To Induce or Not?

I set up an induction appointment, but my little one came on her own a day before the appointment. Set up the appointment if you like and then see what happens before that date. You're little one may just come into the world on their own clock.

I had a perinatologist (high risk doctor) and she stripped my membranes, she does this when it it 40+ weeks.My appt was in the afternoon then at 2:00am I went into labor delivered the day after she stripped membranes, I would do it again. It was much better than being induced. (I was induced with my 1st child)
Good luck!

Inquire as to what the steps are for inducing. My doctor induced all of mine by simply breaking my water - and then it was quick and easy from there. But, I've heard of doctors giving Pitocin to induce, and I hear it is a much harder labor. I was dialated and effaced and ready to go though. Ask and then decide. But, keep in mind, the longer you want, the bigger that baby gets - LOL ;)

Hi M.,
I'm one of those natural types, and if it was me, I would just wait until baby's ready to come out. My baby was also "late" and you know what? I just think they had my due date wrong. Happens all the time. Your body knows when it's time. All of my friends that were induced all ended up having C sections -- something I decided I was not going to have unless it was an emergency situation. Good luck!

I was induced with both my kids. My first one took 22 hours. Not fun, but she was born just perfect. My son took 10 hours and the only problem I had was a failed epidural. It had nothing to do with being induced. With my daughter I was 39 weeks along and with my son I was 38 weeks. You are already 40 weeks so I would think it would be ok as long as your dr. says it's ok. Being induced isn't as scarry as some people say. Sometimes things do go wrong, but it can with any type of birth, not just with being induced. Maybe wait and see what happens. Your body could just go from 1cm to lets have this baby time in 1 day. You could just wait and after a week if nothing happens, then induce. Good luck!

You have had alot of responses but I just have to give you my story. I was induced at 41+ weeks. I was induced at this time because he was measuring at almost 10lbs. The whole walking and sex thing did nothing for me. So the next thing that had to happen was being induced. He was born healthy at 9lbs 10oz, I had no problems with my labor. Good Luck with you decision.

I was induced both times. My first was the same as you are in but maybe a little less progressed. She came in 6 hours and was 9Lbs 7oz. for my second doc didn't want me to have a 9 lb baby again so he induced me what was 3 weeks early. she was 7 lbs 12 oz so it ended up being perfect. I had no progress what so ever for the second when I was induced so she took a little longer. about 11 hours. Both had no issues. Good luck in your decision! congratulations!

Your doctor can do a procedure called "stripping your membranes" or something like that. There's an 80% chance that it will bring on labor within 24 hours. I had it done in January when I was about to have my baby, and my water broke the next morning! I'd suggest asking your doctor about it. I was in the same boat, only 1 cm dilated at 40 weeks and was going to be induced the following weekend, but this brought on labor before then.

I was induced and it was 32 hours later of hard labor that I finally delivered. I would definitely wait it out another week. Congrats and good luck

I was Induced with both of my boys. I dont know what "normal" labor is, but thought both my labors were just fine. 1st son was due on 7th I was induced on the 10th, 13 hours of labor. 2nd son was due on 23rd. Dr OK'd me to be induced on the 18th, no problems with labor and it was also 13 hours. People will tell you horror stories of all pregnancy's, its your choice whatever makes you feel comfortable! I liked knowing when and would do it the same way if I was crazy enough to have more. ha ha!!

I have strong feelings on this one-My 1st and 3rd were both delived naturally on their due date. I know, small odds on that. #2 was 10 days late, induced from zero. It was horrible. I know he needed to come out there was no fluid left in me. The pain from induction was unbelievable. I literally thought I was going insane. The pain meds seemed to make me worse. I know plenty of people get induced have no problems. Hopefully you will be one of them.

I did the same thing when I was 40 weeks pregnant with my third baby. Everything went fine- it wasn't fast but my doctor delivered me, I had child care... I was dilated to 1 too. I had to get induced with my second baby too for medical reasons- both inductions went well and followed the same pattern as my first where all was 100% natural. Do whatever works... maybe give it until Saturday morning... It is nice to go into labor naturally but sometimes it may work out better this way...

It does seem more convient to induce but it will make for a harder longer labor I induced my first due to husband leaving for the war but I would say if you can wait it will be much easier if your body does it on its own. Also with my second my doctor was not on call but ended up LOVING the doctor on call who I had never met. It will work out my two cents is WAIT

Hi M.- Congratulations on you impending arrival! Of course it is a personal choice, but if it were me, I would wait. I had an induction with my first child and it was a really hard labour. fast and hard....I felt like I had no time between contractions and really couldn't get on top of the pain. I was 42 weeks when they induced me, but I had a scan beforehand and all looked very normal with the baby. So, in hindsight, I really wish I would have waited, as I think I would have one into labor on my own in the next couple of days. It sounds like your body is nearly ready, and I think a few days more waiting really wouldn't hurt.

With my daughter, I went into labor naturally (she was 9 days late, though) and it was a much better experience. I felt more in control of everything. They way it's supposed to be, you know? Instead of an "artificial" labor.

Either way you decide, I wish you the very best with your new baby!!

H.

NOT.... my best friends baby died from being induced and I knew another woman that worked at my former employment whose daughter lost her baby as well...

My aunt had 4 kids and she swore by this technique and I tried it as well... and sure enough I went in to labor the next morning... coincidence? Maybe...
Scrub the bathtub like you're trying to get the enamel off of it. Vacuum the whole house with the self-propel off... then go for a nice long walk... when you get home and for the rest of the night sit on the floor in the V position with your legs outstretched. Might wanna wait till your hubby gets home to help you up if you're large. :) Good luck!

I'm not going to say do it, or don't do it. Everyone is different. My situation was similar. I was 37 wks, dialated to 4, having irregular contractions. My obgyn let that go on till I was 39 wks then induced me. I chose to be induced because my husband worked an hour from home, and the hospital was a bit of a drive and my first son came so fast I was afraid I would have him at home if I went into labor while hubby was at work. The induction was not bad like people told me it would be. I had to have the antibiotic for 4 hours before I could give birth because of group b strep. so they started the pitocin with the antibiotic at the lowest dose and almost right on the dot 4 hours later i gave birth. I had no epidural or anything for pain. plus i was able to make arrangements for my 5 yr old instead of worrying about if he was gonna be at school or what. I had a good experiance and would do it again.

I understand your concerns. I was 5 weeks early with my first - though I had to get pitocin with him and on time with my second - had pitocin again and with my third I went almost a week over. My doc stripped my membranes twice with my third and I went in to labor with him a few days after. I had no pitocin and it was MUCH easier labor. Since I did not know what labor was without pitocin before my third, I was unsure either way. Also, my first two pregancies, my water broke and the third I had them break it when I was almost ready to push (between 9-10 cm). That helped A LOT too. In retrospect, I HATE pitocin. The contractions are so different on pitocin then the natural way. That's my experience...you will make the right choice for you and your family. Have confidence in your gut!

OK --- so after reading all the posts, maybe my terrible labor with Isaac was becuase the doctor accidentally stripped my membranes. Eek - scary post M.! Follow your heart! I'll be here for Riley whenever your next one is ready.

Sex, walking, massage, raspberry tea, spicy food... there are tons - I researched that big time!

Good luck with this decision!

inducing is a slippery slope to C-section. Trust your baby- it's actually a hormone the baby releases to start labor. Your baby knows when he/she is ready.
I hope this helps,
S.

I agree, I would not induce. I know a lady who got induced the day of her due date and her whole body shook uncontrollably the whole time she was in labor and her baby came TOO fast. It was a 10 lbs baby and it tore her up sooo bad.

My best friend, on the other hand, wanted to avoid c-section or induction at all cost so the night of due date she took some castor oil and had sex, then next morning she took her 2 yr old to the zoo and walked around alll day. Her water broke that night (she was previously NOT dilated or having any contractions).

Hope this helps!

Good luck!!

My first child from the time I left my house to the time she was born 3 hours. Last child 45 minutes. Middle child that was induced 24 hours from getting started at the hospital. I was 19 days overdue and it was needed not a choice. It was just awful and long and I have not heard of any good stories yet hope there are some on this post. If it is not medically needed I would say wait 100% of the times unless you don't mind it being longer and harder and your pros out way your cons. Either way best of luck to you and your family what a blessing.

Unless the baby is in distress, trust your body to know what it's doing. Everything I've heard says that the labor from inducing is more intense, and you're more likely to have a c-section.

Try something natural: you can bring on contractions with walking (lots of it -- go shopping!) or nipple stimulation. Or sex. Also, there are pressure points on your feet/calves that can induce labor -- so go get a pedicure! (A friend of mine tried this last one and her water broke in the pedicure chair, lol.)

Take this extra time to take care of yourself and treat yourself to the things (like shopping or a pedicure) that you won't have time for later. The baby will make his/her appearance when s/he's ready, no worries.

I don't believe in medically causing something that the body knows to do naturally when it's ready. With that being said, I have three friends who have induction stories and none of them were pleasant. One of them even says her labor was more painful then with her other kids, and it was her 2nd of four.

My friend recommends long walks and intercourse. ;)

if you are induced and "nothing is happening" you are looking at C-section. my baby was 2.5 weeks overdue - with OBGYN on their ears trying to get me to induce - i ____@____.com baby was born unmedicated and did not show "overdue" signs - it would have been too early to induce at the "due" date. they can do observation of brain activity and heartbeat for the next 2 weeks. in the meantime consider this:
most women go into labor at THEIR OWN right time. Synthetic hormones are used to bring on a labour. possible side effects are vomiting, diarrhoea, migrane or vaginal irritation from some forms of synthetic hormones or oedema and HBP and jaundice in your baby from others. Induced contractions are always more violent and prolonged than a natural ones and can contribute to you feeling powerless, out of control. they don't follow the wave-like pattern and become intense quickly and remain intense for the longer period - more chanse of getting the epidural.
what you can do: have sexual intercouse - semen has prostaglandin wich can start labour. consult acupuncturist. try homeopathy - take Caulophyllum 30C every 2 hours 6 times a day. wait for 3 days and repeat. if the labour hasn't started, your baby is not ready. eat strong curry - spicy food can speed it up: ) WALK a lot as brisk as you can. if none of the above has any affect the chances are that your dates are not quite right or the "baking" of the baby is not quite done. there is no danger other than having a well-done baby in the end. sorry for the long post. it was too much of an issue for me - the battle with my OBGYNs - i had to educate myself quickly - and that before the age of internet!
Good Luck
V.

Hello M.,

I can understand your need for planning with your 2 year old and husband and having a feeling of security with your doctor, etc... with that said have you researched what the drug they use to induce does to you and the baby?

Do you realize that inducing with pitocin can lead to stronger contractions which often leads to an epidural and maybe then stalled labor.

I am not saying this to scare you but to just make you think before you decide to induce right now. Try accupuncture and if worse comes to worse get your membranes stripped before using pitocin.

I hope that you can wait another week at least before deciding to intervene; your baby is not ready that is why you are not going into labor ... let him or her come when she/he is ready (within reason of course).

Congratulations and the best of luck to you,
J.

Pitocin HURTS.

So if you can avoid it, do.

My situation was a bit different, but we induced and the contractions started very quickly. I am very small, so I ended up with a C section, although I most likely would have had one either way. My point is, I think if they give u the drugs to induce, the baby will come and u won;t get stuck in the hospital with nothing happening, as u suggested! Good luck!

Melisa,
I was induced with my 2nd child and was 2 weeks overdue.
I went in the morning to be induced and not a whole lot of action all day but did have contractions. Finally at 6 pm the doctor broke my water and by 7:20 she was born. It was a little scary but found that baby was healthy and I have had 2 other kids on my own with no inducing. Every one is different. Before I was induced I tried mineral oil and sex. I went into false labor. But anyway, your baby will come when it is ready, but try not to be afraid of inducing.

You might want to consider an appointment with a massage therapist who specializes in either pregnancy massage, or Maya Abdominal Massage. Here are two sites that offer practitioner locator features.

http://amtamassage.org/findamassage/locator.aspx

http://arvigomassage.com/practitioners_list.php

Best wishes

M.

INDUCE!, your baby is ripe and ready to be out! I have 3, ages 5, 3 and 1 and induced w/ #3 b/c I had to plan and schedule w/ the others! Congratulations in advance!

Hi M.,

Find a local acupuncturist who SPECIALIZES in women's health (and who therefore has the requisite experience). Call around, I'm sure there are several in or near your community. Someone with this background will be able to help stimulate natural labor in late pregnancy using tried and true points.

Best of luck!

S. I., L.Ac.
Lotus Wellspring Healthcare
456 E. Mission Road, Suite 100
San Marcos, CA 92069
###-###-####
____@____.com
www.lotuswellspring.com

M. D

When I was pregnant with my youngest, my ex induced labor while we had sex (my youngest was born July 5, 1979, his due date was estimated at July 9 or 10). My youngest was born the next day. He weighted in at 9lb 7oz and healthy as a horse.

Nature knows when your baby will be ready for birth, the date the doctors give you are only a rough estimate from what they know. If you are more than two weeks late the doctors will induce labor anyway for the safety of the baby. This happened with my daughter when she gave birth to my eldest grand-daughter. Have you discussed all of this with your OB? They should have already told you this. Congrats on your new baby and having healthy children. Good Luck!

I see you have a lot of responses, so I'll keep it short. I was induced with my third. I normally carry 42 weeks and this was at 41. Although convenient, I found my milk and all the "hurt" came about a week after child birth. When labor came on naturally these happened within two days. I would recommend not inducing. Good luck to you and your family...smooth delivery vibes to you.