GD and Refusing Induction Experiences

They shouldn't be offering you an indiction until 40+ 6 based of nice guidelines or 31 weeks based on WHO recommendations for Gestational diabetes x I'm declining induction and sweeps and I am on meformin and insulin but my sugars are controlled. I am also birthing out of guidelines in a midwife led unit. They can't just "book you in" without consent, they're coercing you into care you don't agree with. Have a look at all the research available and make up your own decision on what kind of induction, if any, you will accept and decide how long you're comfortable waiting without interventions . Personally I will accept a sweep after 40+6 but all my previous babies have come at 39+1 /39+2 anyway

I can’t give advice on refusing induction but was in a similar position with GD in my first pregnancy and accepted an induction as, despite great readings throughout, they were concerned about my baby being big and told me he was going to be 10lbs! I accepted the induction and it’s one of my biggest regrets! I had a horrible labour and my son came out 7lb 3 so the concerns around him being 10lbs were miles off! It sounds as if there are no concerns at all for you or baby, so I can’t see any reason you should have to be booked in for an induction. I don’t think you should feel pressure to just say yes, you could always ask for extra monitoring to manage any risk if you go beyond 40 weeks?

It was funny with my first, I had multiple doctors warn me with my first that they would want to induce. But everyone was fine waiting till 41 weeks. They just kept warning that other people might push for it. My water broke exactly on my due date, although we ended up with stalled labor and some fun there. My midwife said the closer to 41 weeks we got the stronger her recommendation was going to get by the way. I appreciated that. Like if she wasn't tend recommending initially, I could sort of read how necessary it was going to be by where she was with her rec. Good luck!

I think the risk is each day/week that goes by your placenta gets weaker. That and risk of a big baby but I think for me I was more concerned about the placenta causing worse insulin resistance as you go. Personally my GD was relatively controlled and I should have refused the induction. If I was to go through this again I would refuse, but there are some risks.

I had GD and was told my baba would be a big baby, they said induction was the best thing for me but when I read researched it I didn’t feel comfortable, nor did I want to go full term with the potential risks for baba so I opted for an elected c section. Best decision ever x

@Alana I agree, it was weird how I was being booked in but, I think she was doing it to have me in the books in case I decide it is for me and then I’m already there. The midwife in the room said that even though I’m booked in, it doesn’t mean I need to have it and I can still decline the induction and just ask to be monitored and discuss next steps. I will be 40+5 on Monday. In my head, I think I’ll decline it and just ask to be monitored more when I go in

@Ellie thank you for sharing your experience and I’m really sorry that you came out feeling that way. I’m going to see my midwife tomorrow when I’ll be 40 weeks and ask her some questions as I really don’t see a need. Might even see if I can delay the week a bit or have the sweep but decline anything after that

@Miriam thank you

@Ree the big baby thing isn’t a risk for me as all growth scans have been spot on. Baby was 6 pounds 2 weeks ago. I’ve heard about still birth being a risk but again the data is not that evidence based and I think it was mixed with women who already had diabetes. I’ll ask my midwife for some more info and do some more research. Thanks for your info though

I can only give my experience, I opted for an induction at 39 weeks after I read about a local lady who refused an induction with GD and very sadly her placenta failed and baby didn’t survive. I know this is thankfully incredibly rare and I would always advocate for woman to do what they feel is right for their birth but I think the more research you do you will find there are some risks as the weeks go on.

@Elle thank you for sharing. How was your induction experience?

@Maneek yeah maybe..I was booked for induction at 39+6 last pregnancy. I agreed because my others had all been born at 39+2, so I was confident that he would be here before my induction. As it turns out , I was in for the third time for reduced movements at 39+1 ( ctg monitoring was fine), but they offered to move my induction forward, seeing as I was already there. At that point, with GD, SPD, low iron, low papp a , contact anxiety around him, etc, I just agreed . Turns out I was already contracting every 20 mins anyway and didn't know, so I wish I had declined and let him come naturally like I am this time. It was a very straightforward induction, though x

I had a still birth and if my doctor recommended me to go before 41 weeks which she is I’m being induced at 37 weeks, I would but it’s all based on personal preference. I know past 40 weeks the risk of still birth in anyone is higher I wouldn’t personally take that chance

@Desaray I’m so sorry 😔 thank you for sharing this with me. Was this linked with GD?

@Maneek honestly I found it fine and wouldn’t be opposed to another in this pregnancy if it felt right for me. I knew my body was gearing up to labour anyway as a sweep showed I was 2cm (had my cervix been closed I may have decided to hold off a bit) I went in at 12pm on the Tuesday, had two gels and gave birth at 3am on the Wednesday with just gas and air. I was super active in the hospital walking round and on the birthing ball which helped. I found the experience good considering the horror stories I heard prior!

@Maneek we do not know, unfortunately the doctors don’t have an answer. But again I wouldn’t chance it