Nature typically prepares the cervix for delivery in the most efficient, comfortable way. However, when there's concern about mother's or baby's health or the pregnancy continues two weeks past the due date, inducing labor might be the best option.
Babies born early (called premature babies) may have more health problems at birth and later in life than babies born on time. This is why it's important to wait until at least 39 weeks to induce labor. If your pregnancy is healthy, it's best to let labor begin on its own.
Induced labour is usually more painful than labour that starts on its own, and you may want to ask for an epidural. Your pain relief options during labour are not restricted by being induced. You should have access to all the pain relief options usually available in the maternity unit.
Promoting Nature's Plan and Normal Birth
However, when it comes to babies and birth, unless there is a clear medical indication that induction of labor will do more good than harm, nature beats science hands down. For both mothers and babies, it is safe and wise to wait patiently until labor begins on its own.
What are the risks of labor induction? With some induction methods, the uterus can be overstimulated, causing it to contract too often. Too many contractions may lead to changes in the fetal heart rate. Other risks of cervical ripening and labor induction can include infection in the woman or her fetus.
Usually, labor induction is recommended when nearing one to two weeks beyond the due date and labor has not begun on its own, or when the risks of continuing the pregnancy for the mother, baby, or both outweigh the benefits of waiting to go into labor.
If you're a candidate for elective induction, it helps to know some of the risks. These include: Infection: Rupturing the membranes too early in the laboring process may increase the risk of infection for you and your baby. Fetal distress: Oxytocin or prostaglandins are supposed to increase contractions.
Increased Risk of Complications
Inducing labor involves intervening in the body's natural processes by breaking the amniotic sac, using medication, or both. However it's done, it can lead to fetal distress (such as abnormal heart rate). 1 In addition, when labor is induced using medication, labor may take longer.
Your doctor or midwife will recommend being induced if they think it will be better for you or your baby than to wait. It is generally more painful than labour that starts naturally but the usual pain relief options will still be available to you.
Researchers have found that inducing labor after 37 weeks of pregnancy can lower the risk of perinatal mortality without increasing caesarean section rates. However, babies born to mothers who are induced are more likely to be admitted to a special care baby unit.
How Long Will My Induction Take? It can take up to two or three days to induce labor, but it usually takes less time. It may take more time if you're being induced before you're full-term or if it's your first baby.
Induction keeps the baby from getting any bigger, which lowers the risk of Cesarean. Elective Cesareans for big baby are only beneficial; that is, they don't have major risks that could outweigh the benefits.
Induced labor can reduce maternal anxiety and discomfort related to normal pregnancy, especially when the patient lives far from the hospital or has a history of previous pregnancy with labor abnormalities, or in case of concern for rapid labor in multiparous women.
In natural labour, the contractions build up slowly, but in induced labour they can start more quickly and be stronger.
However, the proportion of cesarean delivery was significantly lower for the induced group (18.6 percent), compared to the other group (22.2 percent).
If you're induced, 3 in 10 are, it can take a while before you go into labour, so don't worry if it takes 2 or 3 days. Some women say an induced labour can also hurt more than a natural labour, so make sure you're prepared and have thought about pain relief.
The time it takes to go into labor after being induced varies and can take anywhere from a few hours to 2-3 days. In most healthy pregnancies, labor usually starts spontaneously between weeks 37 and 42.
When induction fails, it is most often because your baby wasn't ready to be born and your body hadn't had the signal it was expecting to get ready. Induction interferes with the normal process your body is expecting and either doesn't respond well or refuses to cooperate.
If you have been offered an induction of labour for a specific reason, but you do not want this, you can choose to wait for natural labour or plan a caesarean birth instead. Speak with your healthcare professional as early as possible to discuss your options.
The rate of induction of labor in the U.S. has risen from 9.6% in 1990 to 25.7% in 2018, including 31.7% of first-time births. Recent studies that have examined inductions have been small qualitative studies or relied on either medical records or administrative data.
It can also be a little uncomfortable to have your water broken. You may feel a tug followed by a warm trickle or gush of fluid. With prostaglandin, you might have some strong cramping as well. With oxytocin, contractions are usually more frequent and regular than in a labor that starts naturally.
If one week has passed since the due date, inducing labor can lower the risk of the baby dying. But this risk is generally very low: it happens in about 3 out of 1,000 births when labor isn't induced. Inducing labor can also lower the risk of serious breathing problems and of having to have a Cesarean section.
If someone is over 37 weeks pregnant and their waters break with no signs of labour, they may be offered the choice of an induction or 24 hours to wait and see if labour starts . It always remains the woman's decision to accept or decline an induction.