Do you think it’s a good idea to have an induction for labor?
ByI am hearing so much more and more about celebrities (and even “regular” people) having inductions a week or so before their baby is due. I was always told and have always believed that every moment in the womb up until the due date gives the baby more chance of better development and that having the baby even a week or two early can lead to potential problems. Now I know there are women who go into labor early and they have babies that turn out fine, but pre-term labor isn’t intentionally done.
My question basically is, why do so many people want to induce their babies for their own comfort and convenience rather than let nature take it’s course (other than having an overdue baby)?
Also to add, I don’t mean to sound critical or anything, but I do wonder why some mothers have their babies induced for convenience rather than a true medical problem or their baby being overdue.
35 days- I still don’t think that inductions for conveniece are necessary and I didn’t have an epidural with my baby, so please don’t lecture on that. Even so, epidurals are not as harmful as an induction for convenience in my opinion.
35 Days- As far as you possible being alone, why not schedule an induction after your due date? Just a thought.
35 days- I’m wrong? And what medical degree allows you to make such a presumption? I happen to be close friends with the head nurse at the hospital I delivered my daughter in and as far as I know epidurals are plenty safe, but having babies before they are full term has more risks for the baby. You seem awful defensive too.
Term pregnancy may be anything over 37 weeks but it’s still optimal for the baby to remain in the womb as close to 40 weeks as possible. I believe in maximizing the optimal circumstances for the baby’s safety and health rather than for my own comfort.
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10 Comments
April 9th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
I was induced because I was over 35 and my son was fine.
April 9th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
I’ve heard celebrities do it to avoid stretch marks because they get worse in the last month. Obviously that’s a pretty despicable reason to me.
I don’t know why any doctor would agree to it for comfort, and I don’t think they generally do. For “real” people you have to have a medical necessity.
April 9th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
If I can I will have my baby induced a week early. I do not want her to share a birthday with Christmas. I think it would be horrible to have to do that. Anything past 38 weeks is full term so having your baby a week early isn’t a bad thing to do. My friend has a scheduled c-section a week early and ended up with a 10 pound 6 ounce baby and if she had gone full term she could have been 12 pounds which is too big for the womb.
April 9th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
For most women it is for convenience. We live in a society where people want it when they can do it, and they do no care what that means. They want it now. I knew a women who had scheduled it on her due date b/c she wanted the baby out and did not want to be prego any longer.
Now I was induced, but 2 weeks late. The doctor would not let me go any longer. If you are going natural it causes much stronger contractions. It is not the same as going on your own. You have to be hooked up to monitors at all times. It is really not the most comfortable situation.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
C-sections are always scheduled early, as they don’t want you to go into labour before, so I guess it must be safe.
Having said that the NHS won’t induce until you are at least two weeks over due without a medical reason. I think the women you are talking about must be doing it privately, or not in the UK.
I went 2 weeks and 4 days overdue, begging to be induced from about 38 weeks, but the NHS won’t do it! In fact, the reason I was so desperate was that I had a hindwater break and was concerned about infection, but the hospital still refused to do it.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
I agree! I also don’t understand why people ELECT to have cesarian sections for their first baby. For me, that was my worst nightmare!
9 weeks til induction – You are partially correct about the epidural, there are risks but they are very rare. Unfortunately, I was a victim of these risks. Everything worked out okay after some scary moments and a near-emergency c-section. I was in labour for a day and a half, having back-labour becasue my baby was posterior, with contractions that were not dropping the baby because of her position. The epidural at that point was my choice although I had previously been against having one. Even my midwife agreed that an epidural was the best option at that point. I also had to have my water broken by the obstetrician, which I believe can only be done under anesthetic (but I’m not sure on that).
April 9th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I am getting induced a week early and it is basically for convenience but ultimately to try to avoid issues. I live in “mountain country” where the winter is bad… in a small town, my husband just got out of the military so only certain doctors are covered.. and luck would have it… the closest hospital covered by our insurance is 2 hours away… so yeah i’m being induced so that i don’t go into labor and have her in a blizzard. It is for convenience entirely! I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing especially if you are pretty positive of your due date. I knew the exact day of my last per and the day i conceived… and both ultrasounds confirmed my dates… so a week early can’t hurt
April 9th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
2 of 3 of my kids will be induced by my request. My first was because of a problem with my placenta no longer working.
I have 2 opitons. Induce, or be there alone. We have noone to be here with our 2 kids when i am in labor, and our hospital doesn’t allow a 4year old and 1 year old there. So We’re having a family member fly in from Utah to Tennessee, to be home with the kids. Otherwise my husband would have missed the birth of our 2nd baby, as well as this one.
As for risk factors. People are so against induction, but fail to do their homework on the ever famous epidural. Epidurals carry very serious, very common risks to both mom’s and babies. But no one ever cares about that.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
A baby is not considered premature unless he/she is born at 36 weeks or below. So I guess some doctors and Moms feel that bringing the baby out earlier than 40 weeks and after 36 weeks won’t cause any harm. I do agree with you the longer they’re in the womb the better – unless they have their first BM and there is meconium in the amniotic fluid of course {which can happen past your due date}. I am in agreement with you that letting Mother Nature do what its supposed to is the best option. Whatever justifications people use for convenience I think is pretty shady, of course I never had that problem because my daughters came out on their own at 37 weeks and 38 weeks.
As a side note, I had an epidural with both my children and they are both fine, I went into labor naturally and didn’t force it which is why everything worked out I guess, being given Pitocin against my wishes with my 2nd made things MUCH worse instead of better {unlike the epidural}. If its so dangerous, why do millions of women opt for it and they are all okay {with a few rare cases like anything in this world?}
April 9th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
No. It’s best to let nature take her course–as far as inductions, c-sections go. We women have been having babies for millenia withoug any of that.
Excepting of course an emergency.
I have actually talked to women who got c-sections because they wanted to pick a birthday, or wanted to give birth over the weekend, or did not want any “damage” to their “hoo-ha”, or “the thought of a baby coming out of there is ‘just’ disgusting”. Wow!
There are actually docs that talk women into it, because they have a trip planned or something.
Seems like doc wants to do VBACs anymore. There are many drawbacks to C’s-a big one being the actual sqeezing thru the birth canal stimulates the baby and expels the amniotic fluid from the lungs.
I’ve seen many women automatically get epidurals, because so many other women do it, the nurse tells them they “have to”, etc, and then regret not being able to feel the baby come forth.