AIBU but why are so many women induced?

[labourisscary]

Everyone I know (nearly) who has given birth have been induced and so many of them have then had to have emergency c-sections. I have heard the numbers being induced are simply down to hospitals/docs etc not wanting to monitor you in the later stages of your pregnancy so they induce...I really do not want to be induced, I truly believe that it is better for the Mum and baby to let things develop naturally where possible...am I alone? AIBU??

I know a few women who were induced, all for serious medical reasons. I had an unexpected eclamptic seizure with my first so I was induced as soon as my blood pressure was no longer under control with my second. Seems a sensible course of action. This stuff about nature only creating a child you can give birth to is a load of crap. My son’s head came out ok, but his shoulders were too large to fit. My babies were much larger than expected given my size. Women who have developed gestational diabetes can have very large babies but their bodies aren’t necessarily bigger and able to cope with that.

@Doublechocolatetiffin thank you!! Really helpful post...

@Namechangemum100 No study is ever going to produce something as clear cut as that. Obviously not every placenta will start to fail bang on 42 weeks. Stories on here show that SOME women go to 43 or more weeks and are fine. SOME women experience placental failure much sooner. What the evidence does show is that the risk of stillbirth increases significantly after that point (actually it starts increasing from earlier than that but goes up more rapidly past 42). The numbers of stillbirths are still very small, but there IS a difference. And FWIW the NHS website states that induction for post-dates does not increase the risk of needing a Caesarean.

Most of medicine, including obstetrics, is not an exact science, it's applying the best evidence we have to weight up risks/benefits in an uncertain situation. Sometimes they will induce and it would have been unnecessary, sometimes they will not and things might go horribly wrong. Sometimes they will induce and things still go horribly wrong. It's not perfectly predictable. By all means encourage women to read up on risks/benefits and have informed conversations with their obstetricians and midwives, but don't make stupid suggestions like the idea that they induce women because they can't be arsed with monitoring.

FWIW I was induced at 42 weeks and had a straightforward labour and delivery. But I would have taken any kind of horrendous EmCS etc scenario over a stillbirth, so I was more than happy to be induced!

Because sometimes there is a medical need. They induced me, or rather tried to, due to my out of control bloody pressure. DD didnt respond well to the induction, she ended up being born 55 mins after attempted indiction by c section

@labourisscary most women on this thread have had one because it’s a thread about induction. If it was a thread about home birth you’d find that most people who responded would have had a home birth, because they have experience of it.

I feel like I'm living in a parallel universe.

When I got to +14, as per NICE guidelines I got the choice of induction or ultrasound. I picked the scan - no one pressed me otherwise - and there were some indications that DD might not be doing so well so I was induced for that. I have a friend who begged for induction because her baby was looking big and kept being told no until +10. So in my world, the baby being "big" or getting to a certain no.days overdue didn't lead to induction at all. Monitoring led to clinical evidence led to induction.

I really hate the demonising of induction, how we are told it's harder without the natural oxytocin & endorphins yada yada. I can see why they do that, but it does make it scarier if you do end up in that position.

I don't know anyone in my friends/family that have needed to be induced.
Between myself 2 sisters and SIL we've had 6 natural deliveries with no inductions or c sections.
Among close friends 7 births, 5 vaginal, 1 emergency section and 1 elective section (both sections same friend) 1 premature.

I'm always induced at 37 weeks. I'm allergic to general anaesthetic and due to having a dvt I am on clexaine during pregnancy. You can't have an epidural if you have had clexaine in the last 24 hours. So mine are planned.

Among my large group of friends I don't know anyone who's been induced.

I had an induction at 42 weeks + some days.in fact I had a full 48hrs of them trying different methods of induction, until they gave up and broke my waters at 0cm dilated...then followed another 24hrs from hell ,where I begged for a C-section cause it wasn't happening, only to be told let's wait another hour. Finally ,almost 24 hrs after they broke my hrs,and bbay been distressed for hrs,they gave me the C-section...baby was 10 11, shoulders stuck diagonally. Not nature,not even inductions shifted her, so in my case I wish they actually intervened with the section earlier.

I was induced on my due date because baby was ivf. Allegedly there is data which shows that ivf placentas pack up sooner than ones from natural conception.

I was very skeptical, and my friend who was due at the same time - also with an ivf baby - wasn’t induced just because she was at a different hospital with a different policy.

I went along with it as I was too scared not to, just in case. It was s pretty awful experience as my body was nowhere near ready to give birth. It took 3 days, 2 pessaries, forceps and an episiotomy which caused a fair bit of pelvic floor damage. I’ve since spoken to consultants who said they would not have made that call to induce based on ivf alone- that was my only “risk” factor.

I was induced with one of my DC’s birth. My blood pressure had gone up and they couldn’t bring it down. I had an epidural and can honestly say that being induced was brilliant. I was sitting up in bed doing a crossword and chatting to the medical staff. I could feel the pressure of the contractions but they didn’t hurt. I avoided a c-section because the labour progressed well and I had a straightforward delivery. My other labours hurt like crazy so I much preferred my very hi-tech birth.

Op, keep an open mind about your birth plan because ultimately the health care professionals have spent years training and learning on the job. They won’t induce labour unless there is a good medical reason to do so because they would also much prefer a natural spontaneous birth for you if it’s possible. Good luck!

I was induced due to waters going and no contractions after 24 hours.

Once the pessary was in it was 6 ish hours later. DC came out with an infection which needed antibiotics for 5 days so if I wouldn't have been induced would DC be ok?

I wanted a water birth.

But I don't care as I now have a healthy baby.

With DC2 they wanted to induce me on my due date because:
A) I was 40 and it was my dd:
B) dd was day before 4 day bank holiday;
C: they didn't want to monitor me.

The only time during 2 Pg's I saw a doctor in the hospital was when I declined induction and I was then ordered to see doctor Who lectured and betrayed me in very patronising manner for 20 minutes.

I declined induction in dd but said I would come for monitoring. After all that they didn't monitor me so i guess they didn't really feel I was at any risk at all.

Baby came 4 days "overdue". No monitoring, no induction, no problem.

I think 4 day weekend played a big part in pressuring me to be induced. I believe there are stats to show higher rate of inductions at end of the week - before weekend. A mner linked me to these stats at the time as I discussed the situation here.

OP, of course most women on this thread have had an induction... Why else would anyone reply?

I think you're making a truly ridiculous point. I had glandular fever at 36 weeks. I had high blood pressure from the moment I was pregnant. Reduced movement m's three times so thethe decided to induce me at 38 weeks.
it was I hospital from the Friday afternoon and finally gave birth on the Monday morning. I was induced 4 times. I had to have mine and the babies heartbeat/blood pressure checked every 3 hour during that time. Once it was in labour I had a midwife in with me for the entire 12 hours of active labour. I also had a specialist, an anaesthetist and a senior midwife in and out. Surely it would have been easier and cheaper to let me gon into labour naturally??

Dd1 was induced at 42+11 due to signs of pre eclampsia, she was born not breathing with congenital pneumonia and was taken straight to nicu, if we'd have waited another 12 hours I'd be telling a different story. Dd2 was induced at 39 with a surgical team at the ready because of a suspected heart condition and transverse lying over her umbilical cord, if I'd gone in to labour naturally I would have delivered the cord first and suffocated her. So yes I had a lot of medical intervention, I have friends that are still angry about it on my behalf saying that doctors should leave nature alone and its certainly not the Hollywood movie scene I pictured when thinking about going in to labour but at the end of the day I have two amazing, perfect, beautiful little dds and I think I'm unbelievably lucky no matter how they got here!

I know people who have been induced. I wasn't and went into natural labour at 40+6. I still ended up having to have an emergency delivery in theatre by forceps.

Nearly every older mum who is overweight that I know who got induced ended up with a horrific Labour and emergency c section. I was offered a choice, and as a 34 year old with a BMI of 30, I chose a c section. And not for one second do I regret it

I do regret my induction.. I felt pressured into it simply because I was overdue... id have much preferred to wait and have scans for a little longer but was basically scared into the induction by the midwives...
There was nothing wrong with my placenta or with the baby. The baby was largish but not out of the realms of normality 9lbs... so I cannot see any reason that that pressure was actually put on me.
Of course some women do NEED inductions... but I do think the policy of always inducing over 42 weeks is not great... Im glad to hear that some other women WERE given more of a free choice about it and were able to opt for monitoring first... that was not my experience though... I was put under pressure without any real logical reason to be
and the induction itself was horrendous for me... 3 days long in stirrups... my body was not ready to do it at all... and as I said there was absolutely nothing wrong with me or the baby... it just became a complete cascade of stuff... needed pain relief because of drip.. pain relief made me incredibly sick... had to have IV fluids because of how sick I was... limbs swelled up because IV fluids werent draining.... things slowed down because I was so tired... threatened with emergency c section because in labour too long... the forceps when things speeded up (luckily managed to push baby out unaided but did have episiotomy) and I look back at this and think 'why'? Placenta was fine, baby was fine... why was any of that needed? It actually put me and my baby more at risk than if we had just been left a bit longer.....
so I dont think YABU

I was induced because I labour quickly- 4 hours from start to finish with 1st and DD1 born with a low AGPAR score. My husband works 1.5 half away in an area notorious for traffic issues, baby due in summer and hospital was another half hour. Good job I did, DD2 took 2 hours in total and my placenta wouldn’t come out- not worth the risk of having baby on motorway m so induction it was. The thought of having a retainer placenta or flat baby on the motorway in traffic in summer fills me with dread!!

I had to fight for this as well.

I was informed, after passing my due date, that I would be booked in for induction on x day - and it was only thanks to the lovely women on Mumsnet on other threads who told me I actually had the right to refuse, had recounted their experiences, and suggested possible research materials, that I was able to say no, I did not think induction was best for me in my circumstances, and if I did not give birth naturally before the NHS timelimit of 42 weeks was up, I wanted to go straight to a scheduled c-section. I had to fight for this as they seemed set on induction, but from all I had read for a first birth at my age it generally led to a cascade of interventions and I did not want to risk the dreadful birth injuries from forceps etc.that so many poor women have suffered and that are only just being highlighted in the recent Mumsnet study. I know this is only anecdotal, but I was admitted at the same time as another lady, similar age and similarly overdue, who was induced (also for her first) and she ended up having a crash section after a day and night in unsuccessful labour, and she was left in a pretty bad way.

For me induction was not an option as I did not believe my baby was ready to be born and no amount of drugs would have changed that - they would have had to use instruments to drag him out, which would not have been the best outcome for him or me. Every woman and every birth is different, obviously, and induction can be a lifesaver, but I did question, when they were telling me that my baby could be at risk with a failing placenta and it would be better to get him out straight away, why they would then risk possibly a further 24 hours or more in labour with the baby having such a doubtful oxygen supply. If the risk was so great, c-section should have been the only way, surely? (He was monitored and fine at this point). In any event, I know I am extremely lucky to have the NHS at all and the right under the NICE guidelines to have a c-section if I request one (even though they did fight tooth and nail to persuade me otherwise, which included actually lying about availability!) and to have my baby delivered healthy (and for the record, still covered in vernix and not remotely dehydrated or whatever). I know that all the staff are obviously concerned to ensure the baby is born before a long gestation causes any problems, but whether induction is the best solution for this for mother and baby (or just the cheapest instead of scheduled c-sections) I would not like to say.

I went into labour naturally with my daughter at 37+6, she is now 4 and I was induced with my son at 37+3, as I had 3 lots of reduced movement, turn out I had too much fluid. My labour was fine after induction, I had the pessary to get me going and after 24 hours they broke my waters, as I was 2cm dilated. I went straight from 2cm to 4cm instantly and he was born an hour and a half later, he is now 9 months old and won't stop moving. 😂 I didn't really want an induction as I hate needles and was worried I might have to have a cannula, or a c section. He was obviously ready as he really didn't hang around once my waters had broken. Personally I think I had been in slow labour anyway as I had been having Braxton hicks for about 2 weeks, he was head down, engaged, but his head was blocking my cervics, as soon as the broke my waters he floated up away from my cervics and I dilated an extra 2cm in literally seconds. I had been 2cm for about 4 days.

I was induced early due to possible GD and also my age. I looked at the risks myself and decided the ONLY factor important to me was safety of my baby.
My induction took a while to get going and I chose an epidural but I delivered him with no tears or instruments needed. I’d do exactly the same again because the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about and my ‘birth experience’ isn’t hugely important to me. I didn’t even write a birth plan. Healthy baby = the goal.

My 2nd and 3rd babies were born around 20 years ago, and the consultant did seem to have a policy of inducing births for no particular good reason. Induction seemed to be very common, often at or before the due date. I remember they started talking about induction when I was about 38 weeks.
No way, Jose. I stressed I wasn't going to even think about induction unless there was a very good reason. As it happens, both my labours started spontaneously at 39 weeks.

When I did obstetrics a long time ago women were definitely induced to get the births done on weekdays. Not hospital policy obvs, but that’s what would underlie lots of clinical decisions.
The obstetricians would joke about it, or reger to it obliquely.
No idea how it is now.