Jill wrote:
But, I'm just asking anyway....is it totally horrible if a dr
offers to induce on your due date?

Yes. Well, okay, it's not totally horrible if your doctor *offers*, but
inductions before 41 weeks are far more likely to result in c-section than
inductions after that point and that's especially true for nulliparas (women
who've never given birth before), so if your doctor *were* to make such an
offer for any reason other than sheer medical necessity (e.g.,
pre-eclampsia, baby clearly in distress, etc.), she would be 1) setting you
up for a c-section and 2) not following the recommendations of ACOG
regarding induction of labor.

It is not unusual to induce in the 41st week without medical reason. I
personally don't agree with this approach and I wouldn't be induced again
with pitocin without a *really* good medical reason--even if I were into the
42nd week, BTW--but it's at least more likely to result in a successful
vaginal birth and I believe 41st week inductions seem generally more likely
to "work" and result in vaginal delivery than inductions at or beyond the 42
week mark. That may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes, statistics *are*
counterintuitive.

Whether you're planning to have pain relief medication or not, induction
really isn't in the best interests of either you or your baby unless there's
a good medical reason for doing it. In addition to increasing your risk of
c-section, it increases the risk of uterine hyperstimulation (and, by
extension, rupture) and fetal distress and a host of other things you could
probably do without. A suspected big baby is NOT a good medical reason.
Reaching your due date is not a good medical reason. Knowing exactly when
you're going to have your baby is NOT a good medical reason.

I have no plans for a natural
(drug-free) childbirth anyway and as bad as it sounds, I am not
saying I would do it, but it IS tempting -- not really for
convenience's sake, but because it would take a lot of the unknown
out, allow my husband to have a better chance of being able to get
off work without penalty, alleviate my fears of the unknown etc,
and there are a few more reasons I'd rather not get into, but it's
not "for convenience".

Well, honestly, all of those reasons are really "convenience" reasons.
They're not medical reasons and any induction that isn't done for medical
reasons is, by definition, a convenience induction.

Believe me, I do understand where you're coming from to some extent. My
first birth was induced at 41w4d and it *did* make things seem less scary
going in: after all, I knew exactly when I'd be in labor (so no fears of not
getting to the hospital in time, though that's a pretty unlikely thing to
happen to a first-timer anyway), I knew my own OB would be there during the
birth, my husband knew when he'd be off work, and so on. But it was a really
*lousy* experience overall and that was *with* an epidural. I just wouldn't
do it again for such flimsy reasons for all the tea in China. When I thought
I might have to be induced with pitocin because of high BP in my third
pregnancy, I was truly terrified. I told me midwife that I'd rather shove
sharp sticks under my fingernails and I wasn't kidding. Luckily, when I
finally did accede to induction, all it took was breaking my waters to get
my labor going. But that rarely works for nulliparas.

So I can't overemphasize how bad an idea I think induction for convenience
is. It's just not worth it, IMHO.

By the way, why would your husband have a better chance of getting off work
without penalty? Can't he use sick leave when you're in labor? Sick leave
usually doesn't have to be requested in advance. And if his employers know
he'll be taking a week after the baby is born, it seems they shouldn't
penalize him for taking it after the baby is born, whenever that happens.
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [2] mom)

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman