Waiting for baby to come is definitely a lesson in patience - and I know. My son was two weeks late, and every day after my due date felt like torture. My doctor gave me the option of induction and though tempted I wanted to wait it out as long as possible. Having been induced with my first son I knew the process was no cake walk and I wanted to avoid that again if possible. Mostly the thought of another epidural and the prolonged labour I endured with son number one after the epidural was the driving force behind waiting. In the end, I think I made the absolute best decision, and my son was born drug free and au naturel the night before I was scheduled to be induced. If you find yourself in a similar situation and have the option, I have to say that letting nature take its course is the kindest and gentlest way for you and your baby.

So many women are choosing to be induced to have their babies - I suspect this may be a result of our society’s every increasing impatience and insistence to have things the way we want.  We want things to happen when we plan them, when they’re due to happen and not a moment later.  But there is a price to be paid for such impatience, in my opinion.  And in this case, if you just can’t wait you’re going to pay with more pain, longer labour and an increased likelihood of the necessity of a C-section.

So just what is the difference?  I went through 26 hours of hard, long labour with my first son.  This is not just painful labour - I’m talking nauseous, back breaking, teeth clenching labour.  When I finally gave in and had the epidural, I was exhausted and numb from the pain.  I was less than an hour away from having a C-section because despite increased pitocin levels my labour had all but stopped.  Now consider my second labour - I can honestly say that right up to when I was told in the hospital I was 9 cm dilated, I wondered if I was just in false labour. Sure, I was in pain and the contractions were steady and coming closer together and I had been having those contractions for two days, along with back pain. But it was so painless compared to the nauseating, excrutiating 26 hours I endured with my first son I felt as though I couldn’t possibly be in true labour.  My only frame of reference being an induced labour, I actually questioned the authenticity of my contractions.  Are these results typical?  I have no idea truly.  But I will say that in my case, the difference was definitely in just trusting my body and giving it the time it needed (and the time the baby needed) to get the ball rolling on its own.