This week on Birth Kweens, Karly and Ali dive into one of the most relevant topics for birthing families today: INDUCTION! Here's an overview of what we covered in this episode:

• What exactly IS an induction?!
• The questionable reasons that are often used to justify [medically unnecessary] inductions, including suspected big baby, advanced maternal age, diet-controlled gestational diabetes, scheduling preferences (aka – my doctor is working tomorrow/my mom is coming into town/etc.), and provider preference.
• Article on the evidence for induction with a suspected big baby - https://evidencebasedbirth.com/evidence-for-induction-or-c-section-for-big-baby/
• Article on the evidence for induction for advanced maternal age - https://evidencebasedbirth.com/advanced-maternal-age/
• Article on the evidence for induction for low fluid -https://www.scienceandsensibility.org/p/bl/et/blogid=2&blogaid=503
• Legitimate/medically-necessary reasons to consider an induction, including diabetes (type I or med-controlled GD), pre-eclampsia, cholestasis, IUGR, baby showing distress during prenatal screenings, a severe shoulder dystocia in a previous birth, a history of stillbirth, family scheduling issues (i.e. your partner is being deployed), and, most importantly, when mom's intuition tells her it's the right thing to do.
• Article summing up ACOG's guidelines regarding the management of late-term and post-term pregnancies - http://contemporaryobgyn.modernmedicine.com/contemporary-obgyn/news/acog-guidelines-management-late-term-and-postterm-pregnancies?page=full)
• Exercises to encourage baby's head to engage in the pelvis - https://spinningbabies.com/start/in-pregnancy/is-baby-engaged-yet/
• Info about the Bishop's Score – what it is and why you should know yours if you're considering an induction
• Info about natural (out of hospital) induction methods, including acupuncture, castor oil, nipple stimulation, and all of the most common things that people try when they're trying to get labor started
• Evidence on the use of evening primrose oil as a means to inducing labor - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10380450
• Link to purchase cotton root bark tincture - https://www.herb-pharm.com/products/product-detail/cotton
• What to expect with a hospital induction (length of time, meds that are used, etc.)

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The Birth Kweens get down to the nitty gritty of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and women's health. For more from us, visit birthkweens.com. Follow us on Instagram @BirthKweens and email us at [email protected] with your questions, suggestions and feedback.