The Induction Seduction is alive and well in our country. Women are being induced for many reasons, many of which are not valid according to many research studies.
One thing you should discuss with your doctor before the schedule you for induction is your Bishop's Score. The Bishop Score is a measure of how soft and ripe your cervix is before labor. It can help predict whether or not your body is ready for labor, and whether or not an induction is likely to succeed or fail.
A vaginal exam is done and the care provider evaluates the degree of:
- cervical dilation (how far the cervix has opened so far)
- cervical effacement (how thinned out the cervical walls are)
- cervical consistency (how soft or firm the cervix is)
- cervical position (whether the cervix is pointing forwards or backwards relative to the vaginal walls)
- fetal station (how far down the baby is in the pelvis)
The exact cut-offs used differs by source, but generally a score of 5 or less indicates the woman is unlikely to go into labor spontaneously at that time, and that an induction is likely to fail (result in a cesarean).
A score of 8 or more indicates that an induction is more likely to succeed. A score of 9 or more indicates the woman will likely go into labor on her own very soon.
Those first-time moms who were induced with a Bishop score less than 7 had a whopping 42% cesarean rate.
This shows just how important it is to have a nice ripe cervix before inducing labor, and especially so in first-time moms, whose cervices have never dilated before.
Check out this Lamaze website for reasons why it's important to Let Labor Begin On Its Own.
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