Planning your due date...

Do any pregnant women have their babies delivered the old fashioned way anymore? It doesn't seem so.

My friend Jill's due date for her second child was yesterday. At her appointment last Wednesday her doctor wanted to know if she wanted to be induced for labor on Friday morning, 8 am. "Why not?" Jill asked herself.

There was no reason for Jill to be induced. Her baby wasn't overweight and she was perfectly healthy. It was merely a scheduling issue for the doctor. Instead of being called in at 2 am on the weekend, Jill's doctor can plan on delivering her baby sometime during normal working hours during the week.

It just doesn't seem right to me. I'm not saying that I don't believe in inducing labor ever, I just think there should be a really good reason...like the health of the mom or baby, or a husband home on leave from the military. I don't think that it's right to force labor just so the doctor can rest easy over the weekend.

I found this article in The Charleston Gazette about a woman who was determined to have a natural, old fashioned delivery for her fourth child.

When Trebor Sutler delivered Mason, the first of her and husband Rob's four children, her doctor recommended inducing labor at 37 weeks because her amniotic fluid had dropped. After a pitosin-induced labor, the baby showed signs of distress and was delivered via Caesarean section.

"I was scared to death. The baby wasn't ready to be delivered," the Charleston woman said. "Basically, I think they induced me to get it done and that's just too common. West Virginia has the fifth-highest rate of C-section deliveries in the nation."

"I think there's a misconception out there that C-sections are easier for the mothers. I think they're easier on the doctors who often perform them out of convenience," Trebor said. "If the mother's body and the baby aren't ready, it's harder on both of them."

I think this mommy is right. You should have a birth plan and your doctors should do everything they can to honor your plan despite inconvenience to them.

What do you think?