OB Going on holidays - should I Induce?!

[ReggieB]

so i found out yesterdy at 32 weeks (1st baby) that my doc is going away when im due in Jan, found this out through another doctors receptionist mind you - so needless to say im not impressed. I also happened to meet my Ob's 'back up doctor' fo a whole three mins and lets just say we did not 'gel'
long story short my OB has offered induction at 39 weeks so he can deliver the bub, he said there is a 70 & chance i would of gone into labour by then anyway OR i can visit a few other docs who deliver at my hospital and see who i want (not that i can be bothered)
So, big question! induce at 39 weeks with a doc i feel confident and comfortable with or wait and doc shop?

[paradise lost]

Is this your first baby? Average gestation for #1 is 41+3 weeks, it's really quite unlikely you'll go into labour by 39 weeks.

If i were you i would read everything i could about induction bfore you make a decision. Personally i wouldn't get it, because i'd rather a doctor i don't like catch the baby out of my vagina than the doctor i love put it into distress and then c-section it out of me....

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I agree with paradise lost, i would research EVERYTHING about being induced before you make a decision.

I personally was offered to be induced as the Dr's are worried #2 will arrive too quickly and they want me safely in hospital but i have advised them NO i don't want it.
My reason and this is only my POV is that your not giving your body a chance to go into labour on it's own, this can cause MORE pain on your behalf as you go from NOTHING to full blown labour without allowing your body to warm up (so to speak).

As i said this is my personal opinion and my reason for saying no.

As it's your first bub you are more likely to go full term but it's not always the case, my DD was born at 38.5wks and was a very fast labour for a 1st baby, my hint to you is follow your body and if you think your ready then go with it.

GL i hope you make a choice your happy and comfortable with, after all it's your labour and your body!

[blackduckies]

I say no!!!
Wait it out... 9/10 you don't get your doc. Midwifes are there, maybe the doc will make an appearence, maybe? unless you get into trouble and even then unless you are private you will get who is on call. At that stage if you need a doc or help you won't care who it is, lol it could be the local footy team as long as they get the baby out.
Don't risk an induction and complications that can come with it, until you get well past your due date.

[Trillian]

Please don't induce a baby before it's ready to be born just so you can have your ob there. It really isn't a good idea and it is medically unnecessary to have this induction, thus putting yourself and your baby at greater risk of further intervention for no reason at all, not to mention your baby possibly having breathing issues from being born early. When it comes to the birth, your ob actually does VERY VERY LITTLE. They turn up maybe once or twice during your labour if you're lucky to see how things are progressing and then not again till you are ready to push this baby out. I'm with Paradise Lost on this one, I would rather have an Ob I didn't know and know that my baby was coming when it was ready to. I know it's upsetting when the Dr you've paid an extraordinary amount of money for decides to go on holiday at the crucial time but that's just the way it is unfortunately. I had the same thing happen twice myself and know how disrupting it can be to your mental preparation when you know you have to meet a new Dr and get used to them, but no way known should you fit yourself in around him and no self-respecting Obs will oblige your wishes for an early induction for a reason such as that.

[boomba]

Oh hun thats a shame your ob didnt inform yopu themselves

My Ob has missed both my births...first birth she was on a day off and second birth she was on holidays. She offered to change obs for the 2nd but i really like her care and who was to say baby would come when she was off for the week ...well he did lol!

Your ob could miss the birth for many reasons...holidays, day off or just doesnt make it due a to a quick labour!

As the girls said research everything you can about induction and sometimes baby comes later then 40 weeks as they are not cooked yet lol! The midwives will be there and the you may be surprised at the ob who is on standby?

Good luck hun...it is scray when you ahve bonded and now you wont thave the ob you wanted...but your a strong wonam who can birth your baby without them xx

[Junglemum]

Having been induced due to PE and then going into labour naturally, i would HIGHLY recommend not being induced unless medically necessary.
It really can lead to all sorts of interventions because your body and baby are not ready.

I really love my OB and i really didn't gel with the fill in, so i understand your predicament. If i was you i would be making sure there was a person there who i was confident would support me. For me it was my DH, he had done all the courses with me (we did a few extra), read all the books and was on the same page. He was wonderful. But if you feel you DH isn't the one then perhaps a private midwife, doula, family member or friend. Whoever it is make sure you are totally comfortable with them and on the same page in regards to your birth options.

[Emma1979]

you couldn't pay me enough to consider induction.... seriously.... are you serious??? go and research induction.... your ob will be there for five minutes to catch the baby, its the midwives that do the real work.... i wouldn't even consider it, labour is FULL ON ENOUGH without having it artificially induced.... i would never want to go through an induced labour, i barely handled a natural labour and induced labour is so much more intense.... not to mention why would you force your child to be born so early just to suit your obstetrcians holiday plans....

good luck with whatever you choose but wow, there's no way i would consider it...

[nicjay]

I wouldn't either, for all the reasons the other ladies have listed I was actually booked in for an induction (for other reasons) and chickened out because I was too scared of what it would be like!

Anyway, my ob was also away for 2 weeks at the end of my pg with DD2, and it was never suggested to me by him and I wouldn't have done it early either - my DD1 was born early, only 2.5 weeks and naturally, and spent a week in NICU. Not fun! In the end DD2 came slightly late after my ob was back from holidays, she had no problems and was born so fast that my ob didn't get to the birth anyway LOL!

Good luck with it all!

[Cassius2]

this is not the best situation that your care-giver (OB) has put you in .

Similar to the others, i would probably do a lot of thinking and research into the processes invovled for you and bubs if you are induced. Induction is a common practice with OBs and at times, the seriousness of the procedure is lost amongst the numbers of ppl undertaking them. But those numbers do not reflect the very different experiences that women and babies have with induction.

For me, I would avoid the induction. Although it means that you know when bubs is coming and that you can have the OB there (in all honesty they will only be there for the last pushing stage and by then you really probably wont be fully aware of him/her) it is, IMO not worth the risk of having a birth experience at risk of further intervention or risk to mum and bubs when it is not medically necessary.

What i can offer is advice to ensure that you have good support networks with you for the birth, like your DH and to trust in yourself to be strong and confident in birthing your baby when they decide they are ready to meet the world.
I too had an OB that at the last minute couldnt be at my birth, and i can't deny that i was disappointed (he had to do his public hospital rounds that night). I met his back-up and we didnt really get along. but i held firm (he wanted to induce me...my waters had broken but labour hadnt commenced) and in the end he was in the room as DD was crowning and stayed only for as long as it took to sign off on the books and put in a stitch. the REAL support came from the midwives and from my DH...

HTH xx and i wish you all the best for whatever decision you come to and enjoy all those gorgeous newborn cuddles...either way, not long to go now!

[MrsB26]

I hope whatever you do you feel 100% comfortable with your descision.

I agree with the others about not being induced early but i also see your point about wanting your Ob to be present at the birth. One thing to consider though is that it really is the midwives that do most of the work and that sit with you and offer support and encouragement (if thats what you want/need).

My birth was long and prosterior and ds was getting stressed in the end while i was pushing. I needed a vacuum delivery and i trusted my Ob that this was the right descision as i felt we had a relationship. In saying this i would have also trusted any other Dr or midwifes medical opinion because that is their profession and i would think that they cared equally about their delivering mothers whether or not they have been their patient the whole way through.

I would do your research thoroughly. Why dont you write up a birth plan and give it to the new Ob in advance so they can make themselves familiar with it? You could also request an appointment with them and get to know them a bit better. 3 minutes is not a long time and you may have caught them at a bad moment and formed your first immpression on that.

Best of luck

[Jaffaz]

I would not recommend being induced unless you have to be for medical reasons. I was induced with DS when I was 9 days O/D and ended up having huge complications with the placenta not coming away. It was not a good experience. I am praying this time round I will be able to go into labour naturally.

Maybe you could look into a private midwife or a trainee. With DS I went throught the public system so had never seen any of the staff who delivered him before, however because it was a training hospital I had a male trainee midwife with me for the whole labour and he was fantastic. He didn't leave the room for the entire 7hrs and he was such great support for both me and DH.

Can't recommend a private or trainee midwife enough

[Astrolady]

I am with the other girls. I have had 2 inductions and a natural labour. I would go a natural labour over induced anyday. My natural was my last born. Being induced usually means being hooked up to Machines etc as they have to monitor the baby, where as a natural labour you get do what your instincts tell you i.e get up and rock go on all fours... whatever it is that helps you to cope. Definitely don't induce just because your OB is on holidays.

[ReggieB]

Wow! ok so everyone is against this then, thanks for all the input tho, appreciated.
I'm, still undecided and will wait til I talk to my doctor on the 1st.

[Bathsheba]

I also have had two inductions (medically required) and 1 naturally begun labour. I would also never recommend an induction unless medically necessary! From my experience the Ob does very little like a few people have said. It's the midwives that you depend on. There are risks that come with inductions that don't come with natural labour. I'm surprised your OB hasn't gone into those risks (actually no I'm not, they rarely do). Ask him if there is an increased risk of having a c-section when induced... he will probably squirm... but there is.

It sounds like you have had a trouble free pregnancy so far... if it's not broke don't try and "fix" it

BellyBelly has lots of very informative articles... check them out Goodluck!

[Junglemum]

I'm, still undecided and will wait til I talk to my doctor on the 1st.

And that is totally your perogative. So long as you make an informed decision you can do what you like!

[femme]

I would avoid an uncessessary induction at all cost. Being informed does not consist of discussing this with you Ob, you need to do some reading on what an induction entails and what the risks are.

[Glamourcide]

^ What femme said. I thought I was 'informed' about inductions when I went into my first labour... then after nearly dying of a severe PPH, I started doing more research, and found out it was because of the induction, and that I was extremely lucky to have gotten out of it without a c-sec or other serious complications.
I would never, ever recommend one unless it is absolutely medically necessary. You may think we're a bunch of ninnies who are so militant about 'natural birth' that we just avoid inductions because it doesn't apply to our philosophies, but honey, I've been there. Chances are your OB won't be on call the day you're in labour anyway, or that s/he won't even be needed - midwives are the ones who deliver babies born without complications and I do hope that midwives are all you need.
Inductions are horrific, traumatic processes to put your body and your baby through, I would avoid it at all costs unless it was absolutely necessary. You're absolutely free to choose for yourself, of course, and we will all support you in your choices, but having been there, done that, I would never, ever allow my labour to be artificially induced ever again unless there was already a serious risk to my health and/or that of my child - definitely not for time constraints or the desire to have one particular doctor attend me during or after labour. Sorry, but that's my opinion on it.