Many feel that nature should take it's course no matter what. But some patients have domestic situations that justify a safely timed induction. And if she's within that magic week of the due date, a physician will usually consider it, but only if the cervix is ripe. Because if it isn't, a doctor can induce away at an unripe cervix all day, fighting stubborn anatomy. This numerical score is called the Bishop's Score and gives obstetricians a raw number value to determine whether induction is feasible or not.
Questions regarding inductions being harder labors than natural labors are valid.
Indeed, the patient's own natural contraction mechanism takes over in these cases, allowing a doctor to turn the drip down or even off altogether. On the other hand, an elective induction without an inviting Bishop's Score is a bad idea, as it is liable to be a long drawn out affair, with the shadow of C-section looming continuously overhead when the war against the laws of physics is lost. This is unfair but at times unavoidable. But an obstetrician can aim higher than second choice when considering elective inductions merely by following a few easy rules. All rights reserved.