How to Decide Whether or Not to Accept an Induction?
After working with hundreds of mums to be, thousands online and through social media, I’m asked A LOT of questions about birth every day. Almost one in three of them sounds something a bit like this..
‘We’ve been offered an induction, and don’t know whether to accept it or not, what should we do?’
Now, the first thing to highlight, that actually not everyone realises, is that the only person who can make this decision is you. Not me, not your midwife, not your doctor, not your doula. You. But, how on earth do you make such a massive decision about your birth? We know that induction is a serious medical intervention, is it worth it? Follow the steps below to help you decide if it feels right for you.
Use your BRAIN
Find out all of the following information about your personal circumstances.
Benefits- What are the benefits of accepting the induction? What are the benefits of declining?
Risks- What are the risks of declining the induction? What are the risks of accepting?
Alternatives- If we were to say no, what else could we do? (This may be a scan, extra monitoring of your baby, monitoring yourself for signs of infection etc- depending on the reason you are being offered an induction)
Instinct- What does it feel like you should do?
Nothing- What if you did nothing? For 12 hours, a day, a week (again depending on the reason for induction)
Write it all down
Every question you have, every request you have, every thing you want clarifying or need further reading or information on. Before having a conversation about induction with your healthcare provider- write it all down. It takes far less courage or assertiveness to read off a bit of paper than to question someone in a position of authority. If you’re anything like me you find yourself nodding along and then kicking yourself when you’ve left the room!
Don’t make a decision on the spot
Never feel like you have to provide an answer to a decision then and there. It is perfectly acceptable (and a very good idea) to take some time on your own or with your partner, do some reading, sleep on it, go have a cup of tea and let the plan settle- before you let them know whether it feels like something you want to do or not. How long you take to make this decision will depend on the individual circumstances- if you’re having a conversation about induction midway through pregnancy because of medical circumstances- you have a long time, if you’re being offered augmentation of labour (speeding up of contractions) during labour itself, you’ll likely take less time- but even 5 minutes or an hour can be helpful!
Know that it is always a choice
And that you can change your mind at any time. No thank you is an acceptable answer. If you change your mind that day or the next day or the next week, you can.
Read this book
Whatever the reason for the offer induction this book covers it! It’s available on Kindle and Kindle App if you need access to it urgently.
