The majority of midwives and obstetricians will agree that in terms of the labour process, often the very best outcome is if a woman is left to go into natural labour, without any medical interference.
But once you pass your due date, the legalities and judgements made on how long your medical team will let you go before they induce you, vary greatly from country to country, and even from hospital to hospital.
In the UK; for instance, the NHS advises that induction is offered to all women who don’t go into labour naturally by 42 weeks. In Sweden, the limit is 41 weeks, the reason for both being that once you go over your due date, the risk of stillbirth of health problems for both mother and baby starts increasing.
But now two doctors, as part of a medical debate, who originally had shown up to argue each side of the case, ended up agreeing with each other that labour should be induced at 39 weeks, which is significantly earlier than what current guidelines advise.
The debate, which took place at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) meeting, saw Errol Norwitz, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine, and Charles Lockwood, dean of the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida, meet to discuss their opinions on inducing women at 39 weeks.
“There is no benefit to the foetus waiting beyond 39 weeks in well-dated,” Errol stated. “Nature is a terrible obstetrician.”
Charles was then going to disagree with early inductions, but however, recent studies suggested that earlier inductions at 39 weeks could contribute to reducing C-section rates and potentially lower the rate of maternal and infant complications.
Having looked at these facts, the Florida-doctor also agreed that women should be induced at 39 weeks, and what was meant to be a debate soon turned into a discussion on the importance of early inductions.
The doctors’ views are already severely debated, and even Charles himself agreed said these guidelines shouldn’t get the go ahead just yet.
What do YOU think, mamas? Do YOU think inducing women earlier would contribute to lowering C-sections rates and keep mums and babies safer? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @Herfamilydotie
