To Induce or Not to Induce - Circle Pines,MN

Statistically, studies have proven that Pamela Raven & Son is right. If it's not truly medically necessary, avoiding induction is best.

I have not been induced so can't really comment on it, but I would recommend you watch "the business of being born". It is very informative on the interventions that can (and often) follow an induction.

For what it is worth, don't let people try and scare you into thinking that induction automatically = c-section. It doesn't. Both of my children were induced and both of them were delivered vaginally.

In the end, what matters most is a healthy mom and a healthy baby. If either of you face risk, consider the induction. No one gets a prize for "doing it better". The prize is the healthy baby, however he or she gets into this world.

Why does it look like you need to be induced? Do you have severe pre-eclampsia? Did your placenta break away from the uterus? Are you over 2 weeks from your EDD?

If those main reasons aren't you - you should never need to be induced without a valid medical need. Sounds like your current OB wants to make sure he's home for a certain event/dinner/etc rather than doing what's best for you and baby.

Many times - being induced will cause a snowball effect of interventions which severely increase your risk of a previously unnecessary cesarean.

Yes, induction is SO much more painful and dangerous for baby.

You never "have to get induced" - you have the right to refuse any and all medical procedures.

The American College of Obstetrians and Gynecologists does not recommend "social inducing" - inducing for social reasons under any circumstances. Induction should only be done if there is a valid medical reason for it.

Here are some resources:
http://pregnancy.about.com/od/induction/p/induction.htm

http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp154.cfm

Also, the physicians usually won't tell you that induction increases your risk of ending up with a cesarean by 50 to 250%!!! Here is a table of scientific studies citing the data:

http://www.hencigoer.com/articles/elective_induction/

If you are just "tired of being pregnant" - try to relax and focus on your other children and things you won't be able to do once the baby arrives (take a nap or wash your hair!).

I am speaking as somone who had a failed induction that cost me the ability to breastfeed my infant (major infection afterwards and baby was too sickly to handle it), as well as associated medical problems. Baby #2 was a planned VBAC.

C.

Hey S.!
Are you contracting and not dilating? Dilating and not contracting? Nothing?
Being induced is not a bad thing at all. I was a week late, was dilating and effaced, yet my water would not break! They broke my water for me and all was well. Yes, the contractions are harsh, but only because you go from nothing to every 2 minutes instantly, you know? I was over a week late, so I was induced. I was dilated at about 4 when they broke my water, so I instantly had hard contractions. There were no complications due to be being induced. I was in labor for 4.5 hours and had an amazing labor and delivery and a VERY healthy little boy. Nothing bad came from being induced.
My sister was also induced because she was not dilatinga week past her due date, but was having contractions. She also had no complications from being induced. It is just hard for some people's bodies to adjust to not doing it on their own, but it is definitely not bad!
I would definitely not be scared about being induced. It is better than not getting that baby out at a good time! =)

Good luck!

Edit- PRS- Why do you say it is dangerous to be induced? It is actually dangerous not to be induced most of the time. The fact that the doctor even recommended being induced implies that something is wrong/ she is late. I know women that went without being induced and had a FAR worse labor than me. I think it depends on the person, really.

Hi S.:
I'm copying my response to an earlier question on this subject. BTW I tried things like raking leaves and cleaning the bathroom at 39 weeks and my babies still weren't budging - who knows how long they would have stayed in if they weren't induced!

please know that everyone's experience will be different so try not to be scared by others' experiences. I also really didn't want to be induced after a friend of mine who was due 2 weeks before me had to be induced and underwent an exhaustively long labor like your SIL and said her contractions were almost unbearable (also she wasn't able to get an epidural). But when I hit 39 weeks without any noticeable contractions my doc said if I didn't go into labor by 41 weeks we ought to induce. Well 41 weeks came and still no labor so I was induced, and all in all it went about as well as I could have hoped - by the time I hit my pain threshold my doc said I was dilated enough for an epidural (boy was I glad I took it - was ready to name my first child after whoever invented it LOL), 3 hours later ready to push, then about an hour or so later my babies were delivered vaginally (baby B by breech extraction) and healthy.

I've experienced both. My first was induced at 41 1/2 weeks and my second came on her own at 39 weeks. I can say after doing both, induction is much more intense. With the natural I was able to stay on top of the contractions and never lost it. With my induction, I fell asleep before the contractions had picked up and woke up with crazy strong contractions that I just couldn't deal with. I will say the biggest difference between the natural and the induced labor was the mobility. With my second I was able to go anywhere and do anything I wanted (within reason) whereas with the induction I had to stay near the monitor and even going to the bathroom was an ordeal because I had to take my pole with me.

My two cents: don't induce if you and the baby are doing well. It's not worth it.

getting induced is by far worse! the contractions are way worse, and your body doesnt have enough time to do its own thing to get ready for delivery.

i hated it with my first, and never let the drs tell me what to do with my other three deliveries (and they all went just fine, even though my 3rd was ten days late)

Don't be afraid of an induction. I had two and both birth experiences were amazing and beautiful.

I only have one child, but i we to as induced. they did it because i live like 1000 miles away from my fam and that way my mom was able to come out and be there! so i cant really compare it to a natural birth. But mine went great! i went to the hospital at 5:30 (am!!) and they started me out on pitocin by around 6. i was in labor for 10 hours and after 20 minutes of pushing my baby girl was in my arms. no complications! My mother was also induced with her last 2 kids, but they did it because she was 40 + and she went overdue. She also had no complications. I DID have an epidural, I had planned on it pretty much ever since i found out i was pregnant but thats just cuz im a wimp. LoL . but like i said i dont have anything else to compare it too.
I have also heard stories about induction making labor longer, thus causing a baby distress and sometimes ending up in a c-section.. but that has not happened to anyone i know. well good luck with your descion. and it is YOUR desicion, dont let others pressure you. My EVIL SIL lol tried to pressure me into not having an epidural (nothing wrong if you dont have one by the way, i just chose to for myself, why not be as comfortable as possible, right?) and she tried saying 'well i've had 2 kids and i never had an epidural!' OK?? so what?? lol both of her kids were scheduled c-sections and she was under anesthesia the whole time!?! Whats the difference. pain meds is pain meds. lol sorry for that tangent but i just want to emphasize not to let others pressure you into this or out of it... GOOD LUCK and CONGRATS!

I am a homebirth midwife and agree with everything Pamela said. Simply being "over due" is not a reason for induction. There is no such thing as a due date. It is a due month. You are not over due. You are right on time. Your baby knows when it is ready to be born. I am a former NICU Respiratory Therapist and now a midwife. Do not induce for this reason alone. Inductions should only occur if there is something truly medically wrong with you or the baby. Inductions carry so many risks. Your body has already done this twice. Your body knows what to do. Trust it.

I have three children. My first two were born at 38 weeks but my third came at 41 weeks. Granted my children were born at home so the question never came up but if I had seen an OB I am sure he would have pushed for induction as soon as I hit 39 weeks because my pattern was to go at 38 weeks. All three of my children weighed the same. If I had induced at 39 weeks my 3rd would not have been ready. When I worked in the hospital I saw this all the time and the baby would end up in the NICU because it had trouble breathing. The lungs are the last system to develop and when they are ready they release a protein that tells the mom to start labor. Before this happens the baby is not ready. Please do not allow someone to induce you. You don't want a baby in the NICU simply because a doctor said you were "overdue."

Edit: In response to this comment "The fact that the doctor even recommended being induced implies that something is wrong/ she is late. I know women that went without being induced and had a FAR worse labor than me."

Being late does not equal something is wrong. The majority of babies come after 40 weeks. This is normal. Having a baby at 42 weeks is normal for some women. It is not dangerous to have a baby after the so called "due date." Labor that is started with induction is almost always worse than labor that starts on its own. I have never heard a woman say that her induced labor was easier than women whose labor started naturally. That is just not normal.

i dont know maybe its too late to respond here, but in my opinion inducing is rediculous; the due date they give you is ESTIMATED. that doesnt mean its a deadline. dont TELL them this, but unless they give you without a doubt proof that something is going wrong in there, inducing isnt necessary. some women have gone 30 weeks, some have gone 50 weeks throughout the world. your previous 2 pregnancies went past the due date, that tells you that your cycle runs a little longer..

anyway, trust your gut. they can schedule the induction, and you can just not show up. get another doctor if you feel extremely pressured into medical intervention. pregnancy and delivery is not a medical event, its a natural event.

if its too late for any of that, i sincerely hope that you have a healthy baby, and that you dont feel guilty for your experience. what happens happens, and you cant be judged for what you choose at the time, its YOUR choice! :) so anyway i just hope you happy and healthy and your baby as well!

Except for my last every one of my kids came the day before the scheduled induction. With my third I asked if he could schedule the induction a little early since I was tired of being pregnant. :p (just an FYI that <<< was a joke all my kids came when they wanted to, the last one came early)

I don't know how to spell poticin (ya know the drug they give you to induce) but my labor was no worse with that than normal. It was quicker. With my younger two my water broke but I was not in labor so they gave it to me. An hour later I had a kid. :D

I was induced with my last 2 - my middle son was because he was 13 days over due. They had tried to induce a week early, but it didn't work, so they sent me home to wait. After day 12 overdue, they tried it again and it took.

The youngest my blood pressure was up so they started me on a Friday morning. I didn't have him until Sunday night. They had to turn it off at least once and try again.

I did have epiderals for both. I don't know that the labor was any worse than the one where I wasn't induced.

With my last pregnancy I was induced and I delivered vaginally. It went smooth, and for me it went quick.

I was induced with my first when he was 12 days late. I thought the contractions felt like being electrocuted and were very fast (every 1-2 minutes for hours). It ended in a c-section. I don't think I would have had a smooth labor without being induced, but it was kind of traumatic as it was. My second was scheduled c-section, and that was much better (not recommending c-section here -- just noting that scheduled is much better than non-scheduled!).

If I were you, I would wait. At about 14 days late, there are some scary stats on stillbirth that caused me to agree to induction; but most docs will wait that long.

Also, on the other side, a good friend of mine had a long labor for her first (not induced) and was induced with her second. It was super fast and (relatively) easy. So there're good stories, too:)

I'd always suggest going naturally unless there is a really good reason not to.

Hopefully by now your little one has decided to make his or her entrance into this world! But if not, I have been in early labor but induced to speed things up and also gone into labor on my own with my water breaking at home. With my first, the contractions were too intense to manage on my own while being confined to the bed and monitors and his delivery ended with a vacuum, infection, and a baby in the NICU. With my second I let everything happen on its own and had a baby in 3 hours start to finish. I was amazed at the difference once my body was ready. I had a completely natural delivery without any drugs, pricks, or pokes! It was wonderful.
Whatever you decide will end up being the right decision for you and your baby, but my two cents is to let baby decide when it is time!

Normally I would say that if you can avoid being induced, try to wait it out. But I know that it's not always the case with everyone, so here's my experience with it. I was induced with both my babies, and while I regret having to be induced, my labor and delivery were fine with both and my babies were healthy. Both times I was induced in the morning and delivered by about five or six that evening (no C-sections for either). The contractions are painful (though since both of mine were induced I have nothing to really compare it to), but I was able to go without pain medication for my second baby and he was much more alert (my first baby I had an epidural with, and she was sluggish and had trouble latching on to breasfeed). So I had no complications with both my inductions...but I'm looking forward to the day when I can go into labor on my own for the first time. :-)

I guess that depends on the reason for the induction. Is there a medical complication? How far overdue are you? A few days? 1 week? 2 weeks? You'll have some on here that love their induction and others that hated them? Its the roll of the dice.

Good luck with your decision! I personally would not want to be induced again. This time they will have to give me a good medical reason to be induced other than I'm a little late! Everything felt so unnatural & 'forced', Pitocin made the contractions so strong, I lost my confidence to go through labor naturally, had the epidural, ended up with an emergency c-section. I really feel like the baby was just not ready & would have came on her own when she was! Like others said, the situation is different for everyone & many people have good experiences with being induced, but to me it is just not worth the increased risk of ending up with a c-section, etc. When do they want you to be induced? 6 days past your due date is not that long. I would ask them for a medical reason & don't let yourself be pushed into it! I wish you a safe delivery ;-)

With my first son my water broke but I never dilated so I was induced and it was about 12 hours of labor, not too bad. When I was given pitocin I had really bad contractions that came quickly. I received an epidural and then labor was fine.

With my second son (two weeks ago) I was 6 days overdue and scheduled to be induced and went into labor the night before at midnight and had him at 4 am. The contractions felt the same intensity but did not come as fast.

Both labors were not horrible and no huge difference except the second time was fast.

Good luck.

I went into labor naturally with my 1st on the morning I was scheduled to be induced.

For baby number 2, I was induced TWICE on two different days to get her out!! I was told I could go home for a few days and come back and try again, or sleep on it and try again in the morning. I decided to go home and give her some time to come on her own. Didn't happen, so back I went.

I was late with both...7 days and 10 days. Labor was not worse (or better) either way. It just took longer with baby # 2. Don't worry about it, it will be just fine :)

Best of luck!!