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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Inductions

Yesterday afternoon at my doctor's appointment, my midwife asked me if I was interested in an induction at 39 weeks.

Come to find out, this is a "routine" offer. *I cringe*

I politely declined, and she went on to tell me Sam is measuring great, my blood pressure is great, my weight gain is great, Sam's heart rate is great, and pretty much everything is great. (She also helped me draft a sassy and succinct birth plan to make sure "they" know "I mean business" :o) and she told me she wrote in my chart that she wants to be paged when I come into Labor and Delivery even if she's not on rotation. Looks like I scored me a true pro-natural-labor midwife!)

Time for my rant.

Why would they want to induce labor? If everything is going great, or even just "normal", why on earth would it make sense to induce? I get it, pregnancy stinks. For some more than others. And as you near your "due date" and there's the possibility that you're not really starting labor at all (like me!) an offer like that can be very tempting.

You mean I could have Sam this weekend? Hmmmm...gosh that *would* be nice. I'd get to hold her finally! (And kiss her and hug her and love on her!!!) I'd be on the road to having my body back to myself (minus the nursing part) and I could be saying goodbye to all the uncomfortable pregnancy junk we ladies deal with. Jesse would be able to take some leave and we'd get some great quality time together as a family.

But, uh, what if Sam's not ready? What if God designed her little body to send a signal to my body to let everyone know that it's time? What if that's nine days "late"...like her big sis?

What if inducing labor early would put us both through a ton of stress and lead to complications...like a c-section??

What if *40 weeks* is not a magic number and should be held lightly?

Again, I get it. Induction can save lives. There are definitely medical reasons to do it. Some kids really do overstay their welcome in hotel uterus. Some mommies really do have complications that can lead to unsafe conditions for both. But there are also clear medical reasons not to induce. Especially if it's just for the convenience of others (mom, doctor, etc). If there's no real reason to induce, let the poor little baby cook till it's ready!

Background: My mom is my hero. I put her (and her poor body) through one heck of an ordeal when I was born. (Side note - I was induced) Fast forward to her last baby. She decides to go natural and delivers my sister at a birth center with a midwife...drug free. Induction free. Pain free? No. But, she always told me it was the best labor and delivery of the four of us. So when it was my turn to consider the options, my mom's experiences encouraged me to step into the realm of hippie stuff like natural childbirth.

I'm so glad I did.

(Hi, Mom! I LOVE YOU!!!)

Um, so the moral of this story is I wish our society would stop doing such a disservice to poor mommies and their bodies and their babies by doing silly things like offering unnecessary inductions. Or even that doctors would take a chill pill and actually do some tests to determine if an "overdue" baby is truly overdue. Sometimes they aren't! Seeing 40 weeks as a black and white delivery date is crazy talk! And inducing for no reason is just nuts!

The end. Thanks for listening. And please pray that Sam comes *relatively* close to her due date...not for my convenience ;o) but so that I don't have to do battle with any induction-happy doctors.

The end. For real this time.

6 comments:

  1. That's really awesome... Reading your blog really inspires me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and "rant" I loved every moment of it! Blessings to a safe delivery.

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  2. I love you too darlin' - - and we'll be praying for no induction-happy doctors! By the way - you were induced at 40 weeks (on your due date) with zero previous contractions and zero dialation - and for the entire first day (12 hours) I never really had a contraction! So they unhooked the pitocin and let me sleep and hooked me back up in the morning! My first 'real' contractions didn't happen till noon and you weren't born till 9:30pm after they broke my water at like 6pm or so! (hmm . . . I don't think you were really 'ready' to be born - nor was my body ready to have you be born)!

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  3. Leah: Thanks!
    Victoria: You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it! ;o)
    Mom: My point EXACTLY!

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  4. AMEN Sister!! Down with induction-happy doctors! Ugh. And on a happy note - can't wait to get the update that you're in labor/at the hospital/finally holding Sam! :)

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