POTD: Induction

flowerintherain

I know it's still early, but I don't think we've talked about induction here yet! Forgive me if we have. I used the search function and didn't find anything. 
I know my last bmb was totally anti-induction. I got flamed for suggesting induction at 41 weeks to someone who wanted others opinions. But I've seen other bmb's where the women are more than eager to be induced at 39 weeks. So what is our stance on it? When are you open to being induced if at all?

shan24

Here, they won't start talking induction until 41+ weeks (provided there are no other medical issues), and then they fit you in when they can, so it may be almost another week again. I'm team let baby bake but I totally get why some mamas are done sooner. 

callababy17

Isn't it risky to deliver past 43 weeks??

flowerintherain

My doctor is willing to do it at 39 weeks. When I was pregnant with DS I was kind of induced..i was in labor at 39 weeks on the day and they gave me pitocin to speed things up and regulate contractions. I want to avoid pitocin if possible this time around. But if I haven't popped by 40 weeks, I'll probably try and schedule an induction for 41 weeks.

flowerintherain

@callababy17 that's what I've always heard. I thought risk of baby passing and swallowing meconium went up past 41 weeks. But you'd be surprised at how many women are straight up anti-induction unless their doctor literally force them into it. 

OliveOyl2014

I voted SS. If I end up with diabetes again, they will induce anywhere between 38-40 weeks. If it's not medically necessary I don't see a need to induce unless you've hit 41 weeks. 

purplestarz

Another vote for 41 weeks. My last doctor wouldn't induce until you were a week over. I delivered at 40+2 so it was a non-issue. I have no idea what my current doctors recommendations are, but unless there's a medical reason to induce early I don't see the point until you're a week or so over.

ETA: I suppose there could be other SS reasons to induce the early. I seem to remember my last BMB had someone who's spouse was deploying around the due date or something like that.

bluejeanbabi05

Even if I end up with gd, as long as we keep it controlled with diet I don't want to be induced prior to 41 weeks. We shall see what the doc says. 

Also, does anyone know if having gd automatically makes you high risk? Will I have to switch from my CNM?

ac1259

SS: I haven't made it to any of the above mentioned gestational ages in any of my other pregnancies so I don't really expect this to be an issue for me, but I have seen the majority of my friends who were induced wind up with c-sections because they failed to progress. So I would really not like to be induced in general but if I made it to my due date for some random reason this time I would probably be more than ready for this baby to come out, so I'll never say never! 

monstera13

I personally wouldn't induce before 40+ weeks just because I want to let baby bake as much as they can. With this pregnancy in particular, I won't induce no matter how long (unless there's a medical necessity) because the later I have him, the easier my transition back into work will be. If I deliver closer to the end of October, I'll get to spend more time at home with him because of the holidays. 

soprano19

I keep hearing about how induced labor is much worse than labor that begins on its own, so I'd rather avoid it if possible. But if it's a medical necessity, of course I would do it.

OliveOyl2014

@bluejeanbabi05 I had gd with my son and while I didn't have to leave my midwife practice, I did have to go see a specialist. If my diabetes was diet controlled, I could stay with my midwife, but had to induce at 39 weeks. If I ended up on medication (either pills or insulin) I had to switch to the specialist and induce at 38 weeks. I'm sure each office is different. And the specialist did consider the pregnancy high risk. 

stefanirn06

I work in L&D. I've seen many first time moms who wanted to be induced at 39 weeks wind up with a c section.  Not all though. My OB office doesn't tend to induce until 40 weeks, one doc won't until 41 weeks which is awesome. If there is no reason to induce, forcing your body to have the baby when it's not ready isn't a great option. I will go until 41 weeks if I can, I delivered DD at 39 weeks because my water broke. But I'm all for letting this one bake as long as he/she wants. I have people that I DON'T want to be my nurse when I deliver lol. Plus it's longer after the holidays I get off before I have to come back to work. 

carries2018

I never really ran into this DD1 was a due date baby and induction was never brought to the table. My practice will not let you go past 41 weeks though. So I assume if I was late they would schedule it at my next appointment. Not sure on their rules when they will allow it, my sis was induced at 39 weeks due to concerns (Same practice). I tend to believe not before 40 weeks and not over 41. I really believe in not going over 41. 

yasandson

I voted SS cause although im also team "let baby bake" i also know i dont have control on how things will go and i know things can go wayyyyyy differently than i secretly wish they do lol. 

bluejeanbabi05

@carries2018 Would they even induce you? Won't your c be scheduled? I thought they don't want you to actually start labor if you're having a RCS. 

carries2018

@bluejeanbabi05 no csection moms can't be induced. We never got that far with DD2 bc I had RCS but I feel like I remember them telling me if I got to 41 weeks they would do very low levels of pitocin I think to get things moving (less than what you would get if being induced) 

But planned csections happen at/after 39 weeks. So I guess I'm hypocritical bc I said don't induce before 40 weeks but I take my babies out before that :P 

bluejeanbabi05

Lol @carries2018 you're such a confefe.

Even if I have gd, as long as it's well managed, I'm going to strongly protest an induction before 41 weeks. Not because I have any moral objection, but because I am absolutely terrified of being induced. Every single woman I know irl who has been induced has had crazy long labors and/or a c section. 

I'm sure I would be fine, and I'll deal with it either way, it's just a mental block for me!

beezeee

I voted 41+, but obviously, there are circumstances that necessitate doing it earlier. With DD I had prodromal labor, but ended up delivering her the day before her due date. My ob would have induced me after my next scheduled appointment at 40w1d if things hadn't picked up, and I would have been fine with that under the circumstances.

This time, my ob said she'd schedule an induction anytime after 39 weeks if I want, but I don't plan to do so until much later, unless there's a reason to do it earlier.

kmornelas29

I was electively induced the day after my due date for a few reasons, but this time around no way! I had a drug free natural labor with my first and want the same for my second, but I heard pitocin mAkes the contractions on another level of hard, so I'm interested to see the difference. Also, I want to labor at home as long as possible. The hospital monitoring was a bit much for me, and it also increases the risk of csection. 

kmornelas29

@bluejeanbabi05 I was induced with my first, and had her vaginally, and was only in labor for 4 hours. Would have been sooner, but I said no to breaking my water, so it could be done on its own, which would have sped the process up even more. So, inductions doesn't always equal csections and long labors, although the rate does go up. 

nbcarlson

I voted SS because I am having a RCS at 39 weeks. However with DS I did not want to be induced before 41 weeks and probably would have even let it go a couple days past that if they let me. My water broke literally in the middle of the night after my due date, so I don't feel like I have any room to speak because I have never been 41 weeks pregnant haha. 

If I didn't need a RCS though I really think I would avoid being induced unless medically necessary because I have heard the contractions are much worse. 

jasmuin

I was induced with all 3 of mine on or really close to their due dates. My first was long and hard but my last two weren't bad. 
I voted 39+ but my doc won't do it until 40 weeks. 

canonmom413

I was induced with DD2 at 38 weeks. It was NOT elective. It was medically necessary ( at the time because she would up being fine). 

I was 4 days late with DD1 (40+4). She was measuring small so they wanted her to "bake" as long as she could. But my body was starting to have adverse side effects. I was actually scheduled to be induced at 41. I wound up going into labor with her naturally on a Friday. If I hadn't. I would have been induced that Monday. 

I would obly only want to be induced if it was medically necessary. Whatever that medical reason may be. maternal health, fetal health, etc. 

canonmom413

@bluejeanbabi05 DD1 while she wasnt induced they did speed up the process with pitocin.  I went in to triage at 8am. I had her at 5:36 pm. No difficulties. 

DD2 was induced at 10:30 am. I had her at 5:11pm. Super quick granted she was my second, but it wasn't any more difficult than DD1. 

It is scary. I won't lie because they do monitor you and baby like crazy and the beeps and sounds are scary but they don't necessarily mean something is wrong. But being induced doesn't usually make things longer or more difficult. I've only heard this if baby is on the larger size ( and by that I mean 9+lbs. ) 

beezeee

@bluejeanbabi05 @canonmom413 I think how your body responds to induction just depends on whether it's ready to deliver or not. I know people who've had easy and relatively quick labors with inductions, but two of my close friends were in labor for well over 24 hours with inductions.

natleilynn

I voted SS - I'm not adamantly against it, but I'd prefer for it to happen on its own. DD came at 39 on her own, but they were going to start trying to induce just before 40 weeks if she didn't (stripping membranes first to see if that got anything going or not). They weren't going to let me go too far just because she was measuring so big.

jessafishy

I voted 41+ weeks. I know towards the end it gets risky with the placenta beginning to deteriorate. I'd like to think I would be able to hold out until 42 weeks but I think my anxiety about something possibly going wrong would make me want to play it safe.

Inducing after your due date won't get a side eye from me though.

SwtAnana

I probably won't make it to my due date due to a crazy cervix and chronic HTN but if I miraculously did, my practice likes to induce as you approach 41 weeks so as to avoid complications that can arise from waiting beyond that. 

JessDG

One of my biggest fears is the baby coming too early, so I'd probably be ecstatic to go past my due date.  I'm sure I'll be uncomfortable and cranky, but I want this baby to cook as long as he requires until it is medically necessary to get him out of there!  My doctor already explained to me all the risks of going too far past the due date, so I understand why they would want to induce at that point.

carries2018

see things like this though, i have to go back to the practice. i hope everyone feels comfortable with their doctors. but i sort of go with whatever they tell me they think is safe, if that is inducing...csection...waiting...whatever. i will go by the advisement of them. so that is why i think it is important to feel safe and comfortable with your doc. with pregnancy there are lot of blurry lines as to what is ok and what is safe. sometimes you are just going to have to go with the call of the doc, maybe they say you need a csection and maybe you could have successfully delivered vaginally. but they are making a call they think they need to in that moment for the safety of everyone. and you just have to be comfortable with that. maybe you didnt really need to be induced at 39 weeks, but maybe even though it ended in a csection it was for the best.

bluejeanbabi05

@carries2018 I'm struggling a bit with that right now because I'm in a big practice with 4 obs and 2 cnms, and they make you rotate through all of them before settling with one. I feel very disconnected from the practice right now because of that. I have two more obs to get through and then hopefully once all my appts are with my CNM I will feel like I actually trust the practice. I'm kind of wishing I had chosen a practice with just one or two practitioners, but I wanted a CNM and was limited to cnms delivering to one specific hospital. (My MIL works there.)

eta: this esp applied this last week because of the failing the gd test. I felt like I had no anchor or home in the practice to ask advice from.

carries2018

@bluejeanbabi05 you will be thankful for that. bc if my practice didnt have so many rotating if i went on a day the one or 2 docs were off i would have had someone to deliver that is from a totally different practice...which carried a lot more unknowns for me. the one thing i noticed with mine, which i hope you do with yours as well, is they begin to morph into the same person. they all agree with the same ideas and have relatively the same "lines" i mean yes the personalities are different which will cause you to gravitate to one over the others. but their medical decisions i felt would have been made across the board, and that is a feeling you want to have...when i had DD1 the doc who ended up being "MY DOC I LOVE 4 LYFE!" it was the first time i met her, but she was truly just an extension of the CNM and other docs.

carries2018

i encourage you all to ask different doctors in your practice the same exact questions. it will help you see how much of a unit they are (or maybe they are not). but it will give you different perspectives at the very least. with mine the way they explained their answers were different, but the actual answer was the same.

tyannej

I chose SS because we haven't actually discussed it with my doctor yet. I'm hoping if everything goes well, I'll have her a little early, if not I'm hoping we can induce on my actual due date! But I'm not 100% positive yet.

migdala

I was charting so I know my due date is wrong since I ovulated late.  Based on LMP I'm due Oct 14 but based on O date it's really more like Oct 20.  Baby girl has been measuring right on track with my LMP date so they're sticking with that even though it's wrong.  So I'm fine with going to 42 weeks, but I'm planning on eating a ton of dates and taking the dogs on a bunch of strenuous walks as soon as I hit around 36 weeks... hopefully this is a non-issue because I REALLY do not want to have to be induced.

Speaking of which, anyone know when it's appropriate to start drinking raspberry leaf tea?  I guess I should text my doula...

natleilynn

@migdala I'm a huge believer in long walks! I had just gotten back from a 3.5 mile (hilly) walk with the dogs and my water broke with DD. Walk that baby out! (in another few months, that is..... )

kkerner87

I said 42weeks i will get induced if LO hasn't decided to show up yet. I was induced with DD (had hypertension. They were worried I would develop preE cause I also had the protein present in the urine) I was 39 weeks, so it wasnt a big deal, but would have rather let it happen naturally. Just my preference.

riverrainez

I said 41 weeks which is when my OB said they would induce last time if baby hadn't come by then. DS came by himself at 39+1 when my water broke. Around 38 weeks is when I started doing the at-home stuff that's supposed to encourage your cervix to ripen or whatever, like RRL tea, spicy food, sex, ramping up the long walks.

mrs_fogue

SS I'm open to inductions.  I was induced at 39 weeks by my choice.  I had been on bedrest for a month and my doctor said we could induce if I wanted.  I was already in labor, I just needed the jump start to get active labor rolling.  If I were in this situation again I would induce.

If things are good and healthy by this time, then I prefer to naturally go into labor just because I want that experience.  But I don't think they will let you go past 42 weeks here. 

VLillyV

Personally, I would much rather avoid induction all together but voted 42+ weeks. I'll need to talk to my OB about when they induce here, as I haven't really asked that yet.

Interesting Fact: My mother had me induced a month early because of prior loss. My middle brother was born Au-Natural and my youngest was born 1 month ahead, naturally. It was not medically necessary to induce for me and I was born at 4lbs, 12oz because of the timing. I'd much rather avoid induction for that reason alone.