38 Week Elective Induction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the feed back. I have had a normal healthy pregnancy and there are no risk factors involved. So far they think the baby is a normal size. I sort of got the feeling that the doctor could just cross me off his list if he scheduled this elective induction for no reason.

Good for you, OP, for questioning the decision. You could easily go well past Thanksgiving. It's generally best for the baby, and for you, to enter labor naturally if there are no reasons to do otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was electively induced at 38 weeks with #1 and plan to do the same with #2 in a few weeks. Our baby was measuring big (confirmed by ultrasound) and given the size of my husband (big, tall guy) and the fact that I am fairly tall, coupled with gestational diabetes, it made sense that our baby was going to be big. In addition, it was the week before Thanksgiving with #1 and will be the week before Christmas with #2. I can honestly say that my entire birth experience was the most pleasant, uncomplicated thing I could ever have dreamed of having. We started the induction early in the a.m., broke my water a few hours later, got an epidural, had a fun and enjoyable afternoon chatting with my husband / parents, napping and watching tv and pushed for 15-20 minutes at 5 p.m. and delivered a healthy, happy 8lb 15oz, 22in baby boy who had absolutely no medical issues whatsoever. Two years later, my Dr. still talks about my textbook-perfect vaginal birth (which I have to believe might not have been the case two weeks later given the size of our son at birth). You will hear all types of stories as everyone is different, but I wanted to share a positive one and am thrilled that it looks like I am going to be able to induce again with #2 - especially since that will allow me to be home with my family (since H1N1 restrictions are limiting visitors) for the holidays.

PP, congrats on your great birth story. But no baby's size is "confirmed by ultrasound." Ultrasound just offers a bunch of statistics based on all previous babies' measurements. It confirms nothing. For every baby who an ultrasound predicted to be big and who ended up being big, there is a baby who an ultrsound predicted to be big and who ended up being small. Like my daughter, who the ultrasound predicted wound be an 8 pounder, but who ended up being 5 lbs, 14 oz.

Right on. Ultrasounds are ballpark guesses at best.

Also keep in mind that smaller women, such as myself (5'2, 120 lbs pre-pg), give birth to big babies (DC1 9lbs 4oz, DC2 9lbs 8oz) without issues as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the feed back. I have had a normal healthy pregnancy and there are no risk factors involved. So far they think the baby is a normal size. I sort of got the feeling that the doctor could just cross me off his list if he scheduled this elective induction for no reason.

Wow, there is obviously no medical basis for an induction in your case.

Definitely stand your ground and keep that baby cooking! Good luck, OP.

[Anonymous]

I'm have an elective induction two days before my due date. My doctor discussed the entire process with me and told me that there are no (additional) risks associated with the induction. The induction is prompted by a hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor. My doctor told me that the induction would not increase the risk of a cesarean when performed on me given the position of the baby and the state of my cervix. Moreover, she told me that many patients who choose not to use pain medication during labor choose to be induced or use pitocin. Moreover, many labors these days seem to involve Pitocin even when they are not induced. I am planning to have an epideral so this isn't a worry for me.

I find it hard to believe that a doctor would want you to be induced just so that he/she could have Thanksgiving off! My medical practice (like most) has multiple doctors who alternatve shifts at the hospital. And so, my decision to be induced would not given my doctor the day off.

During your next appointment, I would be prepared with questions to ask your doctor about the induction and how it might affect your delivery and baby. Whatever you decide, hearing from your doctor should make you feel better about your decision. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

As the previous poster who shared the positive induction story, let me also add that ultrasound can confirm size progression of a baby and given that I had several ultrasounds to track that progression, we knew the baby was at a healthy size. One random ultrasound does have a margin of error, but the current technology is still pretty accurate. Please people, save the judgemental ignorance for when you have all the facts.

Good luck OP. I'm sure you will have a great experience regardless of what YOU and your physycian decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm have an elective induction two days before my due date. My doctor discussed the entire process with me and told me that there are no (additional) risks associated with the induction. The induction is prompted by a hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor. My doctor told me that the induction would not increase the risk of a cesarean when performed on me given the position of the baby and the state of my cervix. Moreover, she told me that many patients who choose not to use pain medication during labor choose to be induced or use pitocin. Moreover, many labors these days seem to involve Pitocin even when they are not induced. I am planning to have an epideral so this isn't a worry for me.

I find it hard to believe that a doctor would want you to be induced just so that he/she could have Thanksgiving off! My medical practice (like most) has multiple doctors who alternatve shifts at the hospital. And so, my decision to be induced would not given my doctor the day off.

did your doctor also offer you a bridge for sale? seems like she had a very strong likelihood of purchase from you!

the onset of "induced" labors has drastically decreased weekend births, births in the middle of the night... you don't think doctor schedules are part of that? they're just lucky i guess.

and as a natural birth'er here, i know a lot of other women who went the unmedicated route. none of them chose pitocin or an induction. i would bet my last dollar that your OB doesn't know very many at all and she's just telling you what you want to hear. very few women who want to go without pain medication will accept a drug-induced labor b/c it restricts movement, creates contractions that are stronger than your body's own contractions -- the whole concept is simply antithetical to what they're looking for. so your OB is full of shit. and if she doesn't have a bridge for sale that interests you, i do. and i'll even throw in some swamp land in florida.

[Anonymous]

My doctor has never imposed anything upon me. Instead, she always presents me with my options and discusses them carefully and openly with me. She has never rushed my decision making process or put pressure on me. My mother and sister both used Pitocin during one of their pregnancies and no pain medication. All of their children turned out healthy and happy! I'm not sure that making a decision based upon an Internet article or two about induction is safer than talking to your doctor about the risks and benefits of a medical decision or procedure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My doctor has never imposed anything upon me. Instead, she always presents me with my options and discusses them carefully and openly with me. She has never rushed my decision making process or put pressure on me. My mother and sister both used Pitocin during one of their pregnancies and no pain medication. All of their children turned out healthy and happy! I'm not sure that making a decision based upon an Internet article or two about induction is safer than talking to your doctor about the risks and benefits of a medical decision or procedure.

This is 10:01 again... I just want to add that my doctors are on a rotating schedule at the hospital. If anything, I think that my doctor is excited to be able to share the birth of my child with my husband and me. If I go before or after then, I will have a different doctor from the practice who is on call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My doctor has never imposed anything upon me. Instead, she always presents me with my options and discusses them carefully and openly with me. She has never rushed my decision making process or put pressure on me. My mother and sister both used Pitocin during one of their pregnancies and no pain medication. All of their children turned out healthy and happy! I'm not sure that making a decision based upon an Internet article or two about induction is safer than talking to your doctor about the risks and benefits of a medical decision or procedure.

This is 10:01 again... I just want to add that my doctors are on a rotating schedule at the hospital. If anything, I think that my doctor is excited to be able to share the birth of my child with my husband and me. If I go before or after then, I will have a different doctor from the practice who is on call.

How about making the decision based on scientific research? Not sure where your doc is coming from, but everything you said in your first post about what she told you about induced labors is the opposite of what my doctors told me. And they told me this even though I was having a non-elective indicution, just to prepare me for what could be a rough labor that would end in a c/s. I ended up having a very good experience with induction, but I just don't get the women and doctors who ignore the studies that say there is a risk inherent in induced birth, especially when it comes to an elective induction prior to term.

Take a look:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10831992
RESULTS: Elective induction placed nulliparas at a twofold higher risk for cesarean delivery (odds ratio 2.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2, 4.9) after adjustment for birth weight, maternal age, and gestational age. Electively induced labors that ended in vaginal delivery cost $273 more and required an average of 4 hours more in the hospital before delivery than did noninduced vaginal deliveries (P <.001). CONCLUSION: Elective induction significantly increased the risk of cesarean delivery for nulliparas, and increased in-hospital predelivery time and costs.

http://www.expectantmothersguide.com/library/pittsburgh/EPGinduction.htm
A study recently printed in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggests that using medications to start labor should be reserved for situations where continuing the pregnancy presents a clear health risk to either mother or baby.

The study, conducted in Belgium, compared over 15,000 births occurring over one year (1996-7) in first-time mothers. All women had healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies. At their request, half had labor induced artificially shortly before their due dates. The other half went into labor naturally. The women with induced labors used significantly more pain medication and had more cesarean births due to both fetal distress and stalled labors. That group also had more forceps and vacuum births and had more babies admitted to intensive care.

[Anonymous]

Here's one more article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33483153/ns/health-pregnancy/

Induced labor is on the rise for lots of reasons, some medical and some not. But recent research shows a troubling link between elective inductions and these so-called "late preemies." These aren't the dire too-small babies that the word premature conjures, but near-term babies who nonetheless are at higher risk of breathing disorders and other problems than babies who finish their very last weeks in the womb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm have an elective induction two days before my due date. My doctor discussed the entire process with me and told me that there are no (additional) risks associated with the induction. The induction is prompted by a hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor. My doctor told me that the induction would not increase the risk of a cesarean when performed on me given the position of the baby and the state of my cervix. Moreover, she told me that many patients who choose not to use pain medication during labor choose to be induced or use pitocin. Moreover, many labors these days seem to involve Pitocin even when they are not induced. I am planning to have an epideral so this isn't a worry for me.

I find it hard to believe that a doctor would want you to be induced just so that he/she could have Thanksgiving off! My medical practice (like most) has multiple doctors who alternatve shifts at the hospital. And so, my decision to be induced would not given my doctor the day off.

During your next appointment, I would be prepared with questions to ask your doctor about the induction and how it might affect your delivery and baby. Whatever you decide, hearing from your doctor should make you feel better about your decision. Good luck!

Adrenaline is also a "hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor." Nevertheless, I would not want to be given a bit IV full of it. Ditto testosterone, progesterone, and a dozen other "natural hormones." When will people get over the notion that if it's natural, it's okay to put into your body, and nothing bad can happen.

You are very naive.

[Anonymous]

I don't think its very nice to call someone naive for trusting the advice of their doctor. For all you know, this is the first she has ever read that inductions DO carry risks, and nothing she's heard before gave her reason to believe her doctor didn't have the whole story. I think its unfortunate that some doctors are not up-to-date with the latest in medical studies but that doesn't mean the doctor was lying or acting in bad faith. You will have a much easier time converting people to their point of view if you say something like, "maybe your doc doesn't have the whole story--new research shows XYZ" rather than "you are naive and your doc is selling you [crap]."

For the record, I don't support any medical procedure that isn't warranted by medical need--would you take Tylenol when you didn't hurt or have a fever?--and I do feel its important that we inform ourselves about our own health issues, share what we find with our doctors, and use that IN CONJUNCTION WITH their advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm have an elective induction two days before my due date. My doctor discussed the entire process with me and told me that there are no (additional) risks associated with the induction. The induction is prompted by a hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor. My doctor told me that the induction would not increase the risk of a cesarean when performed on me given the position of the baby and the state of my cervix. Moreover, she told me that many patients who choose not to use pain medication during labor choose to be induced or use pitocin. Moreover, many labors these days seem to involve Pitocin even when they are not induced. I am planning to have an epideral so this isn't a worry for me.

I find it hard to believe that a doctor would want you to be induced just so that he/she could have Thanksgiving off! My medical practice (like most) has multiple doctors who alternatve shifts at the hospital. And so, my decision to be induced would not given my doctor the day off.

During your next appointment, I would be prepared with questions to ask your doctor about the induction and how it might affect your delivery and baby. Whatever you decide, hearing from your doctor should make you feel better about your decision. Good luck!

Adrenaline is also a "hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor." Nevertheless, I would not want to be given a bit IV full of it. Ditto testosterone, progesterone, and a dozen other "natural hormones." When will people get over the notion that if it's natural, it's okay to put into your body, and nothing bad can happen.

You are very naive.




10:01 here. I teach critical thinking and logic at a university. I hardly think that I am naive about this. In any case, as is the case with many issues, you can find selective scientific articles on the Internet or in journals that support your point of view. But until you do a comprehensive search, your results may only reinforce your own position. I certainly don't think that we should needlessly inject hormones into our bodies. However, if there is a two day difference between the time at which my body would otherwise experience the hormone, I am not particularly worried about it.

I am also not a fanatic about going natural. If I have a killer migraine headache, I am going to take something for it- even though it might be associated with certain risks.

In any case, I have no reason to believe that my doctor is uninformed, biased, or insensitive. In fact, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about her and the medical treatment that I have received so far.

It is unfortunate that people are so pushy and rude on forums. Just as with H1N1, people sometimes spread paranoia about things and base their positions on selective 'evidence'. I am not suggesting that I am completely informed about this issue. But, given that I am not, I am going to trust my doctor who has done far more research on the topic than I have.

[Anonymous]

But, given that I am not, I am going to trust my doctor who has done far more research on the topic than I have.

What makes you think your doctor has done any research at all on the topic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm have an elective induction two days before my due date. My doctor discussed the entire process with me and told me that there are no (additional) risks associated with the induction. The induction is prompted by a hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor. My doctor told me that the induction would not increase the risk of a cesarean when performed on me given the position of the baby and the state of my cervix. Moreover, she told me that many patients who choose not to use pain medication during labor choose to be induced or use pitocin. Moreover, many labors these days seem to involve Pitocin even when they are not induced. I am planning to have an epideral so this isn't a worry for me.

I find it hard to believe that a doctor would want you to be induced just so that he/she could have Thanksgiving off! My medical practice (like most) has multiple doctors who alternatve shifts at the hospital. And so, my decision to be induced would not given my doctor the day off.

During your next appointment, I would be prepared with questions to ask your doctor about the induction and how it might affect your delivery and baby. Whatever you decide, hearing from your doctor should make you feel better about your decision. Good luck!

Adrenaline is also a "hormone that your body naturally emits when you go into labor." Nevertheless, I would not want to be given a bit IV full of it. Ditto testosterone, progesterone, and a dozen other "natural hormones." When will people get over the notion that if it's natural, it's okay to put into your body, and nothing bad can happen.

You are very naive.


Similarly, you cannot infer that something is wrong or bad just because it is unnatural.