The risks of induced labor
Have you ever considered inducing labor? A friend of mine did this – twice. And with the help of her midwife. Each time, she wanted to deliver a few days before her due date in order to be able to fly to attend a wedding party. The first time it worked out and everything went well. The second time, something went wrong and she had to have an emergency C-section. Luckily, she and her baby came through safe and sound.
But seriously, I think it was very irresponsible of her. And of her midwife. Forcing your baby out of your tummy because you don’t want to miss a party is – well – I’d rather not say it.
There are medical reasons when labor has to be induced and the most common are when baby’s long overdue, way beyond (more than 6 days) the expected date. A lot of inductions, however, are done for convenience, according to researchers at La Trobe University, Australia.
Researchers advise against induction of labor unless absolutely necessary. And before doing so, the benefits should be weighed against the risks.
So what are the risks?
According to the Australian study:
- Induced labors increased the risk for C-section (2 to 4 times more), forceps delivery (20 to 70%), and hemorrhage (17%) compared to spontaneous deliveries.
- It also increased the likelihood for babies to be in need of neonatal care (24%) and active resuscitation (15 to 100%).
- For the mother, the risk of tearing of the perineum or episiotomy is high during induced labor compared to spontaneous delivery.
And what are the benefits?
Other than convenience, you mean? Hmmm………..
What about you? Would you go for induced labor for the sake of convenience?
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Kimberly says...
No, I wouldn’t induce for convenience. But I was induced on my duedate when having my son. He was measuring huge in ultrasounds and my blood pressure was through the roof. I’d been on bed rest for a couple weeks. But all the pitocin in the world wouldn’t budge him from his comfy spot…so I had to have an emerg. c-sect. after 8 hrs. labor. I often wonder how things might have gone if we could have waited to see if he’d come on his own. (I did not have gest. diabetes, tho he was 10lb 4oz which is huge by anyone’s standards!)
Holly Tried It says...
I was induced, but I had already been in non-productive labor for 20+ hours. I ended up having a C-section, but it was because my daughter was in distress. Turns out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and had been for several days.
Holly Tried Its last blog post..What I Want for Christmas: More Firm Wave DVDs, a Trench Coat, a Laptop….
Beth Everett says...
I was induced at exactly 39 weeks because I was a candidate for precipitous labor. I had my first baby prematurely at 33 weeks in 6 hours start to finish, so my doctor wanted a little bit more control over the second one. The labor was horrible compared to the natural labor with my first child, the contractions were back to back and an 11 on a scale on 1 to 10. It hurt horribly when my water was broken, and I ended up having an unplanned epidural to control the unending, unendurable pain.
Dawn says...
As I posted in Ashley Lyn’s birth story, I tried to avoid induction at all costs–even against the advice of one of the physicians and two of the midwives.
In fact, it would have been more convenient for me to induce rather than going 12 days past my due date! In addition to my three weeks of painful false labor,mMy mother in law was coming to visit on Oct. 16 (Ashley was born Oct. 12) and I wanted some time alone with my daughter before having guests. (That worked out for the best, tho, as I was super-grateful to have her around in those first days!!)
Also, we had a wedding in late November, and I wanted time to get into a smaller size (I was a bridesmaid) AND have Ashley established on a bottle, with me pumping milk. Neither happened, but we managed… we were lucky she transitioned from bottle to breast easily from day one!
It’s funny, Science-mom (and GMTA!) I had meant to post on this very topic before Ashley was born.
Sure there are medical reasons to be induced, but if you’re striving for a natural childbirth, it’s best to wait it out. In fact, I believe as long as the baby is safe, it’s okay to go longer than two weeks past, even. (Although good luck finding any midwife or doctor who would allow that!)
They finally had to induce me (with Cervadil at first) because my water broke… although we didn’t even need Pitocin and I wonder if 45 hours after my water broke was just when Ashley would have come, intervention or not. I guess it doesn’t matter, although I still have a scar from the IV and occasional pain in that spot. (Everything else healed fine and the baby is fine, so that’s what matters). The nurse who inserted the IV was a barbarian!
Kimberly–I’m surprised they even tried to let you have a vaginal birth with a 10 lb. baby! The obs at my hospital wouldn’t… they do an automatic c-section at anything more than 9.5.
Dawns last blog post..Whatever it Takes
tjwriter says...
I’m not a fan of induction, though I just had one that I was really hoping to avoid. However, showing some pre-eclampsia symptoms was also scary and induction was in our best interests.
However, I think I was a hair’s breadth away from going to labor on my own, so it didn’t take much to get me going. I wasn’t even really in pain until my doctor broke my water.
Everyone I work with is all about c-sections and inductions, which is frightening. The Friday before I induced, my doctor rechecked my urine and blood pressure for the pre-e and decided it wasn’t urgent enough to go that day and we scheduled for the following Monday if I didn’t go on my own.
When I got to work, everyone seemed shocked that I didn’t rush in to have an induction that day. You would think they would be grateful I came in to wrap everything up before I left, but nope.
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