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Pregnancy

Refusing Induction

28 replies

dm86 · 17/11/2016 21:49

Hi all,

Just wondered has anyone had any personal experience of refusing induction because they have gone overdue?

I'm currently 11weeks pg with baby number 4.Still getting my head around it! But all my other 3 babies I have been induced at 42 weeks. I assume I just carry longer than most as I did have 35 day cycle also.

Can I refuse induction this time of everything is ok? I would just like one more chance to go into labour on my own and have a natural labour. With my last child I ended up on the drip and it was horrible experience nearly ending in a C Section.

Any stories or help would be good! Thank you. :-)

OP posts:
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creampie · 17/11/2016 21:51

Legally, you can refuse anything you like. I would definitely discuss this with your consultant though before making any decision to make sure you are completely comfortable and aware of the risks involved.

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Hellmouth · 17/11/2016 21:51

You can refuse induction at anytime, the MW will tell you all the risks. As you've had 3 kids already, I'm going to assume you already know what those are.

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ispymincepie · 17/11/2016 21:56

You can absolutely refuse. They like to book you in for term +10 but I've always refused until at least term +16. Responses will vary depending on your midwife!

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BabyBumpHopeful · 18/11/2016 03:10

I know a woman that refused induction because she wanted to wait for her body too. The doctors honored that wish but she had daily ultrasounds and one day was rushed to hospital because he was in distress (over 44 weeks gestation). That baby has been fighting for its life for a couple weeks now.

Were your babies not healthy when born? Were they immature in some way? Or underdeveloped? If no, personally I wouldn't put my baby through the risk of refusing an induction at 42 weeks. There are reasons they have that time limit and I trust my doctor.

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Nikki2ol6 · 18/11/2016 06:50

I knew a girl who said it was against her religion to be induced. She was scanned every 2 days to check her placenta from 42weeks and 44weeks it failed and she still refused to let them take out her baby!! Her baby was still born

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Trifleorbust · 18/11/2016 07:18

You are entitled to refuse induction if you wish. It is your body.

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toomuchtimereadingthreads2016 · 18/11/2016 08:57

You can definitely refuse I would be disappointed to be induced again too... But on the flip side a friend of mine refused induction ended in an emergency C section at 43 weeks with baby in distress and a stay in NICU :( Think its important to keep reevaulating the further on you get, how baby is coping, how you are etc xxx

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JohnLapsleyParlabane · 18/11/2016 09:00

I refused pharmaceutical induction. I accepted sweeps and daily monitoring. My baby was born very healthy at 40+11 after I went into spontaneous labour.

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BonesyBones · 18/11/2016 09:07

I declined to be induced at 41 weeks exactly based on the fact that blood and urine tests were clear, I was fine and baby was fine and there was no reason that I actually needed to be induced. I did however go into labour on my own three days later, while all tests were still clear and everything was still working properly.

Had there been any risk to me or baby I would've accepted induction and just got on with it, after 40+ weeks of pregnancy it's really not worth the risks at the final hurdle.

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Portobelly · 18/11/2016 09:21

I refused induction.
I agreed to daily monitoring
And requested a csection to be booked for 42+3

I found this course of action very difficult.
I was told repeatedly by midwives that my baby was in danger (despite absolutely no indications on monitors etc)
I was told by midwife my baby would die if not delivered by 41weeks
The Dr only agreed to book me in for a cs if I agreed to have a sweep.
Something I resolutely didn't want, because I thought it would break waters but not lead to active labour, but was pressured into it. And assured waters don't break when given a sweep.
I had sweep and waters broke within two hours.
Labour didn't progress, despite my willing it, being ready for it, breathing, showers, bouncing, darkness, meditations etc.

I went to hospital 14hours later
Every midwife who came into the room said 'so we'll start the induction now' it made me question my sanity- had I expressed my intentions clearly? Had I said 'no'? Etc
After five hours of this they realised i wasn't going to be induced.
They left me and my husband in a freezing room for seven hours.
They removed the heater.
We were in our coats.
The shift changed, and so did the attitude.
The midwife listened, she read my birth plan (the only one to do so), and she was kind. As were the Drs who then treated me. And the cs was perfect.

the rates of instrument/cs delivery is very high for inductions.
I'm sure there are many people who can tell you it can be done well, however I think you need to believe in it for your body to respond and do well.
However two close friends had very bad experiences.
And so I didn't believe it would work.

Turns out my ds was back to back and whilst engaged not at an angle that would have delivered naturally. I'd have had a cs which ever way.

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Mummyme87 · 18/11/2016 09:33

You can refuse, and you should be offered extra monitoring including CTGs and USS for growth and dopplers. Your due date isn't always accurate and is often a bit off. A magic switch doesnt get clicked at 42/40 and suddenly your placenta stops functioning. Yes there are risks of a prolonged pregnancy but there are also risks of an iOL.... placental abruption, uterine rupture, fetal distress, PPH, instrumental, more severe perineal trauma. You can be induced at 41/40 for postdates and still end up with a severely hypoxia baby, a stillbirth.

Also look at your own risks, BMI, age, medical problems, obstetric problems...

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savagehk · 18/11/2016 13:59

I refused induction (their dates were wrong, they moved me 5 days early at scan). You are offered a scan to check your placenta is OK at 42 weeks, and I was in for a heart rate monitor every other day thereafter. The main risk of going overdue is if your placenta fails. You should note that medical staff become a lot more jumpy if you do go over 42 weeks, I was booked in for a home birth (with them saying all along they believed my dates) but then as soon as I was over 42 weeks by their dates they refused.
I had an unsuccessful sweep at 42 weeks and a successful sweep at 42+4. I went into labour that evening.

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savagehk · 18/11/2016 14:02

I also tried acupuncture, although I don't think it worked in my case.

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Microwaste · 18/11/2016 14:05

I refused induction with dc3, and opted for daily monitoring instead (which should be offered as an alternative under NICE guidelines). No one argued or tried to persuade me otherwise, my decision was totally respected. I eventually went into labour at 40+18 and had a lovely home birth, no issues. If the monitoring had shown anything to be concerned about, I'd have had induction straight away but everything was fine.

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Redkite10a · 18/11/2016 21:40

I refused induction at 40+12 by scan dates with DS on the basis that I wanted to go by my LMP dates which only made me 40+7. My midwife seemed fine with it and I was booked for monitoring on 40+12. I never made the monitoring appointment as i went into labour naturally that morning so I don't know if the.hospital staff would have put more pressure on me then.

With DD I got as far as conversations with my midwife about declining induction at 42 weeks. I thought my scan dates were out again and wanted the extra 5 days. I got the impression that as long as you had a date when you would agree to induction / a C section they were OK with you deferring it by a few days. DD was born at 40+10 though so again I didn't get as far as seeing hospital staff about it.

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sjj257 · 18/11/2016 22:30

It's a difficult one, I have had an induction at 42 weeks and one at 41+3. Cervix wasn't favourable either time. Both my babies were over 10lb. I'm 31+2 with our third baby now and although in an ideal world I'd love to go into labour naturally, I really don't think it's going to happen, and because of my history of big babies I am being monitored more this time his growth is being checked with 4 weekly scans. As it stands so far they have mentioned induction around due date should he be measuring big at the last scan (36 weeks). Part of me thinks but what if I was going to go into labour naturally this time? But then part of me thinks I'd be so annoyed if I had to then be induced at 42 weeks anyway? I guess I can only make the decision once I know how he's measuring up in a few weeks time.

I really don't think I could go over by any more than 2 weeks, and I have thought about it given my history of induction. My nan had two stillborn babies and I think that would play on my mind too much.

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sycamore54321 · 19/11/2016 00:11

Of course you can refuse, just like any medical procedure, but there are very real risks to it. What are the advantages of refusing? "Just one more chance to go into labour on my own" doesn't sound like much of a benefit when weighed against the possible risks of refusing an induction after the 42 weeks you expect.

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hopsalong · 19/11/2016 08:50

If you've been two weeks overdue three times, you definitely deserve this time to go into natural labour right on time or a bit before! I've only had one baby, at 42 weeks (ended in c-section) and thought the last two weeks of pregnancy were grimmer than all the rest combined... Now pregnant again and so having some of same worries. In my case, because it would be a VBAC, I'm pretty wary about induction anyway and might ask to go straight to an ELCS if I am very overdue again.

As I see it, in your case, there's probably a really good chance that if you refuse induction and go overdue that you'll go into labour naturally soon afterwards and have a better birth. (Assuming you can cope with anxiety of refusing medical advice etc, which I would find hard.) But then there's also a small / probably tiny chance that your body actually doesn't know what to do at the end of pregnancy and isn't good at going into labour at all. In which case, going past 42 weeks will be a sign of a problem -- not to do with needing longer to gestate, but a problem initiating labour. So there is a tiny chance of something going badly wrong, placenta failing, baby ending up in distress etc. I would say it is much much more likely you will have a good outcome, but the bad outcome is so much more bad than the good outcome is good (especially if you haven't ever actually needed a c-section after induction before), that in your shoes I would accept the induction at 42 weeks. But here's hoping you don't get that far!

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zen1 · 19/11/2016 09:01

I had an induction at 42+2 for DC1. I didn't know I could refuse or I would have done. With the benefit of experience, I realise I was probably in early labour before they decided to induce me. The induction was brutal, as was the delivery and I spent a week in hospital afterwards. When DC was born, there was no sign whatsoever that he was post mature.

With DC2, I was offered sweep / induction at 41 weeks, but refused. I agreed to monitoring. He was 11 days late.

with DC3, I insisted on a c-section all the way through. The hospital agreed as his head was massive. However, at the last minute, when I was in labour, I changed my mind and had him with an epidural at 10 days late. I was offered induction for this birth as well, but declined.

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Raaaaaah · 19/11/2016 09:05

A bit late to the game but can I whole heartedly recommend the book by AIMS called Inducing labour:Making Informed decisions. My midwife encouraged me to read it when the hospital wanted to induce me. It gave me all the information I needed to make a decision I felt comfortable with and to ensure that the hospital staff felt confident that I was making an informed decision. Consequently they were extremely supportive. She also encouraged me to keep an open dialogue with the hospital which we did. This meant that when I did finally go to the hospital everyone was on board and knew what had been happening. Congratulations on your pregnancy X

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Friendinneed2016 · 19/11/2016 09:11

You can have daily scans to check for placenta function and baby's health after 14 days overdue. It's what I opted for (plus got bullied into sweeps which I won't do again).

My baby was born +15 and was covered in vernix. The midwife checked my placenta over too and said it was perfect! I know it's not the same for all women so it's a risk you have to weight up.

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Footle · 19/11/2016 09:28

A word of encouragement. My first three all needed induction - I just didn't go into effective labour on my own. Number four managed without. Hope yours does the same.

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sycamore54321 · 19/11/2016 12:32

Some of the stories on here terrify me. Yes you can have regular scans etc but they can only show something going wrong. Why would you want to wait until the placenta is (at best) starting to fail?

For me, outcome always trumps process and I'm happy to risk the possibility of 'unnecessary' interventions knowing the alternative could be catastrophic. Of course, huge numbers of babies go post-dates and are just fine but the statistics clearly show a far greater proportion of post term pregnancies have poor outcomes.

Discuss with your doctor. I'd also share the view of someone up-thread that if three 42 week pregnancies haven't resulted in spontaneous labour, there is a good chance of some common factor that means a fourth won't either.

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ny20005 · 19/11/2016 13:30

My sil (in US) had midwifes at home & no scans & baby led everything. Didn't believe in induction & was monitored daily & went to almost 44 weeks before labour started Shock! Nephew was 10lbs 2 !!!

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lightcola · 19/11/2016 13:43

The risk is the placenta becomes less effective after 40+12 days

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