Sometimes a baby needs a little encouragement to make her big debut. Whether you’re past your due date, your water’s broken but contractions haven’t started, or there’s another medical reason to deliver, your doctor may suggest inducing labor.

Here’s what to know about how it works, why it’s done, and what to expect every step of the way.

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Key Takeaways
  • Induction means giving your body a needed nudge. If your due date has come and gone or there’s a medical reason your baby needs to be delivered, your practitioner might suggest inducing labor. Using safe medications and other methods, an induction gives your body a little help kicking things off.
  • There’s more than one way to get things moving. Your provider may strip your membranes, prepare your cervix with medication or a Foley balloon, break your water, and/or use Pitocin to bring on contractions. Every situation is different, and your care team will choose what’s safest and most effective for you and your little one.
  • You’ll be closely watched the whole way through. Most inductions go smoothly, but your doctor and nurses will keep a close eye on both you and your baby throughout the process. If things don’t progress or there’s any concern, a C-section may be the safest next step.

What does it mean to induce labor?

Inducing labor means using medical assistance — such as medications and mechanical methods — to help your body start the birthing process.

Practitioners aim to carry all pregnancies to term, or until 39 weeks — which means labor shouldn’t be induced before then unless your health or your baby’s health is at risk.

Why might your doctor induce labor?

There are a number of reasons your practitioner may decide to induce labor, including:

  • You're overdue. If there's no sign of action from your uterus, your practitioner may induce you around 41 to 42 weeks.
  • There’s a complication. Sometimes conditions like preeclampsia, diabetes, gestational diabetes, issues with the placenta, or problems with amniotic fluid (low levels or infection) make it risky to continue the pregnancy.
  • Your membranes ruptured. If your water has broken and contractions haven’t started on their own within 24 hours, your doctor may induce. That said, Shannon Smith, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of the What to Expect Medical Review Board, notes earlier induction times may be preferable. A later onset of labor increases infection rates, she says. And “newer research demonstrates that if spontaneous labor hasn’t started within six to eight hours of membrane rupture, the odds of needing augmentation are very high.” (Augmentation is helping a slow or stalled labor along.)
  • Your baby isn’t thriving. If tests suggest your baby isn’t doing well and is mature enough to deliver, your practitioner may opt for induction.
  • You live far from the hospital. If you’re concerned that you might not make it to the hospital or birth center in time (because you’ve had a short labor before, for example), an elective (scheduled) induction might be a good idea. Elective inductions shouldn’t be scheduled before 39 weeks.

“I was terrified when they told me I had to deliver her early,” says What to Expect Community member catherinew0517. “But everything went so, so well. I’m very happy with my induction experience, and my labor and delivery overall.”

How will your practitioner induce labor?

Induction can be a long process, depending on how ready your cervix is for labor and how your body reacts to the different methods used. Prepare for it to take some time.

“I feel like the induction allowed for things to be very controlled,” says What to Expect Community mom jademarc. “In the end it was great ... It was definitely a slow process, but that’s about the only negative thing I have to say.”

Here are the methods your practitioner may use:

Membrane stripping

Your practitioner may get labor started by swiping their finger across the fine membranes that connect the amniotic sac (bag of waters). This causes the uterus to release prostaglandin, just as it would if labor began naturally, which may in turn cause the cervix to soften and contractions to start.

Studies show that membrane stripping (or sweeping) increases the likelihood of spontaneous labor within 48 hours — especially in women who have previously had a vaginal delivery, notes Dr. Smith.

“Got a sweep at 39 weeks with my first. I can’t say for sure if it was that, but I went into labor within a half hour of it being done,” says What to Expect Community mom rainbowbabes2.

This process isn’t always pain-free and can result in vaginal bleeding and irregular contractions for 24 hours. And “while it isn’t meant to break your water,” Dr. Smith adds, "it sometimes does prior to the onset of labor, which can lead to the need for augmentation with Pitocin.”

Cervical ripening

It’s important that your cervix be ripe (ready for labor) before proceeding with an induction.

Usually your cervix will open up naturally on its own once you’re ready to go into labor. But if your cervix shows no signs of dilating and effacing (softening, opening, thinning) to allow your baby to leave the uterus and enter the birth canal, your practitioner will need to get the ripening rolling.

They’ll usually do this by applying a topical form of the hormone prostaglandin to your cervix. Another option is Cervidil, a prostaglandin that’s a vaginal insert (it looks similar to a flattened tampon and is placed near the cervix for 12 hours).

Sometimes prostaglandins are enough to get labor and contractions started — or at least enough to carry on with the next steps of the induction. Other times, you’ll need more help ripening your cervix.

“I was 0 cm dilated and induced with Cervidil,” says What to Expect Community member GoldFish25. “After it got taken out 12 hours later, I was still not very dilated, but I lost my mucus plug, and my body was contracting on its own, so I didn’t end up needing other interventions.”

Note: If you’ve had a C-section or other previous uterine surgery (for example, myomectomy), you won’t be given prostaglandin, as the risk of uterine rupture outweighs the benefits of the medication in these cases. Instead, your practitioner would use a mechanical agent to ripen the cervix.

Foley Balloon

This is a mechanical cervical ripening technique that involves placing a catheter through the cervical canal and instilling saline into a balloon that sits just on the inside of the cervical opening.

Using the Foley balloon for cervical ripening significantly reduces the time to delivery and has been shown to decrease C-section rates.

Rupturing the membrane

If your cervix has already begun to dilate and efface on its own but your water hasn’t broken, your practitioner might jump-start your contractions by artificially rupturing the membranes. In other words, they’ll break the bag of waters that surrounds your baby manually using an instrument that looks like a long crochet hook with a sharp tip.

This is called an amniotomy, and while it might feel uncomfortable, it shouldn’t be painful.

“Extensive research and reviews demonstrate the benefit of early amniotomy in both spontaneous as well as induced labor,” says Dr. Smith. “In both instances, time to delivery is dramatically reduced without increased risk of cesarean delivery, maternal infection, hemorrhage, negative neonatal outcomes, or pelvic trauma.”

Pitocin

If regular contractions don’t kick in on their own after the above methods, your practitioner will slowly give you the medication Pitocin (a synthetic form of the naturally occurring hormone oxytocin) via an IV.

When Pitocin is used, contractions — which usually start about 30 minutes later — become stronger, more regular, and more frequent than those where labor has begun naturally.

If you’re considering an epidural, you might want to ask your practitioner about getting it started while you’re getting the Pitocin so it’s in place once labor does start.

“The contractions are fairly intense, so I asked for the epidural around the 2 cm to 3 cm mark and it was fabulous!” says What to Expect Community member Mama2b30.

Once your contractions are in full swing, your labor should progress just as a non-induced labor does and go through the usual phases of labor. But don’t worry if things don’t go exactly as planned — your care team will guide you each step of the way.

Wondering what will happen during labor? The What to Expect app has all the information and reassurance you need about labor, delivery, and beyond, including expert-backed advice and tips from other parents.

When you might get a C-section instead

There are some circumstances where labor shouldn’t be induced and a C-section is preferable, including:

Does labor induction have risks?

While in the majority of cases labor induction goes smoothly, complications sometimes arise. They include:

It’s comforting to know, though, that your baby will be continuously monitored via electronic fetal monitoring throughout the process. This will help your practitioner assess how your baby is dealing with the stress of induced labor and take steps to protect both of you when necessary.

Is it safe to try to induce labor yourself?

There are some safe natural ways to try to bring on labor, though it’s hard to prove that any of them actually does the trick — did that walk get labor started, or did it coincidentally start on its own?

Still, some women swear by them. If you're at the end of your rope (and who isn't by 40 weeks and beyond?), you might want to try some natural ways to induce labor.

There are also some at-home methods that aren’t safe, such as taking castor oil. If you’re unsure if the method you choose is safe, check with your doctor before giving it a try.

What happens if labor induction doesn't work?

Very occasionally, labor induction doesn’t work, especially if the cervix isn’t effaced and dilated. If this is the case for you, your practitioner may try to induce labor again or opt for a C-section.

Bottom line: Whether your labor starts on its own or with a little help, what matters most is that you and your baby are safe.

Induction can feel like a big, unpredictable process — and that’s totally normal. You’ll have a whole team watching over you, guiding every step, and making sure things move in the safest way possible.

However your baby decides to make her entrance, you’re doing the hardest and most incredible work there is: bringing your new little family member into the world.