I was told my cervix was very favorable I was 80% enfaced and 3 cm dilated and I still had a really rough time. Probably because it was baby #1 though.

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I was visiting with my friend and her baby the other day. Hannah was born at 39weeks6days. Her son was born at 37weeks5days. He was born on 5/7 and she was born on 5/9. When she saw Hannah and her all the sounds she makes and saw the way she interacts with toys she was amazed. She said, " I think that b/c Michael was born a couple of weeks early, he is just a little slower at developing than she is. He just started grunted and really doesn't pay too much attention to toys. She really looks at them and responds to them." I don't know if that is true or not - it was just her observation, but if it is true, it shows that even being induced a couple of weeks early can affect their development. (She was not induced, but went into labor on her own early.) For the next pg, when I'm so huge and tired, I'm going to have to remind myself of this and not beg for the c-section early.

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Kelly I can see that, even with premie babies, they say that how ever many weeks early they were you have to remember they are behind that many weeks also and may not reach milestones as fast as full term babies

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Kelly - That is very possible. My brother's twins were born 8 weeks early and when they had drs appt they always would their EDD when checking milestones and their doctor told them that premies catch up my 2 years old.

But now I am thinking that Lou's girls were premie and they are advanced in so many things that they do so I don't know lol.

I agree with everyone now that I look at it. Eventhough Emilee was early, I'm glad she came on her own. I didn't have a hard labor, but I now know that letting her come on her own was the best thing for her.

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This is one of those topics I was taught about very early on by my mother. Mom was a La Leche League leader and informal midwife, really. I saw my first live birth at 5 years old when mom was helping the lady upstairs. My little brother was born just after my 8th birthday, so I had an introduction to this stuff really early on.

My brother was big, and an 'oops' (my parents were 37 and 38, which was practically UNHEARD of back then), that the docs changed the due date 3 different times, with up to 6 weeks between the earlier to the latest. He ended up overdue, in those last few weeks I remember my mother telling me (paraphrased a little): "Your body knows things that you and the doctor can't. They can give me all the (pitocin) they want, but they're not breaking my water, because once they break the amniotic sac, the baby is coming out, one way or another, within (24 hours). It can make it harder on you and harder on the baby. So if your body doesn't cooperate with the pitocin, you will end up with a c-section. Sometimes, all the drugs in the world won't make labor happen if the baby isn't ready."

My brother ended up being born two weeks overdue, she went into labor herself, and he was 11lbs 3oz. Aaaaaall natural. My mom is my hero...LOL!

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Moving to Labour and Child birth section

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I thought I would post my experience since there hasn't been many positive ones spoken here.

I was told my cervix was very favorable. I was 2cm dialated and 80% effaced and I was induced at 38w5d. Though by the time I got to the hospital on my induction day I had been having constant contractions all night long and the previous day. When I was checked I was still 80% effaced but 3cm dialated, I was also still having consistant contractions coming every 2-3 minutes.

Pitocin was started at roughly 7:30am and I delivered my daughter vaginally at 2:05pm that same day. My labor was smooth, comfortable, and quite enjoyable. I did get an epidural but not because of the contractions, I felt I dealt with them well. My epidural did not wear off at any time during my labor. I pushed for roughly 45 minutes to an hour, I did tear but barely only because my daughter's arm shot out when her shoulders were delivered, I only required 1 stitch. My recovery has been also been smooth with minimal pain.

My daughter did develop jaundice after she was born but this was not because I was induced. Its actually quite possible that she had jaundice because I had it as a newborn. As I was told by the staff at the hospital that they are finding jaundice to be hereditary in some cases. My daughter is completely healthy and has not suffered any setbacks because of me being induced. I felt comfortable being induced knowing that I had been monitored by a RE from the beginning of my cycle that we conceived. I had roughly 10 ultrasounds during my pregnancy and my baby measured right on, even 2 weeks bigger towards the end, the whole time.

If I had to make the same choice all over again, I'd do it in a heartbeat considering how much I enjoyed my labor and delivery. Don't be scared of all the horror stories out there, there ARE positive experiences just like there is negative. Its a very personal decision and should definitely be thought out carefully.

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Cristina Thank you for sharing!!!

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Christina - One reason I think that your indunction went so well is that it sounds like you would have gone into labor on your own without it. I am glad that you had such a great experience with being induced.