So...I've been under the impression from the beginning of my pregnancy that either the baby needed to come on his own early or we would do a c-section before he got too big.

Today at my 36 week checkup, she did an internal, and since I'm progressing so much, she would rather plan an induction around 38 weeks vs. a c-section.

I clearly remember my surgeon saying induction wasn't a good idea. And my high risk group told me the same (or so I thought). We reread their report, which actually recommends induction with a favorable cervix.

So now I'm confused and have a third option in the mix. Anyone have an induction with a j-pouch?

I don't know of any reason why, if you're going to attempt vaginal delivery, you'd need to be induced. Maybe some others can chime in.

With my particular surgical history, my doctors and I agreed that we did not want me going into labor at all, so I had a scheduled C. We debated when to have it, and finally settled on 39 weeks. If labor had started before that, it would have just been handled as an emergency C but he stayed put til it was time to go in and get him.

the reason we would do induction would be to keep the baby from getting too big to delivery naturally. they would like her to be as small or smaller than my daughter.

i really think i'm going to go on my own before i have to make any decisions, but that's just my maternal instincts :-)

The Boston doctors - not sure which group, but one of the OB organizations - recently released a report stating that except under extraordinary circumstances babies should not be delivered before 39 weeks (specifically they addressed scheduled c-sections not inductions). Not sure if you would qualify under the extraordinary circumstances, but the rationale was that babies should have as much time to develop as possible to try to avoid some of the recently more common health issues such as asthma. Obviously, if a baby comes on its own before that, the baby is ready, but they were cautioning delivering early unless there was a clear medical advantage.

I was induced at 38 weeks. It was a 36 hour induction if you can believe that. My doctors did NOT want to do a C-section because of all the previous surgeries and messing it up. My doctor started me on cervadil the first night, fluids, and rest. Then I had pitocin in the morning from 7 am-5pm when I finally was making a little progress. They stripped my membranes at that point, got an epidural and at 9pm my water broke, then after 2 hours of pretty intense labor pains I pushed for 4 pushes and she was out. I tore an inch and ONLY because I rushed the pushing part. I had a fantastic team of doctors and my daughter was and still is healthy and perfect. The doctor did a lot of massaging of my parts to really help soften me up too. I was absolutely petrified of tearing or perforating the pouch, etc etc. The thing I suggest is to educate your doctor on your fears and concerns. You don't need to be dealing with complications because your doctor didn't know how to handle your medical history. Good luck! If you have any questions I'm happy to answer

Wow Musichic, that sounds like a hard labor. When they started your induction, had you already been dilating/effacing or were they starting with a closed cervix? My docs believe this to be the best route for me now since I've been dilating/effacting very well and have had a baby in the past. I go in on Friday to see how far along I am (I'll be 38 weeks). If I'm still moving along well, we'll schedule an induction sometime around 38 1/2 weeks.

I really appreciate your input!!! Still hoping this guys is going to come on his own. I thought for sure it was happening this weekend.

It wasn't necessarily hard labor it was just very very drawn out. Yes I started with a closed cervix. I hope all goes well for you and there are nothing but happy tears and a new sweet baby in your arms

I know this is too late for you, but in case anyone else reading these boards is interested I went with an induction that ended up as a c section. I decided based on my OB's advice to go for a vaginal birth. My OB told me that she highly recommends induction at 40 weeks if the baby hasn't come on its own and that I could elect to have an induction as early as 39 weeks. Her reasoning was that the longer a pregnancy goes, the bigger the baby gets and the more difficult the birth is. I was extremely uncomfortable the last few weeks with a lot of pain in my ribs since my baby never did drop down. I also knew that both of my mom's babies were very late and we were both over 9 pounds so I had a strong feeling mine wasn't going to come on her own accord. So I went ahead with the induction at 39 weeks 4 days. She broke my water and started the pitocin at 9 am. I started at 1 cm dilated and progressed to 3 cm by the afternoon and then just stayed there despite heavy amount of pitocin and strong contractions (thank god for epidurals). At 11 pm my OB said my daughter's head was simply not able to fit further into my birth canal and that a c section was the only option.

I had been debating about whether it was better to do a vaginal birth or a c section with my j pouch and as it turns out my big-headed daughter made the decision for me (7lbs 7 oz BTW). They did a bikini cut and it crosses my vertical scar and it has healed beautifully. It's so thin and small compared to my vertical scar! My OB said she closed it with staples because with my scar tissue they allow the incision to move and heal into a more pretty scar. I looked at her and said, "I'm not entering any bikini contests, but thanks!"