teresajuan0: Christmas Birthdays and Labor Induction

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Christmas Birthdays and Labor Induction

Christmas Tree & Mother to Be

It's that time of year when all the pregnant women start lamenting having a December birthday, particularly a birthday on Christmas Day. (In fact, no fewer than three celebrities had babies last year on Christmas Day.) The truth is, having a December birthday, even a birth of Christmas or Christmas Eve can be a lot of fun. The problem comes when people let themselves get talked into believing that they should undergo potentially dangerous inductions or procedures to try to avoid having their babies born on Christmas. So I want you to think of a few random things:

If you're having your baby in the hospital, one of the reasons was probably because you could receive 24/7 medical care from a team of medical providers. Guess what - they are open not only 24/7, but 365 days a year - even Christmas Day!
Having a baby on Christmas Day means a lot fewer people in the hospital, this can mean more attention to you and your baby, if you want it.
Trying to schedule an induction just before Christmas ensures a hugely busy and overworked staff because of everyone else doing the same thing. I've personally seen women laboring in the halls or having very long wait for services like epidural anesthesia because of it.
When you have a baby in the week before Christmas (with lots of other women), you've also got a crowded postpartum floor. This means longer waits for being seen by pediatricians, getting pain medicationss, etc.
Not agreeing to an induction doesn't mean that your baby will come on Christmas Day, particularly if you're not even due yet. It simply means you're not forcing the baby to come before your baby is ready.
Having an induction of labor increases the risks that you'd have a cesarean section. Having a c-section means a longer stay in the hospital, which may mean you spend Christmas in the hospital anyway.
Inductions of labor can take longer and be more painful for some women, this might mean that you're induced two days before Christmas to avoid a Christmas baby - only to have a Christmas baby because you got induced. (True story!)
Being in the hospital in a crowded induction season can mean that you have to share resources in the hospitals that are already spread thin, like the lactation consultant, breast pumps, birth certificate clerks, etc.