I am 34 weeks along will my baby be ok if labor is induced?

Question

My husband is currently deployed and this is my first pregnancy... He will be home next week for 2 weeks is it safe to induce labor at this point? Is there anything i can do to cause my water to break naturally? Any advice will be very much appreciated. Thank you all in advance!!!

Answer 1

Please don't consider trying to induce your labor this early. A six week premature baby is likely to have a low birth weight and other associated problems (like under-developed lungs). I know this beacuse my first baby was born six weeks early with those problems.

Additionally, while you're husband is going away I'm sure he wants a healthy baby more than he wants to be home at the child's birth. You could get a web cam or video of the birth for him instead (get a trusted friend to help you with this).

Your water will break when your baby is ready to be born. Again, I cannot recommend strongly enough against trying to get labor moving earlier than nature offers. As a parent start putting your child's wellbeing before your own NOW.

Finally, it might be worth talking to your physician. If he or she feels it can be done safely that's a different matter altogether, but I suspect they'll say no (sorry, I wish I had better news - and safe journies to your Husband)

Answer 2

Sorry to hear your husband is deployed, mine is too and he will be home around the time I know I will deliver. I am also 34 weeks. I am sure your OB doctor has made it clear that a baby should not be born until after 36 weeks. Your OB doctor will not induce unless there is a medical concern. Your OB doctor will not induce you unless you are over due and just because your husband is home the doctor will not induce as well. You could have had your husband take his R&R around 36 weeks this way you would have some lead way of when you will deliver. Being a military wife is hard and being pregnant is much harder while our husbands are deployed, this is my 6th deployment but the first time being pregnant while he is away...we have 3 other children.

You are only 34 weeks you do not want to bring on labor. Talk to your OB doctor about this and go from there but I am sure he or she will tell you the same thing. A friend of mine just had her baby a couple of weeks ago and as much as she tried to get her husband home, he missed the birth but they have a healthy baby and he has lots of pictures. There are a lot of military wives who have their babies without their husbands there. It is all part of being part of the military life.

Good luck and congrats!

Answer 3

My baby was born at 34 weeks...she weighed 4 lbs 5 oz and spent the first two weeks in the hospital. I was lucky. They knew she would come early and gave me steroid shots to build up her lungs...a baby in the next bed at 34 weeks wasn't as lucky...she had to be on a respirator. You don't want to have your little baby and then have to leave the hospital without it. That is more heartbreaking than having a baby while your husband is deployed. (I have done that as well, so I know how hard this is for you)

I was induced because I had preeclampsia and the induction didn't go well. Babies at 34 weeks aren't ready to be born, so your body fights it. The baby ended up going into distress and I had an emergency c-section, which made a much harder recovery...you are in a lot of pain for a few weeks...it was even hard to just sit up the first few days.

It is hard to deal with deployment, especially when you are pregnant and you really want to share the birth with your husband, but the best thing you can do for your baby is to let things happen naturally. That is also the best thing you can do for your husband...can you imagine how hard it would be for him to have to deploy if your baby were in the hospital sick because you induced labor early?

Being a military wife isn't easy, but from one military wife to another, I want you to know, you have the strength to get through this!

Answer 4

No its not a good idea to induce labor until its absolutely necessary. The baby puts on weight which is vital to its health and survival outside the womb during these last few weeks.

You'd be risking your child's health without due cause. It'd be different if there was a health issue, or preterm labor, or a failing placenta or something...

Just stay active and dont worry about it. It is quite possible that you could go into labor before these two weeks are over.

Is there any way your husband can request a couple more weeks until you deliver? Some times it is possible...although not commonly...

Answer 5

My baby wanted to be born at 31 weeks and the OBG put me in the hospital for a while and then on bed rest until week 36. She said that she would be concerned if the baby was born before then. Every baby is different but most fetuses' lungs are not fully developed until the last 2-4 weeks. If born ar 34 weeks the baby might have to stay in an encubator for the following month or so and may face lifetime problems with asthma, bronchitis or worst may have some developmental delays, even cerebral palsy. This is what the docotor explained to me when I begged her to induce me at 36 weeks. ( I was having a really rough time with the bed rest and constant contractions, pain, and other health problems.) I know you want your husband to be there for the birth,, but imagine how traumatic if he is but then has to leave you with a very very sick premature baby.... Hang in there and best of luck to all, you, the baby and your husband.

Answer 6

Inducing labour at this point would be medically unsound and dangerous for the baby. If the only reason is because you want to have the baby while your husband is there, then you are being more selfish than concerned.

As a father if my wife had suggested doing soemthing like this I would have been horrified! If it happens because the baby is in danger, your body would be doing it to try and give birth as a natural reaction - you are doing it for some reason that I really cannot understand.

It is NOT medically safe for the baby - don't take my word for it - ask a DOCTOR! Asking for help on the internet for medical issues is litterally like picking people at random on the street for medical advice!

Answer 7

Inducing labor prior to 38 weeks is never a good idea. There is nothing you can do to make that water bag break naturally. When the baby is ready to come he/she will come. I understand you want your hubby there for the birth, but don't risk your childs health at this point.
Inducing labor can have negative affects on your unborn child, so you shouldn't risk that especially if it's not a medical necessity.

Answer 8

No it is not safe. Do not try to induce labor yourself. You will be sorry if you do. Your baby at 36 weeks is still in the vital stages of developing it's lungs. I understand that you want to have the baby with Daddy present but you are risking not being able to bring the baby home for several weeks due to lung failure. Also you are at high risk for high bilireuben which is Jaundice. You could make baby very sick in other words. Please don't do it. Just let baby come when it's ready okay. God bless.

Answer 9

Am I to understand that you want to have your baby early so your husband will be there for the birth? If that is what you are implying you are a totally selfish person that doesn't deserve to be a mother. Why would you jeopardize the health of your baby? Full term is 40 weeks so by having it 6 weeks early you could cause it to have sever health problems. Think things through for the sake of your baby. Isn't the health of your child more important than your husband being around to see it's birth? No doctor would condone this sort of negligence.

Answer 10

No, it really isn't a good idea, as much as I can sympathize with your situation. Before 37 weeks, there is a risk of breathing difficulties occurring. And even at 37 weeks, they do not like to induce because if dating is off, then you can run into the same problems. My last child was a c-section at 38 weeks and they were off by almost 2 weeks, so we ended up with a month premature child. Good luck!