There might be a number of reasons that your health practitioner would want to provide you with labor inducement to hasten the contractions. Some people may even ask for labor inducement to allow them to deliver the baby quicker than nature would allow.
Many people also ask the question of whether or not labor inducement comes with risks. Is it completely safe?
Let’s take a look at the risks that might be involved with induced labor. We’ll investigate what the risks are and when you should not make use of this method to speed up the delivery of your baby.
Why Inducement?
There might be a number of valid medical reasons why labor should be induced to speed up the work of nature. Infection of the amniotic sac or a uterine infection may be a reason why your doctor would make use of labor inducement.
Diabetes is also a valid medical reason to use inducement to help the mother in the labor process a short time before the natural process will start. When a mother experiences high blood pressure during pregnancy, it might place the life of her baby, as well as her own life in jeopardy.
The Risks
There are a number of risks involved that you need to know about when it comes to the inducement of labor. Next, we will discuss a list of some of the risks that may occur from the use of the inducement process.
Increased Risk Of Complication
Applying labor inducement involves the intervention of the natural process of the body by breaking the amniotic sac. This may cause some manner of distress with the baby that can lead to an abnormal heart rate, which is called fetal distress.
The contraction after the inducement of labor may be far more forceful than it would be if it occurs naturally. This may cause the baby to go into a position that will make the labor process longer and more painful for the mother. All these side effects may have a lasting effect either on the baby or on the mother.
Risk Of Intervention During Birth
When the inducement of labor is applied, the baby will stay in a position that will make it more difficult and harder to move down the canal. Because the contractions are so much more painful, the need to use an epidural to help with the pain will increase drastically.
These effects may prevent the mother from pushing the baby out and may require the doctor to help with the delivery. This might mean that the doctor will have to use instruments to help in the final delivery of the baby. This might not be good for the baby or the mother and might leave some marks.
Risk Of Intensive Care Need
When a baby is born with the aid of inducement, it has not yet signaled the mother that it is about to be born. This simply means that the mother has not yet started to go into labor, so neither of them is ready for birth.
In most cases, it also means that the baby is not physically developed enough to be able to leave the womb. Any baby that is born too early will have some problems with breathing and maintaining steady body temperature. These babies will almost always have to stay in the hospital until they are ready and strong enough to survive on their own.
Risk Of Cesarean Section
Complications that may occur because of inducement may improve the chances that the baby needs to be delivered via C-section. These complications may manifest as fetal distress, which forces the baby into a difficult position, or uterine rupture, which may stop the labor process.
When the contractions start with the introduction of the inducement medication, the cervix might not always be ready to open. This might lead to a complete stop of the labor process, and a C-section might be necessary to deliver the baby.
Conclusion
It is always wise to get as much information as possible when it comes to the health of the baby and the mother. The following website is a good place to find more answers regarding the reasons and the risks of labor inducement.