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Austin Babies
Inducement
Why do Dr's want to induce?
At the end of my appt today my Dr. put me on notice that next week he is going to bring up the subject of scheduling to induce. It really ticks me off and now I feel like I have 2 weeks of anxiety ahead of me going over my arguments with him of why I am not interested. When he mentioned it the only reasons he suggested to back up his idea were convenience related and anecdotal, nothing medical. The visit this morning really ruined my day.
We didn't induce the first time. He wanted to schedule it and I told him we could talk about it after 40 weeks. My water broke and DS was born 1 day after my due date so we never got to that point. The birth didn't go exactly easy, but I think it was pretty typical. My contractions seemed to never get strong enough or frequent enough, I never seemed to dialate enough. They gave pitocin, the baby's heart rate kept dropping, they kept backing off on the pitocin. At the end he used vacuum suction to get him out. We had just gone over what had happened last time when he mentioned wanting to talk about inducing.
I have the added risk of being on heparin due to my blood clotting history. But all throughout this pregnancy he assures me that my "high risk" conditions aren't really high risk, that everyone is having babies at my age and that he has delivered many babies for women with my blood clotting issues, etc,etc. So, one of his reasons given today for inducing was so I wouldn't have "the on call dr". I know not all doctors use the vacuum so maybe he is thinking I'd end up with a c-section given another Dr. Who knows...obviously I need to talk to him more. But, just need to get this off my chest.
>This discussion has been closed.
Re: Inducement
I think so many doctors are used to the vast majority of their patients being just THRILLED to be offered induction. I know people who have changed doctors for their 2nd pregnancy because their first doctor wouldn't give baby #1 the boot at the time THEY wanted (36-38 weeks) You know. Because they were just so done being pregnant. People want inductions and there is no shortage of doctors willing to do them for whatever reason. Yours is probably going to say that the smaller the baby, the better your chances for a vaginal delivery.
Just ignore it. You are probably well educated on the risks of an induction from being on this board. Induction = pitocin = painful contractions = epidural = on your back and possibly laboring poorly = baby goes into distress or you can't push effectively = c-section. Can you even get an epidural while on Heparin or will they have to put your completely out to operate if it comes to that?
Don't fear the on call doctor. There's a whole bunch of women out there that call that "on call doctor" THEIR doctor. And they probably love them. People act like the on call doctor is equivalent to a bad substitute teacher who lets the class run amok! And the role of the doctor in the Delivery process is actually laughably minimal unless there is a complication or surgery involved. The nurses do all the work and you have zero control over which of them will be there for a spontanous birth OR induction.
And since you've already had one baby come down that birth canal, you know the next one will probably fit too
. It's not even like a VBAC where you wonder if your body can do it. You did it! Some things you can do that will help your labor this time around - Stay home as long as you can before going in so they don't tie you down to all the monitors. As much as they'll let you (and you have to prepare to be firm on this) stay out of the bed and off your back 
. Move that baby down during contractions. Walk. Squat. Do the ball thing.
It's late and this is a lame analogy but you know I don't drink anymore. People offer me alcohol all.the.time. I don't exactly advertise my sobriety to everyone so I get mixed results when I decline booze. Most are like "whatever". Some get offended??? Others know I have a problem and pretend it's not a problem and encourage me to drink anyway even to the point of daring me or making fun of me. Screw them all. I am in control of my body and I'm strong enough to say "Thank you for the offer, but I'll just stick with my water".
Tell him you don't want to drink the induction Kool-Aid.
Sorry this ended up being soooo long! I hope there's something in there that helps!
Ditto Taytee - I think a lot of women want the induction. I certainly did, by 39 weeks I was begging my doctor to induce and he agreed to schedule it for a few days later.
Another ditto about the on-call doctor. I had an ER doc run upstairs to deliver Jakob and he was awesome.
Taytee, no apologies necessary on the long reply. Thanks! I like your alcohol analogy! Everything you read about induction starts out with something like this:
Inducing labor is when the birth process is given an artificial start through medical interventions or other methods. If your induction is not done for medical reasons or as an emergency, induction is considered elective. The decision to induce has recently been on the rise for convenience or to accommodate busy schedules. However, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), labor should be induced only when it is more risky for the baby to remain inside the mother's uterus than to be born.
So, obviously, besides all of the latest news stories saying you should leave the baby inside as long as possible, or horror stories from those who tried to induce, it is just the general advice of the APA and others just not to do it unless there is a medical need. I guess that is why I'm so surprised it is so easily offered by my Dr. But your analogy really makes sense because we all know the negative effects of alcohol but obviously many people drink and ignore them.
I'm glad you brought up the "big baby" thing. This baby has been measuring bigger than my last. It has been a concern of mine. But, when I bring this up to the Dr he is always assuring me that the baby is just average, that the measurements can be off, and he's not worried about the size. I really hope he doesn't try to bring this up because he has not been concerned about the size until now!
As long as I switch to heparin from lovenox before labor we should be ok. Heparin wears off in 12 hours and there is also something they can inject as an antidote if you need surgery.
Last baby my water broke at night and the on call Dr was Dr. S that everyone loves on this board. So, I really doubt I'd get some crackpot Dr. in the middle of the night. I think my Dr. is just a pro-induction kind of guy, so he's bringing up casual little reasons why it is a better way to go. Like the hospital being "less safe" at night, was another reason.
This just sounds dumb. What reasons does he give that a hospital is less safe at night?
ETA: I didn't mean you sounded dumb, Kitty.
Ditto the pp's. I think the majority of women will jump at the chance to be induced at 39 weeks. My OB looked at me like i had 2 heads when i declined the offer.
i also think a lot of it is the doctor wanting to deliver their patients babies. it sounds like he wants to be the one delivering the baby "given your history". is that a good enough reason to schedule an induction? not sure. and ditto taytee on the on call dr being just as good (if not better!) than your OB. i had the on call dr deliver my first and ended up switching to her afterwards.
That said, i still ended up needing to be induced at 41 weeks. Luckily the process was fast and easy and if i did have another kid, i'd actually probably schedule an induction at 40 weeks.
This is good to hear. I probably only remember the "bad" induction stories. I'm sure it works out just fine for a number of people, and there is no way of knowing how it would have been if you opted out.
I think he just said statistically there are more mistakes at night? It was just a comment he made. Obviously not something to base being induced on.
Like pp said, I think he just probably would like to be the one delivering the baby. After all, it is MY baby, so what Dr wouldn't want to?
Oh, I was induced with Emily
I had a rapid easy delivery with Abby and I was reasonably sure I could do it again. Abby came on her own 40w 2d in about 4 hours of real "labor" and 3 sets of pushes. Emily was due December 20th so when I was offered an induction I said "Sure, Dec 22nd". Totally selfishly, I didn't want my baby born on Christmas. And I still stand by my decision.
If you want to read how my induction went, I googled the sh!t out of it and finally found the birth story I posted! I have it saved on a word doc but I didn't want to cut and paste all that here
My favorite memory was how bad/guilty I felt that it was just the nurse there. I have a much more clear memory of me apologizing to her than of seeing Emily in the bed as she was born. Crazy right? Anyway, feel free to go read and take a trip down memory lane with me.
Taytee made me do it. i googled my birth story too, here it is. It's very similar to taytees, except my dr. made it to the room!
I love Taytee's first post, so ditto that.
I'd also note that sometimes LO really needs those last few weeks, too. My DD was born on her due date, I'd been measuring right on target, and Surprise! undiagnosed IUGR she was a tiny 4lbs 15oz and had a very short stay in the NICU. I don't want to even think about how little she would have been if we'd induced at 38 weeks, and I'd imagine her NICU stay would've been far longer.
I had a very easy, successful, "textbook", medically-necessary induction (low fluid levels at 40w4d) with DS1. This baby is due on 12/22, and if you've followed much of my posting on the topic, I am mentally willing him to come on his own, early. Like 38-39wks would be great.
That said, my doctor has also brought up an elective induction, but is not pressuring me about it at all. He also mentioned that he only does it if the "mom's body seems ready", e.g. already some dilation/effacement happening, mucous plug lost, etc. Of course in the next breath, he said, "but if you want to have the baby before Christmas, you probably ought to book it now - that week before Christmas is filling up fast!" Yeah, this was in October. I declined.
Truth is, I want this boy to come early. I don't want to be in the hospital on Christmas, I don't want to ruin DS1's Christmas by it being all about the baby, and I don't want DS2 to grow up feeling "cheated" out of a birthday because it's so close to Christmas. But more than all those reaons, I want him to come when HE'S ready, or when it becomes medically necessary to get him out. I know that if I'm in the hospital and/or delivering on Christmas, it will all work out. I know that we will think of some way to make his birthday special and separate from Christmas. I know that Santa Claus can, and probably often does, come to the hospital. I know it will all be fine.
Plus, I just really, really, want to experience the feeling of going into labor on my own. I don't know what a natural contraction feels like, I don't know how to time contractions, etc. I want to labor at home for a while. And I REALLY, REALLY don't want to endanger him or me in any way, even though I know I've already had a successful induction. So, as much as I might gripe about wanting to be unpregnant in 3 weeks or so, I'm not going to cave and do it just for my silly superficial reasons.
Lastly, and my cheapass DH would appreciate this, but I have RE-HEEELLLY sh!tty insurance this time. Like, ridiculous crappy, gonna cost us a ton of money (esp compared to my HMO pregnancy/delivery last time, which cost less than $500!). So the way I see it, an induction is just an added expense. If I need one, fine, and I'm happy to pay for it. But I'm not going to volunteer to shell out even more money when I don't have to. I told DH that to save money, I might even try to go med free, then we won't have to pay the anesthesiologist too! Although I reserve the right to retract that statement at any time...
When 3 Became 4