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3rd Trimester
mrsf123
member
Why are so many doctors willing to induce early?
mrsf123
member
Seems like we have a bunch of posts today from folks who don't seem to have any problems with their pregnancies but their doctors are willing to induce them. My doctor's policy is that once you hit your due date, she does bi-weekly ultrasounds to check on size and amniotic fluid. If all is still well, she'll induce me at 10 days past my due date.
I'd never choose to be induced for no medical reason, so I guess I don't understand it:
1) Why would doctors do this?
2) Why would you as the mother-to-be want them to do it?
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Re: Why are so many doctors willing to induce early?
Good question!
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I wondered this also. If it's just for my dr's convenience...I personally would find another dr. But that's just my preference. I would like LO to come when he's ready to.
I think a week or so passed my due date I might start thinking about it though.
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I think some want to have a definite date to the birth, some let the mom complain and end it, maybe?
I would want to wait at least a week past before being induced.
Doctors like that scare me. I hope and pray that whatever doctor delivers me (my practice isn't on-call on my due date because it's Thanksgiving... just found that gem out) would have the best interest of my child and my health at heart rather than his/her own schedule. Sadly I think that attitude is common.
My office won't induce until 10 days past due either.
This seems silly. Average length of labor for a first-time mom is something like 14 hours. That means approximately half of labors go longer than that. So even if you induce at 8 AM, you're likely to deliver in the "wee hours." Is the OB planning to cut out of there and go to bed unless baby is born before 9 PM?
I think because we live in a society that is used to getting what you want, when you want it. Immediate gratification. So since pregnancy takes *forever* sometimes women jump at the chance to be done early. Doctors like to have things planned.
That being said, I've developed a horrible vericose vein that I've needed to keep wrapped up since 24 weeks or I can't walk on it. It has been incredibly painful. I've never been offered an induction, but if I were, I can't say that it wouldn't be tempting. I know I would turn it down in the end though, even though I know my dates are spot-on.
(This obviously does not include those induced for medical reasons)
This is also what my doctor said.
Not something that I would be interested in, but my guess is that OBs go for it because...
1- The moms complain about being uncomfortable and they want their patients to be happy.
2- It is easier for planning and scheduling.
3- They make more money, because it is more invasive and requires more intervention than a traditional birth. (Also payment for birth won't go to an on-call doctor for the labor instead.)
I think Moms do it because they are excited to meet the baby, ready to be done with 3rd tri discomfort, like planning/scheduling, and are sick of people asking if the baby is here yet.
ETA - If it is medically necessary, of course both OB and Mom first and foremost want to try to make sure both Mom and baby will be healthy.
It's become the norm to induce, unfortunately, so I think that's why doctors offer it and moms do it. I do think it has a lot to do with convenience, doctors practicing defensive medicine, and moms just done with being pregnant. I was induced at 10 days past my due date because I was OMGsooverdue and my body just wasn't ready. Surprise surprise, I ended up with a C-section, and based on the amount of vernix still on my son, I wasn't nearly as far along as we thought. I could make a very good argument that 10 days past your EDD (if everything still looks good) is still too early.
This time I will not let them induce me unless absolutely necessary. I'm with a MW so they are more willing to be patient and to do natural methods of induction like acupuncture. I'm fine with that, just keep the Pitocin far away from me.
Don't they usually make you come in the night before to start the pitocin? Then the doctor doesn't have to be there in the middle of the night...
I was induced not for medical reasons, so I'll answer. I chose induction for a number of different reasons. My doctor was going on vacation a few days before my induction, and I really wanted him to be there for the delivery. I really did not like or feel comfortable with the other OB in the practice. He actually slept at the hospital while I was in labor, so even if I delivered at 3am, he would have been there. He was also there through much of the labor, so it was not my experience that he just came there to deliver the baby and left. Another reason why we chose that was to avoid having a child on Christmas. I thought that having a birthday close to Christmas was bad enough, but I didnt want my child to be born on Christmas day.
I'm sure it was in my doctor's interest to be the one to deliver me, as he would have lost money if I went into labor when he was away and the other OB in his practice delivered me.
I felt comfortable with my decision-the baby was ready, and he was 10lbs at birth so if I went any later he would have been even bigger.
We just found out today that we will possibly be induced 4 days early. I will first have my membranes stripped the week before. My doctor has decided this is the best corse of action for me since 1. I am measuring large. 2. there is only 3 doctors who could deliver me and 1 is on maternity leave and the other I have had serious issues with.
WOW!!! This amazes me. Does that mean the OB would do an unnecessary C-section for his convenience too?
Depends on the hospital. Lots of hospitals have you come in the night before to insert a "cervical ripener" like Cervidil, which helps your cervix to efface (thin out). Pitocin doesn't help that much if you're cervix is still hard and high. Sometimes the cervical ripener will start contractions in and of itself, but not always. Then you get the pitocin in the morning which is often when you start feeling real contractions and labor gets going.
For some women, pitocin really does seem to speed things up quite a bit, but for others they still have a long labor. But because pitocin contractions are often harder on mom and baby, neither of you tolerate long labor as well, and I think a lot of OBs then make the call to do a c-section because baby's heartrate is decelerating or mom is getting exhausted. Conveniently, that c-section call can be made late in the evening so that nobody has to be up in the wee hours.
Yes. This is why our national C-section rate is 30+%.
Agreed.
When I was interviewing OBs/midwives this was a big question for me - "When do you consider induction?"
I chose my midwives because they start doing NSTs at 41 weeks and, if everything looks good, will let me go to 42, or even a little more.
There was a discussion on here yesterday, I believe, about how inaccurate due dates can be. Plus, babies grow at different rates, so I think that the induction craze is just that - crazy.
(Unless, obviously, you have pre-e, GD, or some other medical reason for it. I don't buy the "big baby" thing, though. I think that's just an excuse for doctors to get you on their schedule. How often do you see a post about a "big" baby that turns out to be 7 lbs?)
Sometimes they give Cervadil the night before and Pitocin in the morning, but again, the Cervadil alone can sometimes cause women to go into labor, they progress fast, and surprise surprise give birth in the middle of the night.
I think this is such a stupid argument, IMHO. As if as a new mom, you won't be up at all hours of the night anyway!
This. My doctor did that for for DD around 39 weeks.
I asked my doctor about induction (because I'm a control freak) and she flat out told me that she will not induce before my due date.
She also said that it's her standard practice to not allow her patients to go more than a week past their due date. So if I don't go on my own, Thanksgiving day is our little guys eviction date.
I really don't think it's a huge deal. A doctor isn't going to induce you if there's a chance your baby won't be ready; there's too much of a risk of litigation. So, you deliver at 39 weeks, the doctor knows when you'll be there, you know when the baby is coming... not necessarily the end of the world.
I think as long as mothers are making informed decisions and talking with their doctors/midwives about their choices, it doesn't really matter. If a woman is comfortable inducing at 39 weeks and so is her doctor, then that's really none of my business.
After my U/S and NST tomorrow my DR said depending on the results they would schedule an induction for NEXT week, if I didn't go into labor sooner. So I'm guessing they are down w/ the 10 day past rule. I'm a little anxious, but will wait till then hoping she might come out on her own still, and if not, we'll know we gave her plenty of time.
You know, I used to be HIGHLY OPPOSED to voluntary inductions that weren't medically necessary - but I've come to the point where I feel that if a patient has undergone informed consent, it's an issue between them and their doctor. None of my business.
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My son was 10 pounds at birth. The OBGYN whose care I was under at that time had no idea that Evan was going to be that big. She was absent for the majority of my pg due to her own personal health issues, and was not present for my birth either. In fact, my doctor cancelled my 39 week appointment due to her health issues. Had I not been leaking a trickle of amniotic fluid and gone to L&D, I would have been almost 41 weeks before my next visit. My son was born 39 weeks and 2 days @ 10lb 1oz and 23 inches.
So my current doctor (who is actually the one who showed up to delivery) is 100% OK with me being induced at 39 weeks so I don't have to push a potentially larger baby out of my vag again. With having a 2 year old, I am worried about going into labor and having to get him to my mom's house, get the dogs to the kennel, etc. So, yeah, I am all about a scheduled induction unless something comes up in the next few weeks.
Do you know any doctors? My father and brother are both MDs, and I can tell you that neither has free time for golf! They sleep at the hospital a few nights per week and basically work around the clock. Your response makes it evident that you have absolutely no idea how hard people work to get into medical school, get through it successfully, and how many years of insane work weeks they put in through residency, fellowships, etc., to HELP people. Yes, help them. Yuck.