Induction at 40 w for IVF pregnancy?

ld08271 · March 2014

Hi everyone. For those who have an IVF pregnancy, I wanted to find out what your OB/Midwives are saying about induction past your due date. At my OB appointment yesterday my doctor shared that she wants to induce me at 40 weeks since this is an IVF pregnancy, due to the increased risk of stillbirth. I've done some online research and I'm not convinced.

I really want to avoid an induction if possible and was really surprised that this was the protocol. With my DD I was induced at 38 w for IUGR, so I am not opposed to induction when medically necessary. However, if I am healthy and the baby is healthy, what's the concern with holding off until 42 weeks? I'll be getting biophysical profiles weekly starting at 32 weeks so we'll be checking the baby's status frequently....

Has this come up for you with your doctor? What are your personal feelings/thoughts regarding induction at 40 weeks?

sunflowermama42212 · March 2014

I honestly don't want to go past 40 weeks since I know exact dates for him but this is also personal because my sister had complications with a late term baby and I'm worried about that. My DR has only mentioned that ivf pregnancies are higher risk for preterm labor so we haven't discussed being late.

lincoln79 · March 2014

my sister's ob was of the same opinion, but she was also due at Thanksgiving so I was never really sure if the doc just didn't want to be interrupted. she was induced and had a healthy baby girl.

can you ask your dr. to support his/her statement?

gl with your decision!!

ball.and.chain · March 2014

I've never heard of this before, and I personally know people whose IVF pregnancies went past 40w with no complications. Of course that doesn't mean it's not a potential issue, just that it wasn't an issue for them...but I just find it surprising that I have never seen it come up on these boards before. So I did a little research, and apparently it's supported by at least one study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20179321

I only read the abstract, not the entire article (which is available for free), but the abstract itself indicates that this is not a new finding. It's definitely worth more research and I will ask my doctor about it...it might cause me to rethink how I feel about induction. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

PhillyJ33 · March 2014

That is interesting- I haven't heard that before and my doctor hasn't mentioned it. I have GD so I know they don't want me to go past 40 weeks but I will ask about this at my appt this week. Thanks!

Ironmom2be · March 2014

I haven't heard of this, never came up with my OB. I was induced at 40w, though. My DD had a 2vessel cord, so for that reason she didn't want me going past my due date. I hope you're able to convince her otherwise if that's not what you want.

4legsRbest · March 2014

I have never heard of this either. I went to 41w2d with my IVF baby and we only induced then because he was down to 2cm of fluid.

drjwj · March 2014

Oh gosh. One more thing to worry about!

indianaalum · March 2014

I have heard that IVF babies tend to be early. I know someone over 40 who had 2 separate IVF babies. Both times, baby was early. She was told told the doctor wouldn't let her go to due date due to age.

Ironmom2be · March 2014

I guess it's worth adding I was never treated any differently by my OB b/c we did IVF (or b/c I was over age 35). She knows our history and has been with us the entire time. I was just another pregnant lady to her.

ld08271 · March 2014

drjwj....one more thing to worry about!

BBColt78 · March 2014

Mine did other things differently because of the IVF but not really this. He did suggest that I get induced on 40w5d though. Luckily I went the day before on my own.

As others have said, I've heard about IVF having a slight risk for preterm labor, but nothing else. Good luck with your decision!

brooklynesque · March 2014

Ironmom2be said:

I guess it's worth adding I was never treated any differently by my OB b/c we did IVF (or b/c I was over age 35). She knows our history and has been with us the entire time. I was just another pregnant lady to her.

Same. Which sometimes annoys me, lol.

PhillyJ33 · March 2014

@Ironmom2be‌ I also have a 2 vessel cord and they haven't mentioned inducing me unless they feel the growth is off. I am getting more nervous now, I was an IVF pregnancy, have the cord issue and GD- I guess I need to discuss induction plans at my next appt!!
They totally treat me like a regular pregnant lady and haven't mentioned the IVF since my initial appt when we went over my history.

HeatherHam10 · April 2014

Great...something else to worry about.

FutureMrsW9 · April 2014

Ok, seriously, I think OBs are sometimes induction and c-section happy. This is a sore spot for me, and one that I'm very passionate about so sorry if what I'm about to say sounds ranty. First of all, just because your baby is an IVF baby does not in any way shape or form increase any kind of risk for stillbirth, preterm labor and all that crap. Second, as long as you and baby are healthy and doing well, there's absolutely no reason to induce you at 40w. This was actually the very first question I asked when I was interviewing midwives and the ones that I'm with now said that IVF means absolutely nothing, we still treat you like any regular pregnant person, you're not high risk just because of IVF, if something unrelated comes up you could be but not solely because of IVF, etc. etc. They said that I would only be induced early or at 40w if I had GD and the baby was measuring really big or if there was some other medically necessary reason to do so that was affecting either my or the baby's health. They did stick with the 42w deadline and won't let anyone go past that, which is normal. If you don't want to be induced and you don't need to be, I would decline decline decline, you absolutely do not have to consent to being induced if it's not medically necessary. I have a friend who did not have IVF babies and both times her docs/midwives wanted to induce her and she declined until 42w. Both times her babies ended up coming at 41w1d on their own without induction.

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