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Hi,
I was wondering does anyone know if there is an actual policy of labour induction in Queensland public hopitals? Is there a specific week indicated ie w41, w42??
Also what are the risks of not inducing if the pregnancy is prolonged??
Thanks for any assistance!
i'm not sure if it is POLICY but the royal womens hospital in brisbane induce between 41+3 and 42 weeks. i didnt realise they let you go til 42 weeks when i had my DD and they induced me at 41+3, i would have waited longer if i had known. so i PRESUME they like to get it done earlier rather than later.
i think the risk is that the placenta and umbilical cord start to degenerate if left for a prolonged time frame... having said that though they can do ultra sound to check on its functioning.
This is interesting...because there's "policy"....and there's policy.
I was very interested to discover recently the official policy of one of the large public hospitals in Brisbane. Their policy for post dates pregnancy in low risk women states that they are to commence monitoring at 14 days post EDD. Note, that is monitoring - not induction.
Despite this, I know of women attending this hospital being told they "will" be induced at 7 days, 10 days, or 14 days post EDD. But the hospital's actual written policy does not say that at all. What these women are being told is "policy", seems to be entirely dependent on the obstetrician they strike on the day and their personal preferences or interpretation.
The thing I have learned from this is regardless of what the person sitting in front of you is telling you - ask them to look it up. And ask to see a copy of it. All hospitals have policies on post dates pregnancies but how they are applied is by no means uniform. If you can get a look at it, you have a much better chance of getting what you want.
Of course if that's not your intention in asking please disregard all this lol.
just wanted to add also that the Ob i saw who scheduled in my induction wanted me to go in at 41 days and i was a bit iffy about it. he said well how about we give you an extra 3 days then so i went in at 41+3. it was as if he was doing me a favour by letting me have those extra few days. i think cause it was my first pregnancy i just went with what he said even though i wanted to wait longer and they sorta scare you into it too with the risks of leaving you go.
Im not sure about policy but i had my last ds in rockhampton induced on my due date but that was at my request because of cercumstances but i dont know what happens if you are over due.
I say do your research and if you dont want it done question them and get proof of what they are telling you and dont let them bully you into anything you dont think is nessasary.
Cairns Base Hospital's policy is for induction at 10 days post dates, on the basis that they want the birth to occur by or on 14 days post and it can sometimes take several days for induction to be successful.
However, induction (and right of refusal) is up to the mother, they give documentation explaining why they recommend it, why a woman might choose to refuse (ie: risks of induction, including cascade of intervention), and the support they offer in the event of refusal (monitoring, scans, etc).
When I was post-dates I outlined my concerns about routine induction and chose to be monitored. The ob said that all was looking good and that it would be fine to wait a few days to see if I went into labour naturally and then to re-assess then. The induction was rescheduled, but I was informed that on the day I did have the right not to go ahead if I so chose. I went into labour the day before I was due to be induced (at 12 days).