Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Do I Really Need to be Induced? Resources for Informed Decisions

Responses to the 2006 Listening to Mothers II survey indicate that about 35% of birthing women in the US are having their labors induced by their caregivers. Considering the risks of induction, it is helpful for pregnant women to know which cases usually truly warrant induction and which ones usually don't. I hope that if you are faced with induction, these resources can be helpful to you in figuring out whether or not induction is necessary in your case, taking into account your individual health situation.

There are people out there who know what they're talking about more than your student doula/prospective childbirth educator. I've decided instead of writing about this myself, to provide a list of links to various resources available for information on this topic. I have tried to offer multiple perspectives by including links to many types of sources, including research information, statements from professional organizations, care provider opinions, and consumer-oriented information. If you find a link that you feel would be helpful to include in this list, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Suspected Fetal Macrosomia ("The Baby is Too Big")


Post Dates Pregnancy (Being "Overdue")


Oligohydramnios (Low Amniotic Fluid)


Prelabor Rupture of Membranes (Your Water Breaks and You're Not in Active Labor)


Hypertension, Pre-eclampsia, Eclampsia and HELLP (issues involving high blood pressure)


Placental Insufficiency and IUGR (placenta not working properly, baby not growing)


2 comments:

  1. Great collection of information! I bet I'll be referencing this to friends in the future.

    ReplyDelete