Does anyone else have no confidence in being induced?

[Rosemarypots]

My pregnancy is classed as high risk and I think it's possible that the hospital won't want me to go beyond a certain number of weeks, possibly 37.

I'd love an uncomplicated vaginal birth, but if I don't go into labour naturally ahead of any agreed date then I'm starting to think a scheduled C section is likely to be preferable to induction.

My main reasoning is that my hospital and the two others closest by have been rated as "requires improvement" for patient safety by the inspector the CQC. It's mainly to do with staffing issues, and the care of women being induced / in early labour has come up as a key problem.

In my first pregnancy some years ago, I was induced and went into rapid painful contractions on the triage ward, which felt undignified and I had to push to be transferred to the labour ward to get some pain relief. I can only think it's worse now.

I've also been reading recent threads on here where women have ended up opting for C sections after having been booked for an induction, which either hasn't happened or has been prolonged.

I know C sections are major operations, and they've never been my preference. But is anyone else thinking that, with the state of current maternity services, a planned C section is likely to be a much more preferable experience to induction? I don't want to scaremonger - it's possible that the services in my area are particularly bad. I just don't have confidence in the process with the current staffing challenges.

@MadeFrom100percentPears

I would 100% recommend the c section based on my experiences of induction. If I could turn the clock back I would have pushed for this with baby 1 at 40 weeks.

Anecdotal but the calmness of birth really affects the baby in my (limited) experience.

strong agree here.

in general my advice on birth choices is always:

• natural onset labour and as little intervention as possible.
• any sign they need to intervene (especially inductions drip during labour to ‘speed things up’ or ‘restart labour’ HELL NO - c section please

i think the induction drug agitates a lot of babies. And / or the fact that it can often be tough and traumatic freaks out both mother and baby.

current NHS / western medicine measuring of ‘outcomes’ completely ignores how mother and baby experienced it and feel about it afterwards when that matters hugely.

stand your ground OP.

if they want your baby delivered early insist you’ll only agree if a c section and you’ll get it.

good luck

Thanks all, really helpful to read others' experiences. I'm definitely leaning towards natural labour and if not then a C section.

I hope it goes ok for you and you have the support you need to have that lovely baby in your arms soon which ever way they come out .

Hi! I have no confidence in being induced and encourage everyone to really think it through if told it's required.

It's anecdotal but I really feel that if your body isn't ready, it's not going to happen and it will end in a crash section. If it's not a first baby, it's safer but never do it for a first.

I was induced as I was over and had 2 episodes of reduced movements. My contractions came the next morning, around 12 hours after and straight away my contractions were 3-5 mins apart lasting 1 min but not very strong. A further 12 hours later, they broke my waters manually which were full of meconium. Around 10 hours later, I was tired and in so much pain but not getting anywhere... I was 4cm. My baby'd had decels for hours and I begged for an epidural. They said I would likely need a section so to wait and later was rushed off half conscious for a code blue section. It was horrific but we were both safe in the end. I spent months watching for developmental delays due to lack of oxygen. I never tell pregnant mothers this story so sorry to do that to you, the last thing I want is to upset or scare but if you have this knowledge you can push for what you're comfortable with. All the best

*in general my advice on birth choices is always:

• natural onset labour and as little intervention as possible.
• any sign they need to intervene (especially inductions drip during labour to ‘speed things up’ or ‘restart labour’ HELL NO - c section please*

This pretty much sums up my own preferences

Interesting read as I feel this way after doing research (just TTC for now).

Does anyone know if it’s possible to plan for a vaginal birth and if you’re overdue and they want to induce, THEN have a c section?

I've been having the same. Due to some factors one consultant was recommending induction at 37 weeks, first baby.

I said if you really think baby needs to come now, you'll have to do a section. Babies head isn't engaged, my body is showing no signs of being ready. Got sent away with a leaflet about risks of C sections. Saw another consultant 2 days later (my usual one) when I came in for monitoring who said she'd have chosen a C section in my shoes too but didn't see why baby couldn't stay in until 39 weeks. Went with their recommendation, currently 38 weeks.

I'll have another set of tests at 39 weeks and see how it's going. As far as I'm concerned if baby is showing signs they need to come immediately, they should C section because induction can take days! If my body is showing signs of being ready and heading that way itself I'll try induction if it comes to it, but if everything is showing no sign of proceeding then I'd rather go for the C section.

Edit: my trust does outpatient inductions so I wouldn't need to stay in hospital for days waiting for a bed to break my waters which somewhat plays into my decision that I'd give it a go.

Yes, you can say no to induction and request C section instead. Main issue is lack of availability. Staffing so short they don't have enough slots!

My induction (40w) went brilliantly.

Pessaries at midday.
Lunch and a walk
2-8pm Season 1-3 of Kath and Kim
8pm established labour though the obs and the midwife didn't agree with me.
10.30pm - transfer to Labour ward after they finally worked it out I really was in labour
11.15pm - baby born

It was so much better than my natural labour.
My sister had an induction at 37w and that went well too.

Obviously if your previous experience of induction is poor I would go for c-section but no way would I wait for natural labour if the medical advice was to deliver at 37 weeks.

I hate that staffing is a factor you have to account for as an expectant mother.

Yes, of course. You have to give permission for them to do any procedure or intervention so if you are overdue you can decline an induction. A c-section is a valid alternative course of action although I’d imagine some trusts may try and persuade you against it. I’m not sure what else they would suggest though if you are firmly declining an induction.

I'm currently 36+1. I've beennadmiyyed to hospital 3 times and currently still here.. imwas rols.by the consultant although I'm high risk I can get as many sweeps done at 37 weeks. However I have a c section planned for 38 weeks
I've been bugging them to give me an induction as I've been contracting for 3 weeks now.

Personally it would depend entirely on your consultants reasons for wanting your baby born early.

Just remember also that if there is staffing issues your caesarean section is very likely to be pushed back also. Cat 4 (electives) and cancelled every single day in my hospital as we can’t facilitate them due to the number of cat 1 , 2 and 3’s.

Many women have their elective pushed back so many times they go into labour and either have a cat 3 Caesarean or end up with a vaginal delivery as no time to go to theatre.

Maternity care is in an awful state sadly.

I would choose a planned section in your situation.

I've had 2 inductions - one at nearly 42 weeks that ended in a vaginal birth but they told me I was minutes away from EMCS. The second was at maybe 38 weeks and resulted in an emergency section. Neither experience was terrible, but neither was good. I felt particularly poorly cared for with the first, as they induced me in the evening and then tried to send my husband home as they were sure it would take hours to kick in... Luckily I objected and waved a hospital flyer at them which stated partners could remain. Glad I did, as labour escalated v quickly in terms of pain but quite slowly in terms of dilation. During an internal, a nurse gave me a sweep without my consent and I nearly punched her. The second induced labour moved much more slowly and I was under consultant care due to transverse lie and excess amniotic fluid, and felt much better respected and cared for. I also had two attempts at ECVs. The section was an emergency but as calm as I could have hoped for under the circumstances.

I had a planned section with my third but there were other reasons for this. Planned section was amazing in many ways, but overseas with v different approaches so looking at it from a British perspective, a little horrifying in some ways! But definitely the right option for me, given my circumstances. I certainly felt in much more control, even with a language barrier and (to me) very odd cultural expectations.

If you do go down the section route, one thing to be mindful of is the lack of care on the postnatal ward. I was quite shocked at this. I had my son by section at around 5am and they had me in the shower by lunchtime. I had to walk to get food from a trolley. I was told off for putting my baby on the bed (safely and carefully, while I was right there!!) while I gingerly stood up, in order to then pick him up and put him in the crib. There is no way I could have attempted standing up while holding him! I was actually in a pretty good state physically and I found myself helping other ladies with nappy changes etc, as some were in more pain or just more anxious, and nobody was there to help them. We were also denied pain relief on our final day; they never made it clear why but they sent me home with nothing and told me to go to the GP!! I'm not saying any of this to scare you. As I said, my experience was generally good compared to many stories I've heard. Just be prepared, have snacks, drinks etc to hand (maybe a cool bag?), and try to have someone with you for as much of the time that visiting hours allow as possible.

Best of luck and try to focus on the end goal - a baby in your arms very soon!

If a woman is at the point where drs feel she is ‘unsafely overdue’ (so 41 weeks or maybe slightly later depending on trust) and the baby needs to be out for its own health and safety, is that still only a cat 4?

If it’s all conjecture at this stage I wouldn’t worry yet. Yes, medical conditions often necessitate early induction but it is likely that they will recommend getting as close to 39 weeks as is safe to do so so it may not be that early.

If it was a first baby and absolutely had to be delivered for true medical need at 37 weeks I would choose c-section. For slightly woolier reasons, eg age, I’d be waiting for a natural labour. For a second or subsequent baby, I’d be more likely to accept induction.

@Madwife123 Are electives routinely postponed after fasting and spending the day in hospital? I am fully expecting to be one of the later ones to go down for mine as I am not diabetic. I am choosing a c section to avoid induction and because the baby is consistently measuring as very big. Cancelled and told to stay home would be annoying but does it really happen that people are forced to have a vaginal birth if they have declined one from the very start? D day is getting close for me and my anxiety is creeping up but I haven't mentioned any anxiety to the midwives because I can cope. Should I get it put on my notes. Would it make a difference?

The way I'm hoping to play it is that if it's safe for me to do so, I'll wait for what is hopefully a spontaneous vaginal birth. However, if the staff start saying "natural labour or induction at 37/39/40 weeks, whichever comes first", then I'll push for a C section instead of the induction.

In my first pregnancy my waters broke at 38 weeks but I didn't start contracting within 24 hours, so ended up being induced. If that were to happen again, I'd want to push for a cat 3 C section rather than induction.

I've been in hospital getting monitored and saw one woman being sent home with her C section postponed until the next day because they didn't have time due to emergencies. On the same day I heard them ring up 6 women due to be induced to push their induction back 1/2 days because they were too busy and prioritising urgent inductions. In some trusts they bring you in and have the first stage of induction then you get stuck for days waiting for a bed to have waters broken.

Both can be pushed back, both can involve a wait.

I won't be accepting an induction if I'm offered one as I have a prior 3b tear. If labour comes naturally then great but if not I'll have a planned c-section. I think it's a valid decision in your circumstances as well.

@Violahastings Yes that is a cat 4.

@Nov2023 Yes they are cancelled after fasting and being in hospital also sadly.

Let’s say you are scheduled to have a caesarean at 9am but 2 emergencies come in. They take priority obviously. So now it’s 1 and the surgeon potentially also has a theatre list somewhere else in the hospital depending on if they cover both obs and gynae like they do in smaller hospitals.

They obviously try not to cancel them at this point but if they can’t safely do it as emergencies have jumped the queue then there is nothing they can do and sadly the anxiety won’t change that.

It isn’t that people are forced to give birth naturally just that is the default and if delayed enough labour will happen for a some people. Once in labour you are now a cat 3 caesarean so that means you jump the queue from the cat 4s but I’ve known people (on second and third babies particularly) labour so fast that by the time they arrive it’s already too late to go to theatre. Less chance of this on a first birth obviously and it’s not that common so unlikely to happen to you.

Staffing in maternity is ABYSMAL right now. Tory government has taken its toll and midwives are leaving faster than we can train them. A scary stat is that for every 30 midwives the NHS trains it gains just 1 in employment as so many leave during that time!

But women don’t complain! How many of those saying they had awful
experiences of maternity care on this thread submitted a complaint to the hospital? It’s generally very few as they are busy recovering from birth and looking after their newborn. So when midwives are trying to tell those in charge that this simply isn’t good enough all we hear back from them is that the patients are generally very satisfied!

Two inductions here, both good experiences (except a failed epidural!).

You don’t mention what your complications are, but that may be relevant. Mine were high blood pressure / preeclampsia, and small babies. With my second when the issue recurred I considered a c section, but when I did the research, small babies and particularly those with underdeveloped lungs benefit from a vaginal birth for various reasons. That was a factor in my decision.

I had an induction but it failed, likely because I hadn't started labour when induced.

My cervix was unfavourable when they broke my waters (which I've later learned shouldn't be done). As I've had a previous c section they were reluctant to use the drip to bring on labour, but did try at a low dose.

After 5 days of being in hospital and waiting for a bed on labour ward / being in slow labour, and then getting an EMCS in the end anyway, I really wish I had just had the elective section in the 1st place.

I had a failed induction which resulted in a cat 1 emergency c-section. My body wasn't ready to go into labour (my cervix never dilated) and it put DS into distress.

I have absolutely no intention of going through an induction as and when we have child 2. It will be a planned C-section from the get go.