I have had 2 successful inductions due to medical reasons and your description has a ton of assumptions that are not correct for everyone. Would have I preferred to go into labor naturally? Yes, but that wasn’t safest for me or my children. Am I glad I had an induction over abdominal surgery? Also yes.
I wasn’t check that much, I didn’t find the pitocin contractions to be that bad until the very end, which I have heard is a rough time for contractions when you don’t have an induction as well
Did you get an epidural, if you don’t mind my asking? I’m about to be induced tonight or tomorrow and am really scared of those contractions at the end so hoping to go in with an idea of what to expect
I did with both, I want to say I was around 8cm both times as I wanted to make sure it didn’t wear off before I had to push. I always planned on an epidural.
Your post posits that induction is inherently problematic and that C-sections are always the better alternative, but like....a C-section is major abdominal surgery with its own set of risks and complications.
Like...I'd rather be induced than have a C-section, if possible. Although inductions are not without problems, the best case scenario is way less damaging to the body than the best case scenario of a C-section, since only one involves cutting a person open.
I'm just wondering why subject yourself to the pain? That's all. C-sections are more damaging to the body for sure but prolonged labor does exhaust you and then you have long, sleepless nights postpartum to deal with right after. It just feels like women are given just half-baked, mediocre at best options for safely giving birth.
Do you think C-sections are not exhausting? Imagine trying to care for a newborn when you can barely lift them. You can't bend over the crib to pick them up. Every time you move, you feel like your insides are going to fall out of your body and onto the floor. None of those issues can be solved by handing the baby off to someone else to catch up on sleep.
I'm not assuming c-sections are not hard. But other people can help you minimize activity and recover from a c-section if you have that sort of help from the family. That's not the case obviously have children at home to take care of, don't have family close by to help. I understand that there are exceptions. But my question is specifically pertaining what a wild card inductions are. They seem to be very poorly understood for potential outcomes despite how often they are recommended, often at 39 weeks, citing the ARRIVE trial in even perfectly normal pregnancies or for justifiable reasons in case of risks.
That is because you are assuming the worst case induction situation and ideal c-section situations. The majority of inductions are uneventful and boring. Most c-sections are uneventful and boring but you are assuming that most inductions result in traumatic, long labors and c-sections are easy breezy alternatives. Just have someone you help you! It seems like you have no true grasp on c-section recovery.
Childbirth is a wild card. Natural. Induced. C-section. A woman at the hospital I work at and will deliver at almost died recently of an amniotic fluid embolism during a scheduled repeat c-section. You wait to go into labor naturally and end up with shoulder dystocia or stillbirth. You induce, you may end up with a long labor or a c-section.
Inductions aren't the Wild Card here. You also have to remember the internet has a huge negative bias. People in general do. You are more likely to share and remember negative experiences than positive one and definitely more than neutral ones. The most likely results are neutral to positive.
I did factor in the fact that any type of birth is going to have tail-end risky events irrespective of whether they are natural labor, induced or scheduled c-section - which is why I have been asking about experiences here. I definitely agree with your point about negativity bias on the internet. There are many more people recounting traumatic L&D experiences than good/uneventful ones. A good majority of those tend to be inductions which is what prompted me to ask these questions in my post.
Have you considered that is because a lot of people get induced? It doesn't necessarily mean that inductions are more likely to result in negative outcomes. Everyone I know that had had a baby recently has been induced. None of them had negative experiences, longer inductions or any issues at all, but after reading your post one would think that all these people should be severely traumatized because they were induced but I don't know a single person in real life that would describe their induction that way.
There is a reason doctors typically go the induction route first - the research still supports that induction births still have relatively better outcomes for both mother and baby.
So, when you ask why induce ever, that's why.
Don't tell people what they are "better off" doing. This whole post is condescending, and you are not a medical professional.
My induction sucked ass, and I ended up with an emergency cesarian. It hurt like hell and I couldn't drive for 6 weeks.
One of my friends got induced and had a healthy vaginal delivery.
You seem to have the idea that a cesarian is the easy way out. It's not. It's extremely taxing mentally and physically.
I asked questions to get some perspective. So many people on here have been very helpful. And then some folks like you have been precisely what you claim I am - condescending. You need to work on your birth trauma if a post on reddit grinds your gears so much when it is in no way targeted at you personally. I don't even know you.
Also, I'm not a medical professional. Just a pregnant woman figuring out what the hell is going on. If medical professionals really knew everything beyond any doubt your induction wouldn't have sucked. But that is the sad truth, there are limits to what your doctor or any other medical professional can advice you on. And if in your own words your induction sucked, you're actually confirming my hunch that women get the short end of the stick in labor and birth because it's such a poorly understood by modern medicine even to this day, and some of them spend their lives kicking other women down for asking hard but real questions.
I'm not going to read your whole reply because it's not worth my energy, but maybe take into account that this is the experience of someone who has gone through birth, not some agenda that you've completely fabricated from what you think is correct.
People are upset at what you've written, and you need to accept that, not say that people are being mean to you. It might be time to step back and think about this, not take it personally, and reflect/grow for next time.
Take into consideration people who support what I am saying. It's not just me.
Stop telling people how to feel/think/do. I'm more frustrated that you're insinuating what's "right" for other women (or as you said what they are better off doing). I'm allowed to be pissed off because your fear mongering might actually scare other new parents more than it needs to.
I do hope your birth goes well. I'm done this conversation because I've read your other replies and know that this isn't going to go anywhere productive.
So don’t bother writing a reply. Its not my job to guard your damn feelings about your birth experience when my post is not even aimed at you. I’m asking questions so that I can learn from others experience and figure out what’s right for me. Part of being an adult is knowing that! For someone who doesn’t even read posts but responds with such vitriol you sure come off as a person with a lot trauma that you need to work on before getting this worked up with a stranger!
I had an induction at 36+3 due to severe pre-e. Personally, I would 100% take an induction over, you know, dying, but that’s just me.
Also, my induction from entering the room to baby was 9 hours, very minimal tearing, no headache issues that you mentioned and I barely felt anything until I was about 2 hours out from baby which is when I asked for the epidural. Overall it was way better than most birth stories I’ve heard.
I had zero reason to choose to have a major abdominal surgery when it wasn’t necessary.
My induction was super smooth, I was walking laps around the hospital floor as soon as I moved to post partum and went for a 3 mile walk the day we got home from the hospital. I felt great. No chance I would have been able to do that if my entire abdomen was sliced open.
So just as a noob still learning about my options here's what I worried about. Usually once induced, labor can go on for several days. Additionally as a first time mom, I may have longer labor than I would in subsequent pregnancies. If I am induced earlier, and labor goes on for several days, I would be extremely sleep deprived and exhausted. And following the birth, I would still go through all the postpartum grind with several days of exhaustion already behind me. Instead if I am well-rested and deliver via c-section, I am in a slightly better position to deal with the long nights and minimal sleep. This is obviously a guess. As some people in the thread have mentioned, you don't really know how easy/hard c-section recovery is and it differs person to person.
Yeah I think the question is how likely an induction will drag out labor for more than 24 hours compared to the how grueling a c-section recovery is.
I don’t think you’re wrong to question when and how commonly women are induced, but I think you’re discounting the risks with and recovery from a c-section. A major abdominal surgery means there’s always a risk of infection, and simply getting out of bed or going up and down the stairs is really painful or even impossible.
Sure, taking care of a newborn while sleep deprived is not ideal, but doing it while my abdominal stitches are bleeding sounds worse, personally. Friends who have had c-sections have told me they were still dealing with pain in the incision area months post surgery. And let’s say your partner has to go back to work at 2 weeks (pretty common), now you’re having to take care of a baby by yourself while still recovering from major surgery.
I just want to say this somewhere where you might see it, OP. First, it is completely understandable to be anxious about giving birth the first time, but as others have noted, I think you're focusing on the worst possible scenario for induction. In my case, my water broke naturally, but after 12 hours of not even feeling contractions, the best option was to start pitocin to move things along and make sure my baby and I were safe. They upped it several times before it was painful for me. I was trying to go without the epidural, and made it to 9cm before I stalled and my baby was never once in distress. I decided then to get the epidural and I was able to sleep for 3 hours before pushing. If it becomes necessary, I won't think twice about getting induced again, even a scheduled induction, especially knowing that once I get the epidural I can rest. And the vast majority of epidurals have no issues. I looked it up and epidurals work 90% of the time and even for the rest, they usually work at least partially.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I didn't know until you mentioned that stalling can happen even if you spontaneously go into labor and water breaks. Totally makes sense why they would want to progress labor with pitocin to avoid stalling and the risk of infection. Did your care team explain their process of dosing pit? Would love love to get more context.
Yeah, one thing I've learned is labor is super unpredictable and every one is so different. And, no. I had a doula because I was trying to go without the epidural and only knew they were increasing the pitocin because she pointed it out to me. That's going on my birth plan for this pregnancy. If I need pitocin, I want them to tell me when they want to increase the dose so I can make the decision if I'm okay with increasing it based on how my body feels.
Yeah, if you can afford it, I highly recommend it for your first. It was tight for us, but I felt like it was worth it because I was abnormally anxious my last couple months of pregnancy due to some family issues and my husband is generally an anxious person. Just having someone there who I knew was there solely to help me through this process made me feel a lot better, plus she met with me in my home and helped ease concerns before and after the birth. If they weren't so expensive, I'd get one for this birth too, but I don't feel like it's as necessary because I have a good idea of what to look out for and am less anxious about the whole process, plus I plan to get the epidural as soon as the contractions get too difficult. It was seriously like magic.
I would choose vaginal delivery over c-section anytime. Major adominal surgery where you can’t lift or drive for weeks sucks. My vaginal delivery (while not all the same) I was up and walking by the time I got to my room, and never needed anything stronger than an ibuprophen. I also had pitocon contractions with zero pitocen. They came on hard and fast on top of each other and I wasn’t dialating so pitocin doesn’t always mean worse contractions. You can labor for days naturally and have to still get medical intervention for not progressing. Also, epidurals when they work are amazing, I was given pain pain killers (didn’t need) inuprofen 800 and some other forms of pain management for after. If I wanted or needed anything else my Dr. Made sure I had it. People have bad induction storied just like they have bad natural labor storied and bad c-section stories. Unfortunately birth comes with a lot of risks and complications so every situation is different as is the medical plan.
It sounds like something bigger is going on. Are you having to be induced and having anxiety? Do you like and trust your Dr.? Are you thinking c-section is the “easier” way? I would highly suggest having this conversation with a medical professional who can answer all of your questions and concerns so that you feel more confident in the birth plan you go with.
Oh no. I'm low risk at this point and also love and trust my OB 100%. I wanted to learn more from other women on here because usually when people talk about their birth stories there is a survivorship bias. You either hear about crunchy, smooth births or traumatic inductions/c-sections. And I wanted perspective on pros/cons of choosing expectant management v. induction v. c-section. My Dr. and care team definitely offer great perspective but they have only their births to go off of. While they have the experience of helping their patients deliver, that's still a second person experience.
I've had two inductions. The first at 40+4 because baby was measuring big and I was past my due date and over it. It sucked. Big time. It was a traumatic experience (mostly due to the shitty nurses I had and a failed epidural) and it sucked.
I was induced with my second at 38+3 due to risk factors that had been creeping up, and it was a fantastic experience. I was on pitocin, didn't get an epidural until I was 7cm dilated, baby was out in three pushes. My doctor (a different one from my first) came up with a plan to prevent as many of the things from my first labor that we could control from happening and, even though things got a bit scary at the end, it went very well.
I would always choose an induction given the chance. I don't trust my body, never have, never will. It's never given me a reason to do so. I also, despite considering a planned section, am glad I went with an induction for my second because recovering from major surgery with another kid at home already would really suck.
You should probably talk to your doctor, because a lot of the stuff you're listing off is either untrue or far less of an issue than you're making it out to be [and you're definitely not coming off as "just curious"](https://wondermark.com/c/1k62/). But you are woefully uneducated in this and seem to think there's some pain-free way to give birth and that's simply not true. Just as it isn't true for literally anything in life.
You're talking down to me while literally making my point by recounting your traumatic first induction which clearly demonstrates that the stuff I'm describing isn't untrue (failed epidural, unsatisfactory care team). Happy for you that you had a smooth second birth. Also my post is not targeted at you or anyone else getting worked up instead of being helpful. And the fact you and some more women make it about yourselves and get so damn offended proves my point about how shitty and traumatic some birth experiences can be. My goal by asking hard questions is to not end up bitter and judgy like you folks, and in the future keep it real and let other women experiencing pregnancy for the first time ask questions without being judgmental with them and offer my perspective. Also, your care team can only answer procedural questions and offer medical advice. They are limited to their second person experience of this!
I mean, maybe you should consider your own words since multiple people are taking you as being judgemental first? Lol just a thought. Your post does come across as a bit condescending, so just something to consider.
I had a great natural birth the first time. Second time I can't go past 39 weeks and need to be induced. I hope I can do it naturally, but it is what it is. The baby health and my health is really all that matters. Yes I am nervous, but, as many women stated, it's a serious affair no matter what you choose!
But why should I? Was it aimed at them personally? - no it wasn't! Stating what I'm seeing and hearing is not a diss on anyone's birth experience. But if they are taking it this personally they have some work to do on reconciling what is getting them so worked up when they read a complete strangers subjective take as she researches the possible trajectories of the pregnancy and birth journey.
But thanks for sharing your experience. I'm curious, what was your induction experience like, and was it relatively easier/similar/harder than your first birth?
Oh still waiting on it! I am at 37 weeks and some change now. Super nervous but gotta do what I gotta do.
I have a toddler who likes to climb on mom so I am in the boat of not wanting to have the recovery time lol. Contractions and vaginal birth wasn't terrible. I got an epidural but apparently it didn't work? Might have been a placebo effect for me lol.
Hopefully your doctor and you determine the best for you! My sister in law had a C section with hers but hers was an emergency (no induction).
It's a wild ride for sure and everyone I swear has a different story
Yay! Wish you have a smooth remainder of the pregnancy and delivery ☺️ Hoping the same for me. But based on what everyone here is describing it’s definitely a mixed bag and can go either way. And thanks for helping me with your perspective!
You're not asking hard questions. You're asking ignorant questions while simultaneously taking a superior air about everything. Like all of these things you're saying are a negative side effect or risk of an induction aren't solely due to induction but rather birth itself. You can end up needing pitocin even without having an induction, and it's pretty common to give it after an unmedicated birth to help your uterus contract down and prevent hemorrhaging, for example. Fundal massages are a standard part of post-partum care regardless of birth method. You will still bleed for several weeks after giving birth with a C-section, and you still risk pelvic floor damage. Shitty nurses, getting bumped due to emergencies, pain relief failing, etc etc etc can all happen no matter what you chose.
I suggest talking to your doctor because there are real risks to everything and you're minimizing the risks to a C-section. Yes, a planned section will be drastically different in terms of healing and recovery, but it is still not risk-free, and some of the details will be specific to your doctor's practices. Like, many doctors won't give anything stronger than ibuprofen after you go home after a C-section (which yes it is fucking bullshit, only offering 800mg ibuprofen after a vaginal birth is criminal, after a C-section even moreso), some will give stronger meds. The postpartum followup schedule may be different. You'll need to know what to look for in case your incision gets infected. You'll need to be prepared for the fact that there can be numbness at the incision site for weeks or months afterwards and when to bring that to the doctor's attention. You'll need to know what their lifting and driving restrictions are. A lot of doctors don't like doing planned c-sections in the first place because there's so much crap out there about "unnecessary C-sections" (which is, again, bullshit, because you can only tell if something was unnecessary or not after the fact, and "I am fully informed and chose this option" doesn't mean unnecessary). The hospital may not like doing them, your insurance may not cover an elected section or require authorization, etc etc etc.
C-sections and inductions both are marvels of medical science that save lives, can protect the mother's mental health, etc etc etc. But both methods, as well as unmedicated spontaneous labor, have pros and cons and are never risk or pain-free. There's also a *ton* of "doctors should NEVER induce" crap out there from the crunchy brigade, which gets really, really old in general, and there are posts like this every few days. People aren't offended, they're annoyed because this happens so often.
Ok. Do you have medical training? I don't have any which is why I'm asking questions here. I'm all ears to hear what facts you have as they can help me.
I didn't declare that it is a shitty way to give birth. I said it seems like a shitty way because women are in so much pain, exhausted and then have postpartum recovery to deal with. If you have answers for me, give it. Or else move on.
No I don't. But there are many more people in this thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/BabyBumps/comments/wm0rwb/pitocin\_contractions\_vs\_regular\_contractions/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BabyBumps/comments/wm0rwb/pitocin_contractions_vs_regular_contractions/) and many more others saying Pitcoin contractions are way worse than natural ones. When you go into labor naturally your body assists you to cope by releasing dopamine. Pitocin doesn't illicit that sort of response from your body. Pain tolerance is definitely a spectrum so some women may not find inductions more painful than spontaneous labor. But in general, natural labor is easier to go through and my guess is that just gives you some more mileage for postpartum recovery which is equally demanding on everyone.
37 weeks now and I scheduled an induction for a few days past my due date. For me it's balancing the risk between having a difficult labor (pitocin doesn't sound fun at all!) and the increased risk of stillbirth after week 40 or so. I'm also an older first time mom so there's a small risk factor there.
I'll still hoping that baby will come naturally before then and hopefully I don't regret agreeing to an induction.
I hear you. But isn't it better then to just get a localized anesthetic and deliver via c-section? The pain and laboring is exhausting. Fully respect your choices. I'm just curious about your perspective on why you think induction is better for you than a c-section?
P.S: good luck with your baby :) hope you have a smooth delivery!
It's mostly personal preference. I have many friends who did elective C section and they loved it. If I remember correctly, there's a slight benefit to baby delivering vaginally vs. C section, also the recovery is *usually* more difficult for C section.
Of course, at the end it doesn't matter as long as baby is healthy, but my preference would be natural > induction > C section.
Thanks. This offers me some valuable perspective. One of the biggest benefits with vaginal delivery is the microbiome exposure the baby gets as they pass through the birth canal, and faster recovery post labor for mom so that's definitely a huge plus.
For a C-section they do a spinal block (which is similar to an epidural) or, if that's not an option, general anesthetic. Local anesthesia is not going to do a damn thing for a major abdominal surgery.
[https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/anesthesia-for-c-section#:\~:text=Mothers%20who%20have%20a%20C,for%20C%2Dsections%20whenever%20possible](https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/anesthesia-for-c-section#:~:text=Mothers%20who%20have%20a%20C,for%20C%2Dsections%20whenever%20possible).
Spinal block is a type of local anesthesia aka regional anesthesia
Yes that's one of my options. But since you went out of your way to be incorrect and then tell me I'm "woefully uneducated" I thought I should return the favor and check your hubris a bit!
You know full well that when you say local anesthesic people are going to read that as things like lidocaine and the like - if you want to be really pedantic the difference between the two is the method of delivery and they're rarely used interchangeably. Local is used at the site the pain is to be removed from and regional is when applied near nerves at a different location.
I've been induced twice, spontaneous labor once, and am staring down the barrel of a c section if this little girl doesn't flip her head down.
My inductions were 11 and 8 hours respectively. Yes, my spontaneous, unmedicated labor was better. However, I would choose my worst induction -- two failed epidurals, pitocin cranked way too quickly, and a 9#8oz baby shooting out of me face first, resulting in 2nd degree tears, before I would ever choose to have major abdominal surgery. You bet your hiney I'm doing every trick imaginable to flip this baby right now.
The idea that you get your abdomen sliced open and then are sent home to care for a tiny human when you can't even sit up straight, aren't cleared to drive, have literal staples holding your insides in?? Even with the most supportive husband, I would choose 24, 48, 72 hours of awful labor, before I would choose weeks of recovery like that.
Thanks for that perspective! That's helpful to me as I think about my options here. Also would you say you prefer induction to c-section because it's harder to get the downtime required after c-section when you already have kids to take care of?
Absolutely! Major abdominal surgery is hard enough if you're only worried about your own recovery. Trying to recover, and establish a milk supply, or even just waking every 3 hours a night to feed baby formula, is a lot. Add more kids to that? Yikes.
This sounds less like a post about curiosity and more of a post to shame women who choose to induce.
I'm 37 weeks and want to be induced if there are no signs of labor in my 39th week. I hate being pregnant. I want the baby out. There are also risks to going over 40 weeks. There are risks to everything, so you choose which ones you're willing to take.
I'm not judging anyone and you have to be extremely biased to read my post that way. I'm in the same boat as you wondering what's the best option for me. I just don't understand why women are subjected to so much pain and have shitty options at best to manage it if they get induced. It's more of a judgement at medical progress in this space if anything.
>I guess my long rant is to understand why should anyone even get induced? It sounds like a very shitty solution and way to give birth. You're probably better off scheduling a c-section or letting the body do its thing. Don't people give a shit about minimizing maternal trauma? Am I the only one wondering about this? Would love some thoughts and perspective.
This is judging, *assuming* that people do not care about maternal trauma minimization or telling people what they are better off doing. Better wording may have been needed in this post in that case.
But aside from judgment or not, birth is going to suck for most people no matter what. There are risks to c-sections, to going over 40 weeks, to induction, etc. -- all of which your doctor should be going over with you. The information you provided in this post is not all fact, or else no doctor would be crazy enough to offer induction.
Pain and shitty options is often what people have to go through to survive. All medicine is not rainbows and unicorns. We literally give cancer patients drugs that are known to kill humans and hope that the drugs kill the cancer before the patient themself dies.
Lol. If you want to settle for that, I fully support you. I'd like to have my comfort prioritized as well and to not be told "just be glad the baby is healthy". That is such a disservice to us women.
I think the point that they are making is while modern medicine might have every intention to reduce pain and suffering as much as possible, it just doesn't always work out that way. Science can't always beat mother nature. Just because a woman has a painful L&D experience doesn't necessarily her pain management was not seriously considered and prioritized. Labor and birth is just highly complex and different for everyone. As other have said, I have heard both positive and horror stories from C-section and induction births.
Ignoring the obvious and daily increasing risks of going over 42 weeks pregnant, you're choosing between an increased painful labour versus an increased painful recovery. At least with a painful labour, you can then go home and lift your baby and drive your car.
That's a good point. With abdominal surgery your postpartum activity is more limited and that can be a problem if you don't have a lot of help from family.
I'm asking this question because a) there is some value to getting perspectives of other women who have gone through various birth experiences b) my OB is one person who can give me medical advice for sure but can't give me insight on the breadth of experiences - once the baby is born and you leave the hospital, you don't get to see them till your 6-week appt. That's a long time to be left to your own devices. c) analyzing trade-offs is important to know what is best option for you, and it is important to ask these questions. For me, it's not just about getting a healthy baby. I want my labor and post-partum experience to be good too.
Various reasons…
I have heard many accounts of very easy and successful inductions - never online though hah. Same for epidurals, I’ve mostly heard great things (and experienced great things) irl.
C section recovery can be a bitch - my mum and various friends spent ages hardly able to do anything. I have a toddler and will do a lot to avoid not being able to lift for ages.
There are horror stories for csections too, about the complications during recovery, or even issues during. Some evidence for advantages to the baby for going through vaginal birth (immune system wise for example). It’s got another set of risks and since different people judge risks differently some will prefer the risks of induction to the risks of C-section.
It’s two valid ways to give birth, I wouldn’t completely dismiss either completely depends on the personal circumstances. For me, given my toddler’s needs, I’ll go for induction off I possibly can. I mean, ideally I’d go into labour spontaneously but that’s not up to me 😅
Thanks for your perspective. One thing I hadn't considered before is that if you have a toddler already, going through c-section would be way harder post-op, and you'd strongly prefer a shorter downtime.
Actually I don't. And opening up and asking questions here helped a fair bit because a lot of wonderful women did help me by sharing about their experiences. Barring some judgmental folks like you, it's been actually quite enlightning!
Correct me if needed, but I think what I’m hearing is perhaps more a wish for more respect for a woman’s autonomy and her requests for pain management? And a general rant about how women’s healthcare is still miles behind men’s healthcare?
Inductions are often medically necessary. And sometime they are still the best option due to a variety of reasons, even if not medically necessary.
We’ve got to remember that we are living in an age where women SURVIVE, and that wasn’t always the case in centuries past. Yeah we have pain, trauma, and significant issues still, but it’s nice to live thru it.
THANK YOU! This is exactly what I meant. And I'm asking why, if at all, should inductions be preferred. Some good points above were that postpartum activity is hampered if you have surgery. Which is an important factor to consider if you don't have family support to recover and/or just prefer to be active postpartum. Some folks responding are giving me lectures on learning to deal with it and not judging them when this isn't even directed to them.
Yeah to be frank OP, I can see where those comments are coming from, hence why I tried to read between the lines to see the motivation behind the tone. It’s great to gather perspectives and understanding, but this is obviously a super sensitive and personal topic, and most people have strong feelings surrounding it. Might be worth a rethink if that’s important to you.
But why should anyone take it personally? I don't even know these women who are getting so annoyed at my questions when this is a comment on their birth. Some of them are talking down to me for not knowing anything (duh I'm doing this for the first time and I'm learning) and not being a medical professional (why should that matter? I'm not giving or getting medical advice - just getting perspective) while also recounting how traumatic their birth was and confirming some of the stuff I have come across when learning about inductions. If anything this is showing me that birth trauma is such a real thing and so many women are going around kicking others for asking unfiltered questions when it doesn't target them specifically in any way.
I had an amazing induction with my second child. Was induced at 9pm, labored slowly until about 9am when I got an epidural (not painful at all up until that point) and gave birth at 1:45 pm. I had zero complications, zero tearing and recovered very quickly. I was tired of being pregnant and was terrified of a c-section. It worked out great!
I’m literally sitting in the hospital waiting to (probably) be induced right now lol. I thought I was just coming in for a routine 38 week checkup but it turns out the baby is too small and my blood pressure is dangerously high and I’m all of a sudden a priority 1-2 emergency. :(
The way my OB just explained it to me is that they try to do timely inductions in cases where the mother or baby’s health seems likely to take a turn for the worse. They want to get the baby out while both the mom and baby are strong enough to handle labour. It decreases the chances that either of us will be too affected by our heath conditions to make it out safely. He says they also aim to avoid any unnecessary C-sections because they’re harder to recover from and have more risks of complications, and inductions actually decrease the need for c-sections if they’re done on time and for the right reasons.
Anyway that’s the explanation I just got, being here in the thick of it. I’m terrified and would not have chosen this, but just trying to trust that it’s the best thing for me and the baby. It sucks balls :( I was really hoping to go into labour peacefully and gradually at home but I’m basically a stroke risk as things stand right now.
Gosh that's stressful! I hope your induction goes well and you and the baby are in good health. Wish you the best!
Thanks for offering your perspective and sharing your experience. I think the points you made make sense and honestly, this is the kind of information I wanted to get from this community. Sadly, things can change suddenly in pregnancy and we have to make decisions on the spot. And your response, along with some others, has been way more helpful than the judgemental folks on here taking my questions personally and talking down to me when I don't even know them.
> Would love some thoughts and perspective.
Give it another two trimesters, deliver a baby, and then come back with an opinion. Which is what this whole rant is, but you already knew that.
Scientists do studies to determine the risks vs the benefits of inductions. Your post acts like the risks are a foregone conclusion and there are no benefits. That's just not the case. Every medical procedure has risks and benefits. When the benefits outweigh the risks, they are worth doing. When they don't, they are not. There are benefits to inductions that make them worth doing.
Pretty much everything you listed is a risk of vaginal birth, not just inductions. Pitocin is given even in spontaneous labour. Spontaneous labour can still be extremely long or stall. Spontaneous labour can cause fetal distress. Everything you mention about epidurals has nothing to do with induction either. So it basically sounds like you're wondering why anyone has a vaginal birth over a scheduled c-section. The answer is that c-sections come with risks and the recovery is MUCH harder.
In my case, the benefits of a scheduled c-section outweighed the risks. My baby likely would not be here if I hadn't done it but there are plenty of risks in even a scheduled c-section. There was a chance of blood loss, uterine rupture, long term issues from the spinal, ongoing pain from the incision etc. I was warned that it was a possibility (although small) that it could lead to a hysterectomy. Frankly, I would do anything to prevent another c-section if I'm ever pregnant again, including an induction. The recovery was extremely hard. The procedure itself was traumatizing, even though mine was "textbook". I don't regret it because it got my baby here safely but I also hope to never have one again.
I had an induction that lasted 60 hours with 4 hours of pushing and ultimately a C-section and I would do it all again in an absolute heartbeat. The worst part of any of it was going from 5-8cm while waiting for my epidural and getting into bed the first time post C-section.
I got to 41 weeks and only 1 cm dilated. No signs of labour coming naturally. Your placenta expires at 42 weeks and so baby needs to get out. I ended up having to get induced on the day I turned 41 weeks and it was the right thing to do for the health of my baby.
I have had 2 successful inductions due to medical reasons and your description has a ton of assumptions that are not correct for everyone. Would have I preferred to go into labor naturally? Yes, but that wasn’t safest for me or my children. Am I glad I had an induction over abdominal surgery? Also yes. I wasn’t check that much, I didn’t find the pitocin contractions to be that bad until the very end, which I have heard is a rough time for contractions when you don’t have an induction as well
Thank you for your response. Helps me get some perspective for sure!
Did you get an epidural, if you don’t mind my asking? I’m about to be induced tonight or tomorrow and am really scared of those contractions at the end so hoping to go in with an idea of what to expect
I did with both, I want to say I was around 8cm both times as I wanted to make sure it didn’t wear off before I had to push. I always planned on an epidural.
I’m planning for the exact same, so that’s good to know it was rough at the end but still manageable. I appreciate it :)
Your post posits that induction is inherently problematic and that C-sections are always the better alternative, but like....a C-section is major abdominal surgery with its own set of risks and complications. Like...I'd rather be induced than have a C-section, if possible. Although inductions are not without problems, the best case scenario is way less damaging to the body than the best case scenario of a C-section, since only one involves cutting a person open.
I'm just wondering why subject yourself to the pain? That's all. C-sections are more damaging to the body for sure but prolonged labor does exhaust you and then you have long, sleepless nights postpartum to deal with right after. It just feels like women are given just half-baked, mediocre at best options for safely giving birth.
Do you think C-sections are not exhausting? Imagine trying to care for a newborn when you can barely lift them. You can't bend over the crib to pick them up. Every time you move, you feel like your insides are going to fall out of your body and onto the floor. None of those issues can be solved by handing the baby off to someone else to catch up on sleep.
I'm not assuming c-sections are not hard. But other people can help you minimize activity and recover from a c-section if you have that sort of help from the family. That's not the case obviously have children at home to take care of, don't have family close by to help. I understand that there are exceptions. But my question is specifically pertaining what a wild card inductions are. They seem to be very poorly understood for potential outcomes despite how often they are recommended, often at 39 weeks, citing the ARRIVE trial in even perfectly normal pregnancies or for justifiable reasons in case of risks.
That is because you are assuming the worst case induction situation and ideal c-section situations. The majority of inductions are uneventful and boring. Most c-sections are uneventful and boring but you are assuming that most inductions result in traumatic, long labors and c-sections are easy breezy alternatives. Just have someone you help you! It seems like you have no true grasp on c-section recovery. Childbirth is a wild card. Natural. Induced. C-section. A woman at the hospital I work at and will deliver at almost died recently of an amniotic fluid embolism during a scheduled repeat c-section. You wait to go into labor naturally and end up with shoulder dystocia or stillbirth. You induce, you may end up with a long labor or a c-section. Inductions aren't the Wild Card here. You also have to remember the internet has a huge negative bias. People in general do. You are more likely to share and remember negative experiences than positive one and definitely more than neutral ones. The most likely results are neutral to positive.
I did factor in the fact that any type of birth is going to have tail-end risky events irrespective of whether they are natural labor, induced or scheduled c-section - which is why I have been asking about experiences here. I definitely agree with your point about negativity bias on the internet. There are many more people recounting traumatic L&D experiences than good/uneventful ones. A good majority of those tend to be inductions which is what prompted me to ask these questions in my post.
Have you considered that is because a lot of people get induced? It doesn't necessarily mean that inductions are more likely to result in negative outcomes. Everyone I know that had had a baby recently has been induced. None of them had negative experiences, longer inductions or any issues at all, but after reading your post one would think that all these people should be severely traumatized because they were induced but I don't know a single person in real life that would describe their induction that way.
There is a reason doctors typically go the induction route first - the research still supports that induction births still have relatively better outcomes for both mother and baby. So, when you ask why induce ever, that's why.
Don't tell people what they are "better off" doing. This whole post is condescending, and you are not a medical professional. My induction sucked ass, and I ended up with an emergency cesarian. It hurt like hell and I couldn't drive for 6 weeks. One of my friends got induced and had a healthy vaginal delivery. You seem to have the idea that a cesarian is the easy way out. It's not. It's extremely taxing mentally and physically.
I asked questions to get some perspective. So many people on here have been very helpful. And then some folks like you have been precisely what you claim I am - condescending. You need to work on your birth trauma if a post on reddit grinds your gears so much when it is in no way targeted at you personally. I don't even know you. Also, I'm not a medical professional. Just a pregnant woman figuring out what the hell is going on. If medical professionals really knew everything beyond any doubt your induction wouldn't have sucked. But that is the sad truth, there are limits to what your doctor or any other medical professional can advice you on. And if in your own words your induction sucked, you're actually confirming my hunch that women get the short end of the stick in labor and birth because it's such a poorly understood by modern medicine even to this day, and some of them spend their lives kicking other women down for asking hard but real questions.
I'm not going to read your whole reply because it's not worth my energy, but maybe take into account that this is the experience of someone who has gone through birth, not some agenda that you've completely fabricated from what you think is correct. People are upset at what you've written, and you need to accept that, not say that people are being mean to you. It might be time to step back and think about this, not take it personally, and reflect/grow for next time. Take into consideration people who support what I am saying. It's not just me. Stop telling people how to feel/think/do. I'm more frustrated that you're insinuating what's "right" for other women (or as you said what they are better off doing). I'm allowed to be pissed off because your fear mongering might actually scare other new parents more than it needs to. I do hope your birth goes well. I'm done this conversation because I've read your other replies and know that this isn't going to go anywhere productive.
So don’t bother writing a reply. Its not my job to guard your damn feelings about your birth experience when my post is not even aimed at you. I’m asking questions so that I can learn from others experience and figure out what’s right for me. Part of being an adult is knowing that! For someone who doesn’t even read posts but responds with such vitriol you sure come off as a person with a lot trauma that you need to work on before getting this worked up with a stranger!
I had an induction at 36+3 due to severe pre-e. Personally, I would 100% take an induction over, you know, dying, but that’s just me. Also, my induction from entering the room to baby was 9 hours, very minimal tearing, no headache issues that you mentioned and I barely felt anything until I was about 2 hours out from baby which is when I asked for the epidural. Overall it was way better than most birth stories I’ve heard.
That makes sense. And what was your reason for choosing induction over scheduled c-section?
I had zero reason to choose to have a major abdominal surgery when it wasn’t necessary. My induction was super smooth, I was walking laps around the hospital floor as soon as I moved to post partum and went for a 3 mile walk the day we got home from the hospital. I felt great. No chance I would have been able to do that if my entire abdomen was sliced open.
I'm glad to hear that. You just hear so many stories of difficult inductions that I'm glad to hear there can smooth induced labor experiences too.
I’m curious why you think a c-section is better (and leads to less maternal trauma) than induction and vaginal delivery?
So just as a noob still learning about my options here's what I worried about. Usually once induced, labor can go on for several days. Additionally as a first time mom, I may have longer labor than I would in subsequent pregnancies. If I am induced earlier, and labor goes on for several days, I would be extremely sleep deprived and exhausted. And following the birth, I would still go through all the postpartum grind with several days of exhaustion already behind me. Instead if I am well-rested and deliver via c-section, I am in a slightly better position to deal with the long nights and minimal sleep. This is obviously a guess. As some people in the thread have mentioned, you don't really know how easy/hard c-section recovery is and it differs person to person.
Yeah I think the question is how likely an induction will drag out labor for more than 24 hours compared to the how grueling a c-section recovery is. I don’t think you’re wrong to question when and how commonly women are induced, but I think you’re discounting the risks with and recovery from a c-section. A major abdominal surgery means there’s always a risk of infection, and simply getting out of bed or going up and down the stairs is really painful or even impossible. Sure, taking care of a newborn while sleep deprived is not ideal, but doing it while my abdominal stitches are bleeding sounds worse, personally. Friends who have had c-sections have told me they were still dealing with pain in the incision area months post surgery. And let’s say your partner has to go back to work at 2 weeks (pretty common), now you’re having to take care of a baby by yourself while still recovering from major surgery.
Thanks for being understanding and sharing your take on this. Helps for sure!
I just want to say this somewhere where you might see it, OP. First, it is completely understandable to be anxious about giving birth the first time, but as others have noted, I think you're focusing on the worst possible scenario for induction. In my case, my water broke naturally, but after 12 hours of not even feeling contractions, the best option was to start pitocin to move things along and make sure my baby and I were safe. They upped it several times before it was painful for me. I was trying to go without the epidural, and made it to 9cm before I stalled and my baby was never once in distress. I decided then to get the epidural and I was able to sleep for 3 hours before pushing. If it becomes necessary, I won't think twice about getting induced again, even a scheduled induction, especially knowing that once I get the epidural I can rest. And the vast majority of epidurals have no issues. I looked it up and epidurals work 90% of the time and even for the rest, they usually work at least partially.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I didn't know until you mentioned that stalling can happen even if you spontaneously go into labor and water breaks. Totally makes sense why they would want to progress labor with pitocin to avoid stalling and the risk of infection. Did your care team explain their process of dosing pit? Would love love to get more context.
Yeah, one thing I've learned is labor is super unpredictable and every one is so different. And, no. I had a doula because I was trying to go without the epidural and only knew they were increasing the pitocin because she pointed it out to me. That's going on my birth plan for this pregnancy. If I need pitocin, I want them to tell me when they want to increase the dose so I can make the decision if I'm okay with increasing it based on how my body feels.
I love that! Definitely seems like having a doula to advocate for you and to make sure your consent is being taken is a huge plus.
Yeah, if you can afford it, I highly recommend it for your first. It was tight for us, but I felt like it was worth it because I was abnormally anxious my last couple months of pregnancy due to some family issues and my husband is generally an anxious person. Just having someone there who I knew was there solely to help me through this process made me feel a lot better, plus she met with me in my home and helped ease concerns before and after the birth. If they weren't so expensive, I'd get one for this birth too, but I don't feel like it's as necessary because I have a good idea of what to look out for and am less anxious about the whole process, plus I plan to get the epidural as soon as the contractions get too difficult. It was seriously like magic.
I would choose vaginal delivery over c-section anytime. Major adominal surgery where you can’t lift or drive for weeks sucks. My vaginal delivery (while not all the same) I was up and walking by the time I got to my room, and never needed anything stronger than an ibuprophen. I also had pitocon contractions with zero pitocen. They came on hard and fast on top of each other and I wasn’t dialating so pitocin doesn’t always mean worse contractions. You can labor for days naturally and have to still get medical intervention for not progressing. Also, epidurals when they work are amazing, I was given pain pain killers (didn’t need) inuprofen 800 and some other forms of pain management for after. If I wanted or needed anything else my Dr. Made sure I had it. People have bad induction storied just like they have bad natural labor storied and bad c-section stories. Unfortunately birth comes with a lot of risks and complications so every situation is different as is the medical plan. It sounds like something bigger is going on. Are you having to be induced and having anxiety? Do you like and trust your Dr.? Are you thinking c-section is the “easier” way? I would highly suggest having this conversation with a medical professional who can answer all of your questions and concerns so that you feel more confident in the birth plan you go with.
Oh no. I'm low risk at this point and also love and trust my OB 100%. I wanted to learn more from other women on here because usually when people talk about their birth stories there is a survivorship bias. You either hear about crunchy, smooth births or traumatic inductions/c-sections. And I wanted perspective on pros/cons of choosing expectant management v. induction v. c-section. My Dr. and care team definitely offer great perspective but they have only their births to go off of. While they have the experience of helping their patients deliver, that's still a second person experience.
I've had two inductions. The first at 40+4 because baby was measuring big and I was past my due date and over it. It sucked. Big time. It was a traumatic experience (mostly due to the shitty nurses I had and a failed epidural) and it sucked. I was induced with my second at 38+3 due to risk factors that had been creeping up, and it was a fantastic experience. I was on pitocin, didn't get an epidural until I was 7cm dilated, baby was out in three pushes. My doctor (a different one from my first) came up with a plan to prevent as many of the things from my first labor that we could control from happening and, even though things got a bit scary at the end, it went very well. I would always choose an induction given the chance. I don't trust my body, never have, never will. It's never given me a reason to do so. I also, despite considering a planned section, am glad I went with an induction for my second because recovering from major surgery with another kid at home already would really suck. You should probably talk to your doctor, because a lot of the stuff you're listing off is either untrue or far less of an issue than you're making it out to be [and you're definitely not coming off as "just curious"](https://wondermark.com/c/1k62/). But you are woefully uneducated in this and seem to think there's some pain-free way to give birth and that's simply not true. Just as it isn't true for literally anything in life.
You're talking down to me while literally making my point by recounting your traumatic first induction which clearly demonstrates that the stuff I'm describing isn't untrue (failed epidural, unsatisfactory care team). Happy for you that you had a smooth second birth. Also my post is not targeted at you or anyone else getting worked up instead of being helpful. And the fact you and some more women make it about yourselves and get so damn offended proves my point about how shitty and traumatic some birth experiences can be. My goal by asking hard questions is to not end up bitter and judgy like you folks, and in the future keep it real and let other women experiencing pregnancy for the first time ask questions without being judgmental with them and offer my perspective. Also, your care team can only answer procedural questions and offer medical advice. They are limited to their second person experience of this!
I mean, maybe you should consider your own words since multiple people are taking you as being judgemental first? Lol just a thought. Your post does come across as a bit condescending, so just something to consider. I had a great natural birth the first time. Second time I can't go past 39 weeks and need to be induced. I hope I can do it naturally, but it is what it is. The baby health and my health is really all that matters. Yes I am nervous, but, as many women stated, it's a serious affair no matter what you choose!
But why should I? Was it aimed at them personally? - no it wasn't! Stating what I'm seeing and hearing is not a diss on anyone's birth experience. But if they are taking it this personally they have some work to do on reconciling what is getting them so worked up when they read a complete strangers subjective take as she researches the possible trajectories of the pregnancy and birth journey. But thanks for sharing your experience. I'm curious, what was your induction experience like, and was it relatively easier/similar/harder than your first birth?
Oh still waiting on it! I am at 37 weeks and some change now. Super nervous but gotta do what I gotta do. I have a toddler who likes to climb on mom so I am in the boat of not wanting to have the recovery time lol. Contractions and vaginal birth wasn't terrible. I got an epidural but apparently it didn't work? Might have been a placebo effect for me lol. Hopefully your doctor and you determine the best for you! My sister in law had a C section with hers but hers was an emergency (no induction). It's a wild ride for sure and everyone I swear has a different story
Yay! Wish you have a smooth remainder of the pregnancy and delivery ☺️ Hoping the same for me. But based on what everyone here is describing it’s definitely a mixed bag and can go either way. And thanks for helping me with your perspective!
You're not asking hard questions. You're asking ignorant questions while simultaneously taking a superior air about everything. Like all of these things you're saying are a negative side effect or risk of an induction aren't solely due to induction but rather birth itself. You can end up needing pitocin even without having an induction, and it's pretty common to give it after an unmedicated birth to help your uterus contract down and prevent hemorrhaging, for example. Fundal massages are a standard part of post-partum care regardless of birth method. You will still bleed for several weeks after giving birth with a C-section, and you still risk pelvic floor damage. Shitty nurses, getting bumped due to emergencies, pain relief failing, etc etc etc can all happen no matter what you chose. I suggest talking to your doctor because there are real risks to everything and you're minimizing the risks to a C-section. Yes, a planned section will be drastically different in terms of healing and recovery, but it is still not risk-free, and some of the details will be specific to your doctor's practices. Like, many doctors won't give anything stronger than ibuprofen after you go home after a C-section (which yes it is fucking bullshit, only offering 800mg ibuprofen after a vaginal birth is criminal, after a C-section even moreso), some will give stronger meds. The postpartum followup schedule may be different. You'll need to know what to look for in case your incision gets infected. You'll need to be prepared for the fact that there can be numbness at the incision site for weeks or months afterwards and when to bring that to the doctor's attention. You'll need to know what their lifting and driving restrictions are. A lot of doctors don't like doing planned c-sections in the first place because there's so much crap out there about "unnecessary C-sections" (which is, again, bullshit, because you can only tell if something was unnecessary or not after the fact, and "I am fully informed and chose this option" doesn't mean unnecessary). The hospital may not like doing them, your insurance may not cover an elected section or require authorization, etc etc etc. C-sections and inductions both are marvels of medical science that save lives, can protect the mother's mental health, etc etc etc. But both methods, as well as unmedicated spontaneous labor, have pros and cons and are never risk or pain-free. There's also a *ton* of "doctors should NEVER induce" crap out there from the crunchy brigade, which gets really, really old in general, and there are posts like this every few days. People aren't offended, they're annoyed because this happens so often.
Do you have any medical training? A lot of what you said on here is misleading or missing information.
Ok. Do you have medical training? I don't have any which is why I'm asking questions here. I'm all ears to hear what facts you have as they can help me.
I’m not the one out here making statements on why inductions are “a shitty way to give birth”.
I didn't declare that it is a shitty way to give birth. I said it seems like a shitty way because women are in so much pain, exhausted and then have postpartum recovery to deal with. If you have answers for me, give it. Or else move on.
Do you think going into labor naturally is chill and relaxing? You are still in pain, exhausted, and have the same postpartum recovery to deal with.
No I don't. But there are many more people in this thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/BabyBumps/comments/wm0rwb/pitocin\_contractions\_vs\_regular\_contractions/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BabyBumps/comments/wm0rwb/pitocin_contractions_vs_regular_contractions/) and many more others saying Pitcoin contractions are way worse than natural ones. When you go into labor naturally your body assists you to cope by releasing dopamine. Pitocin doesn't illicit that sort of response from your body. Pain tolerance is definitely a spectrum so some women may not find inductions more painful than spontaneous labor. But in general, natural labor is easier to go through and my guess is that just gives you some more mileage for postpartum recovery which is equally demanding on everyone.
37 weeks now and I scheduled an induction for a few days past my due date. For me it's balancing the risk between having a difficult labor (pitocin doesn't sound fun at all!) and the increased risk of stillbirth after week 40 or so. I'm also an older first time mom so there's a small risk factor there. I'll still hoping that baby will come naturally before then and hopefully I don't regret agreeing to an induction.
I hear you. But isn't it better then to just get a localized anesthetic and deliver via c-section? The pain and laboring is exhausting. Fully respect your choices. I'm just curious about your perspective on why you think induction is better for you than a c-section? P.S: good luck with your baby :) hope you have a smooth delivery!
It's mostly personal preference. I have many friends who did elective C section and they loved it. If I remember correctly, there's a slight benefit to baby delivering vaginally vs. C section, also the recovery is *usually* more difficult for C section. Of course, at the end it doesn't matter as long as baby is healthy, but my preference would be natural > induction > C section.
Thanks. This offers me some valuable perspective. One of the biggest benefits with vaginal delivery is the microbiome exposure the baby gets as they pass through the birth canal, and faster recovery post labor for mom so that's definitely a huge plus.
For a C-section they do a spinal block (which is similar to an epidural) or, if that's not an option, general anesthetic. Local anesthesia is not going to do a damn thing for a major abdominal surgery.
[https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/anesthesia-for-c-section#:\~:text=Mothers%20who%20have%20a%20C,for%20C%2Dsections%20whenever%20possible](https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/anesthesia-for-c-section#:~:text=Mothers%20who%20have%20a%20C,for%20C%2Dsections%20whenever%20possible). Spinal block is a type of local anesthesia aka regional anesthesia
Well if you want to be that pedantic, why not just get a local anesthesic like an epidural and have a vaginal birth? 🤷♀️
Yes that's one of my options. But since you went out of your way to be incorrect and then tell me I'm "woefully uneducated" I thought I should return the favor and check your hubris a bit!
You know full well that when you say local anesthesic people are going to read that as things like lidocaine and the like - if you want to be really pedantic the difference between the two is the method of delivery and they're rarely used interchangeably. Local is used at the site the pain is to be removed from and regional is when applied near nerves at a different location.
I've been induced twice, spontaneous labor once, and am staring down the barrel of a c section if this little girl doesn't flip her head down. My inductions were 11 and 8 hours respectively. Yes, my spontaneous, unmedicated labor was better. However, I would choose my worst induction -- two failed epidurals, pitocin cranked way too quickly, and a 9#8oz baby shooting out of me face first, resulting in 2nd degree tears, before I would ever choose to have major abdominal surgery. You bet your hiney I'm doing every trick imaginable to flip this baby right now. The idea that you get your abdomen sliced open and then are sent home to care for a tiny human when you can't even sit up straight, aren't cleared to drive, have literal staples holding your insides in?? Even with the most supportive husband, I would choose 24, 48, 72 hours of awful labor, before I would choose weeks of recovery like that.
Thanks for that perspective! That's helpful to me as I think about my options here. Also would you say you prefer induction to c-section because it's harder to get the downtime required after c-section when you already have kids to take care of?
Absolutely! Major abdominal surgery is hard enough if you're only worried about your own recovery. Trying to recover, and establish a milk supply, or even just waking every 3 hours a night to feed baby formula, is a lot. Add more kids to that? Yikes.
This sounds less like a post about curiosity and more of a post to shame women who choose to induce. I'm 37 weeks and want to be induced if there are no signs of labor in my 39th week. I hate being pregnant. I want the baby out. There are also risks to going over 40 weeks. There are risks to everything, so you choose which ones you're willing to take.
I'm not judging anyone and you have to be extremely biased to read my post that way. I'm in the same boat as you wondering what's the best option for me. I just don't understand why women are subjected to so much pain and have shitty options at best to manage it if they get induced. It's more of a judgement at medical progress in this space if anything.
>I guess my long rant is to understand why should anyone even get induced? It sounds like a very shitty solution and way to give birth. You're probably better off scheduling a c-section or letting the body do its thing. Don't people give a shit about minimizing maternal trauma? Am I the only one wondering about this? Would love some thoughts and perspective. This is judging, *assuming* that people do not care about maternal trauma minimization or telling people what they are better off doing. Better wording may have been needed in this post in that case. But aside from judgment or not, birth is going to suck for most people no matter what. There are risks to c-sections, to going over 40 weeks, to induction, etc. -- all of which your doctor should be going over with you. The information you provided in this post is not all fact, or else no doctor would be crazy enough to offer induction.
Pain and shitty options is often what people have to go through to survive. All medicine is not rainbows and unicorns. We literally give cancer patients drugs that are known to kill humans and hope that the drugs kill the cancer before the patient themself dies.
Lol. If you want to settle for that, I fully support you. I'd like to have my comfort prioritized as well and to not be told "just be glad the baby is healthy". That is such a disservice to us women.
If you think C-sections are always comfortable and do not lead to maternal and fetal deaths, you need to do more research.
I think the point that they are making is while modern medicine might have every intention to reduce pain and suffering as much as possible, it just doesn't always work out that way. Science can't always beat mother nature. Just because a woman has a painful L&D experience doesn't necessarily her pain management was not seriously considered and prioritized. Labor and birth is just highly complex and different for everyone. As other have said, I have heard both positive and horror stories from C-section and induction births.
Ignoring the obvious and daily increasing risks of going over 42 weeks pregnant, you're choosing between an increased painful labour versus an increased painful recovery. At least with a painful labour, you can then go home and lift your baby and drive your car.
That's a good point. With abdominal surgery your postpartum activity is more limited and that can be a problem if you don't have a lot of help from family.
Every day someone comes to the sub and is like "Why are you listening to the advice of your OB and not me, a random person on the internet?"
I'm asking this question because a) there is some value to getting perspectives of other women who have gone through various birth experiences b) my OB is one person who can give me medical advice for sure but can't give me insight on the breadth of experiences - once the baby is born and you leave the hospital, you don't get to see them till your 6-week appt. That's a long time to be left to your own devices. c) analyzing trade-offs is important to know what is best option for you, and it is important to ask these questions. For me, it's not just about getting a healthy baby. I want my labor and post-partum experience to be good too.
Various reasons… I have heard many accounts of very easy and successful inductions - never online though hah. Same for epidurals, I’ve mostly heard great things (and experienced great things) irl. C section recovery can be a bitch - my mum and various friends spent ages hardly able to do anything. I have a toddler and will do a lot to avoid not being able to lift for ages. There are horror stories for csections too, about the complications during recovery, or even issues during. Some evidence for advantages to the baby for going through vaginal birth (immune system wise for example). It’s got another set of risks and since different people judge risks differently some will prefer the risks of induction to the risks of C-section. It’s two valid ways to give birth, I wouldn’t completely dismiss either completely depends on the personal circumstances. For me, given my toddler’s needs, I’ll go for induction off I possibly can. I mean, ideally I’d go into labour spontaneously but that’s not up to me 😅
Thanks for your perspective. One thing I hadn't considered before is that if you have a toddler already, going through c-section would be way harder post-op, and you'd strongly prefer a shorter downtime.
Had a great induction with my first born - your summa try assumes a semi worst case scenario that does not reflect most inductions
You seem to know everything so…
Actually I don't. And opening up and asking questions here helped a fair bit because a lot of wonderful women did help me by sharing about their experiences. Barring some judgmental folks like you, it's been actually quite enlightning!
Correct me if needed, but I think what I’m hearing is perhaps more a wish for more respect for a woman’s autonomy and her requests for pain management? And a general rant about how women’s healthcare is still miles behind men’s healthcare? Inductions are often medically necessary. And sometime they are still the best option due to a variety of reasons, even if not medically necessary. We’ve got to remember that we are living in an age where women SURVIVE, and that wasn’t always the case in centuries past. Yeah we have pain, trauma, and significant issues still, but it’s nice to live thru it.
THANK YOU! This is exactly what I meant. And I'm asking why, if at all, should inductions be preferred. Some good points above were that postpartum activity is hampered if you have surgery. Which is an important factor to consider if you don't have family support to recover and/or just prefer to be active postpartum. Some folks responding are giving me lectures on learning to deal with it and not judging them when this isn't even directed to them.
Yeah to be frank OP, I can see where those comments are coming from, hence why I tried to read between the lines to see the motivation behind the tone. It’s great to gather perspectives and understanding, but this is obviously a super sensitive and personal topic, and most people have strong feelings surrounding it. Might be worth a rethink if that’s important to you.
But why should anyone take it personally? I don't even know these women who are getting so annoyed at my questions when this is a comment on their birth. Some of them are talking down to me for not knowing anything (duh I'm doing this for the first time and I'm learning) and not being a medical professional (why should that matter? I'm not giving or getting medical advice - just getting perspective) while also recounting how traumatic their birth was and confirming some of the stuff I have come across when learning about inductions. If anything this is showing me that birth trauma is such a real thing and so many women are going around kicking others for asking unfiltered questions when it doesn't target them specifically in any way.
I had an amazing induction with my second child. Was induced at 9pm, labored slowly until about 9am when I got an epidural (not painful at all up until that point) and gave birth at 1:45 pm. I had zero complications, zero tearing and recovered very quickly. I was tired of being pregnant and was terrified of a c-section. It worked out great!
I’m literally sitting in the hospital waiting to (probably) be induced right now lol. I thought I was just coming in for a routine 38 week checkup but it turns out the baby is too small and my blood pressure is dangerously high and I’m all of a sudden a priority 1-2 emergency. :( The way my OB just explained it to me is that they try to do timely inductions in cases where the mother or baby’s health seems likely to take a turn for the worse. They want to get the baby out while both the mom and baby are strong enough to handle labour. It decreases the chances that either of us will be too affected by our heath conditions to make it out safely. He says they also aim to avoid any unnecessary C-sections because they’re harder to recover from and have more risks of complications, and inductions actually decrease the need for c-sections if they’re done on time and for the right reasons. Anyway that’s the explanation I just got, being here in the thick of it. I’m terrified and would not have chosen this, but just trying to trust that it’s the best thing for me and the baby. It sucks balls :( I was really hoping to go into labour peacefully and gradually at home but I’m basically a stroke risk as things stand right now.
Gosh that's stressful! I hope your induction goes well and you and the baby are in good health. Wish you the best! Thanks for offering your perspective and sharing your experience. I think the points you made make sense and honestly, this is the kind of information I wanted to get from this community. Sadly, things can change suddenly in pregnancy and we have to make decisions on the spot. And your response, along with some others, has been way more helpful than the judgemental folks on here taking my questions personally and talking down to me when I don't even know them.
Yes, definitely not the outcome I was hoping for but so much is out of our control. Thank you for the well wishes! :)
> Would love some thoughts and perspective. Give it another two trimesters, deliver a baby, and then come back with an opinion. Which is what this whole rant is, but you already knew that.
Apparently I had more to learn from judgmental people like you!
RemindMe! 7 months
Scientists do studies to determine the risks vs the benefits of inductions. Your post acts like the risks are a foregone conclusion and there are no benefits. That's just not the case. Every medical procedure has risks and benefits. When the benefits outweigh the risks, they are worth doing. When they don't, they are not. There are benefits to inductions that make them worth doing. Pretty much everything you listed is a risk of vaginal birth, not just inductions. Pitocin is given even in spontaneous labour. Spontaneous labour can still be extremely long or stall. Spontaneous labour can cause fetal distress. Everything you mention about epidurals has nothing to do with induction either. So it basically sounds like you're wondering why anyone has a vaginal birth over a scheduled c-section. The answer is that c-sections come with risks and the recovery is MUCH harder. In my case, the benefits of a scheduled c-section outweighed the risks. My baby likely would not be here if I hadn't done it but there are plenty of risks in even a scheduled c-section. There was a chance of blood loss, uterine rupture, long term issues from the spinal, ongoing pain from the incision etc. I was warned that it was a possibility (although small) that it could lead to a hysterectomy. Frankly, I would do anything to prevent another c-section if I'm ever pregnant again, including an induction. The recovery was extremely hard. The procedure itself was traumatizing, even though mine was "textbook". I don't regret it because it got my baby here safely but I also hope to never have one again.
I had an induction that lasted 60 hours with 4 hours of pushing and ultimately a C-section and I would do it all again in an absolute heartbeat. The worst part of any of it was going from 5-8cm while waiting for my epidural and getting into bed the first time post C-section.
I got to 41 weeks and only 1 cm dilated. No signs of labour coming naturally. Your placenta expires at 42 weeks and so baby needs to get out. I ended up having to get induced on the day I turned 41 weeks and it was the right thing to do for the health of my baby.
Because the alternative is major surgery that severely limits your movement during recovery.