BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Pregnancy Do you think that this is wrong?

Well my doctor is due to have a baby anyday now as am I and we talked today about the fact that I am really worried that she will be in the hospital with her baby while I am in the hospital or before and I will be left with a doctor that I do not know, so she told me today that she will induce me on the 12th(which is 3 days before my due date) if I have not had the baby yet and it gives me comfort knowing that we have a plan.

I know that some ppl think it is wrong to get induced early just to see your child but in this situation it puts me at ease so is it wrong?

So long as you are acting on the advice of your doctor, who should know what's best,and the plan puts your mind at rest do what's best for you and the baby.

Who knows, you might go into labor on your own earlier before the 12th without having to give the baby a nudge.

That is what my doctor said. see I am alrady dialated to a 2 and my doctor stretched my cervix yesterday and said that that can make me dialate more, so if I don't go into labor we will induce. I just wanted to know if anyone thought that it was the wrong thing to do.

My doctor did that with my first 21-days overdue baby (24 years ago--I don't think they let you go that long anymore) and I started labor that night--abour 14 hours after (they were inducing the next morning, regardless, but I was 4 cm when I got there. More than the 2 cm I had been for about a month!)

So, it's fine, actually and may start labor for you in the next day or two.

Enjoy this time--relax, try to sleep, eat a nice meal (Until you are in active labor), shower, shave your legs (it'll be awhile!) sleep some more.

Good Luck!

I can TOTALLY understand you wanting your own doctor. My doctor was in a practice with others, all men but my doctor was a woman and I really loved her.

Well during the day when I came in the men were on duty and I knew my doctor came on at 6. I was hoping to be able to wait until then. The nurse was an old friend of my Mothers so I asked her to not tell the male doctor the truth that I was going to need to start pushing, which she did. It was a matter of like 15 minutes and my doctor came on duty. She had like three babies going at once that night but managed to be there to deliver my daughter.

Labour can be a frightening thing, it helps SO much to have your own doctor with you.

Try not too worry so much, your going to be fine and your baby will be fine as well.

I don't think I'd say that you are "wrong" for this plan, however, I am very strongly against early induction and will maybe offer a bit of opposite perspective. The truth is that in an uncomplicated hospital birth, your doctor is not that involved. You will mostly be dealing with labor and deliver nurses and your doctor just sort of pops in at the end to catch the baby.

Induction on the other hand, often leads to more and more interventions and more and more complications and you are more likely to have an emergency, a problem with the baby or a c-section than if you just allow labor to start and progress on its own.

I wonder if it would make as much sense for you to have an appointment with whomever your doctor is planning as a backup instead of planning an induction. Then maybe you would feel more comfortable. Ironically, you are much more likely to *need* your doctor (for some sort of complication) if you induce than if you just let things follow their own course. If labor hasn't started, it's because the baby isn't ready, and I believe that should be respected. Induction is/was/is suppposed to be intended for situations where the body is no longer healthy for the baby. This would be in postdue situations when fluid is low or placenta is aging, when the mother has high blood pressure or diabetes (or other complication) or in the VERY rare situation of IUGR (interuterine growth retardation). It is not meant to be used routinely or for convenience as so many doctors are doing nowadays. I suppose it is a step up from scheduled Cs for the same purpose, but only slightly.

So I understand your concern, but I would urge you to look at alternatives. Doctors and hospitals like to play off things like epidurals and inductions as routine and risk free, but they are not. They have risks, cause complication and have lasting effects on you, the baby and things like breastfeeding success rates.

Just my 2 cents.. hope it is helpful to you.

Though I understand your concerns I don't know that I think that induction is so bad, but because of the fact that my mother was induce with all 3 of her kids, had no complications with the birth or breastfeeding. And my sister brother and I are all fine, me and my sister never get sick and the only reason that my brother gets sick is because he inherated ceizures from my grandfather.

And in the case that you say that doctor's arn't very involved, my doctor is completly involved and said that she would be very involved in the birth. also I know that if I am stressed about another doctor instead of mine that is going to put stress on me and the baby.

Also I think that I would rather have a doctor that knows my medical history during this pregnancy and knows who I am by name not reading a chart, it would put me at ease.

Although I thank you for your advice, I strongly believe that my doctor wouldn't let anything happen to me. (she works with my mom and is preforming a surgery on my mom in december, and I think she knows if she did something wrong with me my mom wouldn't go to her. my mom works in the er and all the nurses there have had her as there doctor and highly reccomend her) let's just say I fully trust her.

I think it is generally best to allow baby to come out in his or her own time. Induction should really only be used when it is medically necessary.
When I was born, my mother's doctor was going on vacation the next day so he induced the labor to ensure that he delivered me (and of course to ensure that he was paid for the delivery!!). Were it not for the fact that the hospital had an excellent infant icu, I would not be alive today. I have always suspected that had I been allowed to arrive on my own time and not on the doctors vacation schedule, my first weeks of life would not have been so dire.

I agree to some extent. However, my mother was not so lucky to be induced with my older brother 35 years ago. He was due on May 30, 1973 and did not arrive until July 3, 1973. By the time he was "ready" to arrive, his eyes were matted shut (was destined to have vision problems because of this), he weighed over 11 pounds and had inverted ankles (which required him to wear a brace for over 2 years). I think it's really up to the doctor and his/her level of expertise to determine the correct date to induce or if to just wait. After all, technology and medicine have advanced since we were both born (ultrasounds, aminos, etc.) and there are so many ways to determine if the baby is ready to be welcomed into the world. Problems can still occur but they can occur in any birth once you think about it. Good topic of conversation!

I am afraid, I have to agree totally with everything BreastfeedingEditorNicki wrote. There is no reason to interfere with a normal, healthy pregnancy and complications can occur. Unless there is some danger to the baby, I am very much against medical interference for the sake of convenience. Also bear in mind, that the drugs used to induce labor can cause FAR more painful contractions. I had my last baby induced because of a medical issue and the pain hit me like a sledgehammer, unlike the more gradual build up I had been used to, and stayed intense.

I would be very surprised if your doctor spent more than a few minutes here and there with you and then arrived at the end to deliver the baby - its just a lot of standing around for them, and they tend not to do it. You will also be totally preoccupied with dealing with pain, breathing and all that, to worry about who is there or not!

Your doctor appears to be advising you not on medical grounds, but on convenient timing grounds for her, this means you are not getting good medical advice.

Ask at least, to meet with her replacement, see if you like her/him. If you hate them on sight, then ok! but at least give yourself and your baby the chance of a drug free, natural birth before you make this decision. Good luck.