Induction - what happens?

[Ngala]

G'day everyone.

I am due for induction this Sunday the 22nd of July.

I've been told to come in at 1pm on Sunday to have gels inserted and if nothing progress's over night, waters will be broken at 8am Monday.

I havent really looked too much in to how induction happens, so was really hoping for peoples experience. I was hoping for my body to go in to labour naturally, but at yesterdays checkup cervix was not ready and my BP has been high for the last 6 weeks and it aint going down. So they decided its best to get this baby to come out to the big world.

So, do they insert the gels as soon as I get there or after will they wait a while? I understand that it may vary from hospital to hospital...
What exactly do these gels look like?! (I dont want to get the shock of my life when this massive tablets gets pulled out!!)
What can I expect to happen once the gels are inserted?
If the gels dont work, my waters will be broken - will labour start once the waters are broken?
If it doesnt and I need to go on the drip, how intense is it?
Is a induced labour much more harder than a natural one?
What are the chances of needing an emergency c/s??
How much stress will this put on me and my baby?

You know, I have had this inkling for a while now that this was going to happen and that I am going to end up having an emergency c/s. I am totally ready for this to happen.

Oh and also, I have not had any pre-labour or anything like that. CTG scans showed not one single BH!!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

If you want my story, it's on the links below - p34 of the preg diary (bottom of the page) or, in slightly less detail in the birth story link.

It was an unusual induction as I was already in labour, but a good warning to refuse monitoring and to rip the machine off if you have to!

[visitor1]

Im a tad different... i never had an induction...but i had an ARM with my daughter. I was however 6cm at the time to tho. But....to give u an idea of my situation.

I was 6cm.... no contractions were showin up on the machine but i knew i could feel them..and i must have been having them in order to be dilating? Anyhow.. i was decided to do ARM to get things moving a bit faster... once that was done... yep.. it sped it up alot. I went from 6-10 in 2 hours and the pain increased almost instantly. Was not unbearable but it def changed and then everything all of a sudden showed up on the monitors!

Im not sure how a full start to finish induction goes... i can just share that tiny bit of info i experianced.

[Ngala]

Ryn - Oh yes, I've ready your birth story!! Might read it again tho.

Kim - what is an ARM??

My sis was induced 2 weeks early with her son, but she was already 4 cm dialated by the time she went in and I think she may have started on the drip straight away. I just hope that my body starts to do something from now until Sunday!!

[visitor1]

ARM- Artificial Rupture of Membranes

IE: breaking ur waters

[Beach Mama]

Firstly congrats on meeting your princess so soon - yay!!! Time flies really doesnt it!

So, do they insert the gels as soon as I get there or after will they wait a while? Iwas admitted at 730pm and had my first lot of gel at 9pm and then at 8am...
What exactly do these gels look like?! (I dont want to get the shock of my life when this massive tablets gets pulled out!!) Its kind of like a plastic syringe thing (sounds worse than it is)
What can I expect to happen once the gels are inserted? I had mild period like pain and thats it - for some people it can be enough to triger contractions
If the gels dont work, my waters will be broken - will labour start once the waters are broken? It may be enough - its good if they can give you time between the waters breaking and going on the drip to give your body a chance - mine were broken at midday and i went on the drip at 230ish
If it doesnt and I need to go on the drip, how intense is it? Mine was started slow and didnt build up to painful contractions until about 6pm...
Is a induced labour much more harder than a natural one? Havent had anatural one
What are the chances of needing an emergency c/s?? Slightly higher i think with induction but dont focus on it - lots of people are induced and have a v/birth hun..
How much stress will this put on me and my baby? I found that i was prepared so not too stressed - and baby was fine thoughout the whole 36 hours!!

I guess the main thing i would recommend is that you get them to give you lots of time at each stage to try and get your body to spontaneously go into labour which i had so for eg.... after the gel give it some time, once your waters are broken - give it some time - go for walk etc.... and on the drip- get them to start at the lowest possible amount.
This is what i had and then when i had to have an epidural and c/s in the end - i knew that i had given my body the best possible shot at a spontaneous labour and it just didnt happen. Also can you see if you can wait til your EDD or later with monitoring to give you the best chance at spontaneous labour.
Anyway hope it helps hun!!
Good luck!

[Ngala]

Kim - thanks! I never would have worked that one out.

Tan - thanks for the your answers I would say they would give me a decent amount of time to get the gels working as it will be done the day before. They pretty much told me to expect to have my baby on Monday. So can you walk around with the gel? Oh and I dont think they want me to go any longer cause my BP has been really high these days and I have been admitted to hospital twice and even with rest, BP has stayed elevated.

[Beach Mama]

You have to stay lying down for an hour or so after they put it in but then you can walk around - same with ARM, they like to monitor for a bit but after that i walked and did stairwells trying to bring it on! Yeah just read your other post - you get the best chance at a spontaneous labour hun!
******Lots of labour vibes being sent your way!!***

[seventh_heaven]

Hi Veronica,

As you probably know I have never been induced, however I have read a bit about it (because I always go overdue).

As your cervix isn't 'favourable' yet, I believe the doc's will have to help soften and enface it before they can induce labour contractions.

The doc's will ripen/soften the cervix by by using a prostaglandin gel. Once your body begins to soften sometimes it will begin labour contractions all by itself.

They may then break your waters - but only if your body is ready to move on. Breaking your waters usually speeds things up - but not always (apparently?).

If your cervix is soft and active labour has not established by itself they will administer a synthetic form of oxytocin via a drip to create contractions and dialate your cervix to a full 10cm.

It's hard to know how your body will react to being induced. Given your high BP I am sure that they will monitor you and your baby very closely.

Generally speaking being induced is more intense than allowing your body to 'do its thing' in it's own time. For that reason many women opt for pain relief during an induction. However apparently an induced labour is not always more intense, I have heard some people say 'I dont know what all the fuss was about'.

I believe that the chance of having an emergency c/section is much greater during an induced labour in comparision to a spontaneous labour. (I have heard figures up 30% when doctors intervene).

However, it comes down to weighing up the risks. Your doc's have been concerned for some time now - so I assume that the risk of waiting outweigh the risks of intervention. Be sure to question them about 'weighing up the risks' so that you feel informed.

(Did you hear the doc's mention your 'Bishops score' - which is basically a calculation of how ready your body to give birth?)

xo Dee.

[Cherie]

I was 6cm.... no contractions were showin up on the machine but i knew i could feel them..and i must have been having them in order to be dilating?

I was the complete opposite LOL. My waters broke 1am Monday morning ... at 9am Wednesday morning I was induced with a syntocinon drip. After increasing the dosage quite a bit, the CTG monitor showed that I was having contractions, but I couldn't feel a thing, and my cervix wasn't effaced or dilated.

[~Saram~]

Hi I was induced with DS at 36wks due to BP but was already 4cm so went straight to ARM and the drip. I left my dr surgery at 1pm, 1:30pm my waters were broken (not painful as I was already 4cm and baby was low) but the thing they break your waters with does look a bit scary. I had my first contrax at 1:40 but they wanted the contrax 2 min apart so the drip went in at 2. They kpt turning it up until contrax were 2 min apart and 30-45 sec long. I spent most of the time hanging onto the bed rail, rocking and squating thru the contrax and they weren't that bad. By 3:30pm I had some gas and was on all fours at 8cm, unfortunately :-) I pulled my drip out about here and they decided to let me go and see how we went. By 4pm I was fully dilated however it took me 2hrs to push as th stupid dr would only let me push on my back on the bed (sucky dr) my ds was born at 6:09pm.

In comparison my second labour I had just ARM and the labout was A LOT more painful, contraction were on top of each other and my DD was born 3hrs after ARM, 2 hrs after my contraction were established.

My advice is to stay on your feet, use the shower, relax and use your visualisation. Labour in the bathroom as they can't do continuous monitoring in there if it'sannoying you (tell them you have to go to the loo if they don't want to let you go) Don't get hung up on it going to be more painful as when your uptight it is harder for your body to labour and it hurts more.

What position is bubs in? If you have time it is a good idea to visit a chiro before the induction to make ure your pelvis is in alignment. Good luck and all the best

[cruemum]

I had the first lot of gels (like big syringe)inserted at 8pm and was monitored for next half hour. The second lot was put in at 6:30 the next morning as the first lot had done nothing. Was on and off monitoring for several hours, apart from when there was a blackout and the hospital was on emergency power only, which was a weird experience.
My waters were broken at about 12pm and I was only 4cms dilated and was monitored again and FINALLY Jensen made his appearance at 14:14.
His birth was different and harder than my first.
Hope this helps, and Good luck with your delivery and enjoy your beatiful baby.

[Ngala]

Thanks everyone for sharing your induction experiences. Its starting to be clear what should happen on Sunday. I am going to make sure that I ask the midwives on Saturday when I go in my BP check and monitoring exactly what happens.

Dee - nah I had no mention of any bishops score or exactly how unfavourable my cervix was but the dr pretty much said he couldnt feel for it, I heard him mention 2cm so maybe thats how far his fingers were off?? Thanks for all your info, you have definitely done your research!

Sara - bub is head down and was 3/5 engaged when checking yesterday morning. When I was having my CTG hooked up last night about 8.30pm the midwife commented that bub is well and truly in the cervix and had a little bit of difficulties working out what was what.

[mbear]

Ngala, good luck on sunday hon.
Just thought i would share, my SIL had her baby 2 weeks ago.....she was induced.

She was 2 weeks overdue - and not a sign of ANYTHING. Was admitted to hossi on the thursday...at around 4pm, had the gel inserted at 630pm. (the midwives told her it may take up to 6 GEL thingys to get started !! neveer heard of that before, she just had the one !!).
Started feeling contractions at 1030pm. By 230am she was 9cm dilated and her waters STILL had not broken !!!. They broke her waters, and bubs was born around 4am.

She said it was more painful than #1 birth (natural), a lot more intense, and emotional.......but bubs was healthy and as any mother would say.....worth it !!!

[Ngala]

WOW they thought 6 gels??!! See I am a lil worried that they think it going to take so long for things to get started for me, thats why they have got me to come in at 1pm.

But I should worry because its not going to help my body out is it?!

[mbear]

is it coz they have beds avail at 1pm? Worrying is only natural......enjoy this time with your partner and relaxxxx over the next few days...your gonna need it X

[~Debbie~]

This is my very long story. Mind you, it has now been shortened twice.

Arrived at hospital at 5.30pm. Straight into labour room. The midwife put me onto a monitor to monitor baby’s heart beat and the uterus movements – to check for contractions etc. Baby beating away strongly. About 9pm, obs came in, (was running late) and did an internal, declared that the cervix was still firm enough to go ahead with the inducement. If it was to soft, he would of sent me home, as inducing me then would of brought the labour on to fast.

So, he puts in a tape. Has some more technical name, but, basically, a long string, about the width of a shoe string, thin, maybe about 20cm long, that was sorta folded up and inserted. What I imagined happened is that after it was inserted, it was allowed to ‘unroll’. Obs says to me, you will have an ‘uncomfortable night’ so, have a couple panadol, and a sleeping tablet, and try and get some sleep. Obs says he will be back about 7am to do another internal, check progress, insert the drip, and break my waters. Darren and I talked about what he should do, as he was going to have to sleep on a fold out sofa bed, and he is quite tall, and I didn’t think he would sleep very well. So, we decided that he should go home, and come back in about 6am.

So, back onto the monitor, for about 45min, till about 10am, and then at 11am, midwife checked my blood pressure etc, gives me tablets, and says she will be back at 2am to monitor baby again. Good night she says.

So, I laying in this bed, trying to get some sleep, but, I just start getting pains, cramps in my front, and really sore hips and thighs, but, nothing in my back.. So, about 12midnight, I get up, start walking around the room, pacing the corridors etc, thinking “This must be what the obs meant by uncomfortable, but, geez, how did he expect me to get some sleep!’, I wondered if I should ask the midwife if this was normal, but, I didn’t, thinking, well, this is what I choose to do, so, deal with it. That was my thinking.

Anyway, 2am comes along, midwife comes in, asks how I was going, told her cramps are really bad, and just bang bang, one after the other, been like that for about 2hours. Sometimes a few minutes gap, but, mostly just one after the other. She says, ‘hmmmm, strange’, and does an internal. Tells me I am 4 – 5 cm dilated!!!. Bugger me, those pains where contractions. How dopey am I. Goes to show what you can do hey, got that far without any help. She removes the tape, as it is bringing it on to fast. Puts the monitors on, and just as she picked up the baby’s heart beat, he dropped right down, and his heart beat dropped to about 60bpm (I think - not sure, but it was really low) from 130-140bpm. She panicked, (well, calmly panicked) and hit all the emergency buttons. Midwifes came racing from everywhere, but, after a couple of seconds, it picked back up, and carried on. At that stage, she wasn’t sure why it had dropped, but, she said if it does it again, then I will have a c/section. Darren was called in, obs was called in. By this time, midwife had done another internal, where she confirmed that the drop in his heart beat was caused by him dropping down. And he was now stable.

Did I want gas – YES PLEASE!!

So, there I was 3am, fully in labour. It was not that bad. At the time, sure it felt bad, I had small dose of morphine about 4ish I guess, which took the edge off it. No pethadine. My midwife was very firm, and when I asked for more, she told me that I was doing good, and that I didn’t need it. At the time, I was annoyed at her, but, looking back, she was right, and I was doing ok. IYKWIM. I am glad that she was hard on me for that reason.

Whilst having contractions, I wanted everything under the sun, was thinking illogically. But, in those breaks in between, was thinking more logically. Midwife told me that the morphine had worked on me. During contractions, I told her the morphine was a heap of ***** wasn’t doing anything, and that the gas didn’t do anything either. Between contractions, I could think straighter, and realised that it was working, and that she was right.

Midwife also did lots of monitoring of baby’s heart beat. Not strapped on, she just knelt beside me, and held the monitor on my tummy. And that was so reassuring to hear his little heart.

Anyway, apparently, about 5.30, started to need to push. Well, I didn’t think I needed to, but, midwife does internal, which by now is not the most comfortable, as she is doing it while I am having contractions, and I did hate that, and she says, right, its time to push.

After each contraction/pushing session (maybe about 5pushs per contraction) she would monitor baby’s heart. And I focused on that a lot. Each time I heard his little heart going strong, I felt good. I was disappointed when she wouldn’t get time to monitor between contractions. I seemed to have 2 close together ones, then a break, then another one, then a break, and then back to the 2 close together ones. Well, that’s how I remembered it. At some point, my waters broke on their own as well.

Midwife kept saying just 30more minutes, baby will be here. I pushed for 2 hours, my muscles where to strong, and weren’t letting the baby thru. I could feel her massaging the perineum (which didn’t hurt at all) but, to no avail. Didn’t work. Obs came in, says if he doesn’t come out soon, will have to get forceps or vacuum. Again, during contractions, would of agreed to anything. Between contractions, I knew I didn’t want that, and I focused on the fact that the baby’s heart beat was still strong, so I knew he was still ok.

So, push push push, felt baby’s head etc, but, still nothing. Started to tear internally, at this point, obs says we need to do an episiotomy, So, a few injections (Darren says he just pumped heaps of local in) and cut. Could feel him cutting, but didn’t hurt. Just sorta felt the pulling type sensation, but, no pain. I asked the midwife (2 of them by this stage, shift changeover) if it was done, and she said yep. I wonder if I had a mirror, how inspiring it would have been for me to have seen that as well. Has worked for some woman. But, then again, wouldn’t of changed the fact that I was going to tear, so perhaps better it was slower.

I think it was another push, she told me to pant while she twisted him, and then, it felt like a whole bunch of tadpoles coming out. I felt the head come thru, and I was expecting then to have to push or something to get the shoulders thru, but nope. The most amazing thing, there was this baby on my chest.

When I heard Aiden cry for the first time, I said I will do this again, it was all worth it. Truly, the pain had gone. It was like it had never happened. I completely forgot about it as I looked at this little baby. (it came back to me later ) but, everyone says you forget about the pain when they give you the baby, I used to think what a crock of ****e, how could you forget something like that. But, truly, it really happens. Its amazing. No words there to describe it.

So I wonder, if I wasn’t induced, I would have had a longer labour. If I had a longer labour, would I have still lasted that 2 hours? Maybe if I wasn’t induced, I would of being more tired, and would of needed that help. Who knows.

But, I certainly would not describe the labour as horrid, and my experience, I don’t think was bad, or any different to how a normal labour could go. It hasn’t resulted in me wanting to advise peoples against it or anything. If people ask me, as far as I am concerned, my labour, yeah, it did happen faster then it should have, happened faster then the obs said it would. He was born around about the same time the obs was meant to be breaking my waters. And for that, it was just me. No one thought it would happen so quick, and they are the experts.

Honestly, I think I had a great experience. Being induced, I was a lot more relaxed going into hospital, there was no mad rush, I had everything, time to get used to my surroundings, the midwife etc.

[naomi54]

I was induced, when i went into hossy, they checked me and i was already 2cms dilated so they didnt do the gels.
They gave me a stretch and sweep early in the morning which brought on contractions, they the broke my waters, which i didnt find painful at all (could have been the gas working too! LOL) but this varies from person to person, i didnt need the drip, but i was on the verge of a c/section, but thankfully i didnt need one, in the end they used forcepts

I only suggest one thing, in regards to pain relief, if you decide to opt for an epidural at any stage, make sure they check you (internal) before giving it to you. They didnt me and it slowed things down dramatically as i was basically ready to push when they gave it to me, it ended up being a very long and complicated labour, i ended up having forceps, I dont want to scare you, but wanted you to be alert and know they are SUPPOSED to check you before giving you the epi, as givin it to late in labour can slow even stop labour, bringing on the chances of bubs and your self distressing.
Although this varies again from person to person and hospital to hospital.

Goodluck on Sunday, am sending you truck loads of labour vibes!!
Thinkin of you! xoxox