IVF and labour induction?

[beansbeans!]

Hi all;

I was talking with my MIL today and she was saying that one of the girls she worked with was hoping to get induced today (i think).
From what she told me, they had used IVF to get pregnant, she had lost more than 10kgs during the pregnancy, and according to her she was being induced because her ob had told her that all IVF babies are induced at 38 weeks....

So what my MIL and I are wondering is this true; are all IVF pregnancies induced at 38 weeks? And if so why is that so?

Im finding it a little hard to believe, but considering that I know very little about IVF pregnancies I'm very curious!

Cheers

Justine

[Trillian]

No Way! That is one of the dodgiest pork pies I have ever heard LOL!

[beansbeans!]

Well thats what I thought; but my MIL swore that that was what the lady had told her! just had to ask!

[briggsy's girl]

nope!
i was induce at 39+3 due to pre eclampsia - that was the only reason. once i was pregnant and the baby was nice and sticky and all was confirmed ok (no ectopic yada yada) the fertility clinic had nothing more to do with me other than checking that i had given birth and meeting the bubba

i was treated exactly the same as any other pregnant woman - and that should be the case all the time



one thing that may impact on it though is WHY the person is going through IVF - some factors that lead to the person needing IVF can also impact on the pregnancy and birth - so from that perspective, they may not be considered a normal low risk pregnancy kwim?

[Nicole S]

Nope 38+2 here and due to high blood pressure.
Nothing to do with IVF what so ever.....

[onthefly]

That is complete BS.
There does seem to be a little misinformation around, even among some medical practioners, but it's not true. We even asked OB if there was any reason for concern since we conceived through IVF and he said no, he would treat it like a normal pregnancy.
I was induced, by the way, at 42 weeks because I"d gone post-dates.

[barney]

oh gee i feel bad now ,im being induced at 38 weeks and my dr does it with most ivfers (" he said all being favourable "??) but i dont know why though thats just what he said.

[beansbeans!]

thanks girls!

Im finding this rather interesting as to why then a dr (like yours smithy) would suggest an induction;
I thought it sounded a bit silly from the get go!

[Tanya]

Why is an IVF pregnancy any different form a naturally conceived pregnancy? The chances of something going wrong at 38 weeks is just too high! I would do your research before I let anyone near my vagina at 38 weeks!

Why is it that women who want to attempt VBAC are told of the minute risk of rupture but they don't tell first time mothers who are induced for no reason.

[onthefly]

Smithy, have you asked him for an explanation? IVF alone really isn't a reason to induce, so far as I know (and admitedly I'm no expert, but this comes from my OB also).

Let me tell you, forcing my body to labour at 42 weeks was *something*, I can't imagine trying to do it at 38 weeks.
I think us IVFers are so used to everything being minutely controlled and clinical, maybe it doesn't occur that things can just happen naturally sometimes.

All the best

[tippytoes]

OMG!
I have to agree with the other girls - what a load!
I had a perfectly normal/healthy pregnancy monitored by midwives throughout, went into to labour naturally and had an wonderful 6 hour labour (again supported by midwife and delivered by midwife) followed by a super healthy little boy!
Induction for the sake of induction only leads to trouble IMO. Unless there is an issue I think it is a terrible idea!
Rach xx

[christy]

My friend's OB in Brissy said that he refused to do vaginal births, he said "Why pay all this money to have an unknown outcome?" So she was told that he wouldn't do IVF without booking in a c/s.

I think she was so desperate at that time, she didn't care what she was agreeing too.

I personally would not go induction again. I was threatened with it when I was trying for my VBAC, but there was so much research that showed that it wasn't worth it to me. There are "safer" ways of induction, but I waited 2 more days and went into spontaneous labour and bubs was perfect.

[briggsy's girl]

smithy - i would be querying why he is pushing induction at 38weeks - if the baby is ready to come at 38weeks it will come on it's own. unfortunately, it's not uncommon to be told things are favourable when they're not - i was told things were more favourable then they had been in the previous examinations when i was induced with DD - but the Ob ONLY induced (and very gently - gels for 2 days first) because i had pre-eclampsia that was getting progressively worse over a period of almost a month. had it not been for the PE, he would not have induced (the gels were to try to make my cervix more favourable for full induction - even that didn't work and i had NO dilation at all until i'd been on the drip for over 5 hours AND had my membranes ruptured (went pretty quickly from then and it wasn't pleasant!)

as much as i was petrified of something going wrong with DD, i wouldn't have gone through with an induction JUST because the baby was an AC baby

[Schmickers]

My friend's OB in Brissy said that he refused to do vaginal births, he said "Why pay all this money to have an unknown outcome?" So she was told that he wouldn't do IVF without booking in a c/s.

But ... that's so much more risky than a vaginal birth! I can't believe anyone would take that kind of risk with an IVF bub.

[Liviam]

At work there are IVF pregnancies that are induced because some OB/drs suggest it as the pregnancy is "precious" and some women want their baby. It is not standard practice though.

[Mildez]

I am so with Liviam. Where I work ladies who have concieved through IVF or had unsuccessful attempts at IVF and then concieved naturally are often offered an induction and even elective c/s. Its up to them as to weather they want to take it and many of them do. Its the same with ladies who have had a stillbirth at term. They are seen as precious and basically the obs usually bend over backwards to accommodate their wishes and often that is for bub to be in their arms even if certain risks increase.

[Schmickers]

But if the pregnancy is so precious, I don't understand why you'd increase the risks to the mother and baby with an unnecessary induction or caesarean? I find it frightening that OBs are willing to accommodate it. I guess they aren't really made aware of the risks.

[Tanya]

Doesn't make sense to me either *shrugs* Are they actually telling the women of the risks?

I think it is common for women who have used IVF to undergo a high rate of intervention in their births, is this because they fear their body will fail them after so much disappointment tying to fall pregnant naturally? Are they easy to convince that their bodies will harm their babies?