Sometimes mother nature needs a little help and childbirth may need to be induced. Usually a doctor will decide to induce childbirth once a woman is 10 to 14 days past her due date. Since due dates may not be exact, most doctors will wait the week or two past the due date, unless complications develop. Other instances when it may be necessary to induce childbirth include infection in the uterus or deterioration of the placenta. If either the mother or her baby develop certain life-threatening medical conditions, doctors will often induce childbirth.
When a pregnancy goes past 42 weeks, there are several reasons to induce childbirth. Babies born past their due dates may be larger, which can cause childbirth complications, such as not fitting through the birth canal. Late-term babies may have their first bowel movement while still in the womb and inhale it into the lungs. This is known as meconium aspiration and can lead to respiratory distress and pneumonia.
Another reason to induce is if a woman’s amniotic sac or water has been broken for more than 24 hours, but contractions have not started. This will put a woman at an increased risk of an infection in the uterus. An infection can be dangerous to both mom and baby. At that point, an induced labor will be necessary to prevent complications.
In some instances, women who are close to their due date may develop problems with placenta function. Levels of amniotic fluid may also decrease. In both of these cases, the baby may be better off outside of the uterus, so the doctor may decide to induce childbirth.
Another common reason to induce childbirth is if the woman develops a health problem and continuing the pregnancy poses health dangers for her or the baby. Conditions such as preeclampsia and placenta previa can endanger both mom and baby. In those cases, an induction may be recommended.
Most doctors prefer to have labor start on its own and will not do an elective induction without good reason. In some instances, a physician may induce childbirth if the woman lives far from a medical facility and has experienced very fast labors in the past. An induction may be done to be sure the woman delivers at the hospital. In women who have had previous childbirth problems, such as delivering a stillborn, it may be a precaution to induce labor.
