Ways of Inducing Labor

The way a labor is induced depends highly on the condition of the cervix of the mother at the time. If it is not favorable or not ready (meaning it short, soft and dilated), the doctor can use several medications and technique to make it mature. There are occasions in which this procedure alone makes the labor begin.

The most common agent used to make the cervix mature is a substance that is a type of prostaglandin that helps to soften the cervical tissue and causes the mother to have contractions and it is administered with gel or in the form of tablets. A nurse or the doctor will place the prostaglandin in the vagina, which might cause slight contractions. There is another option that is used to mature the cervix that is by using a medication called misoprostol and which is administered in the same way but that is generally not given to women that have already had a cesarean.

If the neck of the uterus is still not ready and requires of inducing, the mother needs to be hospitalized and stay over night in the hospital and will get medication in order to make it mature. The doctor will then administer oxitocine, which is a synthetic hormone that is similar to what your body naturally produces during labor, and will then induce labor the next day in the morning.

If and when the cervix is ready, the doctor will induce labor by administering oxytocin in an IV or by breaking the water bag. While doing the exam and if the contractions are coming on fine, the doctor will then break the membranes with a little plastic clip; this procedure is usually not painful. The doctor will then adjust the amount of oxytocin so that the nurse can then pass it through the IV; the doctor will start with a small amount and will then go increasing the level until the mother has the adequate contractions. Sometimes the labor will start a few hours after having induced, however it can sometimes take much longer. Sometimes getting it to start can take up to two days.

Don’t worry, as there are some people that are under the wrong impression that medication makes labor more painful. This is not actually true; oxytocin is similar to a hormone that the body will naturally release during labor and the doctor will administer somewhat the same amount the body would release in a normal labor.

Speeding Up Labor
Doctors can also use oxytocin to speed up labor that is already taking its course in cases where the contractions are adequate if the delivery is taking too long. It is important to point out that once this medication is administered the contractions will not be any stronger or more painful than the contractions that would come in a normal labor.