If you follow our channel, then you probably know that we are no fans of medical inductions.
However, sometimes, there just are very good medical reasons why baby is better off in the
outside world. And so, many women have asked us, how should I best prepare for an induction? Yes.
So, in this video, we are going to discuss how you can prepare for a medical induction
to make it more likely that the induction is going to be a success. And then we also talk about other
ways to prepare, such as what to wear, what to bring to the hospital and other things. Yes.
This is Nathalie a pregnancy and birth consultant and TCM therapist and that’s Mathias a researcher
and science geek and we help expecting mommies and their babies naturally and science based. It's great
to have you here! Let's get started!
Okay, so, in order for you to understand how
to best prepare for a medical induction, it’s important to understand a couple of things about
inductions, right? First of all, many women believe that they just go to the hospital, they receive some
drug and then they go into labor straight way. Unfortunately though, very often, this is not how
inductions work. Yes. Inductions can work quite fast, that’s right. However,
they can also take several days. And, we don’t want to scare you. But, in very rare cases, it
can also be that an induction does not work at all which normally means that they would go for a
C-section. And there are basically three things which determine if it is going to work at all and how
long it’s going to take. Yes. The first factor is the method they use. In fact, there
are many different ways to induce labor. For example: they might administer Pitocin which is
basically the synthetic form of that labor hormone Oxytocin, to get labor started, right? Or they might
give you prostaglandins or break your water or they may try a combination of several tools. Yes. But
the thing is: what exactly they are going try very much depends on the second factor that determines
if your induction is going to be a success and also, how long the induction is going to take.
And that factor is basically how ready your body and, in particular, your cervix is for labor.
Exactly. So, as you probably know by now, at the end of your pregnancy, your cervix undergoes
some changes. Most importantly, your cervix needs to get soft before it can start to thin
out and dilate, right? And so, obviously, if your cervix is not even soft at the time of induction,
it is going to be more difficult to induce labor because obviously they have to do something about
that first, right? Yes. Conversely, if your cervix is not only soft but has already started to dilate a bit,
then inducing labor is normally much less of a problem. As a result, the best way to prepare
yourself for an induction is to prepare your cervix for labor. Because that will not only
increase your chances of a successful induction. Under normal circumstances, it will also shorten
the duration of the induction. And if you want to know how you can prepare your cervix for labor,
please bear with us til the end of this video. Yes. And then, when we talk about preparing for
a medical induction, there is also another factor that determines if it is gonna be a success and how
long it is going to take. And that is your baby’s position because that too will have an impact on
your cervix. And that’s because the pressure of your baby’s head on your cervix will support those
cervical changes at the end of your pregnancy, as well as your dilation during labor, right? Yes. It’s
very simple: if your baby’s head is low in your pelvis and is well applied onto your cervix,
then inducing labor will normally be much easier to accomplish. As a result, another way to prepare
for an induction is to help baby into the best position for labor. And we are going to show you
how in just a minute. Yes. And just a sidenote: there is even a way to calculate how likely
your induction is going to be a success. All you need to do is calculate your Bishop score. Now,
we are not gonna go into details because we do this in other videos. But just very brief: you
basically get a score for each one of 5 factors. The softness, the effacement, the dilation,
the position of the cervix and also your baby’s position. And the sum of those scores is the
Bishop score. Yes. And the higher it is, the more likely your induction is going to be a success. And if
you want to know how this works, please bear with us til the end of this video. Exactly. So this is how
to prepare for an induction during the last couple of weeks and days leading up to the delivery. Now,
a question that we also often receive is, what should I do the night and day before an induction?
So for example, are there any particular exercises that I should do or food that I should eat. And the answer is:
No, there is nothing in particular you need to do, except from one thing: try to find some rest.
Yes. The problem is that if it does take longer than one day to induce labor,
then you are normally not gonna get much sleep at the hospital, right? So, if you are very nervous the day
before the induction, try meditation techniques, ask your partner to give you a massage treatment,
try alternative medicine treatments to calm down. Whatever works for you to find some rest, okay? Yes.
Another question was: is there anything in particular that I need to bring to an induction? Well, one word:
entertainment. Inducing labor can be super boring as you wait for labor to start. Again, it can work
straight away. But if it does not, then you will want to be entertained. So bring entertainment!
And most importantly, bring your cellphone charger! Yes. And then another question was:
What should I wear on the day of the induction. Well, normally, you don’t need to wear anything
in particular because normally they are gonna give you a hospital gown. Of course, you can also bring
your own nightgown or a large T-shirt, as long as it's comfortable. But we very much recommend that
you wear the hospital gown because a delivery can get quite messy, right? But normally, wearing a
hospital gown is hospital policy anyways, right? Exactly. Now again: what you do during the days
and weeks before they try to induce you, is more important than anything else. Therefore,
you are going to find a whole list of youtube videos in the description below this video which
will help you prepare for an induction. In particular, we show you how to prepare your cervix
for an induction, in the video that pops up now. Yes. And then we show you how to bring baby into the
best position for labor, in the video that pops up now. And finally, if you want to calculate how
likely it is that your own induction is going to be a success, watch the video that pops up now. In
that video, we actually talk about how likely it is that you go into labor spontaneously. However,
the number that you are gonna calculate also applies to labor induction. Right.
If you have found this video helpful, we would be super grateful if you could leave us a like
below this video! Yes. And for more useful tips and tools on pregnancy- and baby-related topics,
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