Hey firsttimemum2007

epidurals associated with inductions depends on many factors...
  • how 'ready' your body is for labor
  • your labor support
  • your preparation for labor and birth
  • availability of epidural


I dont have figures, but alot of women who have inductions (specifically syntocinon) do have some form of pain relief...first time mums in particular have a high epidural rate, as the intensity of labor hits hard and fast, but may still last a good few hours

having contractions every 5 minutes is good...gives you and the baby time in between contractions to chill out and re energise...the hurry to get labor happening and the baby born is what often occurs in a hospital setting and leads to the 'cascade of intervention'

when your waters break...if your baby is an optimal position in the pelvis, their head will sit on the cervix promoting the release of hormones and giving the cervix the helping hand of gravity. If the baby is not in an optimal position, such as posterior, then you dont get these factors to help kick start labor

every labor and birth is different for every woman...so dont worry to much about the what if's focus instead on what you want for this birth and make it happen there are lots of posts on active birth etc

hope this helps

xx yogababy