My pregnant friend emailed me the other day saying that she had just gone to her 37 week visit, and her doctor told her that if she had not gone in to labor by the next week, then they needed to talk about inducing the labor.  She was concerned, because she had never heard of anyone inducing labor before 40 weeks.  She wanted to know what I thought.

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I told her, in no uncertain terms, “DON”T DO IT!”

I wish someone had told me the same.  I was induced with my second child, because the doctor told me I was showing signs of pre-eclampsia.  I now think that was a load of you-know-what, but at the time, I was scared, and I did not know the dangers of Pitocin.  I asked my doctor several questions, such as will it increase the likelihood of a c-section, will it hurt the baby, and so on.  She told me, quite matter-of-factly, that Pitocin is just a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin, which is produced by the woman’s body naturally during childbirth.  She said that it did not increase the likelihood of a c-section and would not harm my baby in any way.  She said that she was afraid that I would become sick ( I was currently swelling a little and had a slightly elevated blood pressure) and that I could harm my liver permanently.  She was also concerned about the baby, who was showing absolutely no signs of stress, and was growing normally.  But, like I said, I was uneducated.

So what is the truth about Pitocin?  Well, the first thing I found out, through experience, was that it causes much stronger contractions.  I am not talking about a slight difference, I am talking like night and day.  The contractions that I experienced were much longer and stronger than my other two births, and they were coming right on top of one another.  I birthed without pain medication, and I would not have made it, except for that I was determined to not have the medication.  I found out about a year later that the Pitocin can cause several other problems in the mother and the baby.  Here they are:

• can cause hemorrhaging because of the strong contractions
• most women have to get an epidural because of the intense pain
• the stronger contractions  can cause scarring of the uterus, which can cause difficulty in later pregnancies
• there is an increased risk of c-section because the baby often becomes distressed due to the longer and stronger contractions (it can’t get oxygen and may need resuscitation)
• physical injury can occur to the infants head
• may be a factor in cerebral palsy and autism
• can inhibit maternal bonding, because the natural bonding hormone oxytocin is not produced in the mother

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The worst part is that there are an estimated 75-90% of births being induced in this country, depending on who you ask.  It is used for the convenience of the doctors, who can schedule the births to fit in to their schedules and be sure they are home for dinner!  Women usually go along with it because they are ready to get the pregnancy over with, they are scared into it (when the doctor knows that they want a natural birth, like me) or they just don’t know the difference.  Well, now you know.  Let others know, too!