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?

I just checked out a new grocery store in our neighborhood and I was surprised to see several reserved parking spots.

This particular store has the usual spots for the employee of the month and the handicapped spots. However, it also had several reserved spots for pregnant women. I’ve seen this before, so I was only modestly surprised when I spotted the signs.

Another sign was posted on other reserved spots: this spot reserved for families with children. Wow!

As a mom of 5, I can tell you that I appreciate such courtesy. Not only do I have 5 children, but two of my children are legally blind. It is difficult at times to navigate parking lots with an infant, 2 blind teens, and 2 other children. In fact, I actually take parking lot issues into consideration when choosing stores at which to shop.

Some other things I consider are how crowded the store may be and how long it takes me to check out of the store! All of these things do make a difference in making your daily grind a little more bearable.

I purposely shop at the one pharmacy in town that has a drive thru for the sake of convenience as well. Since my children have many prescriptions which must be filled on a monthly basis, this option makes it a little less stressful for all of us.

I personally would LOVE to see check out lines that are solely to be used by parents of very young infants. I remember how frustrating it was to make the huge effort to get everyone out to do the grocery shopping in those early weeks of my son’s life only to find that you had to stand in a long line to check out. Of course, it either ran into nap or feeding time, which prompted the baby to have a meltdown.

Do you feel that reserved parking spots for pregnant women and parents with children are a good idea or a bad idea? Have you ever used a pharmacy drive thru in order to avoid having to take your children in and out of the vehicle?