A study has found that inducing women at 40 weeks could reduce stillbirths by 66 per cent. 

Dr Clea Harmer, chief executive of the stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands, says: ‘The decision whether to deliver or not requires good, reliable evidence about both the benefits and risks.’

‘At Sands we hear from too many older bereaved mothers whose babies died after 40 weeks but who had no idea they were at a higher risk — in retrospect they deeply regret that their baby was not induced in time.’  She adds that the important thing is for mothers to be able to make genuinely fully-informed decisions about their maternity care. Continue reading