Just had #3 on a planned induction (baby was growing fast and to avoid c-section induced at 39-weeks). I LOVED it! For the first time, I knew exactly how to plan - we had childcare set in place, meals in the freezer, my bag packed, I knew not to eat late the night before, etc. In at 7am; baby by 11am (your results may vary). Of course baby's and mama's health should always come first, and in those last weeks baby is growing up the lungs, packing on weight, etc. Good luck to you and remember, even if you plan it, baby may have different ideas!

Just to give you another perspective, I had a good experience.
I was induced, not for planning but because I had reach my due date, the baby hadn't dropped and they were afraid the baby was huge. Though it turned out he wasn't oversized, just caught on the cord a bit. All good.
This was my first birth. The inducing didn't hurt a bit nor did it feel particularly difficult. I birthed fairly quickly, I think. In my case, it was a very normal labor and delivery. :)
I did have an epidural, later in the process, but even the labor leading up to it was fine. I felt the contractions, but they were mild and I felt giddy mostly. It was a very easy delivery. I'm actually hope this delivery, with my second, will go half as well!
I do agree if there is any way to avoid it, I would avoid early delivery, for the sake of the baby. Some studies came out in Dec 2008 saying that, in general, every single week is important for the baby, including week 39 and they are discouraging elective delivery.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122999215427128537.html

Its a a little fuzzy, because who knows when your conception date actually was, but you've come this far doing every thing correctly, right? Why not err on the side of caution. If you must do elective, I would pick a day earlier rather than a week earlier. Hope this helps! :)

Cory is right. I was 10 days late, low amniotic fluid. Induced from nothing. painful as hell.

Everyone who has given birth has a story (I have 4) so I won't bore you with mine. Just, good luck with your decision and remember to keep the health of your baby in mind always.

Yes! my daughter choose the dates of bother her sons. Mostly because we live 100 miles from the hospital where she was going to deliver. I think this makes the date extra special because you & your husband chose it. So you can be sure, your husband is with you for support & also to share in the happiness once the baby is born.

Hi R.,

I picked the birthday for both my kids for days I knew my husband would be home and had very easy deliveries. My sister in law tried the same thing and had a nightmare labor and delivery. I think success depends on how ready your body is: are you dilating / effacing? I was dilated to 2 and 100% effaced both times and delivered in under 8 hours. My SIL had not started dilating at all and it took over 24 hours! Good luck with your decision!

well we didn't really "plan" it but with my daughter it came to my due date and she still wasn't here so my doctor was just going to let me go over due but my husband had already taken the week off so we asked to be induced. I chose to be induced with both my pregnancies and they were really bad deliveries but I wouldn't have taken the chance of my husband not being there.

Two of our 7 grandchildren were born on "planned days." One was for their convenience and one for the doctor's. It was great in both cases so IF your doctor is up for it and if the baby is indeed ready, go for it! G.

I have had three children and all were induced. The first, my water broke but I didn't go into labor so the following morning they induced. The second was a day late and they induced that night. The third we picked the day. All three were very different, all three I had an epidural, but all three were fine. If it reduces stress and your doctor is ok, then I wouldn't feel badly about picking the date.

We planned the date of our third child. I was induced with my first child because after the water breaking, my labor did not start. The second one was a week late, regular delivery. For my third the due date was too close to the Doctor's vacation and for the first time they were allowing an additional person in the delivery room. I wanted my sister there because at the time we didn't think she would ever get married and have any children of her own and wanted her to experience a baby delivery. She was planning on moving out of the country so we really wanted to be sure of the date. We picked the date and went in and was induced. It was no different than the first one (except it was the only one I didn't have an epidural for.....ouch). Good luck!

I had to do it for med reasons with all 3 of my kids, and it worked out fine. Word to the wise, have the epidural in place before they give you the pitocin. Also, you might want to consider early in the week as opposed to later - if you should need help most doctors don't like to come in on the weekends. Good luck.

I did w/ my 2nd because my Dr. Was leaving on my due date. I went in 2 weeks early to be induced but was already dialated a bit so it was great. Talk to your Dr. And see if they'd be alright with your plan. Having support there is so important so I'm sure they'd work with you if your baby is doing well and ready. FYI induction really brings labor on hard and quick (at least for me) so if your thinking pain management have a plan with your Dr. before hand. I waited until 2 hours after induction and wished I'd done it sooner. Good Luck with your new little blessing!

talk to your doc about how open they are to this. I was induced with both but I was either late or a couple days before my due date when I asked.

My second and third babies were both induced. I had the choice between a few days when my doctor would be available, so we chose from there & also avoided another family members b-day. My labor was 12 hours with all three of my babies and the third was the easiest. She was the easiest to push out, but that is because I had given birth twice before her. So, induction went well for me.

Take care & congratulations!

P.S. Make sure your doctor is planning for an epidural. Then you don't need to fear any or much pain! You will of course have some (pain) before you receive it, but mine went well, even giving birth to an 11.3 pound baby boy!

I was induced with my 3 child. I had my 2 boys naturally, no pain medication. My daughter was induced, her due date she was too close to Christmas ( i think my dr. didn't want to spend xmas in the hospital). Anyways, the only difference to me was the labor took a little longer being induced. I entered the hospital @ 7:30 AM they started pitocin a little later and I delivered at 2:05 PM.
Don't be nervous & good luck.

I would avoid induction at all costs. It's not always the case, but sometimes it leads to very strong contractions, and increased your chances of having a cesarean.

Welanned and baby came 1 week early! So much for having a plan...
Good luck with your birth I wish you the best!

I've always heard that induced labors are much harder on you and labor is often longer. You might want to take this into consideration.