IVF and induction?
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I had my 16 midwife appointment and she mentioned I will be offered an induction a week before my due date (also IVF) I think I will go ahead with what the suggest as they are the experts. The end of the day it’s your decision, you decide whatever you feel is right for you & your baby 🫶
I had an ivf first pregnancy and for other reasons I needed a c section. Got to add in, a pre booked c section was amazing. So calm, we knew exactly what was happening, when, and it was over quickly. Recovery was tough for a few days but by day 5 I had energy back again. Inductions can take days and often lead to a c section anyway.
I had an induction with an IVF pregnancy and if I knew then what I know now, I would never have accepted an induction. Unnecessary contractions every minute for hours that didn't lead to progression for a very long time. And if you're not progressing you dont get into the labour suite, where the 'good' pain relief is. Paracetamol and a heat pack on the ward. So glad I brought my own tens machine as wouldn't have remotely coped without it. By time I got epidural it took them 1 hr 20 mins to get it into the right place as they had to keep stopping due to the frequency of my contractions and me vomiting because of the pain (and a very tired anaesthetis who admittedly was at the end of his shift and had to give up eventually and pass over to fresh eyes). I dont want to frighten anyone but I just wish I'd known these possibilities. Induced labour is typically way more painful than natural labour, but I thought as I didn't have a comparison then how would I even know, but nothing would have prepared me for that.
Yes with an ivf pregnancy they would like to induce you. I ended up with an elective c section so didn't get to this point. I was always pretty against induction, I'd read alot in to it and reallt didn't want to be induced. Do your own research, you don't have to do anything you don't want to
It's common to be booked in for an induction at 40 weeks with IVF because they don't like you to go over at all. This is because there was a study that found a correlation between IVF and stillbirth in deliveries after 40 weeks. If you have anxiety around birth, I would not necessarily recommend an induction. I've actually decided I'm going to decline an induction and book a c section for my due date (31st October so just after you) instead. I really recommend the book "induction matters". It's really small, but an important read. I think it's worth figuring out what you're anxious about, and how you think those anxieties would be relieved by induction, or whether they could be helped with a different process or support. Happy to chat via pm, fellow IVF pregnancy 💗