Should I get induced or wait?

Question

I am 39 weeks 1 day pregnant. My Dr. says baby is healthy and ready to be delivered. She has scheduled me for an induction Monday night @ midnight (Tues. morn. the 2nd). I live along the Gulf coast near the water and she is concerned w/ me evacuating due to Gustav & would prefer me to deliver w/ her. I figure if I will be safe anywhere, it should be the hospital. Do you think I should go ahead w/ the induction or wait & let my body go into labor naturally (I'm due the 4th) but possibly be faced w/ evacuating?

Answer 1

I would be induced just to be on the safe side.  

Answer 2

I think you could go ahead and be induced.   However, maybe you'll go into labor before then.  What kind of induction will the be using?  I had bulb induction.  Because of the bulb induction method, I could not get an epidural until the bulb was out.

Answer 3

Personally, I'd listen to my doctor. It would be easier to get induced for you. You are plenty far enough along. I got induced at 38 wks. As long as the lungs are mature, then you can do what you want. I got induced so my grandma from another state could be there, and i had no problems . But thats something maybe you could discuss with your doctor about your concerns.

hope that helps

p.s the girl above me is right, the contractions are closer and stronger when you're induced, but heck, thats what pain shots and epidurals are for haha.

Answer 4

Because of the possible evacuation, I would go for it.  You aren't preterm, and it's better to deliver with an induction than on the side of the road when you are trying to evacuate.

Answer 5

i think you should wait , your baby will come when it is ready.

Induced labor is the stimulation of uterine contractions before they occur spontaneously. Induction is on the rise — in fact, the rate of induced labor doubled between 1989 and 1997, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. A 1999 report by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says that up to 15 percent of all deliveries are induced. However, ACOG advises that the benefits of inducing labor should be carefully weighed against the possible risks for mother and child before undertaking the procedure.

According to ACOG, some of the most common reasons for labor induction include:

    * Post-term pregnancy (two weeks or more past your due date)

    * Placental abruption

    * Chorioamnionitis (infection of the membranes enclosing the amniotic fluid)

    * Premature rupture of membranes

    * Preeclampsia

Other reasons for induction of labor are more logistical. For instance, if you live very far from your hospital or if you're at risk of rapid delivery, your doctor might decide to induce your labor after carefully weighing the risks versus the benefits. There is also an increase in women wishing to schedule labor for convenience. For instance, scheduling delivery around a move, a trip, or work. But in general, most doctors will not induce a woman as a matter of convenience.

How Is Labor Induced?

Before you can be induced, your cervix must be "ripe," or ready for labor. If the cervix isn't ripe, mechanical dilators and synthetic prostaglandins can help. Other methods include continuous intravenous oxytocin drip, and administration of the hormone relaxin. However, the safety and effectiveness of these two methods are unclear, according to ACOG.

Once your cervix is ready, labor can be induced by a doctor administering oxytocin, misprostol, or mifespristone. Oxytocin is the most commonly used labor-stimulating agent. Other methods of stimulating labor include nipple stimulation, stripping the amniotic membranes (amniotomy), or rupturing the amniotic membranes manually with a sterile hooked instrument (also called artificial rupture of membranes, or "breaking the water").

Artificial rupture of membranes is generally painless. It's usually very effective at triggering spontaneous labor, but in some cases spontaneous labor doesn't begin for a long while, or at all. That's why oxytocin is often given to help with the induction when your membranes are ruptured artificially.

Stripping of membranes is a bit different. In this case, your bag of waters is manually separated from your cervix. According to ACOG, this procedure results in more reported instances of spontaneous labor and fewer inductions in women who are post-term.

Nipple stimulation is also not a certain method of inducing labor, but it appears to work in some instances because it can trigger the release of naturally occurring oxytocin in your body.

Benefits and Risks of Induced Labor

If you're having medical problems, or your baby's health is at risk, induction can begin labor at a crucial time. If done properly, and by a qualified physician who has carefully considered your situation, it can lead to the safe delivery of a healthy baby or allow timely treatment of a baby who needs medical assistance.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), one risk that must be considered for labor induction is that the medication might make your contractions too strong. This can put stress on your uterus and on your baby. If this happens, your doctor might stop the medication and wait to see if the contractions lessen. Or he may decide to do a cesarean if he feels it's too risky to wait.

Risk of Cesarean

According to a June 2000 study in Obstetrics and Gynecology, for women with prolonged pregnancies, labor induction alone does not lead to a higher rate of cesarean delivery. The results of the study showed that risk factors, such as whether the woman had given birth previously or had an undilated cervix, rather than the labor induction alone, caused the generally higher number of cesarean deliveries noted in women with prolonged pregnancies.

But generally speaking, there's no sure way to know whether you'll need to have a cesarean in the event that you're induced. Discuss your concerns with your doctor, who can help identify any risk factors that could make a cesarean delivery more likely.

What Is the Labor Induction Procedure Like?

Labor induction itself is not painful. But once you're induced you may experience very strong contractions that can be painful. Your experience of pain is related to your tolerance for pain, your physical condition, your emotional and psychological condition. You can use nonmedical methods of coping with pain during labor, such as Lamaze or the Bradley Method. If you're still having trouble, talk with your doctor about medical methods of managing pain.

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Answer 6

If you are comfortable with it and your baby is healthy, I would. You don't want to have to worry about trying to evacuate and going into labor at the same time!

I hope it isn't too bad over there! We had a little storm  today and it caused major flooding!

Answer 7

i'd induce.

Answer 8

I would play it safe. Due what your doctor says. It's never a good idea to take a guess against mother nature.

Answer 9

there are pros and cons. you want your baby to be safe, thats first.

but, as someone who was induced i will say this: i will never do it again. it makes contractions much stronger and my labor was so bad that i blacked out several times from the pain.

if at all possible, i would not be induced. but if your doctor advises it i would do it. your baby comes first.

Answer 10

Wow.  I live on the Gulf Coast of Florida and I was told with my first pregnancy that something about the atmospheric pressure during a storm can trigger labor if you're ready.  They told me if I was beyond a certain point, they'd admit me just in case.

Having said that, I also know several women who had one child induced and the other came naturally.  The vast majority of them had a much better experience when the baby came on his/her own time.  Labor was faster, easier and less painful naturally.  I was scheduled to be induced with my first, but I was 41.5 weeks by then and my body was doing nothing much to prepare (only 1 cm dilated, etc.).  Long story, but I ended up with a c-section anyhow so I didn't really go through labor.

I personally would find out more information first.  No doubt your doctor is speaking from experience, but you also have a choice in this and sometimes I think doctors forget that.  Go with what your instincts tell you to do.  Best wishes to you.

Answer 11

yes do the induction. Your baby is full term and will be just fine. I would go with what your doctor is saying.