Overdue - C Section vs Induction

I am currently 30weeks pregnant and have been thinking more about what I would like to do if i end up overdue. I've had a really good first pregnancy so far. No morning sickness, very little minimal weight gain, no medical issues, no nothing,

I want a natural birth except if it is really clear that medical intervention is going to be required - i.e. complications in my natural birth, or I am drastically overdue and in which case my preference is to by pass forceps/suction/ and all that crap and opt straight for a c section.

BUT it got me thinking about well what would happen if i was overdue and everyone was doing a song and dance about babies late arrival? What would my choices be if I was in that situation where I needed to choose between induction/medical intervention to help labour progress/ c section?

Has anyone had this situation before? Or know of anyone in this situation before?

I have done alot of research into C Sections vs being induced and I know for sure that I do not want to FORCE my body to go into labour. Currently my plan is to let everything happen as naturally as possible and if I am fine and baby is fine then there is absolutely no reason to hurry things along.

I am 100% against medical induction because it seems more about making labour and birth more convenient then anything and ALL of the birth stories ive ever heard where women are induced or have had medical intervention such as pitocin/stretch & sweep/forceps etc etc have all been awful to listen to. Most women I have spoken to have been left absolutely emotionally traumatised.

I am an all or nothing sort of person aswell. I am either doing it all natural or if there is a really obvious medical reason, i.e. my baby is in trouble, then i want a c section. There is nothing in between for me as a Mum to Be.

C Section is the only delievery medical intervention that I believe I would be okay with simply because it is a major surgery and my body wouldn't be forced to contract every 1-2mins like on pitocin. And while it would still be difficult recovering, it is still my number preference as a plan B after full natural birth.

In terms of induction, I cannot stand the idea of forcing my body to contract and give birth.
I want to be present at my birth and I want to work with my baby to bring him into the world. I don't want to be in a position where medication has left me unprepared, absent and unavailable to help my baby be born. After all, it is not just me giving birth, my baby will be an active participant. It actually infuriates me that medical induction is so common and mums to be feel they are left with only that option should things not progress according to a what a hospital believes is 'normal'.
My philosophy is: if I am fine, my baby is fine, then what's the hurry?! My husband feels very strongly about this too.

I realise a C Section is still messing with the bodies natural way of giving birth, however it seems far less emotionally traumatic than a medical induction/forceps/suction etc and it is by far my only preference regarding delivery assistance.

So I was just wondering if there is anyone else out there who has been in this situation before? I have tried to mention it to a couple of friends but it seems I am being a wuss, or am trying to be too posh to push by enquiring about a c section as a back up plan, which I don't believe I am ... I am just 100% dead set against all the conventional medical induction/medical intervention methods because it is clear to me from other mothers experiences that while in the end the baby still arrives, mother and baby's connection is separated immediately. The chance to work with your baby and your body is removed and replaced with some awfully painful medical nightmare.

So help!!! I def need some advise from some of you wonderful ladies on here. I read these forums all the time and i thought i have to ask someone on here. I thought someone could give me some advise before I go see my midwife next week.

Hi i understand ur situation i never been late but i have had 2 c section one was a emergency and the other was optional u r correct on it does take time to heal u will not be able to lift anything heavier then 5 kg for 6wks u also have make sure ur c section cut is clean and not sweating and get it check regularly its always to have help for the 6 wks or more the hospital will keep u for maximum of 3 days if u n baby r ok if baby is nt doing well they will keep u longer dont be scared that ur annoying the nurses if u need to pick up bub or changing them there to help u every step the way my emergency c section was coz my cervix wouldnt move but coz the length time my eldest was in he end up in icu wid water in his lungs n breathing difficult but after a wk it got better n we got to go home wid my youngest i choose c section coz i didnt want to go though what i did with my first n the whole brith was good he was a healthy baby

Ok so I'm guessing this is your first baby yes? Well I've had 2 babies, the first was spontaneous natural birth and the second was an induction at 38 weeks due to gestational diabetes. I can tell you the labour was no different, the induction labour was longer however, but it made no difference pain wise, it's exactly the same, also when you are induced, they first insert a gel called prosten gel, most women start contracting very soon after the gel, I did, probably half an hour after insertion, so you might not even have to have the drip/oxytocin put in. If this is the case they just let you go and don't bother about the drip. Your waters will most likely break on thier own after you've started contracting. If not they will break them for you using a little rod thingy with a hook on the end, (you don't even feel it) and then nature takes its course.
By being induced you are still giving birth naturally, once the gel is inserted your body takes over and does the rest just as it would in spontaneous labour. There's no great data a with being induced, mine went smoothly and I had to do it for medical reasons anyway. But in saying that if you are overdue (by a good bit) it's best to have an induction as you don't want to be giving birth to a ginormous baby. All the baby is doing in the last few weeks is literally fattening up.
A C section however is major surgery and has a lot more risks than an induction. Also it takes weeks/months to heal, you are in a great deal of pain afterwards. When you have an induction you are not separated from your baby, they gave me my baby strait away after my induction, it is definite that you will be separated from your baby after a c section. Usually the father has to take the baby while your being stitched up ect. Also you will need a catheter put in after a c section so you can pee/poo in a bag. Especially if you have an epidural.
Also to my knowledge unless there is a medical reason or it is an emergency (or you have private health insurance covering pregnancy and c section) a public hospital won't let you have one unless there is good reason, or youve had a previous c section. They will want to induce you first. It's safer for you and baby.
Induction is very successful most of the time. You may need suction or forceps delivery but you may not. You never know. Just go with it as it comes.
Your only going to need an induction if your like a week over. Most women go into labour before then anyway. I wouldn't stress about it, the baby is going to come out one way or another.
And induction is not that bad, the stories I've heard about c sections on the other hand, I'd rather be induced anyday, I've had one n I know it wasnt evens that bad, no difference to normal labour, it's all bloody painful LOL
Good luck

Hi, it would depend on your circumstances as to weather the midwife recommend a C-section or induction. Unless there is a need to get baby out urgently they would induce should you be overdue.

Induction when you are overdue is not a bad thing. Yes I suppose you could look at it as "forcing" your body into labor however, they are doing this to help baby as the placenta becomes more ineffective when you are overdue.

I was against being induced too as I had heard many horror stories but each birth is different.

I recently had my first baby and wanted everything to go smoothly but I ended up with almost no fluid so I had to be induced. I was very terrified after hearing everyone's horror stories about it. Yes, the first time the midwife feels for your cervix is uncomfortable but I didn't really notice when she gave me the gel and it did send me into labor. I don't think being induced means your labor isn't natural. I didn't have any pain relief, or forceps/suction during induction.

Why do you think you won't be present if you are induced? What is it you think they are going to do? Gel just begins to 'ripen' the cervix.

If you have any more questions about induction, feel free to ask!

Isn't it funny how we all hear people's horror stories about labor but we don't celebrate good births smile

I don't think in NZ you can have a planned c-section unless you are under a private obstetrician. Something like 60% of all first time mother's require some form of intervention during birth. They will not go straight to c-section they will try other things first. I have decided there is no point having a birth plan as birth is very unpredictable. I didn't want lots of intervention but I ended up needing it and did in the end need an emergency c-section. I recovered well from this but the first few days are difficult as you need help getting in and out of bed and someone to pass baby to you. With a c-section you will not get skin to skin straight away baby usually goes to dad/partner first. I didn't hold my baby for at least an hour after I had c-section. Induction is a normal birth process with drugs to help you go to labour you will get to hold your baby straight away if all is good with bubs. Like others have said there are lots of horror stories and we all have our own experiences. You might not even go over due. What makes you think you will? I would have a good discussion with your LMC.

It's a well known fact that most birth plans do not go as planned, so you're doing the right thing by informing yourself on all your available options.
With my first child I also hoped for an easy straight forward birth and for some reason I was absolutely convinced that I would be overdue. As it turned out I went into labour 4 days before the due date and after 17 hours of labour it was discovered that my baby was posterior and that my contractions had stalled, so I was given an injection to speed up the contractions (not pleasant!) and then given an epidural so they could get him out with forceps. Failing that, a c-section would have been performed. Fortunately they got him out with the forceps and all was well.
With my second child it was a quick 2 hour labour where I barely made it to hospital in time to push her out.
There are always unforeseen things that could happen during birth so you need to trust that your care provider will make the right decision. We had a birth plan and my husband knew exactly what my wishes were during the birth process.
Hopefully you won't be overdue and all will go smoothly!

Hi... I was in this situation with my son. He was 2 weeks late and he wasn't moving as much as he had been previously so it was decided that things needed to get going. I was told that the safest option was for an induction and was given the gel, followed by having my membranes broken followed by being put on the syntocin drip. To be honest I had lots of complications and it was awful but they probably would have happened regardless (my son had the biggest head the obstetrician had ever seen). With hindsight I wish I'd had a caesarean but only because of my sons big head. You can always give an induction a go and if things aren't working out well swap to a caesarean. It's not a fixed decision (lots of labours end up being a caesarean rather than a vaginal delivery).

I'm 38wks pregnant with my second child now and am hoping for a VBAC. I had to have a c-sec with my girl because she was breech. I would honestly rather be induced (still hoping that I won't have to have any medical intervention of course) than have another c-sec as the pain from the surgery made it very hard to care for a newborn (my partner was always at work as he couldn't get time off and I had no family or friends who lived close by to help me at the time), the recovery time was very long and I also got an infection in my uterus two weeks later as they left a bit of placenta or membrane inside me. I've heard that being induced does make the contractions worse and the birth more stressful for some but honestly, no matter what path you choose it's going to be a bit rough. Hopefully your little one decides not to be late. wink I agree on letting the baby be born when it's ready but one reason why they don't like you to go overdue by more than 2wks is because the placenta begins to deteriorate and become less effective at keeping bub healthy, (and as somebody else mentioned, you don't want bub to get tooooo big. Lol) Don't listen to anybody who tells you that you're a wuss for considering a c-section or 'too posh to push'. (I hate it when women do this, we need to support each other's choices not degrade them) It's smart to get all of the information you can so you are prepared for all or most possible scenario's. I watched a youtube video of a cesarean being performed shortly before I went in for my surgery and while it looks scary it made me aware of what to expect and I felt no panic or concern while they were getting my baby girl out. Then again, after the spinal they gave me I was in lala land. Lol. I hope everything goes well for you and bub arrives on time, safe and sound. I'm sure you will be fine. smile

Thank you so much to all you wonderful ladies who have given me advice on this matter. Honestly! I knew this was the place to come and ask. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me it makes me feel more informed and in a better position to make the necessary decisions. xxx

Hi there so are you saying you want to have a natural birth by 42 weeks and if not a c section? Can you request that ? This was my situation 5 weeks ago. I was 41 weeks overdue which my midwife was fine about she believed bubs will come naturally on his own and didn't want to intervene as yet. To bring on a natural labour I tried evening primrose and raspberry leaf tea all which did not work. At my 41 week hospital visit I was told I needed induction for safety of bubs. A long story short I was induced , had a long labour reaching all the stages only to find on pushing for hours bubs position meant he would not come and around to a emergency c section I went. In my situation I wish I went straight for c section if that was allowed as it ended in one anyway. I would have loved to have had a stretch and sweep to help being on labour say at 40 weeks. Midwife told me induced labours are often longer more painful and your likelihood of needing a epidural higher, and a epidural really affected my ability to push. A bit about c sections, there was a bit of pain after but nothing Voltaren and panadol didn't help with. Wound small healed well. It's not a big scary procedure I initially thought and I was up and about in no time. My labour experience sucked so if you can have some control on it like you have mentioned I say go for it. I would not like to be induced again.

I don't know if it would help but this is my experience. I too was worried about an induction and was considering pushing for a c-section instead.

I got to 41wks and I was over being pregnant and ready to meet my baby. I was already 2cm dilated (had been for 4wks) but no other signs of labour starting anytime soon. The Dr said they could induce me the next day. I was scared (obviously) but agreed. I went in at 8am in the morning and was put on the monitor. Everything was fine so at 8.30 the Dr applied gel on my cervix and I started contracting immediately - which I couldn't feel but was showing on the monitor I was still hooked up to. At 12noon I was 6cm dilated and an epidural was administered (purely at my request) prior to my waters being broken closer to 1pm - looking back I don't think that was necessary but it didn't bother me at the time. As soon as the waters were broken the contractions went crazy, I got to 10cm in no time and delivered a perfectly healthy baby girl at 3pm. So to sum up I had a 6hr labour and other than the gel on my cervix and the waters being broken (and the epidural if you want to count that) I had minimal medical intervention.

I know I got lucky and not everyone has a nice induction story but honestly wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I was overdue in future pregnancies.

Yep, I really don't think it was that bad either. Like I said earlier, all labour is hard and painful in one way or another. But good luck with your decision making and labour, it's totally worth it when you see your baby for the first time.