What actually IS an induction?
Over one third of UK births are induced and that rate is rising; learning what induction is and what it’s designed to do, will help you to decide whether this is a route you’re happy to accept for your baby’s birth.
What happens during an induction?
With 33% of UK births (2022-23) featuring some form of induction, this process is now an established ‘norm’ in maternity care.
But time and time again, I hear the same question being asked: “I’m being induced tomorrow… what’s going to happen?”
This is less than ideal and is why every birth-focused antenatal class and birth workshop I deliver includes a full explanation of induction. While I don’t have time to delve into all the facts and stats here, I feel it’s important to share the basics of this process so that you can make the right, informed decision for you, your body and your baby.
Quite simply, induction is a medical process that helps your body to start or continue labouring. It does not and cannot MAKE the body labour by itself. It can only really encourage the process to start, and there are four ways that this happens:
A stretch & sweep (done by a midwife, normally at an antenatal appointment) to encourage the cervix to efface and dilate.
A prostaglandin pessary or gel, or balloon dilator, to encourage cervical dilation. (can be done as an out or inpatient)
An artificial rupture of membranes (breaking your waters) to encourage cervical dilation.
IV drip featuring synthetic oxytocin to stimulate and / or strengthen contractions.
Informed consent is required for each and every stage and, in theory, you can start the process and then decline any further forms of induction later on.
However, it is common for one intervention to lead to another, and another, and so on; this is partially to do with our psychology and partially to do with the workings of the maternity system.
What is important to remember is that a form of induction, once done, cannot be undone (eg: if you have a stretch and sweep, the effects of this and the experience of this cannot be reversed).
How long after induction will my baby be born?
Honestly, no-one knows. It could be six hours, it could be five days. It entirely depends on your body and how ‘ready’ it is for labour.
For example, if you are already effaced and starting to dilate, a stretch and sweep may well be all the induction you need. This is because your body has already started the process of labour, the hormones are already flowing, and the medical procedure just accelerates the natural process.
These are the type of inductions that run smoothest, and fastest.
However, if this is not the case, and your body is showing no signs of labour, it could well be the case that labour will either take days and several stages of induction to kick start… if it does so at all.
These are the type of inductions that don’t work, and (due to the fact that processes can’t be ‘undone’) end commonly in emergency c-sections.
Is it better to be induced or wait?
Again, there’s no simple answer to this. It totally depends on your physical, emotional and logistical situation, as well as the birth experience you want to have.
But to make your decision, it can be helpful to ask yourself these five questions:
1.Why is induction being recommended?
As with everything commonplace, induction is a routine offering now and it is very likely that an offering will be made to you at some stage. Figuring out the reasons for this pathway becoming open, is really key to making an informed decision.
2. Risks always balance with benefits: what balance am I willing to accept during birth?
Induction was invented for very good reasons, and it does have many benefits in specific situations. But there are also risks. The trick is exploring them within your own frame of reference and understanding which routes strike an acceptable balance for you.
3. What do I want my experience of birth to feel like?
Induced births, especially ones that feature the IV drip, do not feel the same as spontaneous labours or caesareans. How you experience labour and the birth of your baby is a very important and influential part of your start to parenting.
4. What experiences do I absolutely want to avoid?
I’ll say it again: you deserve the birth of your baby to feel positive. That means avoiding the things that’ll make you feel anxious, scared or terrified. Identifying these triggers for you, and relating them to the process of induction will help you navigate a path through birth that you’re happy with.
It’s a myth that induction is always a straight-forward route to giving birth.
I believe that every person approaching the experience of birth (not just the pregnant one, but partners too!) really needs to understand what it is, what it means and how they - as an individual - feels about each stage, before they can decide whether its right for them.
But that can feel overwhelming.
A ‘Doula Power Hour’ can help with that. In our 60 minutes of time together over Zoom, we can really explore what induction is and means to you, going through statistics, risks and benefits to help you discover if induction is right for you, and if it is, what route to take.
You have a choice; my job is to help you feel confident and informed enough to make one that works for you.
