Debating getting induced

So I guess before I go into the whole story, I'll just start off with a couple quick facts : EDD is Thursday. My pregnancy has been completely normal and have had no complications. I am overweight, which I understand runs a higher risk for C-Section.

Okay, so the 25th of this month will mark the one year anniversary of my dad passing away. As much as I know that Maddox being born on that day could turn a really sad day into a wonderful day, I am completely terrified that I'm going to deliver so close to that day. My dad was, and honestly still is, my bestest friend on the whole planet and it kills me that he's not going to be here to meet his grandson. This may sound really selfish, but I kind of want to keep that day just for him. I don't want to associate my first born's birthday with such an emotional day.
I talked to my OB about this and she was really understanding about the whole situation. At the checkup, she told me that I was 1cm dilated. She told me that under the social circumstances, she would be willing to induce me if the baby isn't here by Thursday. I have an appointment on Wednesday to see her and if I haven't dilated any more or shown any real progression towards labor, we could go ahead and induce on my due date so that he would be here by the 20th and I would have plenty of time to have the baby, recover, and be home so that I may have my time to grieve the way that I would like to.
This is exactly what I was hoping for, but at the same time, I wonder if it's the right thing to do. I'm one of those people who really doesn't do well with surprises and I wonder if my anxiety about not knowing when labor is going to start and all of that is actually keeping me from being relaxed enough to even go into labor. I also worry about the increased risk of a C-Section. I really want to have him naturally and I worry that if I get induced, they'll end up having to do a C-Section that wouldn't have had to be done had I just waited and let everything happen naturally.

I'm sorry for the ridiculously long post and I appreciate anyone who took the time to read it. :3
Tl;dr - Doc says that now that I'm full term, she's willing to induce so that I don't have to wait any longer. I really want to do it but I'm still not 100% sure.

well for one, ive known plenty of over weight ladies to delivery vaginally just fine

also in the end you do whats right for you but my personal view on this is i would just let your baby come on when he/she is ready to

I'm due a day before you and I'm asking at my appointment tomorrow about induction because I'm selfish and I don't want to be in pain anymore. So I'm going to ask if I can be induced before the weekend if I go past my due date. At least your reason is legitimate. Don't stress too much about it maybe baby will come all on their own.  

I am overweight and was induced due to GD and ended up with a CS. If I were you I would choose to wait and go into labor on my own as long as everything seemed fine.

I was induced for medical reasons. I wouldn't have agreed to an induction otherwise. This was my first baby & I cried because I couldn't go into labor naturally. I understand your reasoning for wanting an induction though.

I wouldn't. Or at least wait a little longer before agreeing to an induction. The chances of a c-section increase w/ induction, especially those before your due date.

I was induced due to medical reasons. I wouldnt do it again if I didnt have to. In your situation though I would.

I can't speak for whether induction is a good idea or not, I've heard it's more painful and gives a higher risk for csection. What I do know is, induction does not always work, if your baby is not ready to come, things may fail or not progress, so all that pain and no baby, something to consider. Also, even 1 cm dialated, I did not have labor and deliver my 1st son until 8 days after he was due (grrr) but I guess he just wasn't ready. That is my only concern when it comes to induction. In the end, trust your heart and do what you feel would be best for you and baby, as your emotional health is just as important as your baby is. Good luck and I hope your decision comes easily and with no regret.

If I were you I'd wait. Being induced does seriously increase the risk of C-section... and in my experience.. doctors willing to do "social inductions" are also the ones who are quicker to call a section anyway. They dont' care about the increased risk of a section because they have no problem calling the section as it's often easier for them.

To the other poster who is going to ask about an induction because she's tired of being in pain... is it really worth the potential of weeks in pain following surgery? I guarantee a section is more painful than the last few days of pregnancy.

As an L&D nurse... I always think it's sad when I see social inductions. The nurses often accurately predict who will end up a section. If your body isnt' ready... pitocin just isnt' going to work for you anyway.. and it'll distress your baby.

And... being overweight, and a section... puts you at higher risk for post partum bleeding and infections. It's harder to find and massage a fundus (top of uterus) on an overweight woman, and skin folds are moist and breed bacteria. It's really not worth it.

I'm truly sorry for your loss OP... but you'll mourn your father either way, and celebrate the birth of your baby either way.

<blockquote><b>Quoting snglemama:</b>" If I were you I'd wait. Being induced does seriously increase the risk of C-section... and in my experience.. ... [snip!] ... I'm truly sorry for your loss OP... but you'll mourn your father either way, and celebrate the birth of your baby either way."</blockquote>

I'm only asking because I'm due on Wednesday and he's going to induce me if I go past my due date anyways. My appointment just happens to be tomorrow.
And he's not so gung ho on surgeries as doctors in the states are. My friend was induced 12 days early due to her baby's lack of movement and was in the hospital for 2.5 days induced before the baby came, there was no talk of csection... unless there's something wrong with my baby he won't be doing any surgery, so a c section is not something I am overly worried about.

Quoting Lacey.Rose:" <blockquote><b>Quoting snglemama:</b>" If I were you I'd wait. Being induced does seriously ... [snip!] ... there's something wrong with my baby he won't be doing any surgery, so a c section is not something I am overly worried about."

it doesn't matter if your doctor isn't all 'gung ho' about them. Statistically speaking, early induction ends in c-section. Hell, I had an emergency induction three days AFTER my due date & still ended up in a c-section. It's not like it's up to your body. It's up to your body.

Quoting snglemama:" If I were you I'd wait. Being induced does seriously increase the risk of C-section... and in my experience.. ... [snip!] ... I'm truly sorry for your loss OP... but you'll mourn your father either way, and celebrate the birth of your baby either way."

I agree, recovery from csection sucks. With my first child I had vaginal and was up and running within days, with my 2nd child I ended up with a csection as my son would not move into the birth canal, no matter what we did, and it took 6 weeks before I could drive my car with only moderate discomfort, and it was months before I could lift without stabbing pains. It sucked, I also suffered deep depression from the whole ordeal and constantly asked myself if there was something different that could've been done. It was not what I would consider an ideal transition from pregnancy to holding my new baby, who I was unable to properly bond with until he was around 6 months old, I felt horribly guilty about that.
So yeah, csection sucks.  

<blockquote><b>Quoting snglemama:</b>" If I were you I'd wait. Being induced does seriously increase the risk of C-section... and in my experience.. ... [snip!] ... I'm truly sorry for your loss OP... but you'll mourn your father either way, and celebrate the birth of your baby either way."</blockquote>

I agree 100%.

I wouldn't do it unless there was a medical need for it. For one thing due dates are nothing more than an estimation and your baby could very well be a few weeks younger than you expected. Those few weeks could mean the difference between a healthy baby and a baby with jaundice, breathing difficulties, etc. My son was born just a week shy of term yet he had these issues in spite of a good delivery. Anything you can to do minimize risk is the best option.

Also, the drugs they use for inductions often do not end up working well with epidurals which puts the baby in distress and requires a c-section. C-sections are major surgery and women and babies both die more as a result. The high c-section rate in the U.S. is the entire reason we have the 2nd highest maternal death rate of any developed country (1 out of 3 deliveries are via c-section). In fact there was a mother on BG who recently died due to complications from a c-section. She barely got to spend a few minutes with her newborn before passing =(

So in my mind anything you can do to minimize the risk of having a c-section is top priority (which means no inductions unless you have a doctor who is 100% certain the baby is in distress and it's absolutely, positively necessary). I know you want that day to be for your father but how about you cross that bridge when you get to it? For all you know your baby might not be born on that day!

I hope everything works out and good luck.

Quoting motherofboys:" I agree, recovery from csection sucks. With my first child I had vaginal and was up and running within ... [snip!] ... unable to properly bond with until he was around 6 months old, I felt horribly guilty about that. So yeah, csection sucks.  "