Induction conversation with NICU nurse
PlainandTall
member
It's odd lately I feel like I have been so blessed with having these birth professionals come into my life in a casual/personal way... allowing me to talk with them about their experiences in the field. It's funny because I don't really get to meet lots of new people- so the fact that I met a LC and two different NICU nurses in the month since my daughter's birth is kind of cool.
Anyway- the LC had told me that she felt that a lot of BF difficulty we hear about women struggling with was caused by babies who were technically "full term" but who we born before THEY were ready with an induction- and that tiny difference can be the difference between a baby who readily nurses and one who just can't get it organized.
so I asked the NICU nurse about her experience and observations with inductions- which she said were getting frighteningly common and misused. She said they'd done an *informal* survey over the course of a year- kept track of all the elective inductions that were done for either the mother or the doctor's convenience- and she said that they were shocked by the results- 25% of the babies (and she said it seemed more likely the boy babies) born through those elective inductions wound up in the NICU. Since they became aware of that, the hospital has been trying to reduce the # of elective inductions done.
Re: Induction conversation with NICU nurse
Yeah, I just don't understand it... I think I'm venting here. But unless you're charting and KNOW the date of conception, due dates can be 2 weeks off because they are all made on the assumption that everyone ovulates on day 14 which just isn't true at all! But yet, when that 39-40 weeks comes up, everyone is all about getting it OUT! I think that usually the risks of induction outweigh the risks that are usually associated with "overdue" babies, such as loss of fluid, meconium, etc.
Vent over.
That is very interesting, and I can see a lot of pieces of the puzzles of the past kind of fall into place with those observations.
BTW, a hospital that I attended many women at up in Michigan had a 78% induction rate for first-time moms... can you believe that?!?
That is just tragic!
Well, just to be clear here, if you have an ultrasound done fairly early (for example, at around 8 weeks), they are usually pretty accurate as far as dating. If you don't get one until 20 weeks then yes, it is based on some assumptions about cycles that are not always true.