Labor pain is a natural process that indicates the delivery time. However, in some cases, women fail to experience the needed level of labor pain and they have to be made to experience the same via artificial means.
A labor pain is induced under situations where it becomes obvious that there is a high risk in prolonging the pregnancy.
Why Labor Pain Needs to be Induced?
There are some conditions where your doctor will suggest induced labor. Some of the reasons you may need induced labor includes the following:
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If your pregnancy is over 41 weeks and your doctor or health care provider has confirmed that you are overdue, it is likely you will be offered induced labor. Doctor will not want to cause any delay in taking the next line of action because there is a large possibility of your placenta becoming lax and unable to deliver enough food and oxygen for the baby.
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The normal thing for pregnant women is to go into labor within 24 hours after breaking of the water. If your water breaks and you don’t start labor then your doctor may suggest you to go for induced labor. This is so because there is the risk of you or your baby developing infection.
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If your baby is growing normally and you are diabetic; especially if you are dependent on insulin to put in check your sugar levels, your doctor may recommend you go for induced labor after about 38 weeks of pregnancy.
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If you suffer from any chronic or acute health conditions like kidney disease or pre-eclampsia, the life of your baby may be in danger. This apparently calls for induced labor.
In some cases, pregnant woman herself can demand for induced labor pain owing to some personal reasons.
The Steps Involved In Labor Induction
Doctors and health care providers use different methods to initiate labor. When it is decided that your labor will be induced, the doctor may start off with one method, repeat it or move to another method before you actually start to labor. Before your labor begins, you can have a discussion with your doctor to identify the methods most suitable in your case. The following are the most probable methods your doctor will highlight for you.
Membrane Sweep
The membrane sweep method is offered routinely to pregnant women long overdue in order to stimulate labor. In this method, the membrane that surrounds your baby is removed from your cervix gently. During an internal examination, your doctor can carry out this procedure smoothly. There may be up to 2 or 3 membrane sweeps before your doctor decides to the use of other methods of induction. One of the risks involved with this method is that you may find it quite uncomfortable if your cervix is not easy to reach.
Prostoglandin
This is another method used for labor induction and it makes use of the hormone called prostaglandin. Prostaglandin is a substance that is similar to a hormone in nature and it functions by causing the stimulation of uterine contractions. The administration of prostoglandin would normally involve your doctor inserting a pessary, gel or tablet that contains prostaglandin into your vagina. This move is made so as to ripen up your vagina. This process may be repeated for a second dose after about six hours. If your labor hasn’t started, the use of a pessary can cause the release of prostaglandin slowly for a whole day in which case a single dose would suffice.
Though it is a widely used method but one risk associated with it is that your uterus can get over stimulated and this may reduce the supply of oxygen to your baby. When this happens, there is no reason to panic; there are drugs that may be used to slow down the contraction of the uterus. The worst thing occurs when over stimulation of the uterus results in uterus rupture. This case is rare but it may happen with a “trial of labor” after a previous cesarean section.
Artificial Rupturing The Membranes (ARM)
Artificial rupturing the membranes is another method for inducing labor and it is sometimes called “breaking the waters”. This method is seldom used for induced labor nowadays unless there is a reason why vaginal prostaglandins may not be used. If your water gets broken, your doctor can carry out this procedure in an internal examination. The procedure will work fine in a situation where your cervix is soft and ready for labor.