Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : July 30, 2014 5:00 PM IST
If you've landed on this page, your doctor has probably talked about 'inducing labour' with you. You're scared and do not know if you should opt for it. You ask your friends and relatives who have been through it and all your hear from them is the amount of pain it caused them. Well, that doesn't help, doesn't it? You want to know the pros and cons of the procedure, if it is really indicated for you. What are the implications if you decide to wait it out instead of choosing this option? In this post, Dr Veena Zaveri, consultant gynecologist from Kohinoor Hospital, Mumbai tells you all that you ought to know about induced labour.
What is induced labour? Why is it required?
Inducing labour is a process where your labour pains are set in artificially to help you progress into labour. This option is put forward due to a medical emergency or if the mother is suffering from any other health condition that might cause a threat to the baby's health and well-being in the womb.
When should you opt to induce labour?
There are multiple reasons that would compel your practitioner or the doctor to induce your labour like,
How is labour induced?
Some of the ways through which labour can be induced are:
How is induced labour different from natural labour?
Induced labour can cause intense pain and prolong the labour process whereas natural labour is less painful and shorter in duration. Moreover being an artificial process induced labours are difficult to start with and may not always give desired results.
What are the risks of induced labour?
Though inducing labour is generally a safe option but it does come with its own share of risks.
Failure to progress into labour: Induced labours are usually long and more painful. Many times the induction fails to help get into smooth labour which can lead to an emergency C-section.
Foetal distress: After inducing your baby's foetal heart rate is checked and monitored closely. If the baby shows any signs of distress like a racing heart rate, less oxygen supply through the umbilical cord or your contractions are coming in too fast due to inducing which can stress her out chances are you might have to go under the knife.
Uterine rupture: Though very rare but some medications given during labour induction can lead to a serious complication where the uterus might tear open along the scar line of a previous C-section or a major uterine surgery.
How is one chosen for inducing labour?
A sonography with a color Doppler is done to check if the blood flow to the foetus is normal and the umbilical cord is not wrapped around the neck of the baby. A non stress test or foetal heart tracing is done to check if the baby would be able to tolerate labour. In case of foetal distress or umbilical cord wrapped around the neck your doctor might want to give induction a miss.
What if one chooses to wait for labour to set in naturally and not induce?
One can wait up to two weeks post the due date for labour to set in naturally with very close monitoring. Anything beyond that can lead to other complications in the womb which may be dangerous for the foetus, such as
Can an epidural be used when the labour is induced?
Artificially set in labour is considered to be more painful than natural labour. Epidural stands to be safe to help one ease the pains and progress towards birthing.
Can induced labour result in natural delivery?
No. Complications can arise at anytime during labour. Usually foetal distress and non-progression of labour after induction leads to a C-section.
What are the pros and cons of inducing labour?
The pros are that inducing can lead to a vaginal birth and assure a faster healing devoid of any cut in the abdomen. The cons are its more painful, prolonged and if complications arise it can lead to a C-section.
When should you not opt for induced labour?
One should not choose this option when:
You may also like to read:
For more articles on labour management, visit our pregnancy section. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.
