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Does Mother (Nature) Know Best?
What Every Expectant Mom Should Know About Labor Induction
By Susan Barrett Hyde
s, a woman may not be prepared for the intensity of Pitocin-induced contractions. Whereas natural contractions typically build up more slowly, Pitocin may cause hard contractions from the start. As a result, a woman may need an epidural to cope with the labor. She may be setting herself for "a cascade of interventions" that may make her more likely to have a prolonged labor or even a C-section.
For this reason, Ferrari says that, if the amniotic fluid and placenta look good and if the baby is healthy, she will wait until a woman is 42 weeks pregnant to induce. Even then, she says, they will typically begin with a natural induction method. "Breaking a mother's water is a last resort," says Ferrari.
Jen Beermann, a mother of two, says that her Pitocin-induced labor was far less pleasant than the naturally-occurring labor of her first child. Although the Pitocin caused intense contractions from the beginning, the laboring did not initially cause her cervix to progress. "I was rather miserable, since I was unable to find a comfortable position ... and I couldn't walk around because of the fetal monitor," Beermann says. Four and a half hours later, the obstetrician broke her water, and her labor rapidly progressed to the point where she felt an incredible urge to push. "That scared the devil out of me, as I had never had a strong urge like that with my son," she says. "I couldn't comprehend feeling the need to do something that was hurting me so badly."
The intensity of induced labors may also foil a mother's attempt for a natural childbirth. In her first labor, mother Angie Green was given Pitocin when, after several hours of rather intense labor, her natural contractions stopped altogether. After an on-call obstetrician verified that she was 2 centimeters dilated and 50 percent effaced, her own doctor recommended that she be started on Pitocin.
"Within 20 minutes, I was having strong contractions that I couldn't talk through," Green says. "I was determined to go natural, and the Pitocin was making it very hard to do." In the end, she did ask for an epidural. "The only good thing about my labor was it was only eight hours," she says. "I swore I would never have another induction unless it was medically necessary."
Green contrasts this first labor with the natural birth of her second daughter. "My labor with my second daughter was so easy compared (to the first labor)," she says. "I did it totally naturally without any pain medications at all." Green feels strongly that the overwhelming pain of her first labor was due to the Pitocin.
Unfortunately, not all induction decisions are cut and dry. For this reason, a woman should select an obstetrician or midwife whom she will trust to make sound medical decisions for her during labor.
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