You are NOT inadequate for needing assistance. You would not be inadequate if you needed painkillers or anesthesia, either. There *are *good reasons to be concerned about the safety and side effects of painkillers and anesthesia and choose not to use them because, for you, the risks outweigh the benefits. If there is ever a perfectly safe painkiller made, then it should be used in all labors. There’s no inherent nobility in suffering; to suffer when there’s a safe alternative would be foolish. But to suggest that anyone is inadequate because they require pain relief during a recognizably painful process is giving in to the body mortification and misogynistic theology of the past. Break free, sistah! You are a powerful, smart, completely adequate woman, who chose to use modern medicine when you needed it to serve you! 
Induced 2 weeks past EDD.
Except that the midwife changed the official due date halfway through the pregnancy, only by a week but according to the initial estimate (and I knew the date of conception), I was at least three weeks overdue possibly a little more.
Like others have said, 40 weeks is an estimate. I assume the kid just really really wanted to be a Pisces instead of an Aquarian 
Is your friend older? At the practice I went to, they started talking about induction pretty soon after the DD because they believe that the placenta works less effectively in older women after the DD passes. They weren’t THAT firm about it, though, I am older and elected to wait longer for induction after consulting with them and determining that there was no medical indication that my personal placenta was slacking off. But if I had said “oh, okay” they would have scheduled the induction.
Then, I ended up being induced anyway because I went way past the date. And my first induction date had to be rescheduled due to the hospital being overbooked. So administrative issues such as doctor and hospital availability could also be a factor. And I think they prefer not to book routine inductions on weekends (at the hospital where I delivered, at least).
Brown Eyed Girl, in my opinion, you are definitely NOT inadequate if you delivered with pit WITHOUT painkillers.
I had two inductions out of four kids: the first was considered ‘placental insufficiency’ back in the olden days, or ‘small for dates’ as it was commonly known, so she was induced on the EDD. I had the drip, the drugs AND an epidural to get the wee thing out, and gawd it hurt. The docs had estimated her weight at app 3lb, but she came out at 6lb so they were so far off the mark it wasn’t funny. :rolleyes:
My second kid was induced because I had a heavy-duty case of the MUMPS at the time he was due. I was adamant that I would NOT have drugs with this baby, and apart from the syntocin, had NOTHING to alleviate pain. They were keen to induce because they had no idea what his condition would be on arrival: I was isolated in the maternity ward to make sure no-one else contracted the infection, and sent home a day later! Apart from feeling really crook and with a very fat neck, there were no apparent other ill effects.
The last two kids came within a couple of days or so of their EDD…with very quick labours and super-fast deliveries, almost to the point of not-quite-making-it to the delivery room at the hospital. 
There could be many reasons she would be induced; it’s typically a medical decision between she and her doctor and not unusual at all. I was induced with my second because she was nearly two weeks past due date. For my third, I was 42, and given both my age and my experience with my second, my doctor told me that if I hadn’t gone into labor prior to my due date, he would induce me on my due date. So I had one ten days early, one ten days late and one on his due date. Every pregnancy, every mom and every baby are different. The likelihood that it’s simply the mom’s choice for her own convenience is small compared to the many other factors that could be influencing that decision that you aren’t aware of.
I was induced with two of mine – one because two weeks after EDD, there was no sign of her ever relocating without help, and one because the doctor judged that the baby would be too big to safely deliver vaginally if we waited any more. No cite, but I’ve often heard that second babies tend to be larger than the first, and so on. If her OB knows the size of the first, and if it was a long and exhausting labor, he may induce to make sure the baby doesn’t grow beyond the size that would be deliverable.
My induction was about a week before my EDD, but it was because my blood pressure had been shooting up and a week of bed rest hadn’t brought it back down. We were worried about pre-e.
There may be a medical reason to induce that she’s just not sharing. From what I understand most OBs would wait until at least a week late to think about inducing just for lateness. The EDD is just that, an estimate. Most ladies don’t know exactly when they ovulated or conceived, and on average first timers go to about 41 weeks.
If the OB is just inducing because they’ve hit the EDD and nothing’s happened, I’d find that odd too. But my money is on some other reason for the induction.
PREACH IT WhyNot!
Thanks, etv78! I’m about as intervention-averse as it’s possible to be when it comes to labor and delivery, so I hope that didn’t confuse anyone. My hesitation to interventions, including epidurals and induction and all the rest comes from an observation of the snowball effects these things have when their adverse reactions pop up, though, **not **because anyone needs to endure natural childbirth to win some sort of Mommy medal.
Natural childbirth is best because, when interventions are *not *medically indicated, not using them doesn’t introduce their complications. But if a woman is too overwhelmed, anxious, or in pain to keep going and push effectively, then you have a clear medical need. Consider the risks, consider that need, and make an informed decision about what to do from there.
Oh dear. I missed your reply yesterday until today. I did not mean to imply that mothers who need or want pain relief are inadequate or whatever. I simply felt that I was pleased that I was able and willing to experience the birth the way I had hoped to (with the exception of the induction). I really had wanted to experience it as minimally invasive as possible, for my peace of mind, comfort and safety and that of my children. I wanted to be in control of my body as much as I could, so I elected to forgo anesthesia. For me, that was what felt right. I’m glad I stuck to choices and didn’t change my mind.
I was young and naive and afraid of needles when my son was born. Honestly, having my son didn’t hurt as much as what I had anticipated (I was terrified!). It’s easy to scare 19 year old. I didn’t know what was going on really and pretty much went along with whatever my OB (who was a family friend I trusted a great deal) suggested. I’m not a big fan of large needles in my back, so the idea of an epidural created more anxiety for me than the pain of childbirth did.
By the time I had my daughter in my late 20s, I had done a lot of thinking and planning. I had a three page birth plan months before the big date with copies for my doctor and extras I handed to the nurses once I checked into the hospital. I had planned for everything…except stopping contractions once in labor. But I knew I was fine without anesthesia. Actually, my daughter’s birth was much more painful (she was bigger) and I tore badly. Contractions were way more intense than I had recalled. When she was delivered, I screamed like I was being stabbed and inadvertently scratched my husband, drawing blood. But I would not have changed a thing. That’s why I reassure myself. Because even though it wasn’t perfect, the way I had planned, I was able to keep some of the experience what I’d hope it would be. And both my babies scored great APGARs, so we were all very fortunate.
I don’t see any reason why my pride in delivering anesthesia-free has to take away from any mother who had the experience she’d hoped to have with anesthesia. Everyone has their own priorities and values.
I was induced last week at 39 weeks because of high blood pressure concerns. My OB was scared of complications. He managed to mention this about eighteen times when I saw him and then wondered WHY my bp was so high in his office.
This. Really, I think this is awesome. I had a hard time coming to terms with my birth because it ended in a C-section after pushing for hours, but I’ve found it absolutely essential to focus on the experiences I had that I was happy about and appreciate those: the awesome and supportive nursing staff, the fact that I gave it all my energy and tried my damnedest to push him out regardless of my exhaustion, and the support my husband gave me.
I think if a women ends up having a birth that didn’t go as she wanted or had interventions she hadn’t planned on, coming to terms with the experience as a whole means picking out those moments and being proud and thankful for them as well. I can’t say I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my son’s birth, but I CAN say that the experience has made me amazingly proud of what I can do and my relationship with my husband has really been strengthened. So it was worth it for more than just having my awesome baby.
I’m very happy that you got the kind of birth experience you hoped for,** Brown Eyed Girl**. That’s really a wonderful thing. 
I had an induction scheduled after it had been 2 weeks since the due date. It was scheduled for that next Tuesday but I went in to labor that weekend. They still had to give me something to get the labor moving along, but that’s another story.
I’m an operating room nurse, and have been present for many a C-section that was the ultimate result of an induction. Are inductions often for perfectly good medical reasons? Sure are, but anyone who doesn’t think that there are many, many “social” inductions (done for mom’s/docs convenience) is simply naive. And anyone who doesn’t think that avoiding a C-section when possible is a good thing is similarly naive. I have no personal knowledge of the circumstances of the OP’s friend, so don’t know if one day is jumping the gun for her or not, but I have to say, personally, that I cringe when I read this sort of thing.
Thank you. I still have not really come to terms with my first birth, and my daughter is seven. This might actually give me a path forward for it.
And I cringe when I read that. I have two friends - one who should have had a c-section, was advised to have a c-section and didn’t - believing that they were most often done for the doctor’s convenience. Maybe they often are, in her case, it wasn’t. Her daughter is severely disabled. The second (actually, this is more of an acquaintance) refused to be induced because “babies come naturally and induction is for the doctor’s convenience” - stillborn.
It is probable that many interventions are unnecessary. But you need to work with an OB you can trust. Your OB is there because they are a subject matter expert in labor and delivery and know the circumstances of your pregnancy and your risk factors. Don’t blow them off because you think their advice is being given so they can get to a golf game. And if, during your first tri - you get the feeling that your OB does inductions and c-sections for his or her convenience, get a new OB.
Story from my own life: I was 4 weeks late, bio mom induced (I’m a 33 y/o adoptee), still wouldn’t budge, she was sectioned.
My mom had 4 kids, and all 4 of us were induced. No medical reason that I know of. I think it was common in the Fifties.
OH, incidentally, if I had been born on time, I would’ve been born at the height of a snowstorm that all other storms around here are measured against.