Inductions- why are they considered negative?

I think it's because with inductions you're intervening, and once you start, it's usually a case where intervention is then needed throughout and a lot of the time can result in needed a c section

They can make labour more painful and lead to more interventions e.g. hormone drip, forceps, episiotomy, c-section x

Sara Wickham is a really good resource for this - https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/induction-of-labour/ As well as podcasts like the midwife’s cauldron. Some people have positive experiences. Some people have negative experiences. You have to do your own research to determine how you feel about inductions. I personally wouldn’t accept one but that’s based on my own research and understanding of physiological birth, cascade of intervention etc. I understand getting one because you are fed up with being pregnant or anxious so want to know when baby is coming. I question why an induction would be recommended if baby needs to arrive sooner for a medical concern when an induction isn’t guaranteed to work, can take days and puts more strain on mum and baby (stronger/more intense contractions) At the end of the day you have to be confident that you made the right decision for you and baby which only you can decide ❤️

Everyone will have their own views, opinions and experiences. Personally my first induction was horrendous. First attempt failed and my uterus hyperstimulated, took a further 4 days and ended up in a 26 hour labour with sepsis. However I’m having to have another one this pregnancy due to the size of my baby and having too much fluid. It seems inductions are pushed a lot more than they perhaps should be. There are a lot of success stories but I feel like they’re only 50%, the other 50% are horrendous. Resulting in emergency c-sections, shoulder dystocia and sepsis due to the sheer amount of time some women take to induce. As long as you make sure you’re well informed there’s not really much else you can do, and like I said….sometimes they are necessary, I think they have a place though and they are pushed way more than they should be.

There’s a lot of risks involved in induction and a huge percentage of them end in c-section because they can affect your baby’s heart rate. They are often medically necessary for the baby’s sake however as a student midwife I’m very much against non-necessary inductions as they can cause more harm than good. There are risks people don’t even talk/know about - hyperstimulation of the uterus which can cause birth trauma and increase the risk of uterine rupture. They’re not as straightforward as some people think! My induction was hyperstimulation, 23 hours to get to 4cm, I ended up with an infection and emergency c-section was needed due to fetal distress and it causing my son’s heart rate to drop.

Higher risk of third and 4th degree tears, higher risk of interventions, higher risk of birth trauma, more painful, not very effective, could take days. I just don't see the benefits at all. Sara Wickham and Rachel Reed are good sources to look at.

Some people think because inductions are basically forcing your body to go into labour that they associate them negatively but usually being induced is because of some high risk/medical reason to have it. I had a great induction with my first. My placenta failed so she wasn't growing so I got induced and it was fine. But it's different for everyone. X

You’re forcing your body into something it isn’t ready for. Filling it with artificial hormones and your natural hormones try fight that so it can cause long painful labour where intervention throughout the entirety is usually needed. If your body fights it so much and doesn’t allow labour to happen because it isn’t ‘ready’, it usually ends in a c section.

I guess it depends why you are being induced and what the NICE guidelines are. I have gestational diabetes so they want to induce at 39 weeks as with my first. Yet I see many women being induced at 38 weeks or so with it even though NICE guidelines say we should give birth by 40+6. With my first I was in the same situation but went into labour following 3 sweeps in week 38 so I think there's a good chance I'll go into labour before again. I am just impatient and also don't want to risk things going wrong by keeping baby in longer so I accept them saying 39 weeks.

Like others have said above, I think it all depends on the reason you are being induced, if there is an actual medical reason and baby would be better being born than staying inside then why not try. I had a positive induction with my first with no further interventions needed but I believe in most cases further intervention is needed. I would accept another induction this time around if there was a medical need (I'd rather try induction to prevent a c section) but I wouldn't be accepting an induction just for the sake of it or just because I am post due date as that's not a good enough reason for me.

I think inductions (like sweeps in a lot of ways) work when your body and baby are nearly there anyways. When you’re not physiologically ready the likelihood of a successful induction is reduced. My induction experience wasn’t very positive at all. Had two failed attempts with my first, got to 8cm and labour stalled so ended up with a C-section. It was a very painful and drawn out experience over 4 days and ended up with a lot of resentment and frustration towards the NHS. When you’re artificially going through labour, your contractions are more irregular, the pain can be more intense and if it’s a drawn out experience, your anxiety will be over the roof, leading to more unnecessary interventions. Definitely take the time to listen to podcasts and do some research (Sarah Wickham’s name has been mentioned above!) to get both sides of the story x