i am 37 weeks pregnant. my doctor told me in a week i could set up a date to be induced?

Question

this is my 2nd pregnancy, the first i had on my own. should i just let things happen or do the induction. i dont know what to expect during induction. please if you have had inductions please leave me some advice. im hoping she will come anytime now but you never know. i know all pregnancies are different im just wanting to know how they do it and what to expect.

Answer 1

i had an induction because my baby was late and my water had broke and it was not healthy for the baby to stay inside unless i wanted it to die, so i had to be induced, it was only minutes before i started to have contractions and hours later i gave birth to my son naturally. no c-section. He was born healthy at 7 pounds and 2 1/2 years later, he's still healthy.

Answer 2

The choice to induce is a very personal one. Go with what you feel you should do. My first son I was induced because he was late (42 weeks) and I was not dilating at all. The second child I choice to induce at 38 weeks for a few reasons. First because my first child was huge and with me not going into labor naturally the first time and at 37 weeks I still was showing absolutely no signs of beginning labor anytime soon, I didn't want to risk going over the due date again. Second, my OB/GYN works in a practice. They all work in the same hospitals. If I were to go into labor on my own and my doctor were not on call, a stranger would have delivered my baby. I was not comfortable with that the least bit.

If you opt for the induction you will go in either the night before or the very early morning of. If you go in the night before they will give you a vaginal suppository to soften/ripen your cervix through the night. This may or may not start labor on it's own. If labor doesn't begin they will give you a petocin drip in your IV. Generally a few hours after they do that your contractions start. If your water doesn't break on it's own they have a little instrument that looks similar to a crochet needle that they use to break it for you. That doesn't hurt though it does feel funny when your water breaks since it's more of a gush than if it were to break naturally. Then you labor.

As far as the actual labor. They were uncomfortable and not exactly what I would call fun. But that is why they call it labor. Every labor is different whether you are induced or go into labor naturally. You could be induced and still labor without the epidural but go into labor naturally and need the drugs. You had your first son naturally but you could need a c-section with this child if you wait to go into labor. It isn't a science. Child birth is a very unpredictable thing.

Good luck with your decision.

P.S. Personally I didn't find induction unbearably painful. I went many many hours before I finally took the epidural with both of my children. And the only reason I took the epi was because I was tired and annoyed by my contractions. But not in unbearable pain. Then with my first child I had to push without the epi because it had worn off and when I asked for more I had dialated to 9cm from about 5cm an hour earlier!

Answer 3

Make sure you understand the reason he thinks you should be induced at that number of weeks. For me, the baby was getting too big. I went into the hospital one evening, and the doctor administered a hormone cream. That did not work, I had no contractions. The next morning, early, they put me on an intravenous drip - pitocin, I think (not sure of spelling). What I wished I had known at that point, but didn't find out till much later, is that contractions when you are induced are stronger and closer together, since it is not the body responding naturally. I just assumed that contractions were contractions, and I realized it would hurt like crazy. So I was on the drip all morning and all afternoon - but here is where my story would differ. After having gone through all that labour, my son ended up being in distress and I had to be whizzed away for an emergency c-section! All turned out okay. I wish you luck!

Answer 4

My first child was not induced although at 39 weeks gestation, they set an induction date on april 6th and what do you know 3 hours before the scheduled induction here she comes.
With my second I was also scheduled an induction at 38 weeks gestation. They suspected he was too large and the doc was going on vaction the following day. Lucky for him it only lasted 5 hours. It was horrifying! Natural labor is less intense as petocin induced labor. If there is no reason for you to have one except for wanting the baby sooner, I would not do it. It is horrible pain. Things should go natural. I wish I would have done it naturally or waited one more week. Although he was large!!!! 9lbs!!!

Answer 5

DO NOT consent to an induction unless there is a strong medical indication that you need one. Why consent to an intervention just so that your doc doesn't have to work on the weekend or be called away from his dinner? The NORMAL range for pregnancy is 38 to 42 weeks. There is no reason to consent to an induction just because you hit a certain date on the calendar. If you and baby are healthy, just say NO.

Answer 6

Well, if your baby is big, then your doctor just wants to get it out before it gets any bigger- you don't want a 10 pound baby chillin in ya and keep growing till you practically burst! So, my doctor tried to naturally induce me by stretching my cervix a couple of times. That didn't work, so he induced me and my daugter and me were both fine! She was 9 pounds and I didn't rip or anything! If you get an epidural though, you want to make sure that you push - you won't feel the contractions, so you won't know when to push. It sounds gross, but push like you are pooping and you will do fine. Trust me, you will do great!

Answer 7

it is much better for you and baby . to let it happen naturally . only induce if theres a problem or your late then you need to help nature along . other than thoses reasons , you do not have to. . allso think its too early to think about it . your not considered late till after 40 weeks . give your baby more time to grow .lately more doctors are inducing women , who dont need to be . well i knew , i have 4 kids 11 , 8 , 6 , and 3 . i have been asked with all of them, but never had if done . two of my kids were born late , as much as one week and still didnt have them induce me . but remember there were no problems . if there were. i would have been induced for the well fare of my child . .

Answer 8

girl are you crazy (smile) i know it can be frustrating to wait and with the heat it is probably terrible but the pain when being induced or should i say the pressure is the same as second stage labor so just wait or have some good sex and it may help it along bless you and congrats but just wait you don't want her to need neo natal because you couldn't wait and pregnancy is 40 weeks for a reason you've waited this long why not wait?

Answer 9

imo labor and birth are natural processes and unless there is a problem, should be left that way. I would not do an induction unless you are a week overdue. induction increases your chances of a c-section also.

Answer 10

First, why does he want to induce labor? If your baby is healthy now, but in some sort of danger, then yes, induce. But if he is doing it just to do it, that's a problem. Find out why first.