how long overdue do you go before you get induced?

[Lovelylace]

39 weeks today and soo looking forward to labour starting..COME ON!!
But I reccon my little miracle will take after his dad who's never been on time in his life and I will go overdue, so question is, for how long do they let you suffer before they start inducing you?

[surprise11871]

i think it depends on the individual hospital my hospitals policy was to induce at 13 days over i ended up going 10 days over so luckily didn't need the appointment that was booked for me! i hope ur lo makes an appearance for you soon my lo is now 7 weeks old and those last few weeks seemed to last forever next time i will just tell myself pregnancy last 42 weeks

[mrsyattering]

Our hospital, when I had mine was 40+10, luckily I went into labour the night before induction, and was home by teatime :)

[Flisspaps]

I was offered induction at 40+10 with DD. I declined, but was finally induced at 40+15.

With DS I'd have waited as long as necessary and declined induction.

[HPsauceonbaconbuttiesmmm]

Our hospital is 40+14. Which is lucky as I went into labour at 40+13. If I'd lived elsewhere I may have had to go through induction and I feared that above all else.

[Lovelylace]

why fearing induction, have i missed something..what risks are involved? I just wanna get on with it now...

[LadyAlex]

induction can make for a slower labour and there is evidence to suggest you are more likely to require a c sec. The theory is that your labour becomes quite intense quite quickly and your body is likely to become exhausted. That is exactly what happened for me. I had an induction at 40+12 then an epidural because I was advised to, I didn't need it for pain relief but the needed to put a trace on DS head and it hurt to much I asked them to stop. Once under epidural, I was layed down so everything slowed down and then stopped = c sec.

I'll be in no rush for induction this time and it will be a last resort. I'd rather be overdue, you've got a whole future with your baby, another few days won't make any difference and a due date is only a guide day, not an eviction order!

[stowsettler]

My induction is booked for Mon when I'll be 40+12. I may ask to go to 42 weeks though as I'm keen try to go naturally.

[Flisspaps]

Induction can increase the risk of intervention (forceps, ventouse, episiotomy, EMCS) and therefore complications (tearing, PPH, retained placenta). Some of the drugs used can cause hyperstimulation of the uterus. Sometimes the baby gets distressed.

Women should be informed of this before booking induction, as well as being given info about expectant management and the risks of going post-dates.

How can you make an informed decision if you're simply told 'we will book induction for 40+10, ok?'

[HPsauceonbaconbuttiesmmm]

lovelylace I'm an anaesthetist so have seen a lot of inductions. They are undoubtedly more painful by some way, for most women. Most women need an epidural. The level of success is not actually very good and the level of intervention is high. Csection rates become about 40% for a first time mum. That's why I feared it.

Inductions can of course go very smoothly and when medically indicated its great that we have the option available. I would personally want to go to 40+14 again but would then agree to induction. When babies aren't ready to come making them budge can be quite tricky!

[Lovelylace]

Super!! thanks for that info, had absolutely no idea, I just thought they injected you with the same hormone as naturally start off labour and it was very much the same after that..I am 39+1 today and just feel so ready to have him and the thought of maybe going for another 3 weeks is simply exhausting, BUT with this info in mind I will try to be patient and spend the time resting and trying to enjoy it..

[LeoniPoni]

My induction was booked for 40+14 but when I got to hospital they had one emergency after another so I wasn't actually induced for another 5 days. I was just sat in a hospital bed, hooked up to the fetal monitor, reading magazines!

When I was induced the contractions came quick and fast and after 3 hours of back to back contractions I had an epidural. It was heavenly! I had a little sleep for an hour then pushed for 20mins and that was it.

It wasn't so bad to put me off, I'm pregnant again (just 7weeks gone) but I'm for sure hoping for a more punctual baby this time!

[beckie90]

I had an induction with ds1, i went in at 40+11 but they broke my waters at +12 I had an overnigjt pessary in before that. My labour was 4.5 hours, pushing 5 mins (2 pushes) only thing I did have was very heavy bleeding in labour worse than a heavy period and a pph when he was born not sure if any of that was due to induction, it wasn't mentioned. So easy labour terrible aftertime.

Ds2 was back to back, I went into natural labour on my due date, but was in labour for 5 days, spent over 2hrs pushing which then had to be intervined. My labour with ds2 was much more painful than ds1, but he was back to back and in a bad position. But no problems to health.

So my 2 have been totally different expiriences.

[NAR4]

The hospital I had my first 3 DCs in induced at 40+10 and the hospital I am at now induces at 40+14. I have been booked for an induction this time (again) and am glad it won't be until I am 14 days over. I wouldn't want to leave it any longer, but do want the maximum amount of time to go into labour naturally before going for an induction.

[scaredbutexcited]

Just been to an antenatal class today and asked them about this.

Told that generally the placenta becomes less effective at around +14 days.

As a result, my local hospital policy is to induce at +12 to give you a couple of days to get going.

You can still ask to wait longer, one of my friends went to +18 but they will want to monitor you closely - hopefully things will get going for you well before then though!

[Crabapplebobbin]

I was induced at 40+13 first time resulting in a horribly painful 37 hour labour, epidural, assisted delivery, third degree tear and surgical repair. It was a truly awful experience to the point where I was terrified of childbirth and had a very embarrassing meltdown at the midwives office half way through this pregnancy. This time there is no way I'm being induced unless it's medically necessary. I'm 39 weeks pregnant. Apparently it's a myth that the placenta generally becomes less effective after 42 weeks and this only happens rarely. Baby will come when it's ready.

[fathergoose]

In some countries (France??) your due date isn't until you're 42wks...

Stillbirth risk at 42wks is twice that (around 4/1000 I think) at 40wks but still very low (and monitoring obviously helps - and not all cases will be because of placenta malfunction).

Unless you're totally sure of your dates (and even if you are), then having exact cut-offs seems a bit strange: a day or two (or even a week or two) hasn't made any difference earlier on in pregnancy, yet it does at this point..

And you can always refuse to be induced. Nobody can force you into it.

After a horrible induction with #1 (after my waters broke but no contractions) I would recommend avoiding drug-related induction for as long as possible. It was horrific.

[Flisspaps]

The placenta can start to fail at 37 weeks in some women - 42 weeks isn't an absolute.

Normal pregnancy is anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks.

[AmandaCooper]

Can I slightly hijack to ask a question? I have a midwife appointment on Friday when I'll be one day short of 40 weeks. If they want to book my induction date during that appointment for 14 days time and I think I might possibly prefer expectant management (hard to say at this point how I'll feel in another two weeks) do I let them book it and see how I feel closer to the time, or do I say that I'd prefer to leave it? What if they do book it and then I change my mind?

[Flisspaps]

Amanda you call the ward, and tell them you won't be attending.

Then call your MW, let her know, and request expectant management at which point there will probably be much fuss and an appointment made for you to see a consultant who will talk to you like a naughty schoolgirl and tell you all of the risks of going to 42w+ (even if you're well aware of them and have made an informed choice) - of course, you can decline that too.

[AmandaCooper]

Oh ok so I'll just let them go ahead and book it and then see how things go. Thanks very much Flisspaps! Sorry for the hijack OP!

[Flisspaps]

The other alternative is to decline an appointment altogether, and tell them that you will let them know if you change your mind.

This can be easier than feeling "well, the appointment is booked now, so I might as well just go anyway" which is what I did with DD, and regretted it the second I got in the car to head to hospital (but by then DH had already booked time off work to come in with me!)

[blueberryupsidedown]

I was induced at 40+12 (the policy at our hospital was 40+10) so for the last three days of pregnancy (days +10, +11, +12) I was monitored for a couple of hours, each day in hospital. On day +12, DS's heart started to drop dramatically after Braxton Hicks contractions, and I was immediatly admitted for an induction. However after a couple of hours his heartbeat was dipping way too low and not recovering and I was rushed for emergency c section. I am one of the cases when the placenta stops working properly.

I am very pleased obviously that I went to be monitored and I would strongly advice that if you decide not to be induced, to go to be monitored. I find it really strange that people are giving advice to not go for induction apointments. You can decide to not be induced on the day advised by the hospital, but if you do, please please please go in to be monitored.