a. Induction

Few women have their babies exactly on their due date. Pregnancy usually lasts between 38 and 42 weeks but there are exceptions. If you do not begin your labour around this time, your health care provider will watch you carefully.

Labour is induced for specific reasons which may include:

  • The mother has a medical problem such as heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure.
  • The baby has a medical problem and must be born sooner.
  • Your health care provider decides that your pregnancy has lasted longer than is safe for you or your baby.
  • Your waters have broken, but labour has not started.

Labour can be induced using different methods such as: stripping the membranes , cervical ripening , artificial rupture of membranes , and induced contractions .

Discuss with your health care provider if you have additional questions about induced labour.