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If you get past the boring lack of picture and click here, you will find some invaluable tools to help you make decisions 

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Books on induction and informed decision making

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Books on induction and informed decision making

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Overview | Inducing labour | Guidance | NICE

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This guideline covers the circumstances for inducing labour, methods of induction, assessment, monitoring, pain relief and managing complications. It aims to improve advice and care for pregnant women who are thinking about or having induction of labour

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Great example of advocacy and calm communication from birth partner/dad

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Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists

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This information is for you if you wish to know more about assisted vaginal birth (also known as operative vaginal birth). An assisted vaginal birth is when a healthcare professional uses specially designed instruments to help you give birth to your baby.

You may choose to read this information whilst you are pregnant to help with planning your birth.

This information may also be helpful if you are a partner, relative or friend of someone who is in this situation.

Please see here for the latest information on coronavirus infection for pregnant women and their families.

The information here aims to help you better understand your health and your options for treatment and care. Your healthcare team is there to support you in making decisions that are right for you. They can help by discussing your situation with you and answering your questions.

This information covers:

What an assisted vaginal birth is

Why you might need an assisted vaginal birth

What happens during an assisted vaginal birth

What forceps and ventouse births are

What an assisted vaginal birth means for you and for your baby

You can see a full glossary of all medical terms.

Key points

In the UK, approximately 1 in 8 women have an assisted vaginal birth and this is more likely (1 in 3) for women having their first baby.

Assisted vaginal birth includes birth helped by use of a ventouse (vacuum cup) or forceps or both. Your healthcare professional will discuss the benefits and risks of assisted vaginal birth with you.

The majority of babies born this way are well at birth and do not have any long term problems.

Having an assisted vaginal birth does not mean you will need one in your next pregnancy

Why might I need help with the birth of my baby?

There can be many reasons for needing help with the birth of your baby. The main ones are:

there are concerns about your baby's wellbeing during birth

your labour is not progressing as would usually be expected

you are unable to, or have been advised not to, push during birth

How common is an assisted vaginal birth?

Overall about 1 in 8 (10-15%) births in the UK will be an assisted vaginal birth although this is much less common in women who have had a vaginal birth before. 1 in 3 women having their first baby will have an assisted vaginal birth. Your healthcare professional will discuss ways to reduce your chance of needing an assisted vaginal birth during your pregnancy.

Can I avoid an assisted vaginal birth?

If you have someone supporting you throughout your labour, you are less likely to need an assisted vaginal birth, particularly if the support comes from someone you know, in addition to your healthcare professional.

Assisted vaginal births are less likely if you do not have any complications in your pregnancy and plan to have your baby in a midwife-led unit. Using upright positions or lying on your side after your cervix is fully open in labour can reduce the need for an assisted vaginal birth. Having an epidural for pain relief in labour may increase the chance of you needing an assisted vaginal birth, but this is less likely with modern epidural anaesthetics.

The need for an assisted vaginal birth may be reduced by not starting to push too soon after your cervix is fully open. You may be advised to wait until you have a strong urge to push, or to try and delay pushing by 1-2 hours depending on your individual situation.

What is a ventouse birth?

A ventouse (vacuum cup) is an instrument that uses suction to attach a plastic or metal cup on to your baby's head. Your healthcare professional will wait until you are having a contraction and then ask you to push while they pull to help you give birth. This may happen over several contractions. Sometimes the cup can detach itself, making a "pop" sound. If this happens your healthcare professional may need to re-apply the cup to your baby's head before continuing.

What is a forceps birth?

Forceps are smooth, curved metal instruments. They are made to carefully fit around your baby's head. Your healthcare professional will wait until you have a contraction and then ask you to push while they pull with the forceps to help you give birth. This may happen over several contractions.

Do I have a choice between ventouse and forceps?

Ventouse and forceps are both safe and effective. Choice of instrument depends on factors including how well your epidural is working (if you have had one), the wellbeing of your baby and the position of your baby's head. If you need an assisted vaginal birth at less than 36 weeks of pregnancy, forceps may be preferred over ventouse. This is because they involve less risk of injury to your baby's head which is softer at this stage of pregnancy.

Your healthcare professional will recommend the method most suitable for your individual situation. If you have any concerns around the use of ventouse or forceps you should discuss this with your healthcare professional at any time during your pregnancy or labour.

If one instrument has been chosen and is not effective, your healthcare professional may then either recommend using the other instrument to help you have a vaginal birth or offer a caesarean, depending on your individual circumstances.

If neither instrument is effective in helping you give birth, your healthcare professional will recommend an emergency caesarean birth.

What are my alternatives to assisted vaginal birth?

Forceps and ventouse will only be recommended if they are thought to be the safest way to help you give birth. The reasons for recommending an assisted vaginal birth, the choice of instrument and the procedure will be discussed with you at the time. If you are in labour and choose not to have an assisted vaginal birth, the alternatives are to wait for your baby to be born without assistance or to have an emergency caesarean. Your healthcare professional will discuss your options depending on your individual circumstances.

A caesarean in the late stage of labour is a more complex operation than a planned caesarean and in some circumstances may increase the risk of harm to both you and your baby.

Decision making in labour can be difficult which is why it is important to explore any concerns you may have with your healthcare professional before you go into labour.

If you are certain you would not want an assisted vaginal birth, one option is to choose a planned caesarean birth before you go into labour. If you are considering a planned caesarean you should discuss this with your healthcare professional during your pregnancy. For more information, refer to the RCOG patient information on caesarean birth.

What happens during a forceps or ventouse assisted vaginal birth?

With your consent, your healthcare professional will examine your abdomen and perform an internal examination to confirm that an assisted vaginal birth is safe for you and your baby. You will usually be asked to sit with your legs supported and your bladder will be emptied by passing a small tube (catheter) into it.

Pain relief for the birth may be either a local anaesthetic injection inside the vagina or a regional anaesthetic injection into your back (an epidural or a spinal). For more information about pain relief during labour see the Labour Pains website ( labourpains.com) from the Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association.

You are more likely to need to have a cut (episiotomy) to enlarge your vaginal opening and allow your baby to be born.

A healthcare professional who specialises in the care of newborn babies may be there when you give birth in case your baby needs some extra help after birth. If your baby is well you may choose to have immediate skin to skin contact and/or delayed cord clamping.

After your baby is born you will be given some antibiotics through a drip to reduce the chance of you developing an infection.

Where will my baby be born?

If your healthcare professional expects your assisted vaginal birth to be straightforward, they will recommend that you give birth in the same room where you have been in labour. If they think that the assisted vaginal birth may be more complicated or that there is a chance that it might not work, you will be advised to give birth in the operating theatre. This is so that you can have an immediate caesarean if necessary.

What makes an assisted vaginal birth less likely to be successful?

Assisted vaginal birth is less likely to be successful if:

you are overweight with a body mass index (BMI) over 30;

you are less than 161cm in height

your baby is estimated to be more than 4kg in weight

your baby is lying with its back to your back at the end of your labour

your baby's head is not low down in the birth canal at the end of your labour

What will an assisted vaginal birth mean for me?

You may need to stay in hospital for longer than originally expected after the birth of your baby.

Bleeding

It is normal to have vaginal bleeding after you have given birth. Straight after an assisted vaginal birth, heavier bleeding is more common. The bleeding in the days afterwards should be similar to an unassisted vaginal birth.

Vaginal tears/ episiotomy

Birth with ventouse and with forceps does mean a higher chance of you needing to have an episiotomy or having a vaginal tear. If you have either a vaginal tear or an episiotomy, this will be repaired straight after birth with dissolvable stitches. For further information see www.rcog.org.uk/tears.

A third- or fourth-degree tear (a tear which involves the muscle and/or the wall of the anus or rectum) affects 3 in 100 women (3%) who have a vaginal birth. It is more common following a ventouse birth, affecting up to 4 in 100 women (4%) and following a forceps birth, affecting between 8 and 12 women in every 100 (8-12%).

Pain relief

Most women have some discomfort or pain after they have given birth. You will be offered regular pain relief after an assisted vaginal birth.

Bladder care

If you have had an assisted vaginal birth you are more likely to have difficulty passing urine after birth. If you have had an epidural, you may not be able to feel your bladder getting full and may need a catheter to help empty your bladder for a few hours until your epidural wears off.

It is important that you empty your bladder completely after birth to reduce the risk of longer term problems with passing urine. Your healthcare professional may ask you to pass urine in a jug so they can measure the amount. If they think that you haven't been able to fully empty your bladder, they may use either an ultrasound or a catheter to check.

Leaking urine is common in late pregnancy and after birth. Physiotherapy may help to treat symptoms of urinary incontinence. If you have any concerns, you should discuss these with your healthcare professional who can refer you to further support.

Reducing the risk of blood clots

Being pregnant increases the risk of blood clots in your legs and lungs. This risk increases after an assisted vaginal birth. You can help to reduce the chance of this happening by being as mobile as you can after your baby is born. Depending on your individual circumstances you may be offered blood thinning injections to reduce the risk of you developing clots. Further information can found in the RCOG Patient Information Reducing the risk of venous thrombosis in pregnancy and after birth.

What will an assisted vaginal birth mean for my baby?

Most babies born by assisted vaginal birth are well and do not have any long term problems.
The suction cup used for a ventouse birth often causes a mark on a baby's head. This is called a chignon (pronounced sheen-yon) and usually disappears within 24-48 hours. The suction cup may also cause a bruise on a baby's head called a cephalohaematoma. This happens in between 1 to 12 in 100 babies and it disappears with time. It rarely causes any problems for babies. Forceps marks on the baby's face are very common. They are usually small and disappear within 24-48 hours. Small cuts on the baby's face or scalp are also common (occurring in 1 in 10 assisted vaginal births) and heal quickly.

Less common risks include:

jaundice, 5 to 15 in 100 babies

bleeding in baby's brain, 5 to 15 in 10 000 babies.

Serious trauma such as fractures or damage to nerves in the baby's face are rare.

Will I be able to discuss the birth before I leave hospital?

Yes. Before you go home from hospital, you should be given the chance to talk about the birth of your baby with one of your healthcare professionals, ideally someone who was there when your baby was born. They will be able to answer any questions you may have.

You can begin to have sex again when you feel that it's the right time for you.

The experience of birth can sometimes be distressing and for some women there is a risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Following an assisted vaginal birth, if you feel you are developing anxiety, have low mood or feel that you need additional support, you should talk to your healthcare professional.

Further information

NHS information on ventouse and forceps birth: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/ventouse-forceps-delivery/

A full list of useful organisations is available on the RCOG website at:
www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/other-sources-of-help

Shared Decision Making

If you are asked to make a choice, you may have lots of questions that you want to ask. You may also want to talk over your options with your family or friends. It can help to write a list of the questions you want answered and take it to your appointment.

Ask 3 Questions

To begin with, try to make sure you get the answers to 3 key questions, if you are asked to make a choice about your healthcare:

1. What are my options?

2. What are the pros and cons of each option for me?

3. How do I get support to help me make a decision that is right for me?

*Ask 3 Questions is based on Shepherd et al. Three questions that patients can ask to improve the quality of information physicians give about treatment options: A cross-over trial. Patient Education and Counselling, 2011;84:379-85 https://www.aquanw.nhs.uk/sdm
Sources and acknowledgements

This information has been developed by the RCOG Patient Information Committee. It is based on the RCOG guideline Assisted Vaginal Birth (published alongside this information in April 2020). The guideline contains a full list of the sources of evidence we have used. You can find it online at: https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/gtg26. It is also based on the RCOG Consent Advice 11 on Operative Vaginal Birth which can also be found online at: https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/consent-advice-11/.

Before publication this information was reviewed by the public, by the RCOG Women's Network and by the RCOG Women's Voices Involvement Panel.

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Assisted vaginal birth (ventouse or forceps)

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This information is for you if you wish to know more about assisted vaginal birth (also known as operative vaginal birth). An assisted vaginal birth is when a healthcare professional uses specially designed instruments to help you give birth to your baby.

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Ten things I wish every woman knew about induction of labour: the article – sarawickham

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Ten things I wish every woman knew about induction of labour: the article – sarawickham

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In modern Western culture, most women and families know about induction of labour before they even become pregnant.

They know that it is suggested when it is felt that it would be safer for the baby to be born than to stay inside its mother. Many people also know that one of the main reasons for recommending induction of labour is because pregnancy has lasted for a certain number of weeks and the baby is perceived to be 'overdue'.

Other reasons for offering induction include that the woman is older than average, that her waters have broken early and/or that she has a health problem or condition. These days, induction is often suggested where someone has a high BMI, or has been told they have gestational diabetes.

There's a big focus on telling women when they are deemed to be 'at higher risk.'

Induction is really common now. Some people think it's oversold. Some are concerned about how a lot of the 'official' information is geared to promoting induction. For instance, women and families are often told the pros of induction, but not the downsides. There are pros and cons to everything! Some are given an induction date without even being asked whether this is what they want.

But this is not the whole story. There are many other aspects to the decision that some women need to consider about whether or not to have their labour medically induced.

That's what this blog post is about. I'm not going to tell you the things that you know or have already been told. I'm here to offer a deeper perspective and cover some of the lesser-known things you might want to consider.

Hello, I'm an induction researcher

In case this is your first visit to my website, maybe I should introduce myself. My name is Sara, hello. I'm a midwife and a researcher who has been studying induction of labour for more than twenty years. That's me in the pic, speaking about induction and risk in Australia.

I have written two bestselling books about induction of labour. talks the reader through the process and the pros and cons of induction. Inducing Labour: making informed decisions In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop explains how we got to the current situation and looks more deeply at the evidence and issues in relation to topics such as the due date, suspected big babies, and being deemed to be 'at higher risk.'

And I'm passionate about helping women and families make the decisions that are right for them.

One quick note, though. I'm not anti-induction. I've looked after lots of women whose labours were induced. I want everyone to make the decisions that are right for them. If you're fully informed and decide you want an induction, that's brilliant. But lots of women and families aren't given all the facts, so that's why I've written this blog post. In it, I share some of the evidence, issues and implications that women have told me they were less aware of but which they wish they had been able to take into account when making their decision.

And there are, of course, far more than ten things to know! That's why I've managed to fill two whole books with information that parents may find useful when considering induction. This article is intended to serve as a starting point for discussion and offer links to more info rather than to tell you everything that you might want to take into account when making your decision.

So let's dive in!

1. Induced labour isn't like spontaneous labour.

This might be obvious to some people, but I know from experience that it isn't to others. Induced labour is very different from labour that starts spontaneously. Individual women's experiences vary, of course, but there are a number of key and interwoven areas of difference that are fairly universal. First, a woman having her labour induced is given artificial hormones. These can create more pain more quickly than would occur in spontaneous labour.

Synthetic hormones don't trigger the release of a woman's own natural pain-relieving substances as her own hormones would if she were in spontaneous labour. They also come with a range of possible side effects. That means a woman whose labour is being induced needs to be monitored more closely.

The increased monitoring can lead to the woman being less able to move around. That in turn can increase her pain and stress, and this can quickly lead to a woman feeling that things have spiralled out of her control. Not everybody finds this a problem, but it is something to be aware of. Induction can also take quite a long time. Women are often waiting (usually, but not always, in a hospital ward) for two or three days before labour really gets going. This is frustrating to some women, especially when their loved ones aren't allowed to stay.

It's also worth knowing that there are many advantages to spontaneous labour. These are lost when labour is induced, so that's the first reason why it's important to look at the pros and cons of both approaches. If you'd like more on this, I wrote a whole chapter on it in In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop.

2. Some women find induction of labour more painful.

I started to cover this already, but there is a bit more to know about this in relation to possible sources of pain.

The contractions caused by the cervical ripening methods that are the first stage of medical induction can become really sharp really quickly, but without having any measurable effect. Some women feel that this has a negative effect on women's experiences, and it is easy to become tired and/or disillusioned more quickly than if they were in spontaneous early labour.

The contractions brought on by an oxytocin drip can also be very strong. There is often less time to get used to these than when labour starts spontaneously. With induction, your body doesn't get to make the decisions about what hormones you need and when. Those decisions are made by your caregiver and/or dictated by the hospital protocol or guidelines. They may or may not work for you and your body. Which is why induction sometimes fails, as I discuss below.

In addition, the increased number of vaginal examinations and other interventions (such as the insertion of cannulas) can create additional pain or discomfort. Again, not everyone finds this a problem, but it's worth knowing about beforehand. If you decide to have your labour induced, you might want to give some thought to your pain relief decisions. And plan ahead so that you can take things that will help you cope.

More on the process of induction in Inducing Labour: making informed decisions.

3. Induction of labour is a package deal.

I am frequently asked whether women can have a physiological placental birth or decline monitoring and/or vaginal examinations if their labour is induced. The answer is usually no.

But that's not because anyone wants to prevent a woman from making the decisions that are right for her. It's because the drugs used to induce labour are powerful substances that block a woman's own hormones. They can sometimes cause side effects in the woman or baby.

It is the effect of these drugs that needs to be measured, monitored and compensated for in induced labour. If a woman is concerned that aspects of induction are not what she wants, then it might be better for her to consider whether induction is really necessary or right for her in the first place.

I have written about this in this blog post too if you want a bit more detail.

4. Stretching and sweeping isn't benign.

Nowadays, many areas have introduced a policy of offering women a ' stretch and sweep ' at a certain point in pregnancy. They do this in the hope that this will reduce the number of women who go on to have full-blown medical induction.

Even if we ignore the assumption that all of the woman who are offered induction will consent to having it, there are downsides. A stretch and sweep can cause discomfort, bleeding and irregular contractions. And it probably won't do that much. In some of the studies the stretch and sweep intervention only brings labour forward by about 24 hours, and then only in some women.

It's also important to remember that a stretch and sweep is a form of induction. Find out more about what the research on this intervention can show us here.

5. Natural induction of labour is an oxymoron.

Some people talk about 'natural induction.' But there's no such thing. Either we are awaiting spontaneous labour, or we are trying to interfere and bring it on earlier than it would otherwise have occurred.

Sometimes there is good reason to try to bring labour on. But if a woman takes castor oil or has a stretch and sweep or picks any one of the range of things that are purported to bring on labour, then she is aiming to induce her labour with non-medical means. Some holistic therapists offer to help women 'go into labour' but try to avoid using the word induction.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with trying these things, but I think it's important to be clear. Either we are letting the body and the baby do its thing spontaneously, or we are trying to induce labour.

I'm not saying this because I want to stop anyone trying bumpy car rides or having acupuncture. You do you. And I love acupuncture. But I think it's important to be clear that all the different means of induction - which include western medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, home remedies, holistic therapy - are still induction. The alternative to medical induction isn't necessarily to choose another form of induction. Though it can be, for some. But the alternative to induction can also be to wait and let your body and baby do their thing. It's easy to forget this in a culture which over focuses on time and continually devalues patience and women's bodily processes. More on the over focus on time in In Your Own Time.

This is another issue that I have written about elsewhere if you'd like to know more .

6. Induction of labour is NOT the law!

I was absolutely appalled to hear, part-way through writing an earlier version of my inducing labour book, what one woman had been told.

' We have to induce you twenty four hours after rupture of membranes. It's the law'.

The woman agreed to induction when she was told this. She went on to have what she felt was a very traumatic birth experience.

In most countries, including the UK, there are no laws which state what a pregnant woman must or must not do.

And any practitioner saying such a thing should be reported to their professional body.

There's a bit more on rights in my book 'What's Right For Me?' There are also fab organisations around the world that help women to understand their rights. I recommend that anyone who is pregnant seeks out good local sources of information.

7. It's not 'just a trickle' (or a whiff)...

I am always really concerned when I hear midwives, doctors and birth workers using language which downplays the interventions that they are recommending or discussing. I particularly dislike the terms 'trickle' and 'whiff' when used in relation to intravenous oxytocin (syntocinon).

"It's just a trickle," they'll say.

That sounds very soft and innocent, doesn't it?

But that's always not how it feels to your body or baby.

Now, syntocinon is an amazing medication. As a midwife, I am grateful for it and have seen it literally save lives.

But anything that is sometimes lifesaving is, by definition, very powerful. Syntocinon is a very powerful and very overused drug which needs to be respected as such. It can cause the baby to not cope as well with labour. In fact, in some areas the practice is to keep increasing the amount of syntocinon that women receive until the baby reacts and shows that it isn't coping well any more. It is only turned down then as it is considered that the optimal level has been found. In this situation, the 'optimal level' is the maximum dose that can be given before the baby displays signs of stress. This in itself shows you what syntocinon can do to babies' wellbeing.

But even where this is not done and the syntocinon is only increased until contractions are effective at making a woman's cervix dilate, it is still a powerful drug that needs to be given respect.

If you weigh up the pros and cons of syntocinon and decide that it is right for you, then great. That's informed decision making. But its effects should not be minimised by professionals using language that downplays those effects.

More on the pros and cons of syntocinon in Inducing Labour: making informed decisions.

8. Women don't fail. Inductions and systems do.

This one pretty much speaks for itself.

Induction doesn't always work, and this is not the fault of the woman. As I discuss in Inducing Labour: making informed decisions, we now know that some women don't respond as well to the drugs used as others because of genetic factors. There are also several other reasons why induction might not work. A key one is that the woman or baby weren't ready for labour. If they were ready, labour would have begun on its own! That's a really key thing to consider when deciding whether or not induction is right for you. And it's not a black or white decision, either. Maybe it's not right today or this week, but you might want to reconsider the decision in a couple of days, in week or two, or if a genuine problem develops.

I wish I could reassure all women who have had an induction that was unsuccessful that there was nothing wrong with them or their bodies.

This is another case where some of the language used in the maternity services really needs to be reconsidered.

9. The risks are later, lower and sometimes less preventable than people think.

In both Inducing Labour and In Your Own Time, I look at a number of studies and data sets that look at the risk of stillbirth. And whether the chance of this can be reduced by inducing women's labours.

The simple answer to this is, well it's complicated.

Sorry about that.

But there is an advantage to knowing that it's complicated. When you encounter someone who tries to make it sound as if it's a simple decision, you'll know to ask some questions.

Here's an example. In some situations, like post-term pregnancy, the increase in risk doesn't happen as early as some people believe, and it is also lower than women are often told. In fact, the outcomes experienced by women who awaited spontaneous labour and by women whose labour was induced were so similar that none of the individual studies which compared induction with non-induction were able to show a benefit to induction in their findings. It is only when all of the results for all of the studies were added together that it was possible to see a small difference. And there was still a big question mark about whether induction really made a difference because the quality of the research wasn't that high.

As I will explain further in the next point, we don't always have good evidence that sad events like stillbirth are preventable by increased intervention, such as induction of labour.

Again, I have written about this in depth in Inducing Labour: making informed decisions and In Your Own Time.

10. The risks for older women, women with suspected large babies and women who conceived via IVF aren't as clear cut as is often suggested either.

My final point relates to the women who are told that they are at greater risk of having a baby with a problem, and that they should have their labour induced because of this.

This currently includes women who are older, women who are thought to have a large baby (even though we aren't very good at estimating fetal weight, even with ultrasound), women who have a higher BMI, women who have been told they have gestational diabetes, and women who conceived by IVF. Some other groups are affected too, but it depends a bit on where you are in the world.

This is complicated, too.

Let's look at older women as an example. Some studies show a correlation between increased maternal age and an increase in certain types of complications, including stillbirth.

But ... there's a big but.

That doesn't mean that induction of labour will improve outcomes. In fact, we don't have robust evidence demonstrating that it does.

It's nice to think that it would. It's nice to think that we can control things, and prevent tragedies. That's why the offer of induction is so compelling. But sadly, in many of these situations, there's no evidence that it will help.

There are also downsides to induction, so the decision needs to be weighed up carefully by the person who it will most affect.

Women who are older or deemed to be 'at higher risk' are often offered monitoring and intervention in abundance. But this can cause complications, restrict movement, and lead to more intervention.

Older women are also more likely to have other health challenges, which is sometimes called co-morbidity. That means that it is hard to tell whether these problems and/or their age are the cause of poor outcomes.

The studies that have looked at this have not always separated these issues out, and the only papers that have done so looked at women who gave birth some years ago, and who may not be comparable to women today.

So there is a real lack of good data in this area, and unfortunately the studies that are being carried out to look further at this are tending to induce even younger women even earlier in pregnancy, so their results may not be of much use to women either.

This issue is such a big one that I devoted an entire chapter of In Your Own Time to it.

What's the take home message?

Women who are offered induction of labour need to weigh up lots of things in order to determine which path is right for them.

We need to wholeheartedly support women who want their labour to be induced, and to wholeheartedly support women who don't.

Women report variable experiences of induction of labour. Some are really happy with their experience, and others much less so.

But the overarching thing that I hear from new mothers on the topic of induction is that many women wish they had had more information.

That's why I write so much about induction.

If you'd like to find out more so that you can get informed and make the decisions that are right for you, please look at my books.

Inducing Labour: making informed decisions talks the reader through the process and the pros and cons of induction.

In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop explains how we got to the current situation and looks more deeply at the evidence and issues in relation to topics such as the due date, suspected big babies, and being deemed to be 'at higher risk.'

I wish you well in your decision making.

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Ten things I wish every woman knew about induction of labour - Dr Sara Wickham

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In modern Western culture, most women and families know about induction of labour before they even become pregnant. They know that it is suggested when it is felt that it would be safer for the baby to be born than to stay inside its mother.

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Induction: a step by step guide | MidwifeThinking

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Induction: a step by step guide | MidwifeThinking

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Updated: August 2019 This post has been inspired by conversations I’ve had with women about their experiences of induction. Induction of labour is increasingly common, yet women often seem to…