what causes thatprocess to start in the first place is the big mystery. Throughout the labour, a woman’s body then continues to regulate the release of oxytocin quite variably, according to its own needs. Sometimes this proceeds without any problem, but in some women the process proceeds slowly, stops and starts, or even stalls, thereby putting a woman behind the “average”.
   Labour can also be induced or sped up with the use of synthetic hormones. Most frequently syntocin (or syntocinon) (a synthetic oxytocin) is administered through a drip into a vein in the hand. This allows for manual control and variation of the amount of the hormone entering a woman’s system and (theoretically) a more controlled rate of cervical dilation. However, since the drip must be left in throughout the labour, it partially limits a woman’s freedom to move around as she \wishes.
   Another method of induction is done by inserting prostaglandin gel into the vagina using a syringe. This gel softens the cervix. The membranes are then manually ruptured, and the resultant pressure usually – but not always – stimulates the uterus into contracting.
   While a syntocin induced labour tends to hit you like a train, induction with prostaglandin usually begins more gently. The prostaglandin method is not always “effective enough” for its proponents, and if a woman fails to begin regular contractions within 24 hours of the membranes being broken then an intravenous drip of syntocin will be used.
   There are 4 reasons a woman may find herself undergoing artificial induction or acceleration of labour.

   High Risk. If a pregnant woman fits into any of the established high risk categories she may find that it is recommended by her GP or obstetrician that the onset of labour be induced rather than allowed to begin spontaneously. The medical reasoning for this situation is that a woman with potential complications needs to be monitored more closely and by the most capable staff who could deal with any emergency. By beginning and progressing the labour to a plan, the woman is less likely to arrive at the hospital at the “wrong time”, for example during a very busy period or during the graveyard shift at 4 am. Such inductions are more likely to lead to the usual cascade of other interventions, since neither the mother nor the baby are at a point of readiness for labour.
   Slow Labour. Even if a labour begins sponta-neously at home, once a woman is at the hospital, her dilation progress

 
will be monitored with regular vaginal examinations. As explained previously, if you do not fit within the conven-tional parameters for labour timing (1 cm per hour or about 12 hours for first stage labour), you may be sped up – either by encouragement, coercion or command if the situation is judged legitimately high risk. If at any stage of your labour you feel no stress or any need to do this, you do not have to agree to it. However, be careful that tiredness or a lack of personal support does not draw you into subtle suggestions to “get it over and done with sooner”. This is a sure path to further and later interventions. A common situation is when a woman goes to the hospital too early in that early stop-start phase of labour. The pressure will then be on to “get things going a bit better”, and this is where induction is frequently brought into play.
   Elective. An unfortunately increasing reason for induction is convenience. Some women and / or their partners, want to give birth “before we go on holidays”, “not in the middle of the night”, “I just want to get this pregnancy over and done with” and other such reasons. There may also be occasion when a woman and her obstetrician arrange a date and time for induction so that he / she could be sure to be in attendance.
   Arrested Labour. If at any time during either stage one or two, the contractions stop for as long as an hour, and the membranes have naturally or artificially been ruptured, then induction with syntocin drip will be done to reduce the risk of infection to the baby and mother.

   There is a very high probability that once a labour is artificially stimulated it will continue to be artificially managed and is unlikely to conclude naturally. In the case of premature rupture of membranes, there is an increased pressure of the baby’s head onto the cervix and therefore the pain for the mother may be out of proportion to the stage of labour she is actually at. In the case of a syntocin drip, rather than the natural and sometimes fluctuating build up over many hours from spontaneous labour, the induced labour will begin with strong contractions equal to those one would normally experience much later on and continue unceasingly at that same intensity or greater. The cervix is going to have to dilate from 0 - 10 cm with full-on contractions for anywhere up to 12 hours, whereas a normally labouring woman may go from 0 - 4 cm with just mild contractions over many more hours. Both forms of induction leave women finding the pain of contractions much harder to