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")

• Induction of labor for suspected fetal macrosomia (Cochrane Review)




• ACOG Issues Guidelines on Fetal Macrosomia (American Family Physican)




• Big Baby Bull (by Sheridan of Enjoy Birth)




• "is my baby too big?" (Charis Birth Support)

Post Dates Pregnancy (Being "Overdue")

• A Timely Birth by Gail Hart (Midwifery Today)




• The Lie of the EDD: Why Your Due Date Isn't When You Think by Misha Safranski(Associated Content)




• Induction of labor for improving outcomes for women at or beyond term (Cochrane Review)




• Induction of labor: balancing risks--Midwife Thinking's Blog




• Postdates - from Ronnie Falcao's Midwife Archives

Oligohydramnios (Low Amniotic Fluid)

• Oligohydramnios: Too Little Amniotic Fluid - March of Dimes




• Birth Sense: Low Amniotic Fluid: A Cause for Panic? (original post has become unavailable, but I found the text reposted on another site)




• Gloria Lemay: Low Amniotic Fluid. . . I don't think so




• Amniotic fluid index versus single deepest pocket as a screening test for preventing adverse pregnancy outcome (Cochrane Review)

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

• Planned early birth versus expectant management (waiting) for prelabor rupture of membranes at term (Cochrane Review)




• Pre-labor rupture of membranes: impatience and risk--Midwife Thinking's Blog




• Prelabor Rupture of Membranes--PROM--from Ronnie Falcao's Midwife Archives

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

• High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy - March of Dimes




• Preeclampsia Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment by eMedicineHealth.com




• Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension - from Ronnie Falco's Midwife Archives

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

• Placental Insufficiency Medical Information - medicineonline.com




• Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) --BabyCenter




• Intrauterine growth restirction -- Familydoctor.org

the Women in the Scriptures blog is having a giveaway

Visit Women in the Scriptures to see how you can enter to win some really cool prizes. The blogger, Heatherlady, is a collaborator on the book, The Gift of Giving Life. She is a mother and a doula. Her posts explore the lives of scriptural women in depth and she also writes quite a bit about birth.

Marwa's Hypnobabies Birth Story--a must read!

Check out Marwa's Birth Story on the Hypnobabies Blog. Her story is just full of surprises!

2009 Washington State Cesarean Rates

The Unnecessarean posted the 2009 Washington State Cesarean Rates by Hospital today. The hospitals in my area are actually doing really well. Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital has the lowest rate on the list (not including hospitals that only had one or two births in the year because they don't have labor and delivery departments) at 16.8%, and Toppenish Community Hospital (where I had my son, even though it is farther way, for insurance reasons) is the second lowest, at 17.6%.. I mentioned a few reasons why I think the rates here are so good here in the comments. The factors that influence cesarean rates in hospitals are complex, and the cesarean rate is one measure of how well maternity care is doing in an area. Although the hospitals here are very good, this community can definitely use some improvement in options for childbirth education and birth location, since the hospitals pretty much have a monopoly on both right now. The data did not list the rates for homebirths or birth centers. It's not really fair to compare hospitals whose communities have very few out-of-hospital options to hospitals that have abundant ones--because having out-of-hospital options takes away some of the vaginal births from the hospital's stats. Higher c-section rates in hospitals were there are out-of-hospital births in the area is to be expected. If the data included out-of-hospital births in areas like Seattle, I think it is likely the overall rate for the state would have been lowerl.

16-year old doula shares her story

I was very touched by this passionate young woman's journey to becoming a doula. It is very inspiring to read from someone so young who has educated herself about the world of childbirth and understands the risks of medical interventions. She is even already involved by providing information for teen moms and attending births during her summer vacation! What an awesome girl!