Evidence on the Risks and Benefits of Inducing Labor

Pregnancy Podcast

Vanessa Merten

Newborn, Parent, Homebirth, Vbac, Kids & Family, Doula, Firsttimemom, Midwife, Pregnancy, Doctor, Parenting, Pregnant, Vanessamerten, Physician, Csection, Prenatalcare, Breastfeeding, Naturalbirth, Nursing, Birthcenter, Family, Baby, Hospitalbirth, Health, Obgyn, Research, Trimester, Expecting, Labor, Mom, Diet, Dad, Birth

4.5 • 948 Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a perfect world, your body is ready, your baby is fully mature, and you spontaneously go into labor on your due date. In reality, nearly one in four expecting mothers undergo a procedure to induce labor. The key is knowing when an induction may be medically necessary and when it may be better to wait it out. Explore the many reasons a care provider may suggest an induction, from medical considerations to practical concerns. Learn your options, the various methods used to initiate labor, how each approach works, the potential risks and benefits, and why timing matters. This episode examines the evidence on all of your options, including stripping and sweeping membranes, misoprostol (Cytotec), dinoprostone (Cervidil & Prepidil), synthetic oxytocin (Pitocin), using a laminaria or balloon catheter, and breaking your water.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You are listening to the pregnancy podcast with Vanessa Merton.
0:10.6	Hello, thank you for tuning into the pregnancy podcast.
0:15.4	In today's episode, we're going through the evidence on the risks and benefits of inducing labor. In a perfect world,
0:22.8	you spontaneously go into labor on your due date. But in reality, nearly one and four expecting
0:29.6	moms undergoes a procedure to induce labor. The key is knowing when an induction could be medically
0:36.3	necessary and when it may be better to wait it out.
0:40.4	In this episode, we will explore the reasons that your care provider could suggest an induction,
0:46.5	from medical considerations to personal concerns.
0:50.1	You'll learn about your options, the methods that can be used to induce labor, how each of those
0:56.4	works, the potential risks and benefits, and why the timing matters.
1:01.8	This episode will cover all of your options, including stripping and sweeping membranes,
1:07.5	mesoprostol, which is also known as cytotech, dynoprostone, which goes by the brand names
1:13.6	Servadil and Prepadil. We're going to talk about synthetic oxytocin or pitocin, also using a laminaria
1:21.7	or a balloon catheter and breaking your water. You can find the complete article and all of the resources for this episode
1:29.6	at Pregnancy Podcast.com-inducing labor. You are listening to the public feed of the podcast, which gives you
1:39.1	access to the last year of episodes. Become a pregnancy podcast premium member. Get access to hundreds of episodes
1:48.0	exclusive to pregnancy podcast premium members. Plus, you will get all of the content ad-free.
1:55.6	There are hundreds of episodes that cover every topic you could have questions about for
2:00.6	pregnancy or planning for your
2:02.2	birth. Join pregnancy podcast premium at pregnancypodcast.com slash premium. The V-Tech V-Hush pro-baby sleep
2:13.0	soother has every feature you could possibly want to transform any room into a sleep sanctuary.
2:19.6	Create an ideal sleep environment for your baby so your whole family gets better and longer sleep.
	...

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