Obstetricians and Induction

[~Belinda~]

Hi

I am seeing my Ob tomorrow and am 40 weeks pregnant. I was wondering whether anyone's Ob has been open to inductions after the due date or whether they definately wait the 2 weeks over to even consider this?

I would like to hear your experiences?

Also, my Ob estimated she was 8lb 5oz approx at last visit (24.12.07).

Thanks.

[maddysmummy]

all depends on your ob to what he will do, some will only wait or other will put you sooner!! i was 11 days over and mine wouldnt do it till i was over!!

oh dont take the size the say of the baby too seriously!! my friend was told she was having a small 6pd baby and she was a 11 pd baby and another was told the baby was 11 pd and he was 8 pds!!
so they can only take a stab at it!!

[*Ang*]

My Ob was happy to induce me a day after my duedate but that was also exceptional circumstances as my DH was going overseas 3 days later! I think it all depends a) on the Ob and ) on how you are personally travelling - if everything is fine they may be reluctant to induce.

[Shellbelle]

My ob was happy to induce at 38wks. Was my 3rd baby, nil preg probs and previous good labours. think as everyone has said depends on your ob and how desperate you are to be induced!! Good Luck!!

[Aranah]

I can imagine you feel 'over it' by now...I know how it feels LOL.

I've had both induced and spontaneous labours and I can thoroughly recommend waiting if you don't have a medical reason to be induced before you are too far over. Due dates are just estimations and you baby just might need that extra cooking time. In my experience, my OBs would rather you wait till you are much more overdue than a day. It also seems to depend on if you have a private OB or going through the public system, and their timetable, etc. Also about if your cervix is favourable etc.

[Nelle]

Like the others have said, it depends on a whole lot of things - what your OB tends to do in these situations, plus all your physical variables like how 'ready' your body is looking.

I went into labour naturally, but from talking with people who've been induced, it sounds very intense and fast and furious! I think that's the reason I will always prefer to wait, if everything is well, because the longer it takes, the more my body can prepare for the birth!

I know my midwives weren't going to induce me til 2 weeks over, starting with a stretch and sweep, and then it might have moved to breaking waters, then gel, then drip as the last resort.

All the best!

[Trillian]

Some obs will be happy to do it on your due date, others will make you wait till you are 40+10days, some will let you go till the full 42 wks, which is a full term pg anyway (a term pg is anything between 37 and 42wks). Either way, if at anytime your cervix is unfavourable for an induction it likely wont work, simple as that. That said though, the state of the cervix can change in a matter of hours too in some cases. My dr with my last pg wanted to induce me 4 days post dates, but I talked him into waiting until 10days post dates. My Dr I had for my previous three births wouldn't even consider induction until you were at least 10days past.

One really important thing to consider is what type of birth do you really want? I know you might have some problems with your Dh and his work, but trust me, once you start the induction the pressure is on you to *perform*. You will be expected to dilate at the rate of 1cm an hour, you will need a whole lot more monitoring than you would otherwise need. And if you don't *perform* as good as they would like, then talk of a c/s begins. The pain of contractions with a Synctocinon (drip) induction are so much more intense and can tire you out a lot faster than if they were happening under your own steam (one way to see what this is like is to clench your hand into a fist and do this repeatedly, one after the other with minimal break inbetween and notice how quickly your hand gets tired - that is what induced contractions can do to your body), this increases your desire for pain relief, usually in the form of an epidural as pethidene just doesn't cut it for the pain and this can make the labour last longer as you have to lay down. alternatively having an epidural can make it go quicker, as they can turn the drip infusion right up because you can't feel how much it is hurting - imagine what that is doing to your body.

I really don't want this to come across as being all negative - I'm just letting you know some of what you can expect. I had one induced birth and it was hell on earth. Some women will have an induction and do perfectly fine, but you need to be aware of all the associated risks too.

Ask your OB first what his 'routine' is with inductions, if he is happy to let you poke along at your own pace or if he wants you to *perform* to a certain time frame. If you can find this out, it will give you a better idea of what kind of birth you can expect to have.

Have you read any of the induction articles on the BellyBelly main site? If not I strongly recommend that you do - they are very informative and a must read before you have an induction.

[Ginger]

just wanted to second everything that sherie just said. everything that she described about induction is exactly how it happened to me. i couldn't have put it better myself. i would do everything i could to avoid an induction if i was you. i was induced at 42 weeks, so i condsider myself quite lucky that i was allowed to go that far...but it was definitely the case of 'the fast and the furious'.

[~Belinda~]

Thanks all, will talk to Ob today, it's great to hear everyone's stories! Oh HAPPY NEW YEAR too! Hopefully this one will make a grand entrance soon!

[*Belle*]

I saw my Ob at 40 weeks and she booked me in for induction a week later. She said I could pick the day, she said it would be best to have the induction anytime from now up to 7 days or so not much later.

[~Belinda~]

Well YAY, I'm 2cm dilated already, went to Ob appointment today. We'll see what happens....

Thanks for all your replies to the thread...

[*Belle*]

Thats great news! are you having regular contractions?

[~Belinda~]

Not at all, a few period like pains today, last one around 4pm! Nothing since, just pain in lower cervix...I am praying this is it!!

[~Belinda~]

Hi! We have our new daughter now! Madeleine arrived on 2 January at 12:22pm weighing 8lb 13oz...she is perfect! I was induced at 7am and had her by lunch time! The contractions were full on toward the end, whoaaaa....but I blitzed it in 5 hours! I was already 2cm dilated though before I was induced.

I would be induced again, it was not too traumatic, I guess everybody is different and their experiences.

Thanks for all of your advice!