Induction - for/against discussion

[Worrywort98]

Hi all
I'm 40 weeks today. Had a scan this morning, he's 8.1lb. All looks good, plenty of amniotic fluid, having a low risk pregnancy. (had been having scans to keep an eye on his weight as he was on the 10th centile for ages) but all good and caught up.

My consultant has me booked in to be induced on the 12th. I don't know how to feel about this as I was hoping for a low interference birthing experience seeing as I have no complications. I've heard stories of inductions escalating into a cascade of interventions.

Just need a hand hold and some of your experiences with being induced?

I honestly think it’s such a personal thing OP, only you can weight it all up for yourself and decide what is needed vs what you are comfortable with.

I was induced last year with my daughter, I spent my whole pregnancy adamant I did not want an induction- had only heard bad things, really wanted a vaginal birth and no intervention in an ideal world. I did end up having one purely due to complications at the end of my pregnancy and so it was necessary for both me and baby- if that hadn’t been the case I absolutely wouldn’t have chosen an induction and would have just waited until baby was ready.

Mine lasted 4 days, I had the gels & the rods, it wasn’t a nice experience and the long induction meant that by the time I was actually ready to push I was exhausted after basically 4 days of no sleep in hospital, I did end up needing an episiotomy & forceps delivery so definitely not the birth I planned! Me and baby are both here and healthy which is of course the main thing, but I wouldn’t have chosen an induction if it wasn’t necessary for health reasons purely because it does increase chance of intervention, and if your induction fails then you then need a c section.

Speak to your midwife, if you don’t need one for health reasons for you/baby, low risk pregnancy & all looking good then you don’t need to have one so just discuss with your midwife your preferences. You can always decline for now and agree to think again if you get to 41 weeks?

Good luck x

I was induced at 40+1 due to my age. 1 gel in and baby born 12 hours later with no intervention

Lots of variables when it comes to induction I think.

Is this your first baby? If you’ve had babies via vaginal delivery before then a low intervention induction is more likely, but if you haven’t got a “track record” of successful vaginal delivery then that’s different.

You can accept some aspects of induction and not others. For example, you could accept membrane sweeps, AROM, balloon or pessary methods but refuse the drip. There is also the question of epidurals which are more common with inductions and also lead to higher intervention. So you could accept induction but not have an epidural (I think if you need the drip then epidural becomes more likely to be needed as labour can be more painful).

I was recently induced for twins. My third pregnancy after two spontaneous births. I accepted the pessary, the balloon and AROM but didn’t need the drip as everything happened after that. It was a very positive experience but I probably would have declined if I hadn’t already had two successful vaginal deliveries. In that case, I would have elected for a section. Is that an option for you or are you wanting to wait for spontaneous labour?

First baby. I was induced at 41 weeks. Contractions started within 16 hours, followed by a 14-hour labour, epidural x 2 (1st one didn't work), episiotomy and forceps (out of energy to push). I had been expecting everything to be a nightmare as all the women I knew at the time had had nightmares, so I thought I had got off lightly - average length labour for a first birth, no c-section (the thing I most wanted to avoid), no bllod transfusion, no NICU. But, I wish they had let me carry on for another 24 hours as the baby was fine and there were signs that the labour was going to start by itself. That way, I might not have needed the epidurals, episiotomy and forceps, and the anti-vomiting drugs (I didn't know until I started throwing up that there is such a thing as a 'sick labour'.)

I was induced at 39+1 as they suspected reduced blood flow in the cord. Had otherwise been a straightforward pregnancy and I was hoping to go to the birth centre, only a option for 'low risk' births.

I had the pessary at 6pm on day 1 and LO was born at 9pm on day 2 with no interventions, as it happenend I had a sum total of about 2 puffs of gas and air.

I'd say, if you are induced, please don't think that all your other ideas about the birth have gone out of the window and you're on the 'wrong path'. Staying relaxed and letting your hormones do their thing is crucial and so you need to move on from it and focus on the rest of your experience.

But then, as you say, induction does statistically increase the chances of further interventions- so why do that with little rationale? I used Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, and Nothing (BRAN) to try and get the information I wanted ( I had a god awful consultant with a god complex who didn't appreciate it but nvm! 😅

I had 3 inductions, 1 went into labour by myself. All 4 births were very similar, nothing negative at all about the induction process or subsequent births for me at all. All 4 births were very quick. You hear horror stories about induction, but equally you could argue the birth would have been problematic anyway even if they’d gone into labour naturally 🤷🏻‍♀️
Good luck! ☺️

Thank you for your reply 😊 like you suggested, I personally would rather wait until 41 weeks and then see, but my consultant said I had to make the appointment for induction today - I was made to feel like it was non-negotiable... I understand there are certain risks if pregnancy goes beyond 41 weeks but I'd definitely prefer to let nature take its course and let baby come when he wants to!

Yes this is my first baby. Everything has been going well, so I was hoping to just be left alone for spontaneous labour! But my consultant said I had to have the induction appointment made today, for next week. I was made to feel it was non-negotiable and that going beyond 41 weeks was out of the question.

Just was surprised is all! I think I'll try the pessary method of induction (if I get to 41 wks) and take it from there. The rest of the methods sound horrible 😩

Thank you for your kind reply! Glad to hear you had positive experiences. It has made me feel better x

I was induced at 40+ 2, 30 years ago. She had to be induced twice! (Spent years being late for most things thereafter 😁)

In that case I’d really recommend reading up on what your stance is. I also found consultant’s (and others) very pushy and presented my options not as options but as “this is what’s happening” or “decide now”. Thankfully I had an amazing midwife who really did tell me that everything was my choice, all anybody else could do was given me information to help make that decision. You have total control here, don’t let yourself be pushed into anything you aren’t happy with- you have the right to say no!

Even after 41 weeks you can opt to go for additional monitoring instead. Get all the info and all the options and then be firm in speaking about what YOU want! X

So personal I'm afraid. I was induced both times due to higher risk pregnancy so for me it was a no brainer. All you can do is try to tot up pros and cons, and listen to advice of the experts.

I'm not for or against, but if you do choose an induction I think it's worth having a detailed birth plan and considering at what point you request an epidural, or at what point you would rather opt for a c section instead.

I was very lucky - 1 application of the gel and baby was born about 8 hours later.

I really really didn't want the drip, and would have asked for a c section rather than have it.

Also worth asking exactly why they think you should have one.

My baby's growth was slowing (at 40 weeks) and the consultant said that if I was her sister she would want me to have an induction... Not very scientific but it was enough to persuade me!

I was induced back in 2010, when I had my son. I ended up with an epidural that went wrong (turned into a spinal block), a labour that didn't progress, too much non-action, that ultimately ended in an emergency C-section due to my son becoming distressed. I discovered the day after my son's birth, that the cord was wrapped around his body, each time I had a contraction, it pulled him back up the birth canal. In all, I'd have never given birth naturally, and a C-section should have been performed much earlier. It was obvious something was wrong. My son is my only child, and my first, I had nothing to compare it too, so went along with the professionals.

I was induced after my labour had started as baby was in distress so needed to get things moving quicker. So even if you do go into labour spontaneously you can still need it. It ended up making things go soo much quicker that there wasn’t time for pain relief (i had the drip). I would honestly say that if you can avoid the drip then do. If you have the drip then just get an epidural at the same time.
I’m not against being induced again but would prefer to try the other methods before the drip again.
It’s so personal as to how your body will react and the reasons for needing to be induced.

Hi OP, is a really personal decision but here is my anecdotal nugget.

I also wanted vaginal birth with minimal intervention if possible. Consultant sprung it on me at 39 weeks that they wanted to induce me at 40 weeks due to IVF (same sex relationship - no fertility issues). I researched it & declined as I didn’t feel any of the risk applied to me based on the niche study demographic and no known fertility issues my side. I felt they were pushy/blaze initially but when I went back to say no they were so so chill about it.

I didn’t want to go beyond 42 weeks due to the potential of placenta being less effective. During this time my friend really put my mind at ease as she had a big baby & is very petite and phrased it that bigger babies don’t get huge heads..

I ended up having a sweep at 41+4 to try and avoid induction and baby was born at 41+5 with 2 days to spare before the 42 week deadline 🤣 she was 8lb6, I did get a grade 2 tear but she was born so quickly I imagine that would have been the same with a smaller baby.

All that being said, you really need to base it on your own wants. I would recommend researching evidence and reasons for why they’re offering induction for an 8lb1 baby etc.

Good luck!

It is absolutely not non negotiable but you might want to ask some questions, go away and make up your mind, then tell them at what point you'd consider an induction. Some doctors aren't interested in negotiating.. There are different cut offs for induction in different areas; my area changed to 1 week post-dates then had to roll it back as they were doing so many inductions 🤔 they offer a scan then now instead.
I've had two inductions, one at 40+10 and one at 40+13. (Both in line with guidelines in the area I was in)The first one was pretty horrible but the second was lovely. I asked to go to the mlw if I went into labour with just the pessary, which I did. The first time my mw told me average ft mums went into labour on day 8 and later they decided that was far too dangerous! I went to hospital to 'ask' for 2 more days and was just told id increase my risk of stillbirth (research those figures yourself!). So I think the key is, don't ask, do your research and tell them what you're going to do. Good luck!

I just gave birth to LB on Tuesday and was 12 days overdue.

I went into hospital Saturday just gone due to swelling in hands and feet (even if things seem silly go and check as I had to end up on blood pressure tablets) I didn't leave the hospital until Wednesday.

As I was almost 2 weeks over, I was induced using the pessary (like a weird tampon like thing) it didn't hurt at all and could carry on normally, that was left in for 24 hours and they checked me after and it didn't do anything for me. I had been 1cm dilated for a couple of weeks now and nothing was working for me at home and now the induction. It gave me contractions but that was it.

They suggested a tablet form of induction which can take up to 6/12 hours but by this point I was fed up that nothing was happening and was a bit concerned that my body wasn't doing what it needed to do to help get baby out.

I ended up refusing the second part of induction just because I didn't feel like it was going to work and being in a hospital ward for days with no sleep was getting to me so I ended up requesting a c section, it was the best decision for me and I have no regrets at all. At first I thought I failed by not giving birth naturally but now I wouldn't change it.

If you ever had to go down this route just know it's not a fail and it's not as scary as it sounds. As it's planned you can get prepped for it, I requested one at 5am and my LB was here by 2pm that same day.

My induction with my daughter was a nightmare. Had 2 pessaries and my waters eventually broke 2 days after being induced, I was left for hours as they were short staffed (James Cook). Eventually moved to a room about 7 hours after waters went, was given an epidural straight away as advised by midwives, then just failed to progress. I was checked every 4 hours but I'd fail to even progress half a cm, I only got to 2.5cm after 24 hours. I eventually had to have an emergency c section as my daughter was in distress and I was on sepsis watch due to my temp. My BP was through the roof. They eventually found out she was back to back which explained me not progressing. So yes taken in for an emergency section 24 hours after waters went, and had to be given general anaesthetic as the epidural didn't work and I could feel everything.

Mine is like a horror story, and not everyone's experience is like this, I don't mean to scare anyone, but I would certainly not want to be induced this time (currently 18 weeks) x

1 of mine was back to back - delivered naturally, 1 hour labour from waters breaking, but the agony of a back to back baby was like none of my others who were correct facing.

I was in a similar situation with my first, low risk pregnancy, no issues at all, but went over my due date. I just refused and more than once, first babies are more likely to be born late and there are plenty of data to back that up. In the end when I was over 41 weeks I was out of a sudden diagnosed with polihydramnios and agreed to go ahead with the induction. Baby was born before my scheduled induction, everything was normal, great low intervention birth. If there are no medical reasons I would definitely refuse.

It's a hard one as different for everyone, there were staff shortages at my hospital, so when I went in for induction, i waited until after midnight for the pessary to be put in, it did kick things off, but then after 12 hours it all stopped, I then was on the induction ward for another 4 days waiting for a place on labour ward to have my waters broken, sleep was awful as other labouring women in the hospital bay. However, I'm glad I was there because there were problems with her heart rate and the emergency cord was pulled twice by the midwife, the second time It happened I was taken straight round to labour ward, and whilst the induction itself wasn't without its dramas, the labour was 5 hours from waters breaking and syntocin drip, with no intervention (I had been told at one point that they would need to cut front to back, use forceps etc, then heart rate dropped again, talks of c section) the midwives were amazing and I avoided all of that, to be honest though I was so worried about DD that I didn't care at that point how they got her out.

I was asked multiple times to book an induction in and I refused, or I should say that I expressed my concern at having an induction on a labour ward and not wanting to go through that. I went into labour spontaneously at 40+4 and gave birth 40+5 so just shy of 41 weeks. He was 7lbs 1oz. The birth and the aftermath all went tits up anyway and had to have intervention anyway.

Hi OP. Hope you’re doing OK!

Agree with others that it’s a very personal decision. Try and gather as much information as you can about why an induction is indicated, and the risks and benefits and alternatives in your case.

FWIW, both of mine have been induced and both experiences were totally fine. I have a medical background (not obstetrics) and I think this means that I am not particularly against medical intervention in favour of letting nature take its course. On both occasions when I was induced - once for measuring large, once because my waters broke and then I didn’t progress - I weighed up my options and felt that the risk of not intervening was greater than the risk of induction.