Induction is something that many many women experience. It might be before their due date, due to medical issues, or it could be because they are overdue.

  Reasons for induction

• You have a medical condition such as pre-eclampsia , high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart problems.
• Your midwife or doctors decide your placenta is no longer supporting the baby well enough
• You are over 42 weeks pregnant
• Your waters have broken, but you are not contracting

  a membrane sweep

  This is often the first way of trying to get your body to go into labour, and can be performed by your midwife at your antenatle appointment, but isnt tecnicly induction. She will 'sweep' a finger around your cervix to get it to release oxytocin to start labour off. Some people find this quite an uncomfortable procedure, but a lot of people also say it works well!

  Breaking of waters (ARM - Artifical rupture of membranes)

Your midwife will perform this in hospital, by inserting a rod which looks like a crochet needle through your cervix to 'pop' your waters. This doesnt hurt at all. The babys head will now drop right down pressing on the cervix aiding it to thin out and dilate.

Prostoglandin pesseries

  This is a method by which pesseries are inserted into the vagina to make the uterus start to contract. This can take a few hours to work.

  Syntocinon induction

  Syntocinon   acts like oxytocin, and can be given for induction via a drip or as a tablet. It isnt the most commen way of inducing labour as it can cause much stronger and more painful contractions that other forms or non induced labour.

Your rights

It is always the womans right to refuse induction, even after 42 weeks, if she doesnt want it.