Ok. <gets ready for flaming> If your labour started spontaneously, but you were later given oxytocin, you were NOT "induced"!!

[Jacksmama]

Sheesh!! And this from a health care professional who was telling me her labour story. I know it's picky but I had to bite my tongue so as not to tell her "you mean your labour was augmented, not induced".

Love that you posted this on pedants' corner. Self-awareness trumps pedantry, so no flaming from me.

LOL.

I know, I know, it's silly. I just thought a medical professional should know better. Yes, I am one of those picky people .

So which is the correct term if your labour starts, then stops then starts then stops for 36 hours and then you are given oxytocin?

p.s. please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors I normally steer well clear of this topic.

That's a good question - but I would guess, if it started by itself, it would be augmentation.

Now I feel like a right twat for getting in a twist about this... but there's no-one in RL I could say this to, I'd be laughed out of the room. I love MN for that. You can get it off your chest here.

Elk, did that happen to you? The start-stop-start labour?

I am right with you

(MN is great, I had a lovely parasitology conversation on here the other day - as one of us said 'you don't get this on Netmums')

Parasitology??? Do tell!! [fascinated emoticon]

followed by

[science geek emoticon]

I've never tried Netmums. I don't think I'm sweet enough.

Haha - I'd like to see oxytocin used 28 hours into labour, 3 hours into pushing described as 'induced'!
(that was me - oxytocin used in last ditch attempt to avoid ventouse, I think)

Me too Blu.

Although the numbers were a little smaller in my case.

Jcksamama it was a tapeworm thread on General Health iirc

Tapeworm thread in pregnancy MrsBadger (waves at fellow parasitology geek)

Did you know oxytocin is also released at orgasm to promote pair bonding?
Repro physiology geek.

I quite agree with the OP, but I called it 'assisted' when I had Syntocinon to 'help' me deliver DS1. Would never have dreamt of calling it 'induced'. I don't understand some people!

I had DS in a midwife led unit four weeks ago and you can only deliver there if it's all spontaneous. So, although I said to them I'd been in labour for 48 hours, as I was only 1cm dilated they said I wasn't. If they'd then given me a gel thingy or syntocinon to induce assist augment move it on a bit (I was 41+6 and was supposed to have gone in that day to be induced) I would have had to go to labour ward not the lovely lovely midwifey centre. They gave me a stretch and sweep instead so it still counted as 'spontaneous'. Still slightly peeved that my notes say a ten hour labour rather than the 58hrs since I started counting contractions (yes I know it's not a competition )

Agree, assisted is a good word too. I think augmented may be the North American term.

It's not confined to North America. I would class my labour with ds1 as augmented - my waters went but I never went into properly established labour by myself. But as ds2 was induced (with prostin) I just wrap them both up by saying "I've never gone into labour properly by myself" because I think it's simpler (and quicker) than saying I was augmented with one and induced with the other!