Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
5
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Thoughtful Thursday! “…We Won’t Even Begin To Discuss Induction Until You Are At Least 7-10 Days Over Due.”
“Unless there is a true medical reason, we won’t even begin to discuss induction until you are at least seven to ten days over due.” – Certified Nurse Midwife
There are 11 comments to this post.
first time mommy had this to say,
Jan 5, 2012 @ 6:59 am (Quote)
=) yay!
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Almost awesome. The thing that makes it less than awesome is that if you take “due” as 40 weeks (and ignore the problems with using LMP to date conception for the moment), then 7-10 days “overdue” is *average* gestation time for a primipara – am I remembering right that it’s about 41 weeks 3 days? Half over, half under.
Which means this midwife is saying she won’t urge induction on the mother until around the average time you’d normally expect the birth. Which means only half of the babies in her care will be possibly forced out early for no reason other than “dates”.
Which is, in fact a great improvement over “all babies must be out at least two weeks before average” (“We won’t let you go beyond 39 weeks!”), and also she is putting it in terms of “talking about it” rather than making demands, and that’s all good, but y’know… some Thoughtful Thursdays just make me depressed because they show how far we have to go to get to something resembling normalcy and sanity in these areas. Because in that world, this statement wouldn’t be exceptional. In fact, it might be considered a bit overeager.
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Tee Reply:
January 5th, 2012 at 3:35 pm (Quote)
I understand what you’re saying and you do have a point. But she said they wouldn’t begin to “discuss” it until then. Discussing doesn’t mean doing. It only means talking. For all we know, the discussion could be along the lines of, “Well, we can go another 10 days but then we need to induce.” For what it’s worth, I still wouldn’t agree with induction then unless baby or Mom is showing signs of needing the pregnancy to end. But you get what I mean.
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Toni Reply:
January 7th, 2012 at 8:58 am (Quote)
As someone who has had two 42 week pregnancies (first was induced at 42w 1d, next came spontaneously at 42w 0d) and is expecting her third child (EDD May 18, but I don’t expect to go into labor ’til June 1, lol) this would be reassuring on the one hand (light years better than the OB who told me they would “let” me go to 41 w, but then would “have to” induce… I’m no longer seeing that practice, lol), but still not great. I don’t want to even discuss induction until 42 weeks, barring medical issues that would indicate it. I’m cool with tests of fetal well being, and I guess if the “discussion” is in abstract terms (‘you are approaching 42 weeks, I want to discuss when and how we will approach an induction IF you have not yet gone into labor on your own by then’), then that’s ok. But often “discussing” translates to: I will tell you when I want you to show up for the induction that I am ordering…
So while this is an improvement over what many (most?) providers would say, it’s not the best TT I’ve seen, by a long shot 
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Yeah, could be better, but honestly don’t see much to complain about here. Discussing induction isn’t the same as pushing it. That is what my midwives did for me last time. I miss them. They were policy bound to “discuss” with me. And then they supported me when I said no, and happily delivered my way “late” babies.
I have a nagging feeling I’ll be “discussing” induction at my 32 w appt (them setting me up for it, I mean) and I’m not happy about it. My part of the discussion will be “No. no. no. no.”
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This is mine.
I love this practice. I was concerned about induction, so I asked what their policy was. This was their response. They would discuss it around 41 weeks, but that was it–no pressure to actually induce. Ultimately, baby girl came two days after her due date (but three days after labor started).
The midwife and OB (small practice–just the two) are very supportive of natural child birth and at every appointment, would go over my birth plan. They would also include suggestions on how to best get the birth I wanted and how to avoid unnecessary interventions.
On another note, I need to submit the other “Thoughtful Thursday” quotes my OB said during/after my daughter’s birth.
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Add Your Comment.
This sounds like my CNM/OB practice that I had with my first pregnancy and birth. When I was 39w6d I asked how long they would “let” me go and they told me they didn’t want to hear the word induction until I was at least 41w3d or it became medically necessary. So sad I had to move away from them before this pregnancy!
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