Yesterday, Rachel Reed at Midwife Thinking wrote an excellent post detailing the steps of an induction, as well as the “why” of each step of the induction. She does a great job giving a descriptive explanation of the steps of an induction (and there’s a link to a post she wrote on the risks of induction in the blog post as well!). Induction tends to be a hot button issue in various childbirth circles–while inductions are a great tool for bringing on labor when baby’s and/or mother’s health is at risk, now more than ever, elective inductions are being carried out without proper explanation of the risks to mothers and babies.
From ICAN’s White Papers, here are some facts about induction:
- Induction doubles a first time mother’s risk of having her delivery end in a cesarean
- Induction increases the use of forceps and vacuum extraction as well as rates of shoulder dystocia
- Mothers with a prior cesarean who are induced are not only at an increased risk of a uterine rupture, but also have a 33-75% chance of having a CBAC (cesarean birth after cesarean)
If you are facing an induction, please read up on the risks of the procedure, the various methods of induction and the steps of the procedure so that you can make a fully informed decision in conjunction with your health care provider.
