?s about being induced

[shortstax]

I know next to nothing about the decision about labor being induced.  DS was early, so this is new territory.

Assuming no complications in your pregnancy, how long would you go beyond your due date before asking about induction? My Dr's standard is to induce at 42 weeks (barring complications.) Does that seem so long to anyone else?  

Ps- my due date is Friday, so I could still have this baby any time. However, I have an appt tomorrow and I want to ask some informed ?s about induction.

Any advice or anecdotes welcome!

[katiecj6]

My doctor chose to induce at 41 weeks due to blood pressure. I think your experience will be based on how "ready" your body is. At 40 weeks, I wasn't dilated at all, when I came to the induction at 41 weeks, I was 3cm dilated.

My induction took 3 hours. It was great. I spent more time waiting for them to start inducing me, then it actually took.

If I were to do it again, I'd probably push to wait until 41.5 weeks, I'm positive I would of had him on my own within the next couple days. But no regrets.

[spk926]

Seems normal to me. Some clinics won't go past 41 weeks, others have 42 weeks as the cutoff date. No doctor that I've heard of will let someone go past 42 weeks though. If it was me I would just bring it up as in, "what are you thinking? How long are you comfortable letting me go?" They're the doctor and the expert so I would follow what they say.

[ilikedonuts]

My hospital just changed their elective inductive (non medical reason) rules to 41 weeks for women who have already given birth before. 42 weeks for 1st time moms. It previously was any time after 40 weeks as long as the head nurse and your OB thought you were favorable for an induction.

That being said I was induced both times at 40w1d and are happy with my induction experiences.

[shortstax]

Feb 4, 2015 22:08:35 GMT -5 farmvillelover said:

I really didn't want to go past 40.5 weeks and I got induced at 40w6d

I didn't really have any scientific basis for where I stood, I just got nervous at the thought of him being inside when I wanted him outside with me where I knew he was safe. Again, I realize I have no basis but that was my gut feeling on ut

I totally understand that feeling! Everyday I get a little more paranoid about how much movement I feel even though everything has been "normal" so far. 

[MrsAggie]

I personally wouldn't want to go past 41 weeks. My OB said she normally lets patients go 1-1.5 weeks after their due date. After that point I'm concerned about meconium, perfusion (the cord will look shriveled), macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, etc. Obviously everything could go perfectly but I was uncomfortable with the risks just from personal experience.

[Velar Fricative]

Until I got to around 41 weeks, I was okay with going up to 42 weeks, as was my OB barring any issues. My hospital had a policy of no inductions for first-time moms before 41 weeks unless medical issues arose and I personally would not have felt comfortable being induced before 41 weeks anyway in general so that was fine with me.

When the OB checked me at 41 weeks, there was still zero progress since 37 weeks and he said in his experience, he did not believe another week would make a difference but still supported me going to 42 weeks since anything could happen. I decided to schedule the induction at 41w3d based on our discussion.

Have an idea in mind regarding when to schedule an induction but you can always change your mind later.

[luckyno7]

My Dr typically likes to wait 7-10 days after due date to induce. However, that assumes baby passes stress test at the 40 week appointment and everything looks ok. This is my 3rd and he might actually induce me between 39-40 weeks if this pregnancy progresses at the same rate as my first two. I am usually dilated to a 4 at least 1-2 weeks before my due date.

[pinkdutchtulips]

my OB doesn't let her patients go past 41wks. we scheduled my induction at my 40wk appt in the off chance i didn't go on my own.

41wks came and no baby so we went through w the induction
8:45a hooked up pictocin drip
3:30p started pushing
3:51p dd was born

[shortstax]

Thanks for all of the quick replies! Knowing 41 weeks seems rather "standard" too gives me some good perspective.

[july]

If I remember, my doctor said that I would be induced a few of days after my due date.

I don't know if this was because i was really swollen and he was concerned about pre e. I was measuring my bp daily and when I came home from work it was sky high. Minutes later, my water broke so that solved the question of what I should do. I was 2.5 weeks early.

[sjh722]

The practice I go to will let you go 10 days overdue, generally. (I was not overdue, but that's what they told me early on.)

I think you have to have NST done every 3 days once you hit your due date to make sure baby's okay.

[pooh8402]

I wouldn't want to go past 41 weeks. The placenta starts degrading at that point, babies get big and you have to worry about shoulder dystocia, blood sugar issues, etc. Yes, I know there are perfectly healthy babies born later (I was a 41w6d 9#6 baby myself) but it's not a chance I'd like to take. My OB won't let me go past 41 weeks.

[Deleted]

I was okay going to 42w, but my doc set my induction for 41w6d because 42w fell on a Saturday and that was inconvenient for the doc.

She came on her own at 41w4d and only weighed 6lbs11oz. I think it's great your doc isn't pushing induction before 42w, that's certainly not the norm. I had to fight to get 41w 6d.

Statistically speaking most babies will spontaneously be born prior to 42 w so yours probably will be too.

[Brie]

My OB doesn't want you going past 41.5 weeks or so.

With C, I went to my 40.5 week appointment and they basically told me to pick my date within the next week. I scheduled my induction for 41w1d because it was the doctor I liked best on call.

[erbear]

I was induced at 42 weeks with #1. She came via c-section four days later...so no, 42 weeks does not seem excessive to me. Baby comes when baby is ready. I did have NSTs every few days to check on things, but she was comfy and happy, apparently.

[deo]

Here they won't induce you until 41w3d unless there is a medical reason to do it earlier.

With my first I was induced at 41w3d (delivered 48 hours later). With my second they started the induction at 41w3d but it didn't take and it was a Friday so I had to come back on the Monday for another induction attempt 41w6d (small hospital with limited weekend OR coverage, didn't want to chance it in case I needed a c-section). He was born at 42w. Stubborn babies.

[heygrey]

my midwives would discuss an induction at your 41w appt so depending on how busy the hospital was you'd get schedule in for 41w2-5d. i believe there was at least 1 nst ordered in the 40th week to check on the baby.

i ended up with a medical induction at 39w6d so i didn't get to experience any of this first hand.

[fortmyersbride]

I would not want to go past 41wks.

I don't know what my OB's preference was as long as how long he would have let me go. My first came on his own at 39 wks, with 2 and 3 I was induced at 39.1 and 39.3 wk's per my preference and my OB's ok. I was also 4-5 cm and fairly effaced at those points, so I wasn't worried about the inductions being successful. If I hadn't been so favorable for induction, I would have waited as long as 41 wks.

[KKD]

It can vary by practice, but in most cases, 42 weeks is the hard limit for first-time moms. For second+ time moms, my OB recommends induction by 41 weeks.

I was induced with my first at 41w3d; once I hit 41w I was ready to consider it. With my second I was facing an induction at 41w2d (which was later than their second pregnancy rule, but it was a long holiday weekend) but went into spontaneous labor at 41w. With my third I was induced at 40w5d due to low fluid (and ended up with a knotted cord). With all of them I had NSTs starting at 40w.

[redheadk]

My dr would have let me go right up to 42 weeks, based on hospital availability (they only schedule so many inductions per day).

We started talking induction around 38.5 weeks bc my OB was leaving for a 2 week trip to Africa and would be gone for my 39th and 40th weeks. I wanted her opinion. I had a really good pregnancy and DD was not big so she was very comfortable with going right up to the cut off.

In the end, I ended up deciding to be induced at 41w, 1d. At that point, my membranes had been stripped twice and I'd been walking around dilated to a 3 for a few weeks. It was not looking likely that she'd come on her own.

My induction took a long time (not sessalee long, but still) due to other issues but my body responded quite well and I did have DD vaginally with no mention of c-section so I consider it very successful.

[gretchenindisguise]

Mine would have let me go to 42w. I was induced at 41w1d.

I had a really great induction with both.

[mrsg123]

My doc did not allow past 41 weeks.

[sewf]

I was induced at 41 weeks. My doctor pretty much decided for me, since he had hospital hours that day. There was no stress or anything, just that he likes to get babies out by then. Well, maybe there was a reason and he didn't tell me! I was lucky enough to see my doctor every time, as opposed to being shuffled between OBs, so I trusted him to do what he thought was right for me (after discussing it with me, of course).

Honestly, I enjoyed my induction. I liked the "control" I had, because I'm not good with chaos. Knowing what was happening when and that I had doctors and nurses there made me more relaxed and able to be "in the moment" and centered.

[jewel]

Mine would not let me go beyond 42 weeks. I didn't want to be induced, so i was holding out as long as she'd let me go. I failed my NST at 41w 4d and was admitted immediately for an induction. It actually went far better than I had imagined.

[Queen Mamadala]

Average gestation for a primip is 41w1d and multip, 40w3d. In an ideal situation I would be comfortable with 41.5-42 weeks, with weekly NSTs and BPPs once I hit 41 weeks. Baby's size would not worry me.

However, in my own personal situation, outside the "ideal," with my 4th and 5th babies, 39 weeks was the "it's time to induce" point. With late term/birth loss the last few weeks can be absolutely nerve-wracking and anxiety-ridden. I told my midwife with #4, a homebirth midwife, that I wanted to induce once at 39 weeks. I explained this at my consult with her, and she was very understanding and supportive of my reasons. She had experience with these situations.

This last pregnancy, also a planned homebirth, I started showing signs of PIH at 37.5 weeks, and my anxiety was already elevated. I nearly broke down at one of the last visits with her, explaining my worries, and all of the emotions that come with the anxiety. She knew I was stressed out and was willing to put together a plan if I didn't go into labor on my own before then, which I was so sure would not happen. She offered to do a stretch and sweep the day after Thanksgiving at 38w5d. The weekend I hit 38 weeks, two days after we made the plan, I was 4.5 cm, 70% and 0 station. To everyone's surprise my forebag released the evening of 38w3d, but no labor until I augmented the next day on TG. So we didn't need the sweep after all.

I'd plan it the same way if I have another.

[Deleted]

My practice standard is 41 weeks. We all know how well that turned out for me, but my failure to progress is not likely due to the induction.

Looking back I may have waited another few days to see if I had progressed at all on my own so I would know my body was 'ready'. It clearly wasn't.

[cinco]

My practice was also 41w, but I had an elective induction at 39 w (due to convenience and a history of fast labors)

[azurely]

My dr said she would induce at 41 weeks for first pregnancies, since data shows that women are not likely to go into labor on their own after 41 weeks.

I was induced at 40w3d because my BP was high.