Staying upright and changing positions or labouring in a deep tub can help your baby move into a better position for birth.Having trusted labour support &/or a Doula and creating a safe, dark, calm, quiet, loving and respectful environment can help you relax and allow your body's natural hormonal physiology to make your labour more efficient and effective. The environment you labour in and the support you receive during your labour plays a big part in optimizing your labour hormones.There are some things that you can try first to help your labour begin to progress again before going to medical augmentation: Augmentation: Labour may slow for several reasons but stress, anxiety and fatigue can have a big impact.The healthiest choice most of the time is to let labour begin on its own. Waiting may improve the possibility of induction success or going into labour on your own without increasing risk. Weigh your risks and benefits of doing the induction now or waiting a few days or a week. This will help you understand the likelihood of induction success. Ask your healthcare provider about your Bishop's Score. Induction: This is particularly important if your cervix has not begun to prepare for labour yet.When weighing the benefits and risks of induction or augmentation procedures, ask the question: What if I wait a little longer? It's important to discuss the N (Not Now) in the informed decision-making acronym, BRAIN (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition, No or Not Now). You can learn more about the evidence, benefits and risks for these options at the Evidence Based Birth Natural Labour Induction Series.īe sure to discuss use of any of these options with your healthcare provider prior to using them. Birth of a preterm baby when dating was inaccurate 1 8Īlternatives Natural options to prepare your cervix &/or start labour.Umbilical cord prolapse (cord dropping down through the cervix) 1 8.Excessive uterine activity (contractions too close together) 8.There is a risk of caesarean birth if your labour does not progress or your baby doesn't tolerate the induced labour (fetal distress).Potential short and long-term effects on infants 2.Disruption/difficulty with newborn breastfeeding and bonding/attachment (oxytocin & prolactin hormones interference) 2.Increased use of vacuum or forceps at birth 2 8.Need for more/increased synthetic oxytocin for labour to progress 2.Increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage (excessive bleeding) 2 8.Lowered calming and pain-relieving effects for mother during labour 2.Sarah Buckley's blog: Synthetic Oxytocin (Pitocin, Syntocinon): Unpacking the myths and side-effects. 10 To learn more about how the use of synthetic oxytocin may interfere with your natural hormonal feedback and release of natural oxytocin from your brain, please read Dr. Naturally occurring oxytocin hormone levels are normally at their highest levels immediately prior to and right after birth.

The use of synthetic oxytocin during labour and birth may carry some risks that we are just learning about. When labour is not progressing, augmentation can assist labour to progress and reduce your risk of a caesarean birth. If the risks, at any time, of continuing your pregnancy for either you or your baby are higher than having the baby, induction of labour (starting labour) is a procedure that can be life-saving. 'Induction should never be used for the convenience of the mother or the health care provider.' 1 Benefits: Induction In order to make an informed decision, it's important to speak with your healthcare provider to discuss how these may apply to your individual situation. The following are population level benefits and risks. These are not all of the possible reasons, but they are the most common. Term rupture of membranes and no labour, or when the mother has Group B Streptococcus.Poor growth of the baby (growth restricted).Pregnancy related hypertension (higher than 140/90) beyond 38 weeks.

Cramping after membrane sweep