Risks of induction

Induction can be a useful procedure where there is a need for the baby to be born, but there are disadvantages:

• It used to be thought that induction increased the likelihood of labour ending in a Caesarean section. Research shows that this isn’t true if the reason for the induction is simply that the woman has gone over her dates

• There may be a greater risk of Caesarean if the woman is being induced because of pre-eclampsia, or some other reason which means that her baby is not growing well in the womb. In these cases, however, there is a risk that the baby will need to be delivered by emergency Caesarean anyway and it is difficult to assess whether this risk is increased by the induction

• Induced labours can be fast and furious. Some women are glad that everything is over very quickly and others feel that they would have preferred a more gradual transition to motherhood! If your labour is to be induced, you need to be prepared to cope with sudden, strong contractions and to discuss with your birth partner your choices of pain relief