Pregnant women and maternity services are facing an induction epidemic.
As medical guidelines include more "at risk" categories, women and our
already overwhelmed and under resourced maternity systems are
increasingly pressured to induce birth before labour begins
spontaneously. Women are deemed to be too large and too old, while
babies are estimated to be too big and too overdue. But is
'better-out-than-in' really a safer option than waiting to birth in your
own time?
Staggeringly, over a third of all pregnant women have their labour
medically induced, and this is accompanied by a tsunami of avoidable
medical interventions. Worldwide, this trend is growing at an alarming
rate. This is despite both a lack of evidence demonstrating its benefits
and a wealth of evidence indicating the significant short- and long-term
negative impacts of induction on the health and wellbeing of mothers and
their babies.
In this timely book, Dr Sara Wickham demystifies the evidence and
highlights the significant discrepancies between guidelines and what we
really know about the benefits of supporting women to birth
spontaneously. With her renowned ability to make complex issues
understandable, her holistic approach and more than twenty-five years'
experience as a midwife and researcher, Dr Wickham draws on a wide range
of evidence, including the voices of women and practitioners, to answer
vital questions such as: How accurate are due dates? Is it really that
risky to wait? Does induction make a difference? And, perhaps most
importantly, how can we address the induction epidemic?
In Your Own Time is both a masterclass in what the evidence really says
about induction of labour and a fascinating insight into how birth has
come to be controlled by Western medicine.
"This is such a vitally important book. With her brilliant brain and
extensive experience, Dr Sara Wickham has pulled together and clearly
interpreted the complex evidence about induction of labour. This book
provides clarity about why increasing numbers of women are having their
labours induced, and the problems with current guideline
recommendations. It also offers suggestions about what we can all do to
reclaim the parameters of normal and support women to birth in their own
time. Anyone who cares about women and their experiences of birth needs
this book." Dr Rachel Reed, midwife and researcher.
