Induced labor is delivery caused by drugs such as oxytocin that artificially stimulates labor contractions so that the baby can be born.
In some cases it is practiced for medical reasons, as it has been in my two births due to suspected delayed intrauterine growth causing birth two weeks before the date of delivery, but in others it is done for the convenience of the doctor or the patient.
A trip, the visit of family members, the gynecologist's vacations, or taking the last days of pregnancy fatal serve as an excuse to induce labor.
It is not that it seems to me bad, but it is necessary to recognize that it is unnatural. It means anticipating that the event naturally precipitates, not allowing it to be triggered as a spontaneous physiological event, which is what it should be.
Beyond moral and philosophical issues with which one can agree or not, the important thing is to know if this type of birth has any contraindication for the mother or the baby.
It is true that oxytocin causes stronger and more frequent contractions, which could reduce the amount of oxygen that reaches the baby. Anyway, the baby is constantly monitored during dilation.
On the other hand, a study released in October last year that we talked about indicates that induced labor doubles the risk of a mother older than 35 years of suffering a complication that could be fatal called an amniotic fluid embolism.
It must be taken into account that after 35 years of age the mother is considered a risky pregnancy because the chances of suffering any type of complication increase.
There are several medical justifications for inducing labor. If the date is passed, the water has broken but the delivery does not progress, there is placental abruption, the mother suffers from preeclampsia or some chronic disease, loss of aminiotic fluid, or in the event that the doctor suspects that the baby may be suffering or that is not growing, as has been my case.
Personally, I have to be thankful that I have been induced to have labor because if my babies had continued inside the womb they could have risked their lives, it was for medical reasons.
With regard to convenience, it is an issue between the patient and the doctor who assumes whether it is viable or not to cause it artificially. Like the induced, natural and cesarean section can also present serious complications.
