Like all expectant mothers in Greenville, the one thought preoccupying your mind is how you cannot wait for your newborn to arrive. In many cases, your doctor cannot wait either, so much so that he or she might push to induce your labor. Being induced may seem harmless enough, yet as many of those that we here at The Melvin Law Firm have worked with can attest to, it can indeed pose risks to both you and your baby.
There are certainly legitimate reasons to be induced, such as having gone several days past your expected due date. Often, however, inductions are viewed as a way for doctors to better manage their schedules and avoid those late night phone calls indicating that their patients have gone into labor. Yours and your baby’s care should never be influenced by what is convenient for your provider, but rather driven by what is best for your overall health.
Per The Journal of Perinatal Education, an induction can indeed put your health at risk. Inductions are initiated by administering pitocin (which causes contractions). Contractions prompted by pitocin tend to be stronger than those that occur normally, this making your labor harder to manage. Pitocin also inhibits the release of endorphins in response to contractions, which make it more likely for you to require an epidural. That can prolong your labor, during which time your uterine muscles never fully relax during your contractions. This can result in increased stress on your baby, which may make continuous fetal monitoring necessary.
The point of this post is to not dissuade you from being induced, yet rather to give you the information needed to make an informed decision with your doctor. More details on the potential risks associated with labor can be found here on our site.