Induction is when a a pregnant women has her labour started for her, medically by use of intervention. For some women this can be life saving for her and her baby, for others it can be a very painful and unnecessary intervention.
I am anti - induction but only for me. If other women think it's the best thing since sliced bread then brilliant. But for me it's a complete NO!
The sad thing is, I probably would have ended up having an induction of my labour back in October 2022, if I hadn't of done online hypnobirthing classes or Daisy Birthing, Preparation for birth classes. These classes gave me the courage to advocate for myself and no that I had a right to say "No!" to interventions that were unnecessary to me.
A spanner was put in the works when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It is a medical condition which would be used as a good reason for an induction. However, I was diet controlled and NICE guidelines state that I can go to 6 days over my due date before an induction has to even be considered. Thankfully, I had no other risk factors. Baby was growing well and scans all looked good. My blood sugar readings were good and the consultants I saw were not worried at all about them.
Sadly in Northern Ireland 50% of pregnancies end up being induced, that's half of the pregnancies that happen here will or have been started medically. That is a very scary figure and it needs to drop. Sadly, it's not going to drop anytime soon. Chances are with the closure of the Causeway maternity wars in Coleraine, it'll only get worse.
I've heard of so many non medical reasons for women having their pregnancy's induced:
- over their estimated due date
- being due on a bank holiday or near a bank holiday
- no staff or beds
- it's hospital policy or the law. (it is never the law)
None of these are good enough reasons for a woman to have an induction. Women should not be coerced into accepting without knowing all the risks and benefits. Gestational diabetes, baby size or a women's weight/BMI cannot be used as reasons for inductions. Women, however will be scare mongered into accepting these interventions, often told they are at risk of a still birth. Still birth or death of the mother is the worst case scenario and midwifes, doctors, consultants are not allowed to scare you or coerce you. Would you allow a surgeon to remove your appendix if there was nothing wrong with it? Or go to the dentist for a check up only for them to remove a tooth without your permission or for good reason?
So here is why I refused induction and why in the future, I will refuse it unless it will benefit me and my baby (should I ever have another one)
1) Days in hospital
I detest hospitals and the thought of staying the night, brings on serious anxiety. The last thing I wanted before having Isaac, was being stuck in hospital for several days. I wanted to be at home, relaxing and increasing the oxytocin. I wanted to sit on my sofa, sleep in my own bed, eat home cooked meals and binge watch my favourite television shows.
2) Increased Pain
I don't do well with pain. I surprised myself with how I manged with contractions and labour. When induced it means your pain and contractions can go from 0 to 100 in minutes, with many women stating they couldn't deal with. With spontaneous labour, contractions get stronger gradually and you can do various things to help cope with the pain, such as a hot bath. When induced you won't have access to a hot bath due to being stuck in bed.
3) Being bed ridden
It's well known now that being mobile during early labour can help the pain. Walking, bouncing on a birthing ball and rotating to dilate are just some of the movements can help with pain. I would hate to be stuck in a hospital bed for days, not being able to move around.
4) Not being in control
One of the most amazing things about birthing a baby is being in control of your body and pushing when you feel the urge. It makes you feel like a freaking goddess. It's also important to be in control of your birthing position, pain relief and what happens once the baby is out. This is why you're encouraged to write a birth plan stating what you want and how you want it. There's a huge chance of your labour and birth being dictated to you by midwifes.
5) Increased risk of C-section
It's a well known fact that the majority of inductions will end in an emergency C-section due to *failing* to progress. Chances are there will be a time limit of how long the induction should last or it'll last so long that mother and baby are in distress. Recovery from a C-section takes much longer than a vaginal birth with many more risks. It's major abdominal surgery after all. Some women see it as an easy way out. Hell, I had people tell me to go for a section as it would be *easier*. Yes, I wouldn't have to go painful contractions or birth but I'd have a much worse recovery and a massive scar on my tummy with a huge risk of haemorrhaging or infection.
6) Being seen as a failure
If you have had your labour induced and it hasn't encouraged your baby to come, you have not failed! Your body has not failed! Your baby was just not ready to come, yet midwifes etc will make it out that you are the failure, that your body failed when it hasn't. I don't want that pressure put on me during a time when I should be increasing the oxytocin and keeping the stress levels to a minimum. I don't want to put my body or my baby through that extra stress which can cause more problems.
7) My baby will come when they are ready
Our bodies are bloody amazing vessels, that are capable of doing the most amazing things, such as grow and birth a tiny human. Sometimes our bodies fail us and we might need life saving interventions in order for us to birth our babies safely. When we find out we are pregnant, we are given an estimated due date. This is not the exact date in which your baby will arrive. Unless you're one of 4%. This gives you a rough idea of when baby will come. Some will come early and others will be happy chilling in your womb for a few extra days or weeks. For some reason our health trusts don't like us going into spontaneous labour so they like to force induction and sections onto us. Many women will be taken in from about 36 weeks. If baby and mummy are healthy then what is the issue? I had gestational diabetes. NICE guidelines state I can go to 40 weeks + 6 days or longer if everything is OK. A big baby is often an excuse used to scare Mums into inductions but our bodies are more than capable. Our uterus, cervix and vagina will stretch to accommodate our baby, regardless of size. We can do various things to assist our babies descend down the birth canal by being mobile, rotating to dilate, breathing, floppy face floppy fanny (naked doula on Instagram) and having faith in our abilities. Isaac was actually born on his due date of the 3rd October.
Induction might not be for everyone. I've seen women happy to accept induction while others, like myself, refuse. There is nothing wrong with advocating for yourself and asking questions. during my hypnobirthing classes, we were taught about BRAIN
B - Benefits
R - Risks
A - Alternatives
I - Initiative
N - No
If I do decide to have another baby, who knows how that pregnancy will go. I know my age will probably go against me as I'll be over 36 and apparently 35 and over is *high risk*. I also had gestational diabetes so I will have to be tested for that too. I will be advocating for myself and asking the all important questions. The scary thing is, is one of our maternity units in Co. Antrim is closing and all births are being directed to the hospital I gave birth in. This will put that hospital under even more pressure than it is already. I read an article that stated that they were planning on increasing induction days from 5 days a week to 7, meaning more women will be forced into unnecessary inductions.
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