12 Questions to Ask BEFORE Being Induced for Labor

Preparing for Labor

Inductions - Your Just About Complete Guide

12 questions you shoud ask BEFORE you are laying in a a hospital bed hooked to an IV, monitor and Blood Pressure cuff!

1. Why are you being induced? Are you overdue or are their some health concerns?
2. Would they be opposed to following the ACOG's stanadards and monitoring you till 42 weeks then inducing?
3. How favorable is your cervix? This can affect how they induce and how likely the induction is to be successful. Ask for your Bishop's Score.
4. How do they plan to induce? Are they going to use a cervical ripener to soften your cervix? Are they going to go right to Pitocin? The answers should be tailored to how favorable your cervix is.
5. Ask what they would do if you don't go into labor? Do they send you home and wait it out? How do they manage things?
6. Will they let you eat and drink?
7. Will they let you move about, use water, change positions...?
8. Do they require continuous monitoring or do they do intermittent?
9. Can you have pain meds? When can you have them? What narcotics do they have standard orders for? What dose? Is there a cut off point to recieving painmedications (if you are 8+cm, will you be able to get anything?)
10. If labor is progressing well can we turn OFF the pitocin for a while and see if my body will take over? I would like to have the opprotunity to have the kind of contractions that are perfect for my body and I would like to be able to get off of the monitor for a while so I can walk and change positions easily. I know that this will help ensure proper fetal alignment, more so than laboring in bed. What reasons are there that I couldn't have the pitocin turned off?
11. Is there a time limit on my induction before it is considered a failed induction or turns into a c-section? Do you follow active management? Do I have to progress Xcm in X amount of time? If I am well and the baby is well, can we take it slow and steady instead?
12. Can I decline having my amniotic sac ruptured as part of the induction process? I know that I can reconsider later, like if I get stuck at 8cm for a few hours, but as a matter of routine I would rather not have it ruptured. I worry about the added stress baby could face with the pitocin contractions if they don't have the benefit of the cushion. Fetal malpresentation, cord prolapse and cord compression are other concerns, as well as infection.

For more in-depth information about preparing for labor and the risks involved with labor induction, please click here.