Overdue with ivf?

[Ididivfama]

Does anyone know if you’re supposed to be induced/not go overdue with ivf?

I haven’t been told about it by my dr or midwife but have read it a lot on some American sites.

Ivf does increase the risk of pre-eclampsia which is a reason to go early, but if there are no signs of that I don't think it's an automatic reason.

I was induced at 38 weeks with both of my ivf pregnancies, the consultant told me I was more at risk of my placenta deteriorating but I was also having to take blood thinners due to increased clotting risk so that may have been a factor too, also I was an older mother (38 and 44).

My hospital were absolutely adamant that IVF pregnancies do not need to be induced early. A locum registrar tried to book me in at 38 weeks and my midwife was furious.

Had my IVF baby at 41+5, she was super healthy and no issues with placenta etc.

I’m having an IVF baby and I’ll be 40 on my due date, my consultant has said I’ll be induced at 39 weeks but he said it was due to my age as apparently there can be placenta issues in older mums.

Fairly late on in my pregnancy I was told by the doctor to have an induction if I went over 40 weeks. It depends on the hospital and I cant really remember any valid rationale for it but the doctor basically scared me into it by saying there was a greater risk of stillbirth (which from memory was negligible and based on limited research).. I ended up waiting until 41 weeks and had an induction then. Still don't think there was any real need and if I had rhe choice again not sure if I would do.

I’m really not sure what to do then. I don’t want to be induced at all but I do wonder if it is risky. I’m going to mention again to my midwife in case she’s forgotten I did ivf.

At my hospital they induce at 40 weeks for ivf pregnancies

My consultant said so long as I had IVF with my own eggs (not a donor) she wouldn't treat me any differently to another woman my age. There is very little evidence to support early induction for IVF pregnancies without other risk factors. But it's definitely worth chatting to your midwife to check your trust policy and hopefully put your mind at ease.

I agree there's limited evidence and I believe it's quite an outdated notion for IVF now. That said, induction rates for all pregnancies are shockingly high these days!

OP I definitely recommend doing your research about induction if you're unsure. Dr Sara Wickham has a couple of books on the subject and is also on Instagram, as is betterbirthUK and birth_ed.

If you go over and don't want to be induced you could consider a C-section instead?

The trust I work at, we don’t do anything different for IVF unless other risk factors, ie. Maternal age over 40.

There is a very small increased risk of the placenta failing which is why they suggest it. I was also 40 which is an added risk factor so I said yes to the induction. I ended up with an EMCS for reasons not related to IVF or induction.