What do women think about induction of labour?
Taken together, the research paints a familiar and troubling picture. Induction leads to significantly higher rates of negative birth experience.
Women report having limited involvement in decision making, and not feeling as if they had options.
In fact, many women don’t realise that induction is something they can decline.
In this blog post, I look at some of the research studies that have looked at women’s experiences of induction.
For example, a 2024 study exploring women’s experiences of birth showed that:
“Overwhelmingly women expressed a desire to avoid induction of labour, along with the intention to: resist pressure, allow more time for spontaneous labour onset, and arm themselves with more knowledge to advocate against non-medical justifications.” (Ormsby et al 2024).
What would you do differently?
The paper is called ‘Women’s reflections on induction of labour and birthing interventions and what they would do differently next time.’
In fact, this was the exact question that the researchers asked in a large national survey:
“Would you do anything different if you were to have another baby?”
Nearly 600 of the women made comments about induction, with 93.3% saying they would delay or refuse induction if giving birth again.
This study was carried out in Australia, and the results are similar to what we see in the UK and a number of other countries.
(I will look at research from the UK and several other countries in this blog post).
Many women don’t want induction
It is abundantly clear, from Ormsby et al (2024) and many other papers, that the majority of women do not want their labour induced.
And by the way, YES, you can decline induction. It’s not the law. And here’s a blog post on how to cancel an induction that has been booked but which you do not want.
Ormsby et al (2024) also found that most of the small number of women who were accepting of their induction still weren’t entirely happy with the fact that they hadn’t been given options.
This paper shows us the range of perspectives that women have on this issue:
“Overwhelmingly, the majority of mothers (93.3%) indicted their desire to avoid any future IOLs.
Views ranged from intending to resist the pressure and push back the date as long as possible, to increase the chance of spontaneous onset of labour; to refusal to be induced under any circumstances, and choose a homebirth, rather than go to hospital again.
A much smaller proportion of women indicated believing their IOLs were justified (6.7%), however within this categorisation, the majority (61.8%) indicated that next time, they would like more control over when and how inductions were conducted.” (Ormsby et al 2024).
We need to talk about coercion
Increasingly, women report being persuaded or coerced into induction, often by health professionals who suggest that their baby’s life may be in danger, when the evidence shows that this is not the case.
“Coercion was also indicated in several comments, with some women further suggesting their vulnerability had been exploited, for instance “I would not give in to bullying of induction had I had a partner in the country and support there” (ID: 1154); and “I guess I felt I had no control at that time and probably went along with it as I was tired, emotional and hadn’t slept” (ID: 3639).
Others indicated feeling bullied into agreeing to IOL, “…I was never MADE to have an induction but a particular doctor guilted me into it” (ID: 6217); and “…Even though I made the decision to go through with the induction, it did feel forced and like I had no other option” (ID: 8444).” (Ormsby et al 2024).
Why this matters
The fact that so many women are being persuaded to have inductions that they do not want and which they later wish they had not had is a significant problem.
As these and many other authors explain:
“Inductions are increasingly performed at earlier gestations, and often for non-medically indicated reasons. Induction of labour can lead to cascade of intervention that can impact maternal and child health.” (Ormsby et al 2024).
As I so often say, it’s important to get informed and to consider ALL the pros and cons before deciding whether induction or other pregnancy-ending interventions such as elective caesarean are right for you.
Research in the UK
Another study explored women’s views and experiences of key elements of the induction of labour (IOL) process in the UK, including at home or in hospital cervical ripening (CR).
Harkness et al (2023) carried out a questionnaire-based postnatal survey as part of the CHOICE Study, carried out in NHS maternity units in the UK.
Participants were 309 women who had induction of labour.
The researchers found that:
“Information to support choice and understand what to expect about IOL is often inadequate or unavailable.”
“Having IOL can create anxiety and remove options for birth that women had hoped would enhance their experience.” Harkness et al (2023).
These findings aren’t new.
Over the years, I have written about several other studies which show that women are dissatisfied with the information they receive around induction, and with aspects of the induction process itself.
Outpatient induction isn’t the solution
One thing that is relatively new is the idea of having an ‘outpatient induction,’ which includes going to hospital for a cervical ripening agent to be inserted, and then going home again.
However, the women’s experiences show that this is not the solution that some proponents are saying it is.
“Although it can provide a more comfortable environment, home cervical ripening is not always an acceptable solution.”
Outpatient induction can remove some of the discomforts of the early stage of induction for some women, but the later stages are the same, and many women find it just as unwanted, frustrating, difficult and/or unpleasant.
The downsides of induction
The researchers also found that, Women described maternity care negatively impacted by staffing shortages; delays to care sometimes led to unsafe situations.” (Harkness et al 2023).
In fact, staff can make all the difference, as, “Women who had a positive experience of IOL described supportive interaction with staff as a significant contribution to that.” (Harkness et al 2023).
Harkness et al (2023) concluded that,
“Women do not experience IOL as a benign and consequence free intervention. There is urgent need for research to better target IOL and optimise safety and experience for women and their babies.” (Harkness et al 2023).
You can read the study in full here.
Negative experiences of cervical ripening…
As I mentioned above, these are just two of a number of studies showing that women aren’t happy with the information they are given about induction.
More are being published all the time.
A 2025 paper was based on data from Enquête Nationale Périnatale (ENP), or the French National Perinatal Survey.
“Among the 6200 women included, 1777 (28.7%) had an IOL. Women with IOL reported negative birth experiences more often than women with SOL (16.4% vs. 8.8%, p < 0.001).” (Braund et al 2025).
Interestingly, the authors of this study found that women who had cervical ripening had an even higher rate of negative experience, but this isn’t that surprising. These are the women who are having the longest stays on antenatal wards, where they lack privacy, struggle to sleep, are sometimes unable to exercise autonomy over what they eat and drink, and are often deprived of the company of their partners or support people when they need them the most.
You can read more about experiences of cervical ripening in this blog post.
Braund et al (2025) conclude that, “Women with IOL had a significantly higher risk of negative birth experience, compared with those with SOL. Our findings underline the need for appropriate antenatal information for women about IOL, shared decision-making, and better follow-up for women at risk of negative birth experience.”
Why women agree, despite concerns
A 2026 qualitative evidence synthesis brought together findings from 11 studies of women’s experiences of late-term induction of labour. Included studies were carried out in Denmark, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, the UK, Australia, and the USA.
“Women who give birth via IOL primarily prioritise the safety of their child over their own birth experiences. The positive experience of having a healthy baby supports women’s acceptance of IOL and has the potential to outweigh the negative experiences of the IOL for some women.” (Rohde et al 2026).
This sounds slightly more positive, but it’s important to remember that this study doesn’t include the voices of women who declined IOL. It’s always important to consider who is included and excluded from studies of people’s experiences.
In this study, we can see that women followed healthcare professional’s recommendations, even when they did not really want IOL. That in itself is worrying, especially when we also see that:
“Women tend to view IOL as a fixed procedure over which they have limited control, however, they accept it, even though it may lead to feelings of resignation.” (Rohde et al 2026).
Elsewhere in this study, women reported feeling that health professionals lacked respect for them and their needs, especially around pain relief.
The same story, around the world
The findings of induction experience research is remarkably – and sadly similar – across the world.
Panaro et al (2025) conducted a survey in Ireland which, “aimed to understand women’s experiences of the decision-making process around an IOL and to analyse the demographic factors influencing their experiences and knowledge.”
“Of 1091 respondents, 49.3% reported not feeling fully involved in the decision around induction, 66.8% felt insufficiently informed about inductions, and 30% did not know that they could decline an induction.” (Panaro et al 2025).
In this study, “Age, parity, and type of maternity care were significantly associated with involvement in decision-making and knowledge of inductions and informed refusal. Involvement in decision-making, knowledge around inductions and informed refusal was significantly higher among women with previous pregnancies, and maternity care in private health care.” (Panaro et al 2025).
“Most would avoid…”
A German study showed that women want more information and support with decision-making about induction of labour, especially when there is no good medical reason to do this, for instance in the case of routine induction for so-called ‘post-term’ pregnancy.
The study also found that most women who experienced induction of labour would try to avoid it in a future pregnancy, and many would like to have information on alternative and complementary methods of induction of labour.
And researchers in Sweden looked at maternal satisfaction and birth experiences after elective induction (IOL) versus spontaneous onset (SOL) in late-term pregnancy.
They found that:
“Satisfaction with care during labour and women’s childbirth experiences differed between the SOL and IOL groups, indicating a relationship between labour commencement method and satisfaction scores. Women in the SOL group were more satisfied with care at birth and reported a more positive birth experience at both 8 weeks and 1 year postpartum compared to the IOL group. Over time, women’s childbirth experience scores in both groups may change, becoming less positive 1 year after birth compared to 8 weeks postpartum.” (Turkman & Binfare 2025)
Why context matters
However, a study from New Zealand helps show why we always need to look at the context of research, and think about the wider issues.
In ‘Maternal satisfaction with outpatient balloon catheter versus inpatient prostaglandin induction of labour: A randomised controlled trial in Aotearoa New Zealand‘, Cronin et al (2025) concluded that:
“This study demonstrated greater satisfaction among women having outpatient-balloon induction of labour related to more pre-labour support at home and less pain and tiredness during labour. We encourage maternity hospitals to routinely offer outpatient-balloon induction of labour.”
The study is freely available, so you can read the detail for yourself, but there are two key things that we need to bear in mind.
The first is that ALL of the women in this study had agreed to be in a trial of induction, so they were already favourably disposed to induction. Women who didn’t want to be induced wouldn’t have agreed to participate in the trial.
And secondly, women were more satisfied with balloon catheter induction relative to in-hospital induction. This doesn’t tell us anything about how they would feel about induction versus letting labour start on its own.
“There was no break…”
In a 2026 paper titled, “There Was no Break”, researchers in the USA presented a qualitative analysis of mothers’ experiences with induction.
“Mothers with a labor induction stated their contractions were more intense, closer together, or had no break compared to their non-induced births or the coaching they received prenatally from doulas or childbirth educators. A desire for induction and levels of provider support also contributed to mothers’ experiences with labor induction. Mothers expressed that this altered contraction patterning increased anxiety and motivated their use of pain medication.
Our findings suggest that induced labor may lead to more negative birth experiences through altered contraction patterns, not wanting the induction, and lacking trust and support from care providers.”
This paper summarises the take-home message from many studies that approach the question of how women feel about induction in a woman-centred way.
Induction brings downsides and is not always a positive experience, which is why it’s worth weighing up the pros and cons before you agree to have your labour induced.
How to find out more
I’ve written loads about induction of labour, and it is one of the most searched-for topics on my website.
I have two books about this topic, written to help you understand the issues and the evidence so that you can make the decisions that are right for you.
You will also find a page on my website detailing the resources that I have available on post-term pregnancy and induction of labour here
if you’re in a hurry, my most popular blog posts are the ten things that I wish women knew about induction of labour (and that’s because I speak to so many women who feel like the ones in the studies above) and how to cancel a labour induction, because it saddens me that, these days, some women don’t even realise that they have a choice.
What’s right for you?
I want to live in a world where women and families are well-informed about the issues and about the pros and cons of interventions before they have to make decisions about whether these interventions are right for them.
I know that lots of other people want that too, and they want to gain the knowledge and build the confidence to talk to others about these important issues.
I also know that one or two women reply every time I post about this to say that they were really happy with their induction experience.
That’s great. I am genuinely delighted that some women have a good experience.
But, as we saw from the first study I discussed in this post, those who have good experiences are in the tiny minority.
Hundreds of women reply and report difficult or traumatic experiences.
Far too many women have stressful, traumatic, unpleasant and/or difficult experiences of induction of labour. Many feel that they were coerced into having this, often against their better judgement.
More and more research studies are showing the same thing.
We need to do something about this.
Please share or forward the link to this blog post to anyone who know who is facing decisions in this area.
About the Author: Dr Sara Wickham is an author, speaker, and researcher specialising in pregnancy, birth and maternity care. Her work focuses on evidence-based, woman-centred information and informed decision-making, drawing on more than 30 years of midwifery knowledge and experience.
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