What an Induction Looks like

A portion of the original post Re-Blogged from Public Health Doula:

"I think the impression many women of an induction is that it's similar to regular labor, but you just get to pick your day. Let me be one of many doulas who can tell you: this is not the case!

When you start regular labor at term, it's because a complex set of signals and changes in your body say "This baby is ready; let's get it out." (One way to measure whether the body has begun preparing for labor is a Bishop's score.) When inducing labor, medical staff try to replace those natural signals and changes with manufactured ones: promoting cervical softening and dilation using prostaglandin gels or misoprostol (Cytotec), inducing contractions with artificial oxytocin (Pitocin).

As this cervical ripening and early dilation is generally the longest part of labor anyway, and is much less efficiently done by medications than by normal physiological processes, all of this takes a long time. Often by the time a woman in spontaneous labor would be showing up at the hospital (4-5 cms) you have already been in the hospital 12-24 hours, and still have a ways to go. You're also likely to experience a more intense, painful labor because induced contractions are different from natural contractions, so you're more likely to need pain medications."

True Reasons to Induce Labor:

1. Pre-Existing Maternal Health Conditions
2. Pre-Existing Baby Health Conditions