Why are people so against induction?

[PicassoWouldBeProud]

I'm overdue at the moment and there's talk about me being induced in a couple of days if nothing happens. This is my first DC and I'm wondering what is so bad about induction because my midwife says things like "we'll do everything we can to avoid inducing you" and "we don't want you to have to go down that road".

It's scaring me a bit because in my mind (naïveté) I was thinking "OK well you'll be in hospital and they'll give you pain relief first and you'll be closely monitored" so why do the midwives talk about it like it's a terrifying and horrific procedure? Can anyone shed any light on the reality of it for me?

The midwife has explained it can take a long time which I know isn't ideal but is there more to it than this?

You can absolutely have an elective Caesarian if you wish. Just make sure you understand the risks and implications for recovery.

Dont be fobbed off with the whole 'not allowed elective cs' bullshit.
I was induced with my first and ended in emcs that i asked for as not dilating and baby in distress and they wanted to take a blood sample from him?? Fuck no.
Wouldnt do it again and my 2nd i elected for cs and she was breech in the end anyway.
Twins this time and will also be cs.

I agree with pp about informed consent not really informed, i was never told of risks of induction, just that i had no choice.

Hi - I’m going through this at the moment. I’m 38+5 - ever since 30 weeks we’ve been told that as baby is 97th percentile that I will be induced at 40 weeks as they don’t want him to continue to grow.

We asked at 35 weeks to meet a consultant about an elective c section (for various reasons but none of them automatic medical guarantees) but it’s taken ages to set up so we only saw the consultant today. He tried to talk me out of it and push me for an induction. I stood by decision for elective and he made the referral however he said due to resource they might not be able to fit me in.... so I don’t think it’s as simple as you can request one and get it... it seems to depend on how busy they are?

I was induced as I was overdue. I only needed the first stage of induction (pessary). My waters broke within a few hours of the pessary and within half an hour of my waters breaking I was having contractions every minute that lasted about 60 seconds. The pain was so overwhelming and completely knocked me. I didn’t know what I was doing or what was going on, it all came on so suddenly. I couldn’t walk without being supported, I couldn’t pee without sitting down because the contractions were so regular and intense (my parter had to hold a bedpan under where I was stood), I couldn’t stop vomiting. I was overcome. Hours went by like this on the induction ward as they didn’t check me regularly enough and by the time I had an epidural I was 6cm dilated.

Once I had the epidural it was amazing! I couldn’t recommend it enough. I was relaxed and chatting to the midwives and felt quite cheerful- I couldn’t feel a thing and I was glad of it. Not to mention, I finally had my own room to save myself a bit of dignity. They don’t move you into the delivery suite until you are 4cm dilated (they didn’t until I was 6).

Unfortunately, after hours of pushing the baby’s head was stuck- though my parter could see it! Then after failed forceps I ended up having an emergency c-section.

This was 4 weeks ago and I’ve already decided that I’d like a cesarian if I ever have another baby. I think the baby would have gotten stuck either way as he was big for me (in the 90th percentile).

I have a bit of advice for you if you’re getting an induction. Firstly, bring plenty of food and entertainment as the process can take hours or even up to 3 days (and you’re not supposed to leave the ward). When you do start your contractions/ waters break then make sure they check you regularly and make a fuss if you’re in too much pain. Bring at least two sets nighties/pj’s. Bring paracetamol, ibuprofen and a hot water bottle for initial pain relief as they won’t give you an epidural until you’re on the delivery suite. Bring an eye mask and ear plugs (I had absolutely no sleep the night I went into labour because a woman on the bed opposite was in a lot of pain and moaning). And please remember, you can always demand a c-section if you don’t want to be induced. If they’re denying you that option then they’re going against the law.

My experience wasn’t great but I don’t think everyone has a bad time at all. For most I’m sure it’s straightforward. Good luck and congratulations!

It doesn’t always work - I was induced 12 days overdue and didn’t have effective pain relief despite 20 hours of incredibly painful contractions. In the end had fetal distress and high forceps delivery. Currently pregnant with DC2 and considering what I’d do if induction is on the cards again. Pain relief is in no way guaranteed even with peassary, drip and waters broken

My induction process started when I was 41+5 and ended 42+2. It was long, uncomfortable and exhausting. In hindsight I wish I'd just gone for extra monitoring but I was beginning to get anxious about placental failure.
I didn't ask enough questions about "what happened if" e.g. the pessaries didn't work; and ended up feeling pretty depressed and passive about what was going on.

My advice to anyone I know who is being induced purely for dates would be to ask lots of questions about what the various stages are, what state their cervix is in and how likely it is to respond favourably to being induced, and what the "next step" is if step 1 fails.
It obviously works for some people really well though! I just wasn't one of them. Madam was clearly just too cosy.
Good luck whatever happens!

If you want a section then as others have said, go forth and get one. Tbh I would go straight for elcs over induction if I were you, but then I think sections are fab.

I rather enjoyed my induction. A few days of pessaries and periodic monitoring interspersed with walks, chats and rugby on TV, waters broke, more waiting, finally some progress and DD born nearly 4 days after induction started. I did have a full set of pain relief but no other interventions, so I think I was lucky. It really wasn't so bad and less of a shock than DC2s fast and furious labour.

I'm not against it at all,I wouldn't have dd2 if I hadn't pushed for an induction on her due date. I knew something was wrong it felt the same as I felt the day I had to have emcs with preemie Dd1 and luckily an experienced midwife took on board mums instincts and there were reduced movements and induced me immediately. (No pessries for vbac) it was fast and safe and very well managed and she will be 4 next month

I was refused pain relief for nearly 24 hours of full on intense contractions after being induced. The pain was so bad I passed out at one point!
Their reason.. I wasn't 4cm dilated yet!! Not sure how that prevented them providing pain relief for intense labour pain

My inductions were absolutely fine. First at 40+13 . Waters broken and drip used , had baby in under 4 hours with only gas and air.
Second 36+6, drip after waters went naturally and no contractions had baby within an hour only gas and air.

I was induced at 38 weeks due to my LO being a little smaller and they were worried about growth.
I had the pessary in for less than 12 hours, although it was fine for me, baby didn't like it and heart rate kept dropping.
Got the drip which was a pain as I couldn't be mobile. Waters were broken and I went from no dilation to fully dilated in less than 2 hours with the most horrendous contractions ever. Ended up too late for an epidural and had to have morphine as I felt as if I wasn't in control. LOs heart rate kept dropping with each contraction so I wasn't very far away from an EMCS.

From first pessary to baby arriving was less that 24 hours. I think if I had been more prepared for the induction instead of going from midwife app to scan to antenatal ward in 1 day I would have been more in control.

I will be refusing an induction if I get to that point because they increase the chance of interventions. As the contractions aren’t produced by the body, the baby often gets tired or simply isn’t yet ready to come - followed by ‘fetal distress’ and forceps, c sections etc.
Also ultrasounds are notoriously inaccurate - can be 2lb either way so not a good indicator of baby’s true size.
Doctors can get concerned about still birth as the pregnancy progresses too but again the conception dates are often not known so the pregnancy may not be as far along as perceived.
The risk of still birth increases slightly at 41 week s I think it is , but when tracked the pattern is actually like a U shape. High at the beginning of pregnancy, dips around 39 weeks then back up at 41 - even so it increases by something like 0.01 percent.
I listened to a podcast with Katherine Graves (hypnobirthing) recently who said there’s a recent study that still birth rates don’t increase as the pregnancy progresses to 41 weeks, but it often takes the medical profession years to catch up with new evidence. I’ve not tracked the study down yet but keep meaning to so I can have a read.

When I was induced with first one when went into labour cuffed my feet up on the bed I hated it worst experience ever as would let me move and do it my owe way

You are allowed a Cesarean if you want one. Ask to be referred to a consultant who will perform one. Induction increases the risk of further interventions such as forceps and ventouse. When I was pregnant I would rather have taken a planned Caesarean over the risk of forceps because of the injuries that can be caused.

A lot of posters saying you can request a c section, has anyone had problems with the hospital’s resource? We have requested one but been told no guarantee as they are extremely busy.... ?

My induction was at 38 weeks, so an overdue experience could be different.

From memory (which is foggy):

Wednesday PM - pessary
Thursday AM - another pessary
Thursday PM - epidural, hormone drip
Friday early AM - waters forcibly broken
Saturday AM - fever develops, EMCS

For me it was a very slow process. Lots of monitoring, after the epidural I had my own one-to-one midwife with me at all times. Lots of assessments (which I found painful but smears etc are horrible for me too) to see how dilated I was. I eventually got to 9cm but due to the fever I needed to deliver ASAP. Epidurals can also slow things down. My care was exceptional and despite the outcome it was still a wonderful experience.

I had an augmented labour at 40+14 and refused the drip until I’d had the epidural. With hindsight I’d had refused it all and gone straight for the c section that I ended up with anyway. The recovery would have been much easier without the horrendous labour

I was induced at 38+6. Not a great experience, though my baby did arrive via vaginal delivery after 43 hours.

Induction is a medical intervention which contains a lot of risks, including:
Fetal distress
PPH
Uterine rupture
Infection
Instrumental delivery
Episiotomy
C-section

1/3 of inductions fail and end up in c-section anyway.

I only didn't opt for a section as I had PGP and wanted to keep my core muscles/pelvic floor intact if possible to aid my recovery. If it was simply for going over dates I would have insisted on a c-section - and you are legally entitled to one should you wish

Mine was fine, but fast, although my waters had broken and it was for the purpose of starting contractions and I only needed a pessary. I actually think I only needed a sweep. I had asked for an epidural when I went on the drip but ended up giving birth in 3 hours with tens and a bit of gas and air.

I’ll never agree to induction again.
DC1 was induced and it is not an experience I would willingly repeat. The drip makes your contractions go from zero to a million in very little time, and the break between contractions was pretty much non-existent. The treatment I received in hospital is not something I will willingly go into again. I felt like a piece of meat on an overcrowded production line. Me or my baby would have to be at deaths door in order for me to agree to birth in a hospital again.
DC2 was a homebirth, after a spontaneous labour. My plan was to carry naturally until 42 weeks, then agree to daily monitoring. If he still hadn’t arrived by 43 weeks, I’d be demanding a c-section. I wouldn’t consent to induction under any circumstances.
I’m now pregnant with DC3 and my plan is the same as with DC2.

I had the induction drip, as it took over 20 hours to get from 5cm to 9cm!
It got the jo done but was hell on earth, induced contractions are far worse then normal contractions!
Having said that, I've had a lot of friends that have gone 1-2 weeks over their due dates, had the pessary and quickly responded to this and had very normal labours sometimes with minimal intervention.

If you can, and meidcal advice doesnt say otherwise, sit out and give yourself at least 10 days after your due date....

I know its easy to feel fed up and want to see your baby but they are much less work while they are still in your tummy!! Enjoy the last few days if you can and hope nature takes its course!