Am I right that obese women feel threatened by this, that it will force them into more interventions or less faith in their inherent ability to birth?
Definitely! But we forget that induction is not how the body is naturally supposed to labour. That's where the problem is. If left alone, these women could have had births that were just as effective. Maybe not short, but then maybe not long either. But physiologically, if a woman is left alone to birth, she births how she is meant to birth. I have had spontaneous births, and I have had one induced birth with syncto. Trust me, it is NOT how a woman is meant to do it. Your body is forced to do something it doesn't want to do.