Being induced on due date

[TheNewWife]

Ok, in brief, I live overseas and my healthcare is private. I'm due first DC on 15/4 and my Mum flies in on 14/4.
Now, she can only stay for two wks max as she cares for my elderly grandfather and that's how long we have managed to get alternate care in place.
Visited my gynae last wk, explained that it would be a nightmare scenario if I went two wks over my due date because of situ with Mum (who I would love to be there) and she agreed. Said that as I've had low risk pregnancy, no hassles throughout whole term etc that she would induce me on my due date if all continued the same.
I was delighted and shared the news with friends at my babyshower at the wknd and several of them have expressed horror at this.
Apparently my labour will be worse - longer and harder. More likely to need epidural (I'm open minded to pain relief but aiming for a water birth)
AIBU to think that I should trust the gynae with the pHd and not a bunch of women with varying degrees of 'I've heard from such and such... etc'. Surely my gynae wouldn't do it if there was an issue?
Anyone else been induced and can give me heads up?

[bobbis]

I was induced on the 8th and my DD was born on the 10th. We were induced at 37 weeks because she was measuring small. Not sure what the induction process is overseas, I'm in the UK.

I had a pessary which they leave for 24hrs, it just made me feel a bit achy and didn't kick in until 20hrs later. Baby didn't like it once it started working so it got taken out. I had my waters broke 24hrs after the pessary had gone in, made me contract for hours (manageable, I ate and joked about) but not dilate further than 2cm. Last straw was the drip (which loads of friends had warned/scared me about, even the doctor at the hospital offered me an epidural before it went in). I was put on the drip 33hrs into the induction and she was born 3 and a half hours later. I had codeine and gas and air.
I was constantly monitored and wasn't able to be mobile in labour, but this isn't the case in all inductions. They had said I could use the pool if baby was happy but unfortunately she wasn't.

I will say...I had gas and air with my previous natural water birth and it covered all the pain, it didn't completely take it away this time.
My placenta also got stuck and was manually removed (I refused to go to theatre) but I can't say if that had anything to do with the drip.
Both me and DD were happy and healthy and discharged the same day.

Hopefully that gives you a bit more of an insight, all labours are different though. I had a massive fear of the unknown when I went in to be induced but it wasn't as terrible as I thought. Hope everything goes well with you :)

[EpoxyResin]

I don't know, I'm sure loads of inductions go swimmingly, but it is a pretty major intervention which carries risks and greater incidences of various outcomes (such as further interventions or increased pain). You just have to weight up the risks versus the rewards for you I guess. I can see where your friends are coming from, but then again I'm in the "I fucking hated my induction" camp where everything went wrong, and if my waters hadn't gone 48hrs earlier risking infection there was no way I would have chosen it. Had a C-section in the end incidentally, by my own request, so hideous was the induction!!

...But that's me - one person out of many - and there are no guarantees with any birth at all, absolutely none. So yes, there are risks with inductions, you do up your chances or certain outcomes - bu that isn't the case for everyone! - and if it's worth it to you to spend the time with your mum and new baby (which would be totally reasonable) then you go for it. Your birth, your choice. And you're right, your midwife wouldn't agree if it wasn't a reasonable choice for you to make.

[EpoxyResin]

On a practical note though, do ask your gynae about continuous monitoring. I know here they would want to monitor you continuously; obviously you can usually refuse, but generally only because the risk of NOT doing the induction is greater than the risk of not monitoring. For a voluntary induction they may not be so keen, although obviously don't know about where you are. For some people that's not a big deal, but for a water birth the two in conjunction may be difficult depending on what they say.

[TheNewWife]

Thanks Bobbis & EpoxyResin for replying. I really appreciate it. Maybe I should just eat loads of curries, have lots of sex, bounce on a gym ball etc etc and hope I go naturally a few days before!
Maybe I was naive not to have any concerns. I suppose I'd heard what I wanted to so was just happy with that.

[RyanStartedTheFire]

Induced at 38 and 39 weeks. Awesome, epidural free 4h long labours. It's not all horror stories!

[TheNewWife]

RyanStartedTheFire - sending you a virtual kiss for making me feel a bit better!

[pinguina16]

Your scenario strikes me as what NCT keeps banging on about: a possible cascade of interventions.
If there is no clinical need to intervene, why intervene? (don't particularly like the NCT but in a case like yours I think their point is valid).
Your ob/gynae should definitely have told you more. At least now you know there are cons as well as pros. I'm all for good information

[ToElleWithIt]

Is this your first? I would be reluctant on a first baby, less so on a subsequent delivery.

There is a scale of how favourable you are for induction. I'd ask how you score on this. If you're not favourable for induction then i personally wouldn't.

I was induced on a second baby, was favourable for induction and it was super smooth. Just broke waters and walked for a few hours then 2 hour labour with no interventions or medication.

[juneau]

I would definitely try to go the natural route. I walked miles every day during my two pregnancies and both my DSs were born at 39 weeks. I have no idea if it's linked, but my doctor said 'quite possibly' when I asked him. Induction can work, or not, it can create problems, or not, so I'd do what you can to speed things along yourself.

[savagehk]

There's not much of an issue with induction from the gynae's POV. You will end up with a baby. As for your ideal waterbirth - less so.

If you are induced, you may well be fine and have a normal labour. Or, you could go into uterine overstimulation and be in agony the entire time. It depends what you mean by 'induction' as well, worth checking with the gynae exactly what they do and which drugs they use.

Also worth checking what the hospital policy is on waterbirth + induction, as some insist on continual monitoring if you're being induced, which doesn't always work with the water (depends on monitoring equipment). (As previous poster has mentioned.)

Is it most important to you that your mother is there for the birth, or for the post-birth bit? If it's the former, she might miss it anyway if you deliver early. If it's the latter, can't she come once you're certain baby will be here (42w, probably, as they'll likely induce you for post date ness by then?)

[TheNewWife]

I'm seeing my gynae again next week so will ask her about the score you mention ToElleWithIt.
Juneau- I'll absolutely try to go the natural route by lots of walking etc
There is the situation here that because you're paying for your healthcare then you can basically get what you want. Many women have elective c sections, etc. I don't think such options are available back home on the NHS (to be honest I've no clue as this is my first DC)
If it wasn't for the time restriction with DM then I'd absolutely leave it to Mother Nature. My DH is about to go to France for work (6 hours from us by plane) for a week around 2.5 weeks before my due date and knowing my luck I'll end up going into natural labour early whilst I'm on my Jack Jones!!

[Toobloodytired]

I'm being induced on Saturday, il let you know how it goes!!

[TheNewWife]

Savagehk - we are constricted by care for my Gramps plus flights booked now anyway. So she's defo coming at my due date now.
I'm not worried about her being there for the actual birth (although it'd be nice) but ultimately my priority is her being with us for support when we get home (she used to be a nurse plus we are v close) and obviously as she lives so far away then it would be nice for her to see as much of her new grandchild.
Very valid point RE: asking what induction entails, I never asked!

[TheNewWife]

Toobloodytired - best of luck, hope all goes great for you. Soon be cuddling your LO!

[OhHolyFuck]

I was induced on my due date with DS1 - had the first pessary at 9.30am and walked around a bit, dozed, ate etc
Had the second pessary at 6.30pm and started with period type pains fairly soon after, they ramped up over the next few hours into contractions
Had some pethidine when I got moved to delivery suite at 11pm and slept through the next 2 hours, woke up at 1am with my waters exploding breaking and DS1 was born at 1.15am after only a few pushes

He was 7lb 7oz and it was all fine, honestly induction on your due date needn't be a horror story

[UndersecretaryofWhimsy]

It's going to come down to a personal choice as PPs mentioned, but yes, I am a little surprised your doctor didn't spend more time helping you understand the downsides. Some inductions are very smooth, some are very much not smooth and turn into a days-long marathon ending in escalating interventions. I do wonder sometimes about whether the body kind of fights an induction it isn't ready for. We know so little about childbirth and what causes it to start naturally.

It's not the choice I would personally make on the basis of convenience/a known date, but it's not my choice to make so that doesn't really matter. I do wonder why you haven't considered an elective C if your priority is to make sure you know what specific date your baby has been born. Many of the women I've known who had inductions say that they would probably opt for an elective C next time given the choice, and several of them ended up with EMCS after foetal distress/failure to progress. Then again, anecdote, data, etc.

I think it is worth thinking about what a PP pointed out, i.e. your doctor's incentives and yours are different. All she really cares about is that both you and baby leave hospital alive, whereas you have more and more complex goals and feelings around the process of birth, and it's you that lives with the aftereffects, whatever way things go.

[TheNewWife]

Cheers muchly OhHolyFuck

I'm laidback and open minded so always hope for the best. Defo think I should get more info though on what form my induction will take.

[savagehk]

If your labour is more painful as a result, worth asking what your epidural options are too. Some hospitals are able to give you a 'mobile' one, where others can't. I'm almost certain any time of epidural means no water, though (probably due to the bit where it goes into your spine, even if they were happy that your legs could take your weight with a mobile one). I've not looked into it too much as our hospital policy is induction or epidural and you're on labour ward, and I didn't want to be there at all. (And I don't think they do mobile epidurals)

[TheNewWife]

Undersecretary- I wouldn't consider a CSection unless it was under medical advice. Not for me.
I can see that I defo have more questions to ask my gynae.
I'll read through all the helpful points you've all raised and make notes.
Thanks all

[Indaba]

Had three inductions (the last one was an elective induction...lived overseas and they were a lot more relaxed about stuff like that).

All fine.

Induction covers a wide range: in UK starts with a sweep, then pessaries, then intravenous I thinkj Chat through with them but they did tell me to many do have epidurals as you can go straight from 0-100 in terms of speed. For my last induction they gave me the epidural first then started to induce.....read my book through 96 per cent of the labour! {smile}

[DoctorMonty]

Hi TheNewWife!

In the UK, induction means one, two or all of the following: vaginal prostaglandins (gel, pessary or tablet), breaking your waters, then an IV oxytocin drip (syntocinon or "synt", called pitocin or "pit" in the US). A stretch and sweep isn't really counted as induction.

I don't know what the case is in your country, but I'd bet they will insist on constant fetal monitoring with a CTG, because oxytocin drips give stronger/faster contractions which are more likely to distress the baby. CTGs can sometimes be done in water, but oxytocin almost always can't. The doctors will assume that if you sign up for induction, you're signing up for any/all that is necessary to get you into labour and deliver your baby so if you want a bespoke plan, e.g. One that doesn't involve a particular element, you should make that clear ASAP.

Just occasionally, consultants may agree to trying a pessary and if that gets you into labour with nothing else, agreeing not to do constant CTG monitoring. But that's rare in the UK - I don't know about where you are. This is the main issue though, because CTG monitoring is known to increase unnecessary intervention.

I'd echo a lot of what has been said: Induction can work just fine, and IMHO it certainly has its place, but when there is a good reason. Personally, I have to say convenience in terms of family travel wouldn't be one of those good reasons if it were me, but that's a choice only you can make. If you'd had a quick and trouble-free previous labour and it was likely to be a matter of just "lighting the blue touch paper", it might be different, but it can be pretty difficult getting a first time mum into labour, and would definitely be a step away from a natural water birth if that's what you want.

Good luck, whatever you choose.

[AyeAmarok]

I had an induction at 42 weeks and ended up with uterine overstimulatation from the first prostaglandin and a cascade of intervention.

Don't make the decision lightly. Do your research.

[DuggeeHugs]

Sorry to be blunt, but you may not get a choice about a CS - it will come down to what's safest for your baby once induction is underway. My induction began on the Monday and ended on the Saturday with an emergency CS. I spent a total of 8 days in hospital.

During antenatal class the midwives glossed over the fact that 10% of inductions fail. Please make sure your HCP gives you all the information on both sides so you can feel more in control and have a chance to plan for all eventualities beforehand. Hopefully, you will have a straightforward experience but I've learnt the hard way that it's good to be prepared

[RyanStartedTheFire]

Duggee She said she'd have a c section under medical advice, and that still means 90% of inductions work. Why are people trying to scare someone just before they give birth? Yes, state facts but be positive!