Is anyone else having to be induced at due date because of their age?

[swaziscot]

Hello I’ve been told that because I’m over 40 (I turned 40 in July), they won’t want me to go past my due date and they’d like to induce me at 39 or 40 weeks.
I have no other risk factors and two previous healthy pregnancies /births - although the last birth was six years ago. Both my babies were born about 7 days after the due date when I went into labour spontaneously.
I’m just wondering if anyone else has been induced purely because of their age - or is going to be? I know I can refuse to be induced but the consultant seems quite keen on it and of course I want everything to be safe and that usually means going with the doctor’s advice I guess! I just had a growth scan and the baby was at 49 percentile and growing well, everything looked good, so maybe the consultant will be happy for me to even go a couple days over 40 weeks. (I’m 33 weeks pregnant).
I’d be happy to get a sweep but I don’t love the idea of hormones especially as my body seems to like delivering babies a few days late - I’m a bit concerned about complications.I guess it also feels weird as I am 40 so a year ago there’d be no need to induce me ... I’m just over the threshold, it’s not like I’m 45. (Not that I am saying a woman aged 45 should always be induced either).
Just wondered if anyone else had experience of this, thanks.

Not as early as that, I'm 41 (will be a month off 42 at term) and pregnant with number 5. I was told they would want to induce me by 41wk at my booking in appointment due to age.

I was 40 when I had my 4th, but only by a month. I was induced at 40wks but only because baby was predicted to be over 5kg if left to 42wks. My age was a factor for me but the hospital was not concerned when I mentioned my age (last time) they were much of the opinion I was only just 40.

I opted for the induction anyway because my 1st and 3rd were induced at 42wks and my second was 9 days over so my chances of being induced at 42wks (with a 5kg baby) were high.

If you want a sweep before due date to try to avoid induction, make sure the consultant writes it in your notes - my midwife wouldn't do it otherwise. I've had sweeps for both babies - first one I had two and no induction needed. Second baby at 41 I had to ask for a sweep via consultant.

I was induced at 39 weeks due to age (I was 40). Induction failed and I went on to have a c-section. The same happened to the 2 other women I know who were induced early due to age.

Hi, I'm in a similar situation, I'm 41 next week, have been told ideally I would have induction at 39 weeks. This is my third baby. I have previously had an induction and a spontaneous labour, I know which one I would prefer this time!

I have a growth scan in a couple of weeks, if all is ok I plan to discuss the options in more detail with the consultant. The midwife who completed my booking appointment shared that she had a baby at 41 and she refused the induction based on age alone.

The associated risks of going over dates at your age are higher, but still tiny. If you are not keen or are unsure, I'd ask for specific numbers (rather than just "the stillbirth rate doubles" or something vague like that). OBs are always keen on the least risky approach, however it's totally reasonable to wait for labour if that is what you prefer.

You don't HAVE to be induced if you don't want to be, they can't make you if it's not what you want or feel is best. You could agree to additional monitoring/a later induction.

My friend was told she had to be induced early when she was only 36 and she wasn’t allowed to go over her date! This was 2 years back. Maybe it’s over 35 in some trusts?

Thanks everyone for all your replies, really interesting. And for advice on asking for a sweep and asking about the actual numbers. Complications (like having to go on to have a Caesarian or having lots of interventions) were what I was concerned about but when I tried to raise this in conversation with the consultant she went on about stillbirths and how that would obvs be far worse. I know that stillbirth is a risk but I just wanted to discuss the other stuff with her but she wasn’t really the best person to chat to and it wasn’t great having someone lecture me about stillbirth for 15 min. I had ventuose with my dd and even that caused a lot of issues.
I know I don’t have to be induced @Missmonkeypenny that’s why I wanted to hear others’ experiences... It’s hard sometimes to have a firm idea of what you want to do. But I feel like if age is the only factor for me then maybe I shouldn’t agree to be induced unless I go over 41 weeks.
Hope all goes well with you @bb800sam and that you’re able to know the best way forward.

I'm in this position. I will be 41 yeas old at due date, with 2nd baby. 1st baby was born at 41 weeks. I'm really not keen on induction, bur also want to make the right decision. I did find a website called evidencebasedbirth.com which has very useful info. Still undecided though!

www.rcog.org.uk/en/news/rcog-position-on-plos-medicine-study-inducing-first-time-mothers-aged-35-and-over-earlier-could-reduce-stillbirths-and-neonatal-deaths/

www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/scientific-impact-papers/sip_34.pdf

www.bmj.com/sites/default/files/response_attachments/2013/09/MATERNAL%20AGE%20AND%20RISK%20OF%20STILLBIRTH_0.pdf

evidencebasedbirth.com/advanced-maternal-age/

These might be worth a read.

I was induced due to my age (43) at 39 weeks, just before Xmas.

It being my 5th birth I was assured the drugs would work quickly and everything would be fine.

Except when I went in they didn't want to give me drugs and wanted to do a balloon induction. Which did nothing and wasted 24 hours. Then they decided to break my waters and put me on a drip. But upon examining me the baby was transverse so I had to go to theatre for them to turn the baby and hold it in position while they broke the waters. They gave me a spinal and an epidural and the procedure went well. I was put on the drip and was contracting brilliantly. Except I spent 6 hours vomiting. Then two hours pushing for them to realise he was brow presentation and getting distressed (me too) so back to theatre for forceps delivery (and an episiotomy).

Anyway it was a pretty horrible experience but I have a lovely, healthy baby boy.

My 4 previous births were all spontaneous labour at 40 weeks, no complications and 3 of them were home births. I had no other risk factors except my age and some borderline high blood pressure. With hindsight I wish I'd not been induced!

I was induced as I was 43 plus had some other health issues. (Late pregnancy actually suppressed those issues.)

After the pessary was inserted it had to be removed 90 minutes later as I was having too many contractions. I had a vaginal birth with gas and air plus a TENS machine as pain relief. From start to finish my labour took 11 hours.
I've since spoken to other women who have been induced for various reasons including age. Having loads of contractions after the pessary is inserted then having a vaginal birth within 24 hours is also a common outcome of induction. (The shortest I've heard of is 4 hours.) It just tends not to be mentioned due to the worse labours you can have with induction.

The main thing you need to do if this happens to you is ensure your birth partner times the contractions, and then kicks up a fuss so the pessary is removed asap.

Also don't let them do anything to you, if you feel your baby isn't head down.

I was induced with DC4 due to age. Mid forties. My other DC were 11 days, 4 days and 10 days late. I was admitted at teatime on my due date, had some gel inserted, contractions started within an hour, progressed to full labour and baby was born early hours of the morning. I found it a really positive experience, knew when I was going in so could make arrangements for other DC and once labour started it was no different to previous labours. We were home later the same day before the others came back from school!

I had to have this, but I also had a lot of extra water in the sac. My baby really wasn't ready to come out early. I was expecting to be in for a few days, waiting for it to work. However, I started contracting later that day and pretty soon, the contractions were thick and fast, but she didn't want to come out. I didn't respond well to hormones - it seemed to massively accelerate the contractions, but not the dilation and was pretty shit. They wanted to monitor me, so I wasn't allowed to move and had to lie flat on my back at all times - when I asked to move to a more natural birthing position, I was told not to.
In the end, baby got into difficulties and they did an emergency c-section.

It's a tough decision to make OP and they do pile the pressure on. I think it's a good idea to ask for some relevant stats. I think it might have gone smoother for me without the hormones, but who knows? Congratulations on your pregnancy and I hope the birth goes well.

Thanks so much for your responses and those links are really useful @Covidcorvid.
I have my next (over the phone) appointment with the consultant on Feb 16th. I’m kind of dreading it. She’s one of those people who talks at you and is very firm. I’m well aware she’s the expert and I’m not, and so I find it really hard to challenge what she says. At the same time I’m not going to be pushed into something I’m uncomfortable with especially when it’s something that’s so important. I just feel like it’d be a better system and more professional if they could allow a bit more discussion around it. Maybe it’s just my consultant but it’s like she has decided and that’s it. They’re very open to what the mother wants at this hospital when it comes to pain relief etc but on this issue it seems like they make up their mind for you!
I’d be happy to be induced if I went a week over or if there was even the slightest indication of problems. I’ll maybe say I want to wait until 40+3 and then just pray I go into labour before then! I’m going to make up my mind before the conversation so that I can stick to my guns and don’t get into a muddle on the call.
Anyway I’m just sort of rambling now, but thanks all!

I was induced at 39 weeks due to a combination of age (43) and having conceived via IVF. It was absolutely fine, perfectly straightforward, and a really positive experience, so if you do decide to go for it please don't worry that it's definitely going to be awful. It can be smooth sailing!

Thanks @Persipan, that’s reassuring. To be fair a friend of mine and my sister both had quite positive experiences of induction. I’m guess I’m scared that if it all goes wrong, I’ll regret having agreed to it. At the same time as long the baby and I are OK at the end of it all that’s the main thing...

I was induced on my due date at 40. However it was due to low fluid, high blood pressure and previous pre eclampsia.

I was very lucky as it was my third induction and it worked within 3 hours to start labour. I did end up on the drip hours later but i had a planned epidural so the drip was neither here or there. Plus my fourth natural birth so very unlikely to end up as a C section.

I feel the same and am likely to delay induction til 41 weeks I think

Hi, I'm 40 (will be 41 in 3 weeks) and I've refused to be booked in for an induction - I'm going for a home birth and have been told they would recommend to have the baby by 49 weeks. I had my first just 2 years ago at 41+6 at home, am having an equally low risk pregnancy this time so am quite determined not to be pressured into anything just due to my age, to be honest!

Erm I meant 40 weeks

@gilljill1980 it's interesting how it varies. I spoke to the consultant yesterday and policy in our area is to go to 41wks for 40+ and not ftm.

I was told they wanted to do this with me (first child, due date was my 40th birthday) and I initially agreed to an induction five days before but felt really uncomfortable about it. I had another appointment and they changed the date to my actual due date, but in the end my waters went naturally on the Friday and she was born on the Monday - her due date. I had to have the induction meds to progress labour but I didn’t mind as things had started on their own!

Hi OP, if you want to be armed with facts and figures for your appt with the consultant you might want to look at this:

www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/induction-at-term

Also this evidence-based midwifery blog has a neat summary of research on different topics.
midwifethinking.com/2016/07/13/induction-of-labour-balancing-risks/

Making a risk assessment is actually quite subjective, only you can decide what your priorities are and what is an acceptable level of risk for you and your baby. Health care professionals are there to advise and practice healthcare by Informed consent, but often they forget this and coercion takes place.