Induction at 41 weeks

[Rose1999]

I'm 36 years old, first time mum and 41 weeks pregnant tomorrow. I am being severely pressured by family and doctors to be induced. The reason, well no valid reason really! Baby is measuring on the 84th centile. So I've been told she's "too big" to wait.
Been told that the placenta will start to fail. The risk of stillbirth is at a high. Etc. All things that are making me incredibly anxious (I'm already an anxious person and have been having CBT throughout the pregnancy as a result). I was never concerned about going overdue until this last week when I've been getting pressure from all angles.

I'm being monitored in hospital daily. My instinct is telling me to wait at least a few more days to see if things progress naturally.

Has anyone else been in this position? I really could do with advice. This has all ruined the end of my pregnancy which I'm gutted about 😕

Sorry you're feeling anxious about decisions - it's a tough one. I was in a similar position for DC3 - big baby and late, but had had a previous vaginal birth and c-section. I was given the options of induction 5 days past due date or 9 days (because they didn't plan inductions over the weekend). I felt that 5 days late just seemed a bit too early (I had had a horrendous c-section experience so wanted to avoid that and thought chances were better if I went into spontaneous labour). But I was also very aware that stillbirth risks start increasing from 41 weeks so didn't want to wait longer than 9 days past due date. I was induced at 9 days and it was really straight forward and positive - it was the best birth of my three by a long way. From anecdotes, it seems like inductions for late babies seem to go better than early inductions for other reasons. Good luck with whatever you chose - the decision making is one of the most difficult bits!

If there’s no medical reason to be induced then you absolutely can wait, just make sure you ask all the questions and weigh up the risks. One thing I would say though is that your body needs oxytocin to go into labour which is produced when you are relaxed and happy, if you are feeling stressed and pressured you are less likely to go into labour naturally. I had my induction booked for 41+5 and she arrived 41+2 so an extra few days can really make a difference

if you weigh up the risks and decide to give yourself more time, make sure you spend that time relaxing, go for walks if allowed, watch movies, get a massage from your partner, block out everyone else and focus on you.

If they aren’t seeing anything worrying other than size on the daily monitoring and you want to wait then that’s totally fine. It’s personal preference to an extent, but they are doing the right thing telling you the risks. The decision is up to you though. Maybe set yourself a deadline if it helps

If there is no imminent risk to baby then I'd say you're fine to be left to naturally go into labour, I was 42 weeks pregnant with my second pregnancy and they didn't mention induction until I had my appointment on my 42nd week as due dates are not always correct and I was told they can come 2 weeks either side of them

I would weigh up whether the anxiety of doing nothing and a potential still birth is stronger than the anxiety of being induced when you would rather wait to go naturally. Personally for my induction, the consequences of not doing it and something going wrong would not have been something I could have lived with, so I had the induction. It was nice and simple. Baby arrived 40 mins after my waters were broken at 2cm. Less than six hours start to finish.

You could read Sarah Wickhams book 'in your own time' to understand more about being 'overdue' and induction pressure.

Both mine arrived perfectly healthy at 41+6 and 41+5 and the majority of women go into labour naturally before 42 weeks which is considered term.

Id also take the big baby card with a pinch of salt. Firstly other than in the case of gestational diabetes, or any bone/pelvis abnormalities in the mothers, we simply don't grow babies that are 'too big to birth'

Secondly, the margin of error in scans is huge. Both of mine were predicted around 50th centile but the first was born 25th and the second 91st.....and the big one was born at home in a much quicker and easier labour!

PP are right though, whatever you choose you need to be relaxed and confident so do what makes you feel the most comfortable, good luck x

If you have no additional risk factors, I would look do your research before agreeing to an induction - IOL brings its own risks, many of which aren’t clearly explained when it’s offered!
I would also recommend Sara Wickham, as she puts those ‘risks’ in to context. The risk of stillbirth does increase as the weeks go on but placentas don’t magically stop working as soon as you hit 40 weeks. Reported numbers vary but the risk goes from around 0.1/1000 at 37 weeks to 3:1000 at 42 weeks - put into context, a 0.003% risk.
Only you know what is right for you but don’t feel pressured into something you’re not comfortable with. NICE guidelines state IOL should be offered to all women if they haven’t spontaneously laboured by 41 weeks, therefore, midwives and doctors have to offer it. That’s not to say we always agree with the recommendation, particularly with low risk women. Informed consent is a real bone of contention for me, so try to ensure you’re as fully informed as you can be.

I was induced with DC1 at 40+12, (I was 31 and no risk factors) very reluctantly as I wanted to go into labour naturally. I was also certain of dates and had been moved forward by 6 days, so didn’t think I was as overdue as they thought I was!

Anyway the induction was an absolute dream. Had some gel, went home, contractions started a few hours later, went back to hospital and into the birthing pool and baby was born within 2.5hrs of the first contraction. Literally my dream birth. DC was almost 9lbs and head was >100th centile but had just a minor tear.

I was terrified that induction would mean the “cascade of interventions”, but like a pp said, I think when induction is after your due date it tends to go a lot better, so if you do agree to it, don’t stress!