The Induction Epidemic

When birthgivers are told that they shouldn’t trust their body and baby to know when they’re ready for birth, how can we expect them to enter the birthing portal, postpartum period, and parenthood with self-trust? How can we expect them to have a strong relationship to their intuition when the medical system continually convinces parents to override it. 

Even in a place as progressive as Santa Cruz I’m noticing more and more birthgivers being offered, and accepting, routine 39 and 40 week inductions without medical reason. 

I worry that we are accelerating a slow forgetting of how to birth. We are forgetting the power of wombs, the wisdom of babies, the flexibility of pelvises, the beauty of birth’s hormonal cocktail. 

And it feels to me that if we forget how to birth, we forget that at our core we are simply soft animals (shout out Mary Oliver), a part of, not apart from, the natural world around us. Let mamas, birthgivers, babies, and families remember.  

Babies are born on their birthday. Every. Single. Time. 

So, how do we protect the ability of birthgivers and babies to birth when it's right for them? We learn how to confidently and politely decline inductions that don't have a true evidence-based reason behind them.

Some ways to respectfully decline an induction:

1. Play dumb! Ask providers if they can offer you some more detailed explanations and statistics about why they're recommending an induction because 'you just don't understand'. If they either cannot produce the statistics, or they're unconvincing you can let them know that you now understand they're recommendations and the reasoning behind it and you've decided to decline.

2. Be a no-show. If you don't feel comfortable saying no, first consider switching providers. If that's not an option, remember that you can always schedule an induction and simply not show up. And you can do that again, and again, and again.

3. Use an NST as a bargaining chip. Offering to go into the office for more frequent NSTs can be a way to help assuage provider anxiety about the health of your little one.

Note: there are some really great reasons to get an induction! And when there is an evidence based reason, it doesn’t steal a mamas power, but rather empowers them to make well-educated decisions with full and informed consent, not having to worry that they are being coerced. Because, at the end of the day, empowerment in birth is not about the actual logistics. It’s about giving birthgivers accurate information and letting them choose what’s best for their family.