The Lure of Induction

Lorna Phillip Author

May 29, 2023 |

As your due date draws ever nearer, the induction that you thought you'd never consider may seem more attractive as the days roll by.

As your guess date (because it really is a guess) approaches, the lure of induction can get stronger and stronger. You may want to consider arming yourself with lots of well sourced knowledge about inductions, the risks, the pros and the cons. It really isn’t wise to go into this blind if you want to be in control of what happens to you and your body.

Of course, you are eager to meet your baby, but you have to think to yourself are there many other situations where we would stop a process because we were done with the waiting? Would you take your chicken out of the oven before it was ready? Would you only half fill your petrol tank when you needed a full tank? Would you eat your patty before it has cooled down (don’t answer that one but you know that burns your tongue like crazy 🥵) And what would happen if we did do these things?

Every action has a consequence, right? Whether it be good or bad. So have a little think about what possible outcomes may happen if you agreed to go ahead with an induction and do the same for outcomes if you did not agree to an induction. Do you even know the answers to these questions? If not, be sure to ask your midwife, doula or even google, in fact I would ask all three and see what answers you get. But where ever you get your information from be aware of the source of that information, are there any statistics to back up what they have said?

Now induction is not always bad, if there is a medical reason to bring your baby into the world early then of course you do what you need to do, but there is a difference between a real medical reason based on your personal circumstance and a “medical reason” which is purely hospital policies. Be sure to discern between the two. If in doubt wait it out until you can get the information you need.

One of the many benefits of being part of the Birth Village Membership is that you can share your feelings around induction within our private community. If you choose to have 1:1 sessions with me, we can talk through the pros and cons of induction so that you can be sure that you're making a decision that'd fully informed and right for you and your family.

If you're Black and pregnant, join us here today!