Should Labor be Induced?

This is bound to be a touchy subject. Some people are all for induction (at 39 weeks) and some are very much against it. If it's not necessary, why do it? Some do it for convenience, others because they are simply miserable and can't wait another day. I didn't realize doctors could induce prior to 39 weeks when there is no medical reason to do so. Were any of your babies induced? Why or why not?

FROM ABC: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued new guidelines about labor induction during pregnancy. Unless an urgent medical situation is present, women now need to be at least 39 weeks along before they should be induced.

Labor usually starts on its own but may be induced if the health of the mom or baby is at risk. In total, labor is induced in about 20% of pregnancies in the US.

Many of these inductions are non-urgent situations. The biggest change in the new guidelines addresses these non-urgent situations. The previous guidelines had found it all right for induction to take place as long as the baby was full term, or at least 37 weeks.

The NEW recommendations state that the gestational age of the baby
needs to be at least 39 weeks before induction should proceed. This is for the health of the baby - to give the baby more time to grow in the womb.

The guidelines also now warn doctors against using the drug Misoprostol to induce labor in women who have had a prior cesarean delivery, because of the possibility of harm to both the mother and
baby.

Source: from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
published in Obstetrics & Gynecology

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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