Over due 😤. Induction booked but want to refuse ...

[Armytage93]

Hi I’m 40+4 very fed up as I thought I’d go early with the baby being breech at 36 weeks. (Thankfully they managed to turn baby)
Baby is weighing above average which is also why I though if go early.
I’ve tried everything to start labour nothing is working :(
Was ment to have 3/4 sweeps but baby’s head is wobbling about up there and midwifes can push head up so didn’t fully ready so can be dangerous. I have a induction booked for Monday but reallllllly don’t want to go through with it. Any one got a story of their own where they have refused being induced ??

Why don't you want to be induced? I was and it was absolutely fine.

Hopefully baby will come of their own accord by then 🤞🏼

Why do they want to induce at 40+8? Don't they normally wait until 40+14?

To be fair there's a lot of days between now and Monday, you may go naturally over the weekend .

What is the medical reason given for booking you for an induction? Predicted size of baby?

I refused and had a section instead

They are medical professionals, they know what they are doing.
It’s not safe to wait forever. Neither for you, nor the baby.
Just trust your doctors

Just don’t want to be alone at the hospital waiting for something to start. I know it seems like I’m a wuss but really terrified. Heard other stories and it seems most say the pains come on more or less straight away. Just terrified tbh

Yes you’ve got another few days, so keep moving and it may well happen naturally. I went into labour the night before I was due to be induced. You can refuse induction too remember

My baby decided to be born an hour before this planned induction!

His head never engaged as he was such a wriggler his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice so he could not engage.... was not scary, they untangled him before I pushed, babies do these things!

Good luck!

I had inductions booked for the Monday with both of mine. Neither were induced. DS arrived on the Friday and DD on the Saturday.

I didn’t want to be induced for a number of reasons. I gave birth the day before the booked induction (for medical reasons - I agreed to it as there was a risk to me being very overdue), so that was lucky. Hopefully you will be similarly lucky. You can refuse any treatment you don’t want, just make sure you have fully weighed up all the benefits, risks and are aware of your other options

I was induced and it was all done and dusted in 2hrs. I'd do it again no problem!

I had a failed induction in my first pregnancy (I was 38 weeks so maybe it was just too early to work) and then a caesarean. I was frightened of being induced again and also frightened of an emergency caesarean and it was agreed (at 36 weeks - I was worried for the whole pregnancy) that I could have a planned caesarean at 39 weeks.

Having said all that, there are good reasons they don’t like you to go too far overdue. A lot of people I know have had very successful inductions. I think mine was just too early (concerns about the baby meant they wanted him ‘out’).

If the OP decides to go ahead with induction then let’s hope her experience is the same as yours E20mum

Not sure why the induction is booked for 41 weeks as I’m healthy, big girl with a big baby but other than that nothing haha. Baby weighing 9.3.
If I refuse how many days after that date did you have the csection ? I’m hoping to things start naturally but nothing so far. First baby aswell and they saying the head should be engaged but it can/will engage when labour starts

I declined an induction. Had to sign myself out against medical advice. DD was born at 41+4. She was massive but all fine. My midwives were very supportive, came and checked us daily.

I refused, they rearranged it for 40+12 and I was happy to have it that time. I started labour naturally a few hours before I was admitted. I am the sort to bow down to medical opinion, but my instinct kicked in. Monday is still ages away! Fingers crossed x

The predicted weight may well not be accurate (could be bigger or smaller by quite a margin). I would want to know from HCPs precisely why they advised induction.

Re physical examinations, all that does is determine the situation at the time of examination - things can change very quickly. 24 hours before I went into labour my cervix was very far back and closed (midwife could only just reach it)

My induction was hideous. Birth was awful. Sorry.
But looking on the bright side you have 4 days and it might start naturally in that time :-)

Thanks ladies you have calmed me more than the midwifes have this week. Not joking either!!
To the ones who went to the hosp on your induction day did they examine you even though you refused?

My second child was born in November...13 days overdue. I refused induction, and had a lovely, straightforward, natural birth.

If you and baby are thriving, you are perfectly within your rights to refuse induction. The point at which hospitals induce varies from trust to trust, but the reason is generally the (very, very slightly) increased risk of stillbirth. I didn't want to be induced because I don't agree with artificially stimulating what should be a natural process when baby and mum are well. My midwife and the hospital never questioned my decision, but they did ask to monitor me every 48 hours once I went past their induction date of 40+12. I agreed to this, and I agreed to a sweep at 40+11. Baby came quickly and happily at 40+13.

My midwife lent me a copy of "Inducing Labour: Making Informed Decisions" by Dr Sara Wickham. I highly recommend this. It's fact- and research-packed. I also joined the Ten Month Mamas Facebook group to hear experiences of other overdue women.

Don't feel bullied or pressured into any decision. Going so overdue was one of the most stressful times of my life, but I'm so glad I educated myself and followed my instincts. Incidentally, I had also been told I had a huge baby who would be at least 9lbs 7oz by his due date. When he did arrive almost two full weeks late, he was a perfect 8lbs 7oz. Growth scans have a hefty margin of error!

Best of luck to you.

So refuse? You're fully in your rights to.
I had the opposite and they insisted dc1 would be tiny (estimated less than 5lbs and also breech) so they insisted a c sec booked for 37weeks. I refused, got her turned and spontaneous labour, weighing a normal size much bigger than they thought.
I think 40+4isnt a whole lot and you've so many days left, personally I would refuse and get it booked another day, even if its just an extra day or two.

Thank you for so much information. Needed that. Will add the Facebook group and hunt down that leaflet. Thank you.

I will see how the next few days go, praying I go before Monday. But after having all your feedback feeling better that others decline the induction aswell.

Hopefully will get examined on Monday to know what’s going on up there.
Thank you everyone

If you are scared of the pain - why not have epidural?
I had with my induction.
Turned out my body wasn’t built to give birth naturally. Would have died in the good old days in childbirth

Thankfully there is medicine now.

Induction isn’t really a straightforward “just trust your doctors” situation. They themselves don’t know how things are going to pan out and how your body and baby will respond to XYZ intervention. It’s all about risk factors and different trust policies and it can be hard to drill down to what will work best for your individual situation. Wishing you all the best OP