09/03/2022
"Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.” - Kahlil Gibran
As a home birth midwife & medical doctor, I work hard to help women avoid unnecessary medical interventions - and one of these that is far too overused is inductions - many times for non-medical indications.
Normal gestation is considered to be 42 weeks. Because there is evidence of a small increase in stillbirth in pregnancies between 41 and 42 weeks and another small increase between 42 and 43 weeks, most doctors are anxious to induce around your due date. However, most women will go into labor at 41 weeks spontaneously, without complications.
Unnecessary inductions can lead to unnecessary problems that necessitate further interventions that substantially increase health & safety risks for mom and baby.
But sometimes labor induction is medically necessary. So how do you decide whether it's the right direction to go in for you & your baby?
Let's start with when induction may be needed.
🤰🏻Any medical circumstance in which it's safer with baby out than in.
🤰🏻Preeclampsia, eclampsia
🤰🏻HELLP syndrome, diabetes
🤰🏻Intrauterine Fetal Growth Restriction (IFGR)
🤰🏻Infection of the amniotic membranes (chorioamnionitis)
🤰🏻Placental abruption
🤰🏻Pregnancy with multiple babies might be an indication for induction in some cases, but should be evaluated individually
Induction for convenience-sake is not a medical indication and is best avoided. Baby's estimated weight/size is usually not a true medical indication either. Even with highly skilled docs, midwives, and techs, there is a wide margin of error in baby's weight. And many women can give birth to babies weighing 10 pounds without a problem!
Regardless of the data, doctors tend to push inductions due to legal fears & liabilities. So if your doc is pushing you to induce, know that you have the right to ask questions. Approaching your birth as a partnership with your medical provider will build a bridge between you two. But ultimately, it's your pregnancy, your rules.
For more on labor induction, see the link https://avivaromm.com/labor-induction-informed-choice/ for my article Making an Informed Choice About Labor Induction.
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