Inducing Labour: What You Need To Know About Causes And Methods

Is Your Baby Taking Their Sweet Time to Arrive?

As a pregnant woman, it's common to go past your due date without any signs of labour. This can cause anxiety and leave you wondering if your baby will ever arrive. However, understanding the process of labour induction can help you prepare and ease your worries. Let's explore why and how labour induction is done.

What Does It Mean To Induce Labour?

Normally, labour starts on its own between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy. This happens when the cervix softens and contractions begin, or the water breaks. However, in some cases, a healthcare provider may recommend induced labour, where they start the labour processes artificially. Let's find out what these situations are!

Why You Might Need To Induce Labour

Induced labour is typically only suggested if there is a concern about the health of you or your baby. Your doctor may recommend induced labour if

• You have been over your due date by two or more weeks.
• You are having a health condition such as diabetes, kidney problems, high blood pressure, or pre-eclampsia.
• The baby is making fewer movements, showing changes in its heart rate, or is not growing well.
• Your waters have ruptured, but your contractions have not begun spontaneously.
• You are giving birth to more than one baby (twins or multiple births)
• You are having an infection in the uterus (chorioamnionitis)
• You do not have enough amniotic fluid surrounding the baby (oligohydramnios).
• If the placenta partly or totally separates from the uterine wall prior to birth (placental abruption)

How Is It Done?

Many ways can be used to induce labour. Some of them are:

Rupturing the Membranes

Amniotic fluid, the water that surrounds your baby in your womb contains membranes or layers of tissue. One method of inducing labour is to ‘break the bag of waters’ or rupture the membranes.

Your doctor will do a pelvic exam to make a hole in the membrane by guiding a tiny plastic probe with a hook on the end into your cervix. This will neither hurt you nor your baby. If your cervix is dilated and your baby's head has dropped, contractions usually begin within a few hours.

However, if they don't, medication may be given to start contractions to prevent infection.

Prostaglandins

In the early stages of pregnancy, your cervix is typically firm, long, and closed. However, before it can begin to dilate or open during labour, it needs to become soft and 'thin out.'

If this process doesn’t begin naturally, your doctor can use a medication called prostaglandins. This medication is inserted into your vagina near the cervix, which can help to soften and thin it out, and may even trigger contractions.

Your baby's heart rate will be monitored for a few hours, and if labour doesn't start, you may be allowed to leave the hospital and move around to encourage the process to begin.

Oxytocin

Also known as Pitocin, it is a medication administered to either initiate or strengthen your contractions. It is delivered in small, steady amounts through a vein, with the dose being gradually increased as required.

Throughout this process, your baby's heart rate and the strength of your contractions will be closely monitored to ensure that they do not harm your baby. However, if tests indicate that your unborn baby is not receiving adequate oxygen or nutrition through the placenta, oxytocin may not be used.

Regular contractions are often brought on by oxytocin, and if your body and uterus start to respond, your doctor may be able to lessen the dosage.

How Does It Feel?

When your doctor uses methods to induce labour, it can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable or even a little painful. For example, if they strip the membranes, you might feel some cramping and spotting for a day or two afterward.

If they break your water, you may feel a tug and then a warm gush of fluid. If they use prostaglandin, you might experience strong cramping. And with oxytocin, your contractions will likely be more frequent and regular than they would be in natural labour.

But everyone's body responds differently to induction, so some people may have a quick response while others may take several hours. Most people will enter the active labour phase within 24 hours of an induction, which is when the cervix has dilated to about 6 centimetres.

A Word Of Caution

It's important to know that there are some risks associated with induced labour, but they are rare. However, your doctor will closely monitor you and your baby throughout the process to minimize these risks.

If induction doesn't work, your doctor may try a different method or recommend a c-section. Your doctor will discuss all these possibilities with you and work with you to make the best decision for you and your baby.

Conclusion

While the anxiety of going past the due date is common, the importance of understanding inducing labour for expectant mothers is crucial.

It is vital to have open communication with healthcare providers in order to make informed decisions for the well-being of both mother and baby.