Navigating Induction Decisions: Is It Right for You? | 111

I'm here to help you take the guesswork out of childbirth so you can make the choices that are right for you and your baby. Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace your medical advice. Check out our full disclaimer at the bottom of the screen. of the show notes. 


We're going to talk about is it right for you and how do you decide if it's right for you. So I'm going to briefly talk about what it is and some of the reasons and then I'm going to talk about a little bit of specifics about people who might be pushed into induction or who are more likely to hear about induction. 


However, many times. It's not necessarily the best decision for you. However, we will support you guys if you decide that it's best for you, because that does factor into my feelings about labor induction. Someone has said, I've been told that if he doesn't come in week 38, I'll be induced in 39th week. I'm going to talk to you specifically in a minute because we're going to talk about that and we're going to talk about different things that might be said. 


So what is it? Why is it done? Medical versus elective. So an induction is just that we're going to get your labor started. And that is by us doing some sort of intervention to start your labor. Why is it done? So there's many reasons why it's presented to a mom. There are medical reasons and there are elective reasons. 


So that, that might be a reason why your provider wants you to induce. So any time that it is safer for baby to be outside of mom, whether it's a maternal reason or a fetal reason, then that would be a medical need for induction. Elective, on the other hand, is like maybe you're just tired of being pregnant. 


Or maybe your provider's going out of town, or maybe you're moving. I was actually induced because we were moving from Florida to Tennessee, and I, my ex husband had to start a job at a certain time, didn't want to do it by myself, but I decided to be induced. So that was my own personal reason, and I have a right to make that decision as long as it's a healthy decision for me and baby, and it was. 


And then doctors started coming up with all these reasons why induction is necessary. Namely, you sh this stupid ARRIVE study, which is absolutely bonkers. It's not a f a good, thorough study, but they use it to Make mamas feel that if they go past 39 weeks They're putting themselves and their baby in danger. 


Big baby is a thing that came up after they put so many restrictions on them. Imagine this. Back when I first became a labor nurse, everybody was inducing. They induced all the time. And there was no restrictions. They just did what they want. We couldn't report them. A lot of labor and delivery nurses and charge nurses and hospitals were getting a little frustrated because we were getting more and more NICU inductions. 


Because, imagine if you will, the doctors are sending in a 37 weeker and she's off on her dates and the baby's really 35 weeks gestational age. They're gonna go to the NICU. So we were having so many NICU inductions. restrictions were put in place, and the doctors had a parameter they had to meet before they could even schedule an induction. 


That was not a thing when I was pregnant when I was younger. So that being said, again, if it's something you want and it's elective and it's healthy and it's safe, girl, go for it. You do what you want. You do you and we will support you. That's something we do with our students. We support them, period. 


Okay, so the next thing we're gonna talk about is should I, okay? There are advantages to being induced. One, you can pick your baby's birth date, because you probably won't have, if it's your first baby, even if you're being induced on Wednesday, probably aren't going to have baby till Friday, but there are advantage to being able to decide that. 


Because if it were back in the day and baby needed to come out, you would have had a C section. So thank goodness for induction. Now the disadvantage to the inductions are once we start intervening, it's a cascade effect and we're going to have to do more and more interventions. The other disadvantage is that induced labor does not allow you to build up those natural endorphins and those narcotics that fly, those natural narcotics that fly through your body. 


They don't have time to catch up sometimes. So it does feel worse in, in some sense. You also, you're Duck in the hospital during those days and hours when if you were going into labor on your own You would be going to target going to get food walking around doing your own thing watching tv and thinking Am I in labor? 


It can cause you to have a higher risk for hemorrhage. And there's just been some studies that have shown it can affect like even your bonding with baby. Now I've had six babies, three of which have been induced. So I'm not making anyone feel bad or anything because I had three inductions. I've been there done that. 


So there are risks and benefits to both you and baby. Benefits would be more so if it's healthier for baby to come out of you. Okay, now we're going to talk about decisions. Decisions. So you do have to sit down and you have to write out these factors that you particularly need to consider. So I've had some moms who have chosen to be induced because they struggle with massive anxiety. 


What do I say about options? What is my big thing about options if you don't know the options you don't have any 100%. If you don't know your options, you don't have any. So I want you to really consider that. If you do not know your options, you don't have any. So this is same with induction. You need to know all the different options. 


And you know what? So what? If your doctor's not, doesn't normally do a Foley induction. So what? It's time to learn doctor or find another doctor or a nurse practitioner or a midwife in house that can do it. You need to be able to navigate the plan. Your plan is not out the window. You still have options. 


What are the alternatives? What if I come in and you do cervical ripener, instead of going to Pitocin, I go to nipple stimulation and your doctor's whatever, no just, if you don't think it's, it works, let me try. Let's see. Because it does work. I've had many of VBAC moms that going nowhere and we switch to nipple stim and it's on, game time. 


They are not going to force you They cannot force you. They can only chart that they've recommended it, right? So what I recommend if you do not want to be induced you do not understand And that, or you do not agree, then let's make a compromise with your provider. You can say no, but you can also navigate it the right way where there's just not as much tension. 


Now, if you want to just be like, hell no, sorry. That's that. I'm all for it, but what you can do on the alternative, so let's say you have GDM or you have hypertension, but it's controlled and they're saying, Oh well, I induce all my patients who have GDM at 37 weeks or 38 weeks, or I won't let you go. 


That tells us the fetal being. If their entire concern is about the baby being okay on the inside, then let's just show them that baby is. Now let's say you agree to that. They agree to that because they know you're not going to go anywhere else, right? And you come in for one of your BPPs and your NSTs and baby doesn't pass. 


Guess what? you get induced because now they've shown baby's not doing well. So everybody is reassured. So I just want you to know that you do not have to get backed into a corner. Now the power of the alternatives is there are alternatives. What we do with our labor bat signal is if we have a mama who is going to be induced or is high risk for induction, then we have her start her labor bat signal. 


That's one of the things we do with our I've got a couple of questions. I'm curious I know you're a student, I know you're a student and you have a lot of experience, but I'm curious is there a way to help students to help them prep their body? And that's, one of the reasons, 100 percent one of the reasons why we have the Labor Bat Signal, which I promise you, we are the only birth course that has something like this because we want to help you navigate these twists and turns. 


We don't know until we talk about it. So you have to know the benefits. You have to know the risks. You have to know the challenges of, waiting for natural labor or spontaneous labor would be my other word, is. Difficult. It's difficult and it can be mind boggling and my girls can tell you, that's another good reason to have community and why we've opened back up our student community is that we want all of you guys to have each other to be able to say, okay, all right. 


I'm doing it. I'm okay. I'm gonna make it. Yes, I'm 40 weeks and 4 days, but I'm okay, and I've got this, and I'm gonna stay on top of my mindset because there are challenges when you decide to wait for spontaneous labor. It's not kosher always. It's hard, and your body hurts, and you're tired, and you really want to meet this new baby. 


Or, oh, labor's going to start in three days from now. So this is the last power of surprise that we have. And I feel like it's something we can revel in and enjoy and celebrate instead of being, anxious about it. 


Hey mama, I hope you enjoyed this Facebook live that I did during our last fearless birth experience. If you know nothing about fearless birth experience, go to labor nurse mama. com forward slash fearless and check and see if we have one available. This is where we are going to provide you with a few free workshops. 


Bye for now.