Due Date?

This is an issue that hits close to home for me. I have three children and two of them were inductions and one was an augmentation. I really wish I would have been more informed on the whole birth and pregnancy situation all together. I would have done it COMPLETELY differently. I probably would have used a midwife and definitely avoided the inductions.

I feel very fortunate that my inductions did not lead to a c-section, as they do in so many cases. Not to mention, the contractions from an induced labor are much stronger which can lead to unnecessary epidurals, which can lead to heart rate issues in the baby or mother, which can ultimately lead to MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY (a c-section). I don't know how many times I have heard a mother who had an induction say, "well they had to do the c-section because the baby's heart rate was getting low". Actually, you had to get a c-section because your doctor induced you before your baby was ready to be born on its own.

The issue is that so many women are induced these days that it has become common practice. I was speaking to two different pregnant women over the weekend and both were between 36-38 weeks. BOTH women had already set an induction date with their doctor! When I explained to them that a normal pregnancy is about 42 weeks they said "well my doctor said she is really full-term at 38 weeks and she is just getting fat in there after that so it isn't necessary to wait that long". Those types of statements by doctors are the ones that lead women to believe that inductions are COMPLETELY safe. When the medical facts DO NOT back those claims up. Induction is risky and c-sections are EXTREMELY risky.

However, induction is so common place that women now ask other women "when are you having your baby?". They ask it as if all women should be induced. This really saddens me. Here in the United States, we as women, have essentially given up our right to birth naturally and safely. You are a "hippie" if you decide to have your baby in a natural way.

Don't get me wrong, there are times and places for inductions and/or c-sections. However, the number of women receiving these procedures is outrageous.

Here is a great article to read on the matter by the awesome Dawn Papple.