So this week in The Little Birth Company Community we have been talking about place of birth, home, MLU or hospital and this has led on to the sharing of some great birth stories involving Induction.

It’s an interesting one because historically my reaction when anyone would share with me they were going to be induced was usually, ‘Nooooo don’t do it’, in my head of course!

Now don’t get me wrong I still totally advocate that when possible a physiological birth is the way to go, but in the awesome community of women that we support in The Little Birth Company it is so reassuring to hear that for those women who have been induced so many of them report back a positive birth experience as a result of having the hypnobirthing knowledge, tools and techniques.

I would always totally recommend being fully informed about induction, the process, pro’s and con’s and your alternatives. Before making any decision.

1 in 3 pregnant women will have their labours induced.

Inductions can be offered:

if a woman goes beyond estimated due date (post-dates)
if waters have broken
if the woman or baby have a health problem
a first time mother over 35 years of age.

The Evidence Based Birth website is helpful for making a decision about whether to be induced if waters break or if older than 35 years.

Current protocol for post-dates – The current guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommend that women with uncomplicated pregnancies should be given the opportunity to go into spontaneous labour and are usually offered induction of labour between 41 and 42 weeks to avoid the risks of prolonged pregnancy (pregnancy that goes beyond 42 weeks).

If you want to read more about the available research and risks, then the Evidence Based Birth website offers an in depth analysis.

It’s important to remember that in pregnancy and life there are always risks in everything we do. And with every birth decision you make, it’s about weighing up the risks on both sides and choosing which option feels ‘less risky’ to you.

Induction can be suggested for a few reasons such as;

If you are considered overdue
If your waters have released and you haven’t gone into labour
If you or your baby have a health concern
There are also a few forms of induction;

A prostaglandin gel or pessary
A sweep
Your waters may be released (broken)
A syntocinon drip

The first thing to remember is that you can refuse to be induced. This is your decision. Sometimes, just knowing that can help a woman to feel more in control of the situation. I would always recommend of course that this should be a well informed decision.

A great tool to assist you in making a decision about whether or not to be induced and in fact any birth related decision is the BRAINS acronym.

So let’s just say you have checked in with your BRAINS and you have made an informed and educated decision to be induced, what now? Do you simply hand over your birth and kiss goodbye to a positive birth?

No! Most definitely not, this is where Hypnobirthing can make all the difference!

So what can you do to promote a positive birth if you are induced?

You can prepare your body for birth. You can boost your levels of endorphins and oxytocin before starting the induction process. There are a few simple ways to do this!

Be Happy! Date nights, enjoy some time with your partner, friends or family, watch something that makes you belly laugh. Avoid watching the news and reduce your daily dose of social media!

Be Calm! If you have been doing Hypnobirthing listen regularly to your MP3s. Take 30 each day to lay down and drift off to sleep listening to them. This will hugely help you to stay calm and relaxed.

Be Relaxed! Look after yourself. Book a massage or a treatment such as Reflexology, Acupuncture or Acupressure. If you can’t do any of those then take a soak in a bath, breathe deeply and relax.

Many people think that Hypnobirthing is just for those planning a candle lit home birth, but the great news is that Hypnobirthing can help you whether you are having a spontaneous labour or an induced one.

So how can it help?

The number one thing that is important when you are in labour (induced or not) is to stay as calm and relaxed as possible.

Here focusing on your breathing and our wonderful breathing technique here at The LBC, A Relaxing Breath breathing technique can help so much with this.

If you do feel panic then don’t worry just breathe and use your techniques to help you get back to as calm a place as possible.

Maximising the birthing environment is essential. Again, this will apply for both a spontaneous or induced labour. Making your birthing room as comfortable and familiar as possible will help you to feel calm and relaxed and in turn, this will help the birthing hormones to flow and do what they are perfectly designed to do.

So think about what things will help you to relax …. low lighting, so have some battery candles or stringed battery lights you can use these at home or in hospital.

What about smells? Nice relaxing smells such as lavender can aid your relaxation. Music, having a playlist that is calming and relaxing and one that makes you feel happy can help so much to create a positive birth environment.

Visualisations are an amazing tool you can make use of during birth to promote relaxation. Whether you focus on an image of a blooming flower to help you focus on imagining your body softly and gently opening to release your baby or you visualise the strong and powerful wave like surges ebbing and flowing up your body to help you relax through your surges, visualisations can be extremely powerful.

So it is so reassuring to know that should you decide that an induction is a right journey to birth for you there is so much you can do to prepare your body and mind for a positive experience.

If you would like to know more about our Hypnobirthing courses you can get in touch with one of our instructors via our directory here.

You can also find out about our Online Hypnobirthing classes here.

Join us in The Little Birth Company Community if you like all things positive birth