Can I abandon my induction?

[Mincepiebelly]

I was booked in for induction at 39 plus 5, because of my age , 40.

Pessary has been done and nothing has happened. I have been induced 3 times before and with second and third babies had delivered by this point and first, was on way. Those inductions were due to obstetric choleostasis. This time my bile acids are fine. No other medical issues.

I know they want to increase interventions and put me on drip if nothing happens, but I don’t know about this, as I think it is just my body not being ready. Can I ask to be discharged and give it a few more days?

I don't know the actual answers, but havng started they probably want to continue being able to monitor you and your baby regularly.

Your history of successful deliveries and inductions should count for something if there are no other concerning signs. I think it would be reasonable to ask to discuss with a doctor what options are reasonable prior to starting the drip - how many times can the pessary be repeated for example? The assessment of where things are at would presumably be an important part of deciding this.

Good luck whatever happens. I hope you can continue to feel listened to.

(My experience of inductions was 42 weeks and still not ready, and neither baby tolerated even the start of the process. So very different! But maybe in retrospect I'd have asked for an earlier induction to be considered)

You can but it will be your decision (so at your own risk). I asked the same question too as I was 40 and that was my only risk factor. If I was 39, I could go up to 41 weeks before an induction would be necessary. I decided to go ahead because there was a 2 day delay in getting admitted so the same could happen if I reschedule plus I had childcare to consider. Part of me still wished I discharge myself and rescheduled because I felt baby was very close to arriving naturally.

I dont know the answer either but I've just had my 5th at 41 and my trust (Oxfordshire) induce the over 40s by 41 weeks rather than 40. So I was induced at 41wks a couple of weeks ago.

You can request to wait with additional monitoring in hospital and at home. Look at aims.org.uk book about induction of labour that includes a detailed breakdown of what is known about the risks and benefits of induction. You can also ask your hospital for a copy of their policy on induction of women over 40. On balance I decided not to do induction at 39 weeks that was offered to me and had a discussion with the consultant where we agreed on a sweep and monitoring. Hospital did push back on this and wanted to induce (which I probably would do if I were responsible for other peoples births) but respected my decision not to. I was only a few weeks over age 40 and it was my second, had no other risk factors so the decision will be different for each person.