Pregnancy - Did anyone decline induction at 42 weeks and went into spontaneous labour within 7 days!

[Louise2019]

I know I AB completely U to post this here for traffic, but was hoping to get some replies and positive stories!

Has anyone ever declined an induction at 42 weeks and gone into spontaneous labour the following week?

I’m currently 42 weeks and 3 days pregnant with an induction booked for Friday. I’m really hoping to avoid induction but as the days pass it’s looking less likely.

Does anyone have any positive stories?

Thanks

Why would you do that? You do know placentas are only made to last 41ish weeks. You are putting your baby at risk.

Nothinglefttochoose you do know placentas are only made to last 41ish weeks

Are they? What's the evidence for this?

@AlmostAlwyn the exact reason induction is offered after going so far past term is because of the research and stats that showed the risk of stillbirth is higher.

Personally I'd rather have induction anyway. The pessary is enough for most people and you can mentally prepare for it and know the date it will start. My non induced labour was worse than any induced story I've ever heard. Felt like it went 1 to 10,000 in an hour and stuck like that for 12 more.

Almost every Mum on 'One Born' - INDUCTION.

Dc3 was induced at 40+10 with no sign of anything happening at all. The hospital were happy to let me go on another couple of days but I was fed up and didn't have any sense at all that she would shift by herself. Had a pessary and after very, very little happening for about 5 hours I went from 2cm to birth in 20 minutes (not an exaggeration). I walked home with dd in a sling 4 hours later.

I'd be a bit reluctant to turn induction down at 42 weeks, tbh. Of course there are women who can go that late and beyond and all be fine, but there are increased risks.

According to one study, the risk of stillbirth at 42 weeks is the same as at 38 weeks. But I can imagine that research is pretty limited seeing as so few women get to 42 weeks and beyond.

Obviously, it's up to each woman what they do with their body, but being bullied into something they don't want based on shaky science is all too common.

I was one of those people whose placenta did fail at 40+12.
DS and I had a horrific time, he was in special care for several days. It's very clear cut that the risk of stillbirth goes up and I don't understand why anyone would risk it.

I was induced at 40+7 with the other two (and that was absolutely fine.)

Most people I know who had an awful induction had them early. My induction at 36+5 was horrific but my "induction" at 40+2 was my favourite out of all 7 of my births. I say induction in inverted commas because I was admitted for induction but they were so busy I was left hanging around the antenatal ward for 11 hours while the midwives kept apologising and bringing me tea and toast. By the time they were ready to start me off I was 5cm dilated and I have a history of quick labour so I asked them to wait a couple of hours. 2 hours later I was pushing.

To answer your question I know 2 ladies who declined induction at 42 weeks. One had a homebirth at 43 weeks and the other accepted induction at 43 weeks. She had 1 pessary but nothing else needed.

Why are you playing fast and loose with your baby’s health? All because you don’t want to be induced?

This. Is. Bonkers.

Sorry but aI think it is incredibly irresponsible to refuse at induction at that point.

Jesus Christ, they offer it at that point for a reason. In Germany after 41 weeks it really isn't up for discussion. The risk of stillbirth massively increases over 42 weeks.

I can't believe anyone could possibly want to take a risk like this.

I had a show at 42+5, went into the hospital for monitoring but was NOT going to be induced... I agreed to a pessary and feel I was right on the edge of labour so that worked.
Statistically you're more and more likely to go into labour each day.
Things that aren't proven to work;
Sweeps
Breast stimulation, get a pump and get going

Sorry fecking autocorrect... things that ARE proven to work!

every single one of my children was born at exactly 43 weeks. by the time the last one arrived my consultant even put the 43 week date in brackets next to the due date on my file because we all knew that's when the baby would be born and it was. They were worried about the first couple going on for so long but when they arrived there were no signs of distress or that they were overcooked - dry skin, long nails etc. So, we came to the conclusion that that was just how long I carried babies for. But from 40 weeks I was very closely monitored and had I been told at any point in any pregnancy that the baby needed inducing then I would have said yes straightaway.

There are risks with induction too. It's not an exact science and you have to weigh up the risks with the help of the medical professionals and choose what to do.

I would not be prepared to risk stillbirth by refusing inducing at 42 weeks! Please don't refuse it! I hope your baby starts up naturally while you're waiting, but don't get hung up on the 'perfect birth'. None of them are perfect.

It’s not something I would have done personally, I would rather the baby be here safe and sound.

I was offered induction for DC3, DC4, DC5, DC6, DC7 and DC8 at between 40 wks 10 days and 42 wks and in each case I went into labour spontaneously the night before the induction was due.

I don’t understand why you would do this?

For your “perfect birth experience”?

It isn’t your perfect birth experience you should be concerned about. It is your child’s.

I understood (in that I was told by a senior consultant looking after me with DC3) that induction can be more risky than leaving the mother a short while more, and leads to a higher incidence of emergency c-sections.

Donut DC4 was born in Munster and they didn't freak out at 41 wks with me.

I declined. Had to have lots of monitoring to ensure health of placenta etc. Son arrived what was officially 26 days ‘late’ but he had lots of vernix so I’m sure they got my dates wrong.

I twice went into labour on the morning of my booked inductions! So good luck to you.

I wouldn't decline an induction at that point either - they have them then because of the risk to your baby after that date.

Yes, dd was born at 42+3. I declined induction, including sweeps and expectant monitoring. A sweep is a form of induction and can rupture the membranes, increasing risk of infection , so not a win win procedure.

I don't know why you'd refuse induction at this stage.

You're not guaranteed a perfect birth if you aren't induced. Equally, induced births aren't necessarily horrific. And your 'birth experience', while not unimportant, is not as high a priority as the health of you and your child.

Stillbirth rates go up after 42 weeks. It's not a risk I'd take.

I did. Sweep at 42+0, in labour at 42+1, had induction booked for 42+2 but the baby arrived that morning.

I would have had an induction or a section if I’d not seemed close to labour already by 42 weeks. As it was, I felt that the extra risk of waiting an additional 2/3 days for labour to start spontaneously was not massively high, and given the risk of induction was not zero it was a reasonable decision to make.

You get a lot of shocked faces and scorn about how you’re being reckless with your baby’s life and you’re obviously only doing it because you want some special birth experience. This was not the case for me or others I knew of in the same position. I discussed risks of various options with the consultant along with details about my own situation, we agreed on a plan we were both happy with.

My trust do induction at 40+10. I declined and went for daily monitoring instead. I had dd at home at 40+16, no issues.