Induction between 37&38 weeks

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Hi all, sorry this may be a long one but I’m hoping for a little bit of advice please!

I’m pregnant with my second child, my first was born spontaneously at 39+6.
With this baby however I’ve been having growth scans, and baby was found to be on the 10th centile at 28 weeks which they were fine with. However on my second scan they were just above the 5th line and the third scan at 36 weeks they’d moved to just on the 5th (5lb 2oz for me).
We thought as during the 4 week gap they’d stayed pretty much consistent, and nobody had mentioned intervening if anything had stayed the same, they’d have just kept monitoring us in case she stopped growing.
Instead the consultant said she wanted to induce at 37+4.
I was so shocked and taken aback that I didn’t ask any questions, I know I should have really, and just said O.K, I didn’t even know you could argue as to why with them until I did a little more research.

After looking into induction at this gestation, I‘be read that there are more long term health problems prevalent in babies born ‘early term’ as opposed to 39/40+ weeks.
I really don’t want to have our baby and then find that their lungs aren’t ready, or they can’t suck because they’re not ready, and end up with them being in NICU for the first few days/weeks of life, I know none of us do!
I also don’t want to possibly burden my child with respiratory issues in early and later life as I’ve chosen to have this induction, despite everything else (placenta function/blood flow/movements etc) being absolutely fine and it just being down to her being small.

My main questions are; has anybody been in the same situation before (early term and low birth weight)? How did you come to your decision? If you went ahead have you found they’ve been more prone to illness? Were they able to come home straight away or were they sent to the NICU?
You hear the old ‘such and such happened but they’re now a perfectly happy and healthy 3 year old’ a lot, but you don’t tend to get those who have found issues saying much about them.

I’m seeing my MW (midwife) tomorrow and I’m hoping to get all of my questions in order tonight, so any help would be so appreciated.

Hi I had both my babies early at 37 weeks and 35.3 weeks and neither needed any help with anything! 5-13lb and 6 lb at 37 weeks your classed as full term so ek t need any steroid shots etc baby should be totally fine c

Do you understand why your obstetrician has recommended early induction? It's probably because she's seriously worried that there's a risk of stillbirth. I understand you are keen to weigh up the risks of induction, but you need to understand what the risk is if you decline induction. Talk to your midwife, and talk to your obstetrician again.

Thanks for your replies.
It’s good to hear your children didn’t need any help @ameliathomas84 very reassuring.
@YouWhoNeverArrived If that was given as a reason then that would obviously be justified enough and I wouldn’t be questioning it, however the only reason given was her size. Placenta, cord function and movements are all very good. I spoke to my MW before at my appointment who agreed it wasn’t following NICE guidelines to just book without a significant clinical reason and solely being about size isn’t enough. I have an appointment with my consultant on Wednesday now as she called up, so hopefully things can be made clearer.
She also checked position and BP (which was a little high but understandable when so stressed) and thinks she is now breech, so if she’s right after my scan and the induction is still for the best and she doesn’t move, it’ll be a c-section.

I was induced at 37+4 for the same reasons and my baby was 5lb 3oz and perfect in every way. No help required at all.

Lack of growth can be a sign of IUGR which unfortunately can cause huge problems quite quickly, regardless of how your placenta is functioning now. So it's not just about size, per say.

My eldest was induced at exactly 37 weeks and was fine, didn't need to go to scbu and never had any problems with him. Oh except I wasn't able to successfully breastfeed as he had an immature suck.

Hope it goes ok for you op

My baby is 10 days old and I was induced at 37 weeks as she was between 1st and 2nd percentile. She was born on 37+3 at 4lb9oz (2.07kgs)

My consultant had told me the cut off for NICU and being allowed home was 2kgs. I spiked a temp after my c section which meant we weren't discharged for 3 days but we are now home and having no problems.

They are just a lot more careful with you. When I was booked in on the antenatal ward I was moved down to HDU within half an hour because baby was so small! Meant nothing other than they can keep a closer eye on you and I got a private room!

Thank you for all the further replies! 😊 all stories of experiences are very much appreciated.

I spoke to my consultant in her clinic today, and I asked my most important question, if it is just about their size.

Her answer was yes, it was only about size, not function or anything else at this point.
Our baby is growing on their line, but they are SFGA, thus there is a higher rate of them becoming distressed unexpectedly compared to a more regular sized baby the longer we leave them.
She assured me that due to me being 37+4 when we start the induction any complications on the baby’s side should be minimal, if any at all, and that’s all I needed to hear.

She did offer to hold off for a week with monitoring every two days, but I feel that would be very stressful and exhausting for the whole family and in turn baby.
So we’re on for Saturday, and I’m grateful that I was able to have that time with her to ask my questions.
Thank you again for all of your replies, they’ve been really helpful in making my decision, and it’s great that so many small babies are tough cookies!