Inducing labor?

Kristi - posted on 07/10/2009

I was induced with my first 4 years ago because I went a week past my due date. It resulted in c-section. She was 8 lbs 11 oz. Now I am expecting my second, the 13th is my due date and they want to schedule a c-section on the 16th if she hasn't come on her own. I have been fighting this doctor to allow me to have a VBAC but he is very unsupportive. Didn't show his true colors or opinions till the very end. I do not want another c-section so I just pray every night that she will come on her own so that I can experience birth the way I want. My first and myself had many problems after the c-section and I do not want to go thur that again.

Sarah - posted on 07/02/2009

I was induced when i was 15 days overdue (they broke my waters)
I don't see the point in inducing before, or close to your due date, but after a while the placenta begins to break down so it's safest to induce.
:)

Tamara - posted on 07/02/2009

I was induced a week after my EDD because my OB scheduled it w/o my consent. X( It ended in a c-section and now I'll have to fight to get a vaginal birth for my subsequent pregnancies. I wish I'd never gone. It was horrible. I failed as a mother because I didn't trust my body and let some damn surgeon convince me that my body wasn't adequate and needed cutting open after their drugs didn't work.

Chelsea - posted on 07/02/2009

I would be very caution with induction! I was induced with my first baby because he was getting too big and I was showing no signs of labor 10 days past my due date. Because of unknown reasons during that labor and delivery my cervix was damaged and now I must have cervical stitches put in every pregnancy. I was able to go into natural labor with my second and third baby, and I found it much easier to bare the pain and enjoy the ending result much more! I agree that induction is overly used. I believe it is a way of control for the doctors to insure that they will be there for the patience. But I would hope any one thinking of doing so is made aware of all the possible risks.

User - posted on 07/02/2009

I was induced early (just by a week) because we had the baby's great-grandparents coming into town from out of state - and I am SO VERY THANKFUL I did! Her great-grandma met our daughter when she was 1 week old, then passed away unexpectedly just 9 short weeks later.

I don't think that women who choose to induce early are "lazy" - but sometimes, it turns out better than you could ever imagine.

For me, the pitocin started around 6:30 am, my doctor broke my water at 7:45 am, and my daughter was born at 3:19 pm, so I had a very short duration of labor. I did have an epidural as well, because the contractions started coming one on top of the other and I couldn't catch my breath in between them.

Sapphire - posted on 07/02/2009

I was induced at 36 weeks because I began to go into kidney failure, which is prevelant in my family. My doctor wanted to avoid a C-section. 6 months prior, same OB-GYN induced my sister early at 37 weeks for the same reason but her kidneys already began to shut down and her toxins were too high. She compared my blood results with my sister's. She had to do an emergency C-section on her-but avoided it on me. 5 years later, my sister is on dialysis awaiting a kidney transplant. Both of our boys were on the small side at 4.13 & 4.8 pounds, but healthy and were taken home in 48 hours. For my sister & I, induced labor was a matter of medical necessity for our own health.

Wendy - posted on 07/02/2009

Induced labour is a lot more intense labour than normal, my experience with my first baby when they induced me then 8 hours later they broke the waters and it was very painful, my last 3 labours have been a breeze compared to the induced labour.

Kate - posted on 07/02/2009

Kirsten,

Technically they're illegal here too. Midwives cannot legally practice anyway. But there are no specific laws on where a woman can birth or who can be there, so people still have home births. If you have another baby you might want to look into it, there are ways to get the info and get what you want, "legal" or not! (Not to mention that it SHOULDN'T be illegal.)

Kirsten - posted on 07/02/2009

I totally agree Kate! The baby is the one who signals labor to start so if labor is induced then you are literally yanking the baby out of the womb before they are ready to come. (Again, I understand medical necessity is different.) I wish that I could've had a home birth but I live in IL and they are illegal here.

Kate - posted on 07/02/2009

Induction is WAY overused. I was not induced and would never allow it unless there was clear evidence of necessity. Doctors do it for their own convenience or because women want to. They want to schedule birth on their planners like anything else, which if you ask me, is LAZY! (That's not to say that medically necessary inductions are lazy, only convenience inductions.)

Babies need to grow anywhere from 36 - 44 weeks, depending on the mom. Some women simply carry for a long time, and if their babies were born at 38 weeks they would actually be premature! The only way to know for sure that a baby is ready to be born is to allow the baby to come on his own time.

btw I am having a home birth with my second (due in 3 weeks) to avoid all of these unnecessary interventions.

Michelle - posted on 07/02/2009

I was induced almost three weeks early, but it was due to my being a diabetic and it is common for them to do this. Otherwise, I would have rode it out and let my daughter come when she was ready:)