can i asked to be induced at 37 weeks

[taytotayto]

i will be 37 weeks pregnant next thursday, about a month ago i had another scan as i was told im having a very big baby. they said the baby weighed 5.3lb last month. i asked if i could be induced at 37 weeks then but was told they dont like to do this in case it fails and i end up with a c section. if they tell me on thusday that the baby has grown lots again can anyone tell what to do or say to get them to induce me. if they wont do it can i then ask my midwife to do a stretch and sweep on my due date or do i have to wait for a week? she saw me this week and said she would do one full term plus 7.

[CarGirl]

they only induce for medical reasons. A failed induction is not fun at all. The scans are not very accurate generally. I looked like I was carrying twins, but they kept telling me I wasn't having a big baby as I only measure small - she was 10lb 6oz

[DeepGoat]

any kind of induction is no fun. but i don't they would do it anyway.

[seeker]

just to reassure you that if you have a "normal" sized pelvis, the size of the baby makes very little difference to the ease or otherwise of the birth. I had two gigantic ones quite easily - my sil had long difficult births with two tiddlers. And induced births are often longer and harder than natural ones. So I would try (sorry) to relax and wait and see.

[taytotayto]

cheers for your advice. ill wait for mother nature!!! x

[lilymolly]

another one telling you to wait, even though I had 2 inductions. both of which where pretty good.

I had a scan and was told baby was 5lb5oz at 36weeks and he was still only 7lbs13oz at 42 weeks so its no indication of size

[PortAndLemon]

Early inductions for big babies statistically make no difference to birth outcomes except to make an emergency c-section more likely. Rates of complications, shoulder dystocia, needing instrumental delivery and anything else you might be wanting to avoid are just as high with an early induction as they are if you wait for spontaneous labour.

[linspins]

A friend who is very petite was scared witless after being told her baby was going to be very big, but in the end it was only 7 lbs 1 oz. So I'm not sure scans are very accurate.
Also, I have heard (but don't know if this is true) that the head sizes of babies are generally roughly the same, and a big baby is only big because its body is bigger/longer/ fatter. And its the head size that makes us all wince!
I'd hang on I think, inductions aren't nice.
Good luck xx