3rd Trimester

To induce, or not to induce....

Question for you ladies. My Dr at my last appt mentioned induction. She is supposed to check me out today at my appt and let me know if that is the course to take. I spoke with some of my friends this weekend, and they advised me that my hospital is known for being induction happy. Now, my baby is measuring large, but as of the 12th I had plenty of fluid in there. I am just worried about whether I should go through with an induction or not. My baby isn't actually due until friday. I was planning on having a natural birth and I have heard that with induction, it is usually best to get the epidural since contractions are so strong and close together. I am also worried about c-section because I have heard that you are at an increased risk with induction. I am not sure if the Dr is going to push me in that direction even though it might not be entirely necessary. Any thoughts on this? Anyone been in the same position? I want to trust the Dr, but I have heard so many stories about how they make it sound like the best option even though it might not be.

Re: To induce, or not to induce....

  • I wouldn't do it unless there is a medical reason, you aren't even at your due date yet. 
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  • imagemadhatter2003:
    I wouldn't do it unless there is a medical reason, you aren't even at your due date yet. 

    This.

    Plus, express all of these concerns to your Dr! 

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  • I wouldn't, especially since you are planning on having a natural birth.
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  • imagemadhatter2003:
    I wouldn't do it unless there is a medical reason, you aren't even at your due date yet. 

    Ditto.

  • Well...I really didn't want to be induced either..but my baby is measuring VERY large!  I'm due the 4th of July, but being induced on Friday, b/c at my 37 week growth u/s he was already measuring 8lb 10oz.  So my doctor doesn't want me to even get to my due date.  I'll be induced at 39 weeks.  Which I'm fine with.  I'd rather just take my doctor's advice...she knows what she's doing.  Good luck to you on your decision!
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  • If you want a natural birth and there's no medical reason to induce, say no!  They can't force you to do anything you don't want to.  Unless you have a pelvic deformity or were unable to vaginally deliver previously, there's no way your Dr. can know whether or not your baby is too big for you to deliver until you try it and it doesn't work.

     

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  • sam19sam19 member
    In your case, I wouldn't. Especially if you want to have a natural childbirth. Pitocin makes contractions much stronger and closer together. This can also cause an increased risk in fetal distress. If it's not medically necessary and you don't feel comfortable with it then don't do it. Look up the risks of induction then weigh the pro's and con's.
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  • I would just make sure you ask her what is her reason for recommending induction. If you don't have a medical reason, I would be wary too. If I am having health or BP issues or there is another pressing reason, then I would do it, but I really hope to just let the baby come on his own. And yes, everyone I know who has had an induction says the Pitocin contrax are killer. And of course not to scare you but all my friends who have been induced ended up with c-sections because their labor wouldn't progress. Good luck.
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  • I told my doctor that I wouldn't consider it until 41 weeks.  The standard of care is 42 weeks, so if you stand your ground (and assuming that NSTs go ok) your doctor will probably work with you to give LO the best chance of coming out on his own.
  • JstnJLJstnJL member
    I would find out if there were any medical reasons for your Dr to want to induce you.  If there are not any, I would wait, as hard as it may be.  GL!
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  • If you trust your doctor, I would just voice all of your concerns and see what they say. Plus, you never know if you'll go into labor on your own before they can schedule something anyway.
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  • imageJstnJL:
    I would find out if there were any medical reasons for your Dr to want to induce you.  If there are not any, I would wait, as hard as it may be.  GL!

    This. I would try to hold out if you have that gut feeling that everything is still fine, but you definitely need to talk these feelings over with your Dr., since she is the expert.

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  • If you are really wanting a natural birth.....I wouldn't induce, unless you have an extremely high tolerance for pain.  I've endured Pitocin contractions with both of my other children without epidurals   (did have Demerol).  I guess I don't really have anything to compare it to, since I've never experienced just regular ol' contractions.....but it felt like I was in transition for the whole labor.  Good thing both labors were very short.
  • I wanted what you wanted too. I did not go C/S by choice but 1 weeks overdue I had low amnio fluid. I got induced, within 30 mins of pitocin was having contractions every 2-3 mins, within 4 hours they were topping out the machine as far as strength, at hour 8 they finally became really painful. At hour 14 I gave up and got an epidural.. HEAVEN. Then at hour 16 got a C/S. I would avoid induction if possible. Induction was worse than C/S honestly.?
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  • I feel so sorry that your doctor is already talking about induction and you're only at 39 weeks. :(  I would refuse an induction, personally, because it's my biggest fear, lol.  As long as you & baby are doing fine, you can easily hold off until 42 weeks before you start thinking about an induction.
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  • I agree. I wouldn't induce unless I were late. My sister was induced a week early and she was a very slow, long process labor. After almost 20 hours of nothing happening, they started talking about a c-section. IMHO, and my MIL's (who works in a doctors office), it's better to let baby come on his.her own!

    HTH! Good luck with everything!

  • imagerobbie3982:

    If you want a natural birth and there's no medical reason to induce, say no!  They can't force you to do anything you don't want to.  Unless you have a pelvic deformity or were unable to vaginally deliver previously, there's no way your Dr. can know whether or not your baby is too big for you to deliver until you try it and it doesn't work.

     

    This.  The baby's estimated size often means absolutely nothing. 

  • My doctor is great, once I hit 40 weeks and went in for that apointment he said "You can wait 2 weeks tops if you want, but I advice we schedule you for an induction at 41 weeks, thats my?recommendation". They won't let you wait longer then 2 weeks overdue I believe because they can get sued if something happens.

    ?I selected to take the induction which was scheduled for 40 weeks 5 days. My body took to the induction very well, I believe because it was so late in the pregnancy. I would not have induced personally before 40 weeks unless there was a specific risk/reason to do it.?I still wish I could have done it natural, but it was all perfectly fine. They had to?vacuum?her head out because she was stuck under my pelvis, but her vitals remained strong the entire time and she was okay. I don't think now I would wait more then 1 week over-due, I think my docs reccomendation was very good and he was not pushing it or rushing it.

  • my doctor's office has us wait until 41 weeks to be induced. i think that sounds reasonable.
  • Thanks ladies! My Dr told me at the beginning that they don't scheduale inductions until week 41, so that's why I was a little concerned that it was already brought up at 39 wks. I haven't had any problems this entire pregnancy - just the mention of how large the baby was getting. So I am not sure where this came from. I just want to make the best decision for baby - and since this is my first I am nervous about making the wrong decision. I will talk it over with my dr when I go in to see her in an hour, and find out what her concerns are. I am assuming that she wasn't going to induce me until next week (past my due date) and not this week....but I would like to avoid induction entirely if possible.
  • blf722blf722 member

    imageAutumnBride929:
    I feel so sorry that your doctor is already talking about induction and you're only at 39 weeks. :(  I would refuse an induction, personally, because it's my biggest fear, lol.  As long as you & baby are doing fine, you can easily hold off until 42 weeks before you start thinking about an induction.

    This.  I would be upset if they were talking induction.  But then again, I'm just plain tired of induction-happy practitioners....people can birth big babies. And don't let them freak you out with growth ultrasounds or any of that....they are not always that accurate.

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  • Take this with a grain of salt since it is only one person's experience, but my neighbor's doctor induced her when she was a week late, basically just because. There was nothing wrong with her placenta or her baby. She was having a lot of swelling but no pre-e or anything. It took her forever to deliver and she pushed for, wait for it...FIVE HOURS. I think her baby was not ready to come out - the doctor was ready for her to come out. Now, the baby was 8 lbs 15 oz., so it was a big baby, and who knows, maybe she would have had to have a c/s had she not induced, but the whole thing bothered me.

    I asked my own OB about this (dif. hospital, same city) and why they didn't wait two weeks. She said (and I quote) "you know, there's no benefit to a pregnancy extending longer than 40 weeks, and we know that at 42 weeks there is an increase in risk to the mother and baby. There's a slight statistical increase that starts a week late, so I don't know, about a year ago, we all just started inducing after a week."

    I'm sorry, but that explanation would not be good enough for me if I was fine and the baby was fine. I CERTAINLY would not be entertaining discussion of induction before my due date. My advice is to ask your OB for a scientific explanation of why this would be necessary, and really push her on it. You can still take her advice but make her justify it to your satisfcation.

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