Should I go for Induction at 40 plus 5 ??

[HelenBabyHToBe]

This is my first baby.

Saw my consultant today and she said she will be going on hols when i am 41 weeks pregant. Gave me choice of having someone else deliver baby or she suggested induction at 40 plus 5. Should I go with that if i havent delivered by then OR should I wait and let by body decide.

I also suggested that a membrane sweep around my due date and she said yes if cervix okay.

Confused and would love your advice as i am aware that inductions increase assisted delivery possibility.....
thanks :-)

thanks for advice snaf - no i have had no problems at all with this pregnancy. It has been v normal:-)
Consultant is nice and i trust her 100% - it was more me being a typical control freak and thinking that if anything went wrong during labour that it would be good to have her around, hence I said i would prefer to have it before her weeks hol hence suggestion of inducement.

Am thinking now though just to go with flow - hopefully will have babe before 14th anyhow(am due 10th) and having membrane sweep done on due date if cervix suitable. Will prob go with consultants advice and if she 100% thinks cervix is v ready will be induced on 14th will go for that, but if not will let body decide when baby comes and leave it longer.
what are your thoughts?!
thanks again everyone - hope you are all having a great day ! h

best of luck, hope all goes well, whatver you decide

My baby was 13 days overdue. He was in great condition, like a brand new Bentley .

Check the following (apols if I'm repeating anything above - short for time!):

baby's heartbeat
placenta
amniotic fluid
baby's position in the womb

If all those things are okay you don't need to worry. You might just need to take lots of time to rest and let your body keep on building your fabulous child!

Good luck!

Unless for real medical reasons which isn't the case here, induction isn't advised before 40+10. My induction was at 40+8 and was successful, but very slow. Induction involves all sorts of things that they have to monitor so I ended up being fastened to a machine and flat on my back which I really felt wasn't ideal. I had to have ventouse assistance although I would argue that this doesn't have to be a bad thing, I'm more unhappy about being immobilised for what was a long labour.

Good luck.

Its up to you. Can you cope with waiting longer to meet lo?! If you are happy to wait for it to happy naturally then do so. I was really glad that I went into labour naturally so that I knew what it was like. Good luck x

Dd1 went into labour naturally 24 gruelling hours later she was born and I haemorraged badly needing 4 pints transfused. Ds induced in labour for 4 and a half hours, no problems, went shopping the next day.

I think 'go with the flow' is a very wise mantra for most things concerning pregnancy and childbirth, Helen As most of us have said, induction without clinical indication isn't something to be recommended lightly.

It's ultimately your decision, though. You need to do what you feel most comfortable with, so if you trust your consultant and feel happy with what she is suggesting, then go with it.

It is quite likely that a membrane sweep performed bang on your due date will discover a fairly unripe cervix, especially since this is your first baby as they often come later anyway. Having said that, nothing is certain in this game and you may be raring to go even before your due date...

Whatever you decide, best of luck and do let us know how you get on!

Similar experience here to wasipeanut too- was 40+14 when i was induced- 3 pessaries, waters broken 3 days later (i was only 1 cm dilated) and syntocin drip. Finally after 4 days of intense contractions and no sleep I had only dilated to 1.5 cm and felt unreal! ECS followed and our perfect non wrinky/ non flaky DS was born...all 10lb 2oz of him!
I do wonder how much longer he would have taken had he been allowed to make his own entrance-having said that his head circumference was really big- 38 cm and the surgeon said it looked as if he was stuck above my pelvic bone -making me wonder if a natural delivery was even possible?
The experience left me very ill afterwards from exhaustion and the surgery took me months to get over.
i'm not sure what the 'maximum' amount of time allowed to go overdue is- is it 14 days?

cervix was favourable for membrane sweep wed night (3 days ago) and had it done. Not too painful so was good but no sign of bambino since. Had tightenings last night for 2 hours but gone again and had good nights rest. Feel fine today apart from slight heavyness in pelvic region.... due tomorrow so would love a crystal ball to know when it will come???!

Going with flow at mo and will decided wed morning as to whether to go thro with induction on wed at 4pm 4 days after EDD. Difficult to know right thing to do.
fingers crossed babe comes sooner than later now !!!

Personally I wouldn't go for an induction so early on.

i got induced at 40+1 as my waters had gone on my due date, and I had the baby at 40+2. i don't want to scare you or anything so I'm not about to go into the ins and outs of induction, but next time I'm going to refuse induction even if I'm 46+6. I wouldn't have an induction unless absolutely necessary. Might be worth having a sweep though.

Just wondered why consultant led care...are you high risk? If normal please dont be induced could take a couple of days by which stage your consultant could be away anyway and please clarify with your doc what she means by 'if your cervix is ok'in reference to sweep...NICE guidelines recommend sweep in every normal situation.

Sorry H just read more and answered my own questions! Hope babe has come if not have sex,lots of fresh pineapple,curry,get partner to perform another 'sweep',bit more sex...and relax enjoy final days of being you x

personally i'd wait. both my ds's came naturally at 36 and 37 weeks. although both perfectly healthy i would have preferred them to have cooked abit longer. bubba will arrive when he or she is ready. easy for me to say i know, i never had to wait.

What happened Helen? Can understand you want your doctor to deliver the baby but presumably she has someone who will cover for her if she is away - mine does - can you make arrangements to meet this person in case and check you are comfortable?
I was induced at 38+5 with DD and it was fine - but then my waters had broken nearly 2 days so something was happening of its own accord down there, just not quite enough!