I am 38 weeks as of yesterday and I went into pre early labor yesterday morning around 7. I went to the hospital around 7p.m due to having diarrhea and vomiting all day, along with having contractions. The closest my contractions got were 10 minutes apart. I went to make sure I didn't get dehydrated,which I was. Contractions stayed at 10 minutes apart until about 3 hours ago. Now they're 13-15 minutes apart. I'm 0% dilated and 80% effaced as of last night. The thing is my OB is already talking about inducing on Monday if I don't go into active labor by then. I'd be exactly 39 weeks. Her concern is the intense back pain,loss of appetite,and the contractions. But overall she said she's worried about the baby being in distress if I go that long without delivering. I've read where women go weeks in pre early labor. I know my effacement means nothing but she seems to think it does. I also know my OB is induction happy. She deals with a lot of young girls, her youngest right now is 12. When one of then ask for an induction she's quick to schedule it for 39 weeks. I'm kind of iffy about being induced due to her being notorious for this. I'd rather let my body run it's course. I guess what I'm asking is what would y'all do if your OB was pushing an induction? Of course I don't want to risk baby being in distress but from what I've researched pre early labor doesn't really distress them in most cases.
Sorry it's so long.
Re: OB wants to induce.
I agree with @maryxc1. Tell her your concerns and voice how important it is to you to go the full 40. And if you don't like what she says, ask her who you can see about a second opinion. Maybe a midwife? I feel like my midwife is 100 times more knowledgeable than my OB, which is too bad when you consider that my OB receives the majority of the money.
My gut feeling is to let labor run its course the natural way. From what I understand, plenty of people experience pre-labor without there being any problems with the baby, but if there is something wrong then you don't want to risk it. Is she doing any test to confirm that baby is in distress? Would she let you go to 40w/natural labor if she could monitor you and the baby closely in the meantime?
I'm sorry that I am of no help, I really don't have any experience with this but I'm thinking your body is getting ready for labor and will get there on its own. I don't feel that her history of being induction-happy is very comforting for you when making this decision. Can you get a second opinion from another OB?
And keep us posted.