fb tracking
No Result
View All Result
BellyBelly
  • Home
  • Getting Pregnant
    • Conception
    • Two Week Diaries
    • Conception Calculator
      • Conception Calculator
      • Ovulation Calculator
  • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Articles
    • Pregnancy Week By Week
    • Pregnancy Symptoms
    • Pregnancy Calculator
      • Pregnancy Calculator
      • Reverse Due Date Calculator
    • Pregnancy Journals
      • Irene’s Pregnancy Journal
      • Pregnancy Diaries
      • Diary of Ambah article
      • Diary of Belinda article
      • Diary of Rachael article
      • Diary of Sherie
      • Diary of Janelle
      • Diary of Sharon
      • Diary of Lucy
      • Diary of Kathryn
      • Diary of Julie
    • Prenatal / Perinatal
  • Birth
    • Birth Articles
    • Doulas
    • Midwives
    • Birth Diaries
  • Mothers
    • Mother Articles
    • Post Natal/Post Partum
  • Baby
    • Baby Articles
    • Baby Week By Week
    • Star Signs For Baby
  • Sleep
    • Sleep
    • Conception Sleep
    • Pregnancy Sleep
    • Infant / Baby Sleep
      • Infant Sleep
      • Baby Sleep
    • Toddler Sleep
    • Weaning / Feeding Sleep
      • Feeding Sleep
      • Bottle Sleep
      • Formula Sleep
      • Weaning Sleep
    • Child Sleep
    • Adult / Family Sleep
      • Mothers Sleep
      • Fathers Sleep
      • Family Sleep
      • Cosleeping
  • Baby Names
    • Baby Names
    • Baby Boy Names
    • Baby Girl Names
    • Gender-Neutral Baby Names
    • Unique Baby Names
  • Breastfeeding
    • Breastfeeding Articles
    • Breastfeeding Week by Week
    • Lactation Cookies
  • Toddler
  • Child
  • Men/Dads
  • Parenting
  • Health Lifestyle
    • Health
      • General Health
      • Cooking & Recipes
      • Meal Planning
      • Exercise
    • Lifestyle
      • Family Travel
      • Relationships
      • Men/Dads
  • General
    • Forum
    • Product Reviews
    • Competitions
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • Getting Pregnant
    • Conception
    • Two Week Diaries
    • Conception Calculator
      • Conception Calculator
      • Ovulation Calculator
  • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Articles
    • Pregnancy Week By Week
    • Pregnancy Symptoms
    • Pregnancy Calculator
      • Pregnancy Calculator
      • Reverse Due Date Calculator
    • Pregnancy Journals
      • Irene’s Pregnancy Journal
      • Pregnancy Diaries
      • Diary of Ambah article
      • Diary of Belinda article
      • Diary of Rachael article
      • Diary of Sherie
      • Diary of Janelle
      • Diary of Sharon
      • Diary of Lucy
      • Diary of Kathryn
      • Diary of Julie
    • Prenatal / Perinatal
  • Birth
    • Birth Articles
    • Doulas
    • Midwives
    • Birth Diaries
  • Mothers
    • Mother Articles
    • Post Natal/Post Partum
  • Baby
    • Baby Articles
    • Baby Week By Week
    • Star Signs For Baby
  • Sleep
    • Sleep
    • Conception Sleep
    • Pregnancy Sleep
    • Infant / Baby Sleep
      • Infant Sleep
      • Baby Sleep
    • Toddler Sleep
    • Weaning / Feeding Sleep
      • Feeding Sleep
      • Bottle Sleep
      • Formula Sleep
      • Weaning Sleep
    • Child Sleep
    • Adult / Family Sleep
      • Mothers Sleep
      • Fathers Sleep
      • Family Sleep
      • Cosleeping
  • Baby Names
    • Baby Names
    • Baby Boy Names
    • Baby Girl Names
    • Gender-Neutral Baby Names
    • Unique Baby Names
  • Breastfeeding
    • Breastfeeding Articles
    • Breastfeeding Week by Week
    • Lactation Cookies
  • Toddler
  • Child
  • Men/Dads
  • Parenting
  • Health Lifestyle
    • Health
      • General Health
      • Cooking & Recipes
      • Meal Planning
      • Exercise
    • Lifestyle
      • Family Travel
      • Relationships
      • Men/Dads
  • General
    • Forum
    • Product Reviews
    • Competitions
  • Advertise
No Result
View All Result
BellyBelly
No Result
View All Result
Home Birth

8 Tips For A Positive Induction Birth

Sam McCulloch Dip CBEd
by Sam McCulloch Dip CBEd
Last updated October 6, 2023
Reading Time: 5 min
Tips For A Positive Induction Birth

Most women know induction is no walk in the park.

For some mothers and babies, it’s safer for labour to start sooner rather than later, but the idea of being induced can be stressful.

Induction means asking your body to begin labour before it is naturally ready. This can be a slower, more difficult process and it is normal to feel some concern about how you will cope.

If you do need an induction, you don’t have to give up the idea of a positive birth, or one without pain medication.

8 Ways To Have A Positive Induction Birth

Here are 8 tips for a positive induction birth:

#1: Understand Labour Induction

If you have time and there is no emergency, look at your options for induction. A Bishop’s score can be performed to see how close you are to labour, and which method of induction is most likely to be successful. If you are induced before your cervix is fully ripe, there is a greater chance that you will be in for a longer labour, which increases the risk of interventions.

Each form of induction has its pros and cons. It helps to know what is likely to happen in each situation, and prepare for how you will meet the challenge. Don’t forget – the preparation you have done for a natural labour still counts too! You can use that knowledge to help you understand how labour works, even if it doesn’t start under your own steam.

#2: Have Birth Savvy Support

Having support during labour is always important. When it comes to induction your birth support can be crucial. Make sure your partner understands the process of induction, so he isn’t caught out by the intensity.

Or hire a doula, who is an experienced birth support person. Doulas know lots of techniques to help women cope with labour and can help you get through an induced labour.

#3: Prepare Your Environment

Natural labour happens best under certain conditions: darkness and privacy, quiet and safety. These conditions are still important even if your labour is induced, and will allow you to feel as close to having a spontaneous labour as possible. You are less likely to feel tense and frightened when you are owning your birth situation.

Dim the lights or close the curtains. Have your music and essential oils ready. Ask your care providers to respect your birth wishes for quiet voices and privacy. Some women use eyeshades to keep out sights and light, which can help them to go inwards and focus on labour rather than the clinical situation of induction.

If you have monitors attached, or a drip put in for artificial oxytocin, sit on the birth ball instead of the bed. This gives you more freedom of movement as the ball allows you to rock and move your hips, lean forward into the bed or wall, or bounce and move your legs.

#4: Prepare To Find Your Way Through

Labour under your own steam has a unique pattern. Some women have long, slow first stages, others have short and furious active labour. The hormones your body produces during natural labour help you to cope with the growing intensity and strength of contractions, pulling you into a trance and helping you to find your way through each one.

Depending on the method of induction used, you might go quite suddenly from not being in labour to being in labour, with no gentle build up. The intensity can be a challenge and, to get you through, it can help to have some really good tools in your pain management kit, such as:

  • Breathing techniques.
  • Hypnobirthing.
  • TENS machine.
  • Relaxation exercises.
  • Having your partner or birth support use acupressure, hip squeezes, or warm compresses.
  • Being as active as possible – use the birth ball, stand up, or lean over; avoid lying down, but if you need a rest, lie on your left side.

Having coping strategies in place can help you to focus on staying within and finding your way through the pain. If you can accept and move past the fear then you are more likely to work with it and not tense up.

If your labour has been induced with artificial oxytocin, and contractions are well established, you can request to have the drip turned down or even removed. Discuss this option with your care provider beforehand.

#5: At Some Point It Will Get Too Much

Remember, in most cases, induction overrides your body’s normal hormone production. Your body doesn’t know to release endorphins, which are nature’s pain killer. There will most likely be a point during labour where you will feel the pain becoming bigger than you. If you have been coping well until this point, you might think there is no way you can continue, and start thinking about pain medication.

It is likely you are entering into transition, when the cervix nears complete dilation. Transition is a time of emotional and physical upheaval. It is not uncommon for women to decide they can’t go on without drugs, or become convinced they will be in labour for days, and just want to go home! This is a normal part of labour and signals that your baby is close to being born.

You might start feeling more pressure in your bottom, and the sounds you make might change. Your midwife will probably register these and ask if you feel ‘pushy’. If you have a cervical check, it is likely you will be almost or completely dilated.

#6: Stand And Give Birth

Lying down or semi reclining while giving birth increases the chances of a prolonged second stage, fetal distress and use of interventions. Your tailbone needs space to move as your baby’s head passes through the pelvic space, and your pelvis also needs freedom to open. The best positions to adopt when pushing are active ones.

Being active during labour doesn’t mean you have to be walking or climbing stairs. Active labour positions are those that allow you to move with your body and the contractions. Is it possible to do this with monitor belts and possibly a drip in place? Definitely. Your partner, doula or midwife can support you in different positions, such as squatting, kneeling, leaning forward or standing. If you do need to rest, try lying on your left side and have someone hold your upper leg.

Read more about the benefits of an active labour and birth.

#7: The Third Stage

At the moment of birth, your body produces a high surge of oxytocin. This surge stimulates strong contractions after your baby is born, which sheer the placenta away from the uterus wall, and clamps the blood vessels.

Depending on the method of induction used, you might be able to leave your baby’s cord intact and have a natural third stage. Most hospitals have a standard policy to give Syntocinon or Pitocin (either via drip or injection) to speed delivery of the placenta, and lessen the chance of excessive bleeding.

If your labour was induced by medication, your body won’t have produced the same levels of oxytocin as would naturally happen in a spontaneous labour. Your care provider will prefer to manage the third stage but you can ask for your baby’s cord to remain intact for as long as possible.

#8: Protect The First Hour

Once your baby is born, you will be able to sit back and feel the benefits of such a positive and calm birthing experience. You will have achieved a birth where you were in control and the clinical aspect was not the bigger picture.

Take this time to soak in your new baby; skin to skin and early breastfeeding will help to promote your natural oxytocin production. You can read more about the benefits of the first hour.

Being induced can feel as though your plan for a natural and positive birth experience is going out the window. But with careful preparation and determination, you can achieve a wonderful and empowering birth.

Recommended Reading: Natural Labour vs Induced Labour – 6 Main Differences.

Previous Post

Linea Nigra | 50% Chance It Will Appear On Your Belly

Next Post

5 Ways To Be An Awesome New Dad And Partner

Sam McCulloch Dip CBEd

Sam McCulloch Dip CBEd

Sam McCulloch is a mother, writer, novelist, birth educator and doula, supporting parents in making informed choices about their birth experience.

Next Post
Ways To Be An Awesome New Dad And Partner

5 Ways To Be An Awesome New Dad And Partner

Featured Articles

how to conceive a boy

How To Conceive A Boy | 6 Special Tips to Have A Baby Boy

Last updated 4 months ago
endometriosis stage

Endometriosis Stages | Understanding The 4 Critical Stages

Last updated 7 months ago

Authors

  • Amy Cameron, RM, IBCLC
    Amy Cameron, RM, IBCLC
  • Anne Macnaughtan
    Anne Macnaughtan
  • BellyBelly Ed
    BellyBelly Ed
  • Carly Grubb B.Ed (Primary) Hons.
    Carly Grubb B.Ed (Primary) Hons.
  • Darren Mattock
    Darren Mattock
  • David Rawlings
    David Rawlings
  • David Vernon
    David Vernon
  • Dawn Reid, EEPM CNCM MMID
    Dawn Reid, EEPM CNCM MMID
  • Deborah Cooper
    Deborah Cooper
  • Desiree Spierings
    Desiree Spierings
  • Sarah Buckley
    Sarah Buckley
  • Dr. Jack Newman MD FRCPC
    Dr. Jack Newman MD FRCPC
  • Dr. Thomas W. Hale
    Dr. Thomas W. Hale
  • Emily Brittingham, IBCLC, BHSc
    Emily Brittingham, IBCLC, BHSc
  • Emily Robinson
    Emily Robinson
  • Fiona Peacock
    Fiona Peacock
  • Gloria Lemay
    Gloria Lemay
  • Graham White
    Graham White
  • Heather Hack-Sullivan CPM, LDM, BS in Midwifery
    Heather Hack-Sullivan CPM, LDM, BS in Midwifery
  • Christopher Tang
    Christopher Tang
  • Irene Garzon BSc (Hons) Midwifery
    Irene Garzon BSc (Hons) Midwifery
  • Janet Powell
    Janet Powell
  • Jared Osborne
    Jared Osborne
  • Jennifer Block
    Jennifer Block
  • Joana Camato
    Joana Camato
  • Jordan Gray
    Jordan Gray
  • Kara Wilson
    Kara Wilson
  • Karen Wilmot RM, RYT, MAEd
    Karen Wilmot RM, RYT, MAEd
  • Kelly Rennie
    Kelly Rennie
  • Kelly Winder
    Kelly Winder
Tools and Features

Tools and Features

Get your birth education video

Get your birth education video

Join our Week by Week emails

Join our Week by Week emails

Get your free ebook

Get your free ebook

Belly Belly Logo

We’re passionate about women and men feeling informed, confident and prepared for pregnancy, birth and early parenting.

  • Home
  • Getting Pregnant
  • Pregnancy
  • Birth
  • Mothers
  • Baby
  • Health Lifestyle
  • Product Reviews
  • Pregnancy Symptoms
  • Pregnancy Week by Week
  • Baby Week by Week
  • Sleep
  • Baby Names
  • Breastfeeding
  • Toddler
  • Child
  • Parenting
  • Sleep Education Series
  • Breastfeeding Week by Week
  • Toddler Week by Week

OUR NETWORK

  • Belly Belly Logo
    bellybelly.com.au
  • Around the World Plus Kids
    www.aroundtheworldpluskids.com.au
  • Doula Training
    www.doula-training.com.au
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise

© Copyright 2002–2025 BellyBelly, All Rights Reserved.

Know What's Normal What To Expect  

Every Week Of Your Pregnancy

 

Close
Close
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Getting Pregnant
    • Conception
    • Two Week Diaries
    • Conception Calculator
      • Conception Calculator
      • Ovulation Calculator
  • Pregnancy
    • Pregnancy Articles
    • Pregnancy Week By Week
    • Pregnancy Symptoms
    • Pregnancy Calculator
      • Pregnancy Calculator
      • Reverse Due Date Calculator
    • Pregnancy Journals
      • Irene’s Pregnancy Journal
      • Pregnancy Diaries
      • Diary of Ambah article
      • Diary of Belinda article
      • Diary of Rachael article
      • Diary of Sherie
      • Diary of Janelle
      • Diary of Sharon
      • Diary of Lucy
      • Diary of Kathryn
      • Diary of Julie
    • Prenatal / Perinatal
  • Birth
    • Birth Articles
    • Doulas
    • Midwives
    • Birth Diaries
  • Mothers
    • Mother Articles
    • Post Natal/Post Partum
  • Baby
    • Baby Articles
    • Baby Week By Week
    • Star Signs For Baby
  • Sleep
    • Sleep
    • Conception Sleep
    • Pregnancy Sleep
    • Infant / Baby Sleep
      • Infant Sleep
      • Baby Sleep
    • Toddler Sleep
    • Weaning / Feeding Sleep
      • Feeding Sleep
      • Bottle Sleep
      • Formula Sleep
      • Weaning Sleep
    • Child Sleep
    • Adult / Family Sleep
      • Mothers Sleep
      • Fathers Sleep
      • Family Sleep
      • Cosleeping
  • Baby Names
    • Baby Names
    • Baby Boy Names
    • Baby Girl Names
    • Gender-Neutral Baby Names
    • Unique Baby Names
  • Breastfeeding
    • Breastfeeding Articles
    • Breastfeeding Week by Week
    • Lactation Cookies
  • Toddler
  • Child
  • Men/Dads
  • Parenting
  • Health Lifestyle
    • Health
      • General Health
      • Cooking & Recipes
      • Meal Planning
      • Exercise
    • Lifestyle
      • Family Travel
      • Relationships
      • Men/Dads
  • General
    • Forum
    • Product Reviews
    • Competitions
  • Advertise

© Copyright 2002–2025 BellyBelly, All Rights Reserved.