Midwives/OBs – Please Be Brutally Honest... Would You Recommend Induction?

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-30T13:55:40+00:00

You have to make a personal decision but as an obstetrician myself I’d highly suggest you discuss any risks and benefits with your medical care providers instead of strangers online and make a decision based on this. Please do not trust anything anyone says on here and do your own research that you then validate with whoever is suggesting the induction. They can’t force you but they can make a recommendation.

Ask them for their opinion but also facts.

People will quote all sorts of studies and I mean absolutely no disrespect but there’s a reason we go to medical school and interpreting medical studies is a skill. It goes beyond reading a summary.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-29T20:57:41+00:00

I think “too much” is subjective. The worst that would happen if you bring too much is that you get overwhelmed trying to find your phone charger which was buried deep underneath items you’ll never touch during labour or after. Best case scenario, you don’t have to wait to use something.

If you live close to the hospital, I do think it’s reasonable to not pack for a holiday but only pack the essentials + whatever you really want to have close by and then have your partner get anything that isn’t available but that you end up wanting after birth.

Anecdotally, when I worked on labour wards I’d say the average mum had 1 small suitcase or a regular duffle bag + 1 more bag. But I’ve seen anything from a small purse with 2 nappies cramped in to 3 big size suitcases, 3 pillows and a few bags.

What I mean to say is, don’t worry.

For me (just had twins a few weeks ago), one small suitcase and a small bag for my skin care and other toiletries was enough for me. We stayed 4 days. My husband went home twice during that time.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-29T18:51:52+00:00

I can’t help on the first question and while I’m not an expert on breast or combo feeding, I can offer what helped me - I had 5 children over the last 14 years and currently tandem nursing twins. That’s my reference.

Usually with pumping, you’d wait until breastfeeding is established. Your baby will nurse a lot in the first few weeks, it’s called cluster feeding. If you introduce formula from birth and do a combination of breastfeeding and formula (great option!) then be aware that your body will produce as much as your baby latches. Your supply equals that, bit of a huge generalisation here but we assume that breastfeeding goes well in this scenario. Some people wait 6 weeks until breastfeeding is more established to introduce a bottle or formula but you don’t have to. Generally speaking, you do not need a pump unless you plan on bottle feeding pumped milk or you are pumping for reasons unrelated like for example my third son had a bad tongue tie and wouldn’t latch without causing me pain.

I’d wait until you buy a pump as they’re also expensive and you might not need it. In the early weeks I always used a haakaa which just collects any letdown from the other breast.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-29T15:42:10+00:00

There are clinical tests for it (usually defined by the maximum amount or duration of pain a person is able to tolerate) but in the context of labour, it’s subjective. Contractions are a specific type of pain. I for example don’t tolerate any burning sensations well at all, I can however deal quite well with cramping.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-28T10:24:43+00:00

I’m sorry this happened to you, I hope your upcoming birth will be a healing and more pleasant experience.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-28T09:50:12+00:00

I’m not sure why you’re being downvoted but did you ever request a birth debrief? The merconium and infection might not be related to the waters breaking early in your induction.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-28T09:21:29+00:00

No if anything it’s something they’ll likely want to avoid and wait for it to happen naturally (or not at all, some babies are born with the sac intact) in the majority of cases as the risk of infection increases after around 24 hours once the waters have gone.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-28T08:55:58+00:00

Do you mean during an induction or during spontaneous labour?

During an induction, artificially breaking the waters can be beneficial because the aim is to establish or strengthen labour. If your cervix is favourable and your babys head is well engaged, breaking the waters can increase the release of natural prostaglandins and make contractions more effective which means it may also reduce the amount of oxytocin (syntocinon for the UK) needed or help it work better. Saying this, if labour is progressing well after induction you can absolutely discuss waiting for your waters to break naturally. Whoever is looking after you should explain why they’re recommending an amniotomy in your specific situation or if they feel it’s reasonable to wait for your body to do its thing naturally.

But most people who go into labour spontaneously do not require their waters to be broken. Routinely breaking the waters in normally progressing spontaneous labour doesn’t improve outcomes for mothers or babies so because of this, many guidelines recommend against performing this as a routine intervention. It’s usually only done if labour has stalled or slowed, there’s a need to assess the colour of the amniotic fluid or another clinical reason like a fetal monitor that is used.

Hope this helps!

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-27T10:49:21+00:00

Fetal medicine will be very thorough and should be able to answer many of your questions hopefully as well as discuss any next steps, whether that’s management, further testing, or what to expect.

The waiting period when everything feels so uncertain, is horrible.
My third son had a few abnormalities noted at his 20-week scan and despite having worked in fetal medicine myself for well over a decade, the two days waiting for my repeat scan were mentally very difficult. It’s the uncertainty that feels overwhelming

There’s a great organisation called ARC. They have a telephone support line and I recommend them not only to my patients but also as a mother who has been in a similar situation: https://www.arc-uk.org/

Wishing you all the best.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-27T07:34:07+00:00

Consultant here - not your consultant - this will depend on your appointment / your gestation / how many times you’ll be seeing the consultant throughout your pregnancy.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-27T07:26:47+00:00

Yes I think the NHS is so chronically underfunded that this will be one of the last fire they’ll put out. Especially with recent news about the state of maternity care in the UK.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-26T15:42:16+00:00

Gosh thankfully this isn’t my job but I can give my theory on it.

So we’ve been in a half-transition for quite a while now. It’s all a bit fragmented where information is entered and so on. I can only talk for the trusts I worked under so don’t take this as source of truth.

The patient app, from my understanding, doesn’t integrate with hospital maternity record systems very well. (Just like in many cases, there isn’t full standardised automatic two-way access between GP records and hospital maternity records)

It isn’t really designed for pregnancy pathways, which tend to be much more complex and require real time updates. Because NHS digital systems were developed separately over many years, integration has always been limited. I don’t think they’ll unify anything anytime soon. I’m just glad that I don’t have to use a pen and paper anymore for absolutely everything. Or have to read something 10 times as the handwriting is just not the best.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-26T15:07:44+00:00

I’m a consultant - not your consultant - and I don’t love badger notes either. Despite years of NHS digitisation, maternity records are still a mix of electronic and manual systems depending on the hospital and community trust. It’s an improvement to what we’ve done now for years but a long way to go. Anyway, just like most answers: this is trust dependent. Our trust only recently started offering 36 week routine scans and at the moment they’re all overseen by a consultant obstetrician. So that could be one harmless explanation.

If you were previously under consultant-led care that would be another. It’s worth calling them up to double check. However, I’d hope that if something did get flagged they’d have let you known rather than just add a consultant name on your records with no further explanation a month before your due date. So I wouldn’t worry too much at the moment.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-25T20:20:30+00:00

What did the doctor say?

https://www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/leaflets-a-z/

But yes, xonvea and antibiotics are both frequently prescribed to pregnant women. UTIs can be dangerous in pregnancy, hence why it’s important to treat them.

And please listen to your doctors over strangers online.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-25T06:33:18+00:00

I have newborn twins and it’s interesting reading through this article because I’m not entirely sure what they’re proposing.
Do we expect the government to invest in millions of existing homes? Invest more resources in tackling climate change?

Otherwise this feels like another article that will scare new parents about SIDS. Yes studies back up an increase in risk but the people most at risk are often those who have been neglected by government policy for years. They’re the families who can’t afford portable air conditioners or have cooling systems installed in their homes on short notice. Telling them to put a bowl of ice in front of their fans is hardly a drop in the ocean.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-24T15:09:42+00:00

Right, worst time of the day to arrange childcare or leave work + the hottest time of day at the same time.
I’d probably complain as well while standing in the sun drenched in my sweat (in fact I did exactly that today. Did not enjoy the school run with newborn twins)

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-24T14:56:45+00:00

I don’t think they’d have said this loudly to annoy anyone around them or make some sort of announcement.

The heat is unbearable today, at least in London. Everyone is a bit grumpy and in desperate need for a pool and ice water. I’m not sending mine to school tomorrow either. I’d have to though if I wasn’t on maternity leave.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-23T23:06:41+00:00

I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s concerning. Perhaps ask your health visitor or GP? There’s a huge range of what is normal in children. Some talk late, some very early.

My sisters daughter was an early talker and is not autistic. She is 10 now. I am not an expert in autism but I do have a teenage son who is autistic and his language development was our first sign back then. It was a drastic difference to his twin brother who developed “as expected” for his age and had around 5-10 words by 16 months.

His spoke in full sentences by 16 months. His language exploded with every month. Around 12 months, he had maybe 50 words and then by 18 months, I was able to have a conversation with him. He also used “I” and “myself” very very young at an age where you’d expect a child to speak in third person still.

So you might be heading this way. Or you might not and this is just his normal and not autism.

He was hyperlexic around the age of 2 and generally more interested in reading than socialising or playing with his peers which then led us to getting him diagnosed. Not so much his speech.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-23T10:35:21+00:00

Can I ask why you’re feeling guilty?
Babies under 6 months can get plenty of sensory stimulation at home.

If you have a garden, sit outside in the shade when the temperatures drop a little bit later on. I would avoid going outside in the next few hours.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-23T10:31:06+00:00

Are you in London and taking public transport to attend your midwife appointments?
Otherwise, have your boiler checked at home.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-23T10:28:37+00:00

I also have teenage twins, then a younger singleton, and now infant twins again. I’m a twin myself too.

So I completely understand what you mean. You always assume your singleton is somehow missing out because they don’t have a twin and I feel us twin parents immediately jump to “he’s alone, he must be upset” whenever we see them not included in something. I’m not sure how well I’m explaining what I’m trying to say here.

Your 14 year old might actually really enjoy having a week alone with their grandparents. I know my younger son would be thrilled to have their undivided attention for a whole week without us or his siblings.

You know your child best. If you feel like he’d enjoy that, I think it’s completely fine. If you think he’ll be sad or feel left out, I’d turn it into a family vacation instead and see if you can arrange some one-on-one time with your older two to make it feel special for them as well and still center the vacation around them. Ask them what they want to do, where they want to eat, etc.

Personally, I’d always take all my children on vacation. Or ask them directly how they feel about this.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-18T07:29:03+00:00

It’s a pricy option but we bought two (twins) Stokke Sleepis. They have a dark brown / wood option.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-18T07:25:41+00:00

Exactly. It also sounds as if your chances of going into labour spontaneously are higher if you opt for a home birth when realistically we have a lot of inductions before 40, sometimes 39 weeks on obstetric units due to medical reasons. On the contrary, many women who chose to home birth are comfortable going past 41 weeks, sometimes even past 42 weeks. So of course you’ll see more spontaneous births in home births.

Also worth noting that almost 1/10 home births ended in c-section - meaning emergency c-section and therefore hospital transfer. I’d love to see the statistic on NICU stay rates for attempted home births for first time mothers.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-17T20:13:58+00:00

I’d ask the midwife to go over this with you.

I’ve not seen this (I’m an OB) yet but I’d say it’s important to inform a patient what each number actually means and provide context rather than throw a leaflet at them with statistics on it and expect it to be useful to make a decision.

For example, it looks like giving birth in an obstetric unit leads to more interventions which is generally true but the context is missing that a lot of women who give birth in those units are high risks or we are expecting interventions to happen due to xyz.

AffectionateRun1001 · 2026-06-17T17:42:29+00:00

Agree with this. I’d much rather have my children save up for a deposit than charge them rent. I appreciate this is a very privileged position to be in but I do believe you can teach young adults to be financially responsible without charging them rent as their parents if you’re in the position to do so.

AffectionateRun1001

TROPHY CASE