induction vs. natural labor

hbrooks88974 · January 2014

At my 38 week visit my doc brought up the topic of induction. He feels comfortable with anything past 39 weeks. I am going to be completely honest with everyone, I have a low tolerance for pain. I KNOW labor will be painful either way but I have heard from a few people that inductions tend to be more drawn out and painful than going into labor naturally. I will be having an epidural either way (hopefully) but I would love opinions/stories about induction from you guys.

Thanks!

ncbelle · January 2014

Induced labor is more painful because the contractions don't have the natural ebb and flow or gradual buildup. Plus an induction increases your risks of other interventions including c-section. Inducing for no good medical reason is quite frankly a really bad idea - and I'd be side eying any doc who was ok inducing at 39 weeks just because I was at 39 weeks - that goes against best practices.

PrimRoseMama · January 2014

ncbelle said:
Induced labor is more painful because the contractions don't have the natural ebb and flow or gradual buildup. Plus an induction increases your risks of other interventions including c-section. Inducing for no good medical reason is quite frankly a really bad idea - and I'd be side eying any doc who was ok inducing at 39 weeks just because I was at 39 weeks - that goes against best practices.

Agree

CopperT0p · January 2014

I agree with @ncbelle.

Unless medically necessary, I would avoid an induction at all cost. It seems that many doctors try to schedule inductions so babies are born on the doctor's schedule for the sake of convenience. Babies will come when they are ready.

allisshiney · January 2014

What if your baby needs that extra week in the womb? Maybe it needs 2 or 3 more weeks. Unless its for serious medical reasons I would not induce.

chicki1012 · January 2014

My OB brought it up to me to at my 39 week appt. obviously I won't want to be induced unless it is very necessary. I would hope to go over a week late before induction if all is going ok with me and baby. I know most don't let u go over 2 weeks. My 40 week appt. is this Friday and if I am effaced enough 60percent or higher they may strip my membranes. I would rather try that to get things moving cause I honestly want to try anything to avoid it. And I believe this little guy doesn't want to come out anytime soon, ha ha

magentawarped · January 2014

My induction really wasn't bad. That being said, though, I had to be induced for medical reasons, and will be again with this pregnancy. I would never choose to be induced if it weren't medically necessary. If you and baby are doing fine, let him cook until he's ready to make an appearance.

hbrooks88974 · January 2014

Thanks everyone! I want to let little bit cook for as long as needed. Doc wasn't pushing for an induction he just brought up the topic.

mandilou221 · January 2014

I had an induction because I was measuring small and my doctor didn't want me to go too far past my due date.. I was in a very agreeable mindset and went with everything my doctor told me to - because I didn't know any better!

Thankfully, my experience was awesome. I know that's not the case for everyone.

I'm extremely lucky to have a great doctor. I don't think she would have suggested induction based on her schedule. How could she? Some ladies spend 3 days in labor with induction - I was only in labor for 4.5 hours!!!

weiknd · January 2014

I was induced at 38 weeks and went pain-med free. Yes, it hurt. Was it impossible? Not for me, so maybe not for you, either! It's totally doable, mama! Have confidence in yourself and your body! And if you give in to the epidural, no shame! Do whatever it takes for you to make your baby's birth a pleasant and memorable experience!

Abs211981 · January 2014

I wouldn't do it. My cousin just had her baby and the doctor let her induce it right at 39 weeks because "she wanted it here before Thanksgiving" and she was in labor for 2 days and ended up with a C section.

The nurses later told her it was likely because she induced early. They were afraid to bad mouth her OB, but said they would never, ever do it that way bc of the increased risk for other interventions.

JAM85 · January 2014

I wish to hell I didn't have to have an induction due to my lupus. In fact, I have a list of everything other than pitocin I want them to do including voluntary monitoring in antepartum for as long as they need to try to reach natural labor so yeah I wold definitely say avoid induction if you have no medial reason for it .

erind0213 · January 2014

I was induced when my water was leaking... and opted to have the epidural prior to them hooking up the pitocin....

I can honestly say it wasn't that bad.

marineshunni · January 2014

I had an induction with my son and to me it wasn't painful. However I was high on meds & a pretty high pain tolerance. My baby is measuring big & I am small so we are most likely going to go with induction I think its everyones opinions. I have had plenty of friends who had different experiences with it.

LabPupLuv · January 2014

I heard that inductions prior to when your body is ready (no dilation, not effaced, water not broken...) is heinous. It's long, more painful and ends in a c section about 50% of the time. If you are dilated some, your baby is low, or your water broke, then your experience could be much nicer. Labor is different tho for each person so you will hear horror stories and positive ones. I personally would not put myself and my baby thru that ordeal if it wasn't medically necessary. Another week could make all the difference as to whether you have a difficult or easier labor.

Nikgoss11 · January 2014

I was induced at 39 weeks with my youngest because I physically could not handle the pregnancy anymore. I couldn't sleep or hardly walk because my hips were so bad and my LO was tearing my insides up and hurting me so bad I couldn't stand it. My doc agreed to induce me at 39 weeks purely for my benefit. My cervix was ripe and I was 2cm dilated already so he figured it would go smoothly. Well it went awesome, I had a foley bulb induction and I went from getting to the hospital to baby in arms in about 5 hours. I did opt for the epidural only because I was on the pitocin drip and the contractions were right on top of each other and I couldn't hardly breath. All in all it was a great experience, much better than my 36 hour natural birth with my first.

Jpez1016 · January 2014

I had to be induced with my first pregnancy it wasn't really bad. Painful yes of course I did get lucky and my body did what it was suppose to do and I was able to have a successful vaginal delivery. I would honestly recommend waiting until your due date. I was induced at 41 weeks which was after my due date but I had no amniotic fluid left in there and I wasn't dilating at all. But point being is that myself and my doctors exhausted all options before going in with the induction. I've heard that most babies come on their own at 39-40 weeks how ever if the baby doesn't by 41 weeks then yes I would say get the induction. But if baby is healthy and you are too don't force it until all options are exhausted, it's best for baby.

good luck to you

rowanthefrog · January 2014

Everyone has different experiences but generally inductions seem to lead to more painful labor and contractions. I honestly don't see why some providers are so eager to induce without any medical reason. Additionally, if your body is not ready, then you are more likely to experience a longer labor or even a C-section. Certainly if there is a medical reason that is something different, but I would decline an induction outside of medical necessity or unless your body was already showing a lot of signs of being ready (and you were 40 weeks+).

As an example of what can happen when your body ISN'T ready...my water broke spontaneously at 36 weeks. My body wasn't ready for labor. I labored for 24 hrs and never dilated past 1cm and ended up with a C-section.

I know you are ready to get this over with (I am too) but baby will come when baby is ready and your body KNOWS what to do.

A

desertmouse39 · January 2014

I was induced at 41 1/2 weeks because LO just wasn't coming on her own. I was 40 yo at the time, and as it turned out, the placenta had begun to deteriorate (although we didn't know this until the birth). LO was a little nutritionally compromised, as a result, and in hindsight I wish we would have induced a week earlier.

My induction went very well, they introduced Pitocin gradually and I was able to have an otherwise med-free birth, which is what I wanted. The contractions were pretty intense, especially through transition, but it was do-able. I labored for about 5 1/2 hours and pushed for close to 2 1/2 and there she was!

This time around they will not let me go past my due date more than a day, due to the placenta issues last time. and I'm 2 years older now I am really hoping for a natural labor and delivery with no induction this time, but if I have to, I feel OK about it because it was an overall decent experience the first time.

:-bd

Having said all that, if you have no medical reasons, I am definitely of the shared opinion that you should wait and let your little peanut arrive on his/her timeframe. You'll reduce a lot of the risks for other interventions, and you'll both be better off.

iris427 · January 2014

Since you asked, I have had one induced labor and one natural labor, and yes the induction was far more painful. I was in worse pain at 3 cm with my induction than I was at 8 cm with my natural labor. They both hurt, but I never really felt like I couldn't cope with the natural labor, while the induction was really too much and I ended up with an epidural. But at least once I got the epi, it stopped hurting.

I personally wouldn't induce just for being 39 weeks unless there was a medical reason though. If you are a FTM, inducing doubles your chance of having a c/s. inductions can also be harder on your body and your baby than a natural labor, and they do have extra risks associated. Just something to think about.

shiway · January 2014

When left to wait for spontaneous onset of labor, first time moms usually go into labor On average 9 days past their "due date". So 39 weeks or even 40 could be before baby is ready.

ziggy903 · January 2014

A friend of mine went into labor on her own with her son, and was induced early with her daughter. She said she would rather have stayed pregnant awhile than be induced. Barring a medical need, she said that weeks 39-41 suck, but not as bad as an induction.

jesuisfatiguee · January 2014

I was induced at 42 weeks and ended up with a c-section within a few hours of the start of Cervidil. I would suggest waiting until the last possible moment.

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