Induction vs waiting...

Just wondered whether anyone has experience of going over 42 weeks pregnant?
I'm currently 41 weeks and I've been referred to the hospital for a scan to check the baby etc and make plans for an induction late next week...if baby doesn't come on its own before then.
My midwife is going on holiday so the latest I could be induced to have her there would be Thursday (41+5), otherwise I'd have her back-up (which I don't necessarily mind),

I understand that after 42 weeks gestation the risks to the baby go up and there is an increased risk of a stillborn, but just wondered whether anyone had specific experience they could share?

Generally, I'm the kind of person that would prefer things occurred naturally but also don't want to get into a situation where I put my baby at risk...
TIA

I am personally of the wait and see camp but at 42 weeks (if i get there) I will book an induction.

My first was an induction at 38 weeks and after 35 hours I was only 1cm dilated and things went a bit pear shaped a few hours later and we were rushed of to theatre.... So from my experience I would still choose an induction at 42 weeks. I dont think I am brave enough to go any longer (and I dont think my mw would recommend it and she is pro natural).

There are so many questions to ask and my first would be have you started to dilate? If your cervix is thinning and opening already then that is a good sign (of course no guarentees for successful induction but certainly increases the chances).

I dont agree with size comment above... there is good margin of error on scan estimations so I wouldnt be looking at the size of baby (unless its looking at being over 10lb) as a reason for induction... its not going to grow too much more in a few days!

The stance I took on it with my DD2 was that I would be happy for my MW to do increased monitoring on me at home (same as her regular checks, just more frequently) past 42 weeks, but ultimately I would be declining any scans, tests, or hospital referrals. As it turns out she was born right before we hit 42 weeks, and technically none of it was necessary. And it's not just about being "brave", it's about trusting yourself, your body and your baby to "tell" you what's going on - rather than have someone on the outside impose an arbitrary limit on your baby's gestation. The risks for a stillbirth with longer pregnancies are not actually as high as I feel hospital staff and other medical professionals might like us to think, I have a few links around here somewhere on the actual stats if anyone is interested. Cervical dilation pre-labour is also IMO not necessarily a reliable sign of how soon you might go into labour, ie: whether you're somewhat effaced / fully effaced / dilated / shut up as tight as a clam things will still happen at their own pace (whether that is fast or slow) when they are ready.

i think the biggest worry is that the placenta will deteriorate and the fluid levels decrease... but these can be checked. I dont believe that there is an increased risk of stillbirth after 42 weeks but the medical profession like to use that as a scare tactic. Unless you have had an early scan or are really sure of your dates your due date could be anywhere from from 40 to 42 weeks anyway...

the most over i was was 42w 3. and despite my best intentions to not be induced with my third i was anyway after lots of pressure from medical professionals.

That induction ended in a c section.

My other two didnt however, one was a ventouse and the other they tried twice to induce - the first one 4 days previously was unsuccessful. But once i did go into labour with the second attempt he was my best birth.

What i am trying to say though is dont feel you have to do anything you dont want to...   

Often the thread of induction is enough to scare a baby out

No experience myself with being that far along. I was induced at 38+5 (or something like that) for ridiculously high BP (like, they were worried I was gonna have a stroke kind of high....) and from waters breaking to baby in my arms was 5hours, so just wanna point out that not every induction is horrible! (Just saying, cos you read so many horror stories!)

My first was overdue, we had induction booked for 42 weeks, and then I went into labour naturally a few days ebfore hand! I fully believe the threat alone of induction will get a baby to arrive lol

I was induced at 41+5 with Dan. Cervix not favourable, no signs he was coming on his own. I'd also done Birth Mix and acupuncture (but only once). Took 4 days for him to arrive - 3 days for my cervix to get to 1cm then 1 day for delivery and it was a horrible delivery with intervention +++. Even though I really regret being induced, I could not have gone on for longer - I didn't know enough about the risks/benefits of waiting and was desperate to get the baby out.

This time, I'm happy to go to 42 weeks. I'm not sure beyond that. It will depend how I'm feeling in myself but my MW is quite happy for me to go beyond it. I'm feeling VERY strongly about avoiding the intervention cascade as my induction led to epidural and synto which led to bubs getting stuck, episiotomy, ventouse and PPH. So anything I can do to stave that off, I will try to do. If I go beyond 42 weeks, I will want increased monitoring including scans to monitor the placenta. I also want to do more research around the risks of going beyond 42 weeks.

From memory, there is a relationship between the Bishop's Score (measure of cervical changes) and success of induction, but this relates particularly to the form of induction. If your score is below a certain point, induction with Synto (usually IV) is unlikely to be successful, so they use Prostaglandin (internal gel application)

I wouldn't worry too much about size. Dan was big (9lb 4) but I think some of that was swelling from all the fluids I got during labour. Also remember that the bones in their head are moldable and overlap during birth so even though the ircumference may be unnatural on the scan, it won't be that size on the way out!

Well...had my appt today. Baby is all ok, in a good position and ready to go...fluid levels around the baby are also ok.
I'm only 1cm dilated though...which I guess is better than none.
Had a sweep but I'm not too confident it will do much...FX!

Induction booked for Thursday night... Hopefully baby comes before then!!

Mealz, how far over will you be on Thursday?

DD was due on Sep 7th but born Sep 25th (18 days OD). We started the induction at 16 days OD. I had big personal reasons against why I didn't want an induction, and a supportive MW, as well as a very healthy pregnancy and me being young and healthy, which all helps.

I planned to go ever further overdue but I had been slowly developing symptoms of pre-eclampsia over the last few weeks and it got to the point where every day the symptoms were getting a bit bigger and by the time the induction started my blood pressure was going up every few hours.

The induction itself was a nightmare but bubs turned out OK. She had some of the characteristics of an overcooked baby- she was quite chubby, dry skin, heaps of hair, long nails, and she was really strong- she could hold her head up at 2 days old! She didn't 'seem' like a newborn, I guess because she had over 2 weeks extra cooking

I hope the stretch and sweep helps gets things started!

Good luck Mealz! I hope your little one decides to make an appearance of its own accord before Thursday!!