At the moment I am birthing with a woman who is post her estimated date by 8 days. This always gets me thinking about why women follow like sheep to the induction mill.

There is no conclusive evidence to support a policy of induction. The cochrane database which is an obstetrically lead analysis of studies so have some bias but even they can’t pull out a definitive answer, which leads all sensible people to the conclusion that it is not necessary. Our obstetric wheel standardises our term of pregnancy and a scan gives you a date that is another estimate (but of course machines don’t lie!!) and the majority of women just roll up when told for the obligatory medical/surgical process of forcing the baby out.

The data suggests that there is a risk of problems post 41/42 weeks. What they fail to tell you is that there are risks from conception to birth that actually don’t really change. At 33 weeks we call it nature but at 42 weeks we blame women for not actually DOING anything.

Babies won’t come out no matter what you do if they are not ready and this is backed up by the fact that at the WCH in Adelaide 62% of women carrying their first baby had a cesarean section because the medical induction failed. All this really means is that the baby wasn’t ready to come out.

Prior to the wheel that helps estimate a birth date (and don’t forget that it is just EDD estimated date of delivery: maybe it’s your pizza arrival but I digress) moon cycles were used. This is a much more organic way of looking at it. If you know when you have conceived and the moon you were under then you are likely to birth under that same moon. Waning moon being least popular for birth just like it is for planting and full moon being very popular.

Full term is 42 completed weeks of pregnancy and so until we reach the day of 43 weeks women are still within the bog standard normal, which any Ob will tell you is full term but won’t actually let you get there.

There is a 10 month mama club and it is known that if left to nature up to 10% of women will be over 42 weeks. In my own practice that doesn’t seem to happen and only 5 women that I birthed will went over 42 weeks, however that is not a good cross section of the population just my personal experience.

At home you are able to gather all the information about you your gestation and your pregnancy and make good informed decisions on continuing until your baby is ready to make an appearance.

There are many natural options to encourage your baby but just like a hospital forced induction they will not work until you are ready, then there seems to be little point. I understand though that we are socialised in a certain way and some women do become uncomfortable about their gestation.

Preparing with raspberry leaf tea from 33 weeks helps tone up the uterus in preparation. Funnily enough a client of mine was told by her GP not to drink more than 3 cups due to prem labour – I was totally amazed that a GP who in one breath belittled alternative treatment would say that. Don’t they think that it would be great for a woman to go to the hospital get a jug of raspberry tea and pop their baby out if it were that good-.

Intercourse is fantastic for providing the cervix with natural prostaglandins and nipple stimulation over a period of 20 or 30 mins can raise the oxytocin level and just tip a woman who is on the verge of labour into contracting.

There are more interventions at home that are possible but they need to be carefully considered before being entered into. A stretch and sweep at 42 weeks can be helpful. This is often used by midwives in the system at 39/40 weeks. This seems totally pointless as it’s early for a baby to be ready and would need to be repeated. Why would you want fingers up your vagina by anyone other than your partner if you didn’t have to.

The absolute of all this is women have choice and nobody should consent to an induction without being totally informed of the high chance of a c/s because the baby just isn’t ready to make an entrance into the world. Thank god this doesn’t happen at home.

Related posts:

1. Unnecessary Induction Of Labour
2. The Third Stage Of Labour