Jac - i think it all depends on your body. My case was different in that i was already overdue. My induction was booked on Friday and i was almost 3 cm, and then on the Monday i was almost 4 when i went in. I had also been having regular contractions for 10 hours. I don't know, i might have done things differently if my circumstances were different.

But look at it this way, if you start with no drip you can always go on it after a few hours if nothing happens from the gel, but if you are on the drip, they generally don't turn it off (in case labour stops). I think i had a reasonable pain tollerance also, but i think you can't really predict these things until you are in them IYKWIM?. I also had a good support team with an excellent excellent doula who really help show me how to get things going and help me stay off the pain relief as long as possible.

I don't know about TENS but am planning on using it this time. You can always try it even if it doesn't work, you don't have much to lose.

I also had to have it b/c placenta was beginning not to function and fluid were low, but this was post dates also. For me, i also weighed up the risks and decided to proceed.

But if you obs isn't saying "no more than 3 days longer" like he did to me, than maybe is a concern but not critical at this stage. Def. speak to your obs about it, ask what the fluid levels are, and whats considered normal etc.

Good luck, its stressful and not an easy decision to make. But liek i said, stressing will on;y stop your labour, not help. Maybe have a relaxing massage or try some natural ways to get things going. EPO inserted vaginally is suppose to hep soften the cervix, so you might start going with them to see if you can gets things going quicker!

HTH