Should I take offer of elective induction at 39 weeks?

[Baloonphobia]

Hi all. I'm very undecided about what to do. I've been offered an elective induction at 39 +2 next week. This is due to the fact that I live 1 hr from the hospital, have no family nearby and in my previous pregnancy I arrived at the hospital at 5 and had the baby at half 8. My dh will take time off work so he will be available to drive me in if I decide not to take the induction. He'll take time off from the end of this week to whenever needed. The babies head is apparently high at the moment and my cervix is 2 cms. I'm not sure whether I should take the induction or not. Help!!

[Baloonphobia]

Bump for my bump question.

[PaulHollywoodsSexGut]

What I’m about to say should just be taken as the rough rule of thumb but:

Was your first baby born before 40w? If yes, this is good for getting induction done at 39w.

If baby’s head is high but cervix is 2cm do you know your Bishops Score? If it’s over 5 then might be worth grabbing the induction.

[Baloonphobia]

Hi, I don't know what the bishops score is. They didn't tell me. Went into labour last time on my due date.

[PaulHollywoodsSexGut]

If you’re not a “late baker” (cooking your babies to 42w etc) then I’d go for it.

Allows you to make plans and arrangements for DC1 as much as you can with induction (which won’t give a guaranteed arrival time like a CS will).

[Baloonphobia]

They did say that it didn't look like anything was happening imminently but that's a bit vague.

[Baloonphobia]

The ability to plan is a serious advantage.

[randomsabreuse]

I would. My 2nd was induced at pretty well the exact point my first came of her own accord. The main reason was scanning large though. Labour was almost exactly the same pattern as 1st - pain, not much dilation then dilated all at once before needing a ventouse to extract...

[ChanklyBore]

What made you go into the hospital with your last baby? If you set off at the very first sign of anything happening, and were in hospital three and a half hours before the baby was born, so a five hour labour, perhaps - is that the reason? I can’t tell you what to do, because it’s definitely about what you are comfortable with. My first baby arrived in under two hours first twinge to birth, so I was all ready for a super fast second labour but in the end it was longer (over three hours). Induction wasn’t mentioned, so I didn’t have a decision to make, but I tend to err on the side of intervention only if necessary, so I guess that would have been my choice.

[Baloonphobia]

I woke up with contractions, waited half an hour and headed in. If it took the same time I'd have loads of time. The hospital told me to plan for half the time, as a rough guideline, for the second. That would give me 2 and a half hours from first twinge to holding baby.

[gemwhitt]

Hi OP, I'm in a similar situation but for different reasons.
Currently booked in for induction next Wednesday (15th), which is 4 days before I'm due. This is my first baby. Head has started to engage but still high and cervix is also 2cm thick.
Reason for induction is that husband has to go back to work (offshore) and we wanted more time for him to spend with baby.
Absolutely terrified of going in for induction, it not working, and having to stay on the ward overnight on my own. But if it works well then we could all be home as a family by the end of next week, which is ideal.
Just going to stay as relaxed as possible and hope that the timing is good for next week.
Good luck with yours!