The “BRAIN” decision-making tool

When deciding how to give birth, you may find the BRAIN tool useful.  It can be talked through with your doctor or midwife.

‘B’ allows you to think about the benefits of a decision.

‘R’ encourages you to think about the risks of a decision.

‘A’ are there any alternatives to the decision you are making?

‘I’ stands for intuition. This is about how you feel and what your ‘gut’ instinct is.

‘N’ allows you to think about what will happen if you decide to do nothing or wait and see what happens.

The decision to have an induction of labour, or not, is yours. Alternative options should be discussed with you, and you can always say no to things offered to you.

Maternal satisfaction with induction varies. Some will have positive experiences but for others it may not be positive.

Common concerns include a fear of delays or fear of being alone. Delays will vary depending on your hospital on the day.

Birth partners can be useful to provide support during induction. How long they can stay and how many you can have, depends on your hospital and where you are (in the induction suite or labour ward).

Talk to your team about any concerns or queries you may have.

There is little to no difference seen with uptake of breastfeeding at discharge in those who have an induction of labour compared to waiting for labour to begin on its own.