Some questions about being induced...

[Tobily]

Much will depend on how you're going to be induced.

If you are going to have your waters broken, and that sends you straight into labour, you will be treated the same as a woman who goes into spontaneous labour once your labour is established.

If you are having syntocinon (drip) then there are very marked differences to a spontaneous labour.

1) are you able to move around as you would if you werent being induced in labour??

You will need to be on monitors to make sure that the baby is coping well with the dose of synto that you're being given. You're also hooked up to an IV line. This will usually keep you out of the shower and confined to the area around your bed. You shouldn't have to be ON the bed though, you can sit on a birth ball, stand, lean over the bed etc you just can't "wander".

2) are you still allowed to get in a bath???

Some hospitals will not allow you to use baths after your waters have broken but you can shower. If you're on the drip you probably won't be able to use either as you will have a fair bit of equipment attached (IV lines and monitors) which makes showering a bit hard.

3) are u allowed to pee naturally or do they insert a catheda (sp)?

Catheter won't be done unless you have an epidural - worth noting that full synto inductions (not augmentation, inductions where you're on higher dose synto from the beginning) can have epidural uptakes around 80% or more.

4) is there a limit of how long your on the syntocin for? like no more than 24 hours or something?

Most hospitals would not continue with synto past 24 hours before wanting to do a c/section, unless you were very close to birthing. The longest I have seen someone on synto was 19 hours.

5) does it hurt more than if your body was to do everything without the drugs??

Usually, yes. This is why we see higher epidural uptake in induced labours. Synto is particularly brutal.

If you are going ahead with the induction, ask to have your waters broken first and negotiate some time to see what happens - as many hours as you can get. In that time walk, walk, walk, move around, stimulate acupressure points - do whatever you can to get labour going. Anything you can do to avoid synto is probably going to make for an easier time for both you and your bub.

And finally, you can always ask for monitoring to reassure you and your caregiver that your baby is doing well if you want to hold off a bit longer. Induction should be completely your decision and if your baby is going along fine, waiting even just a few more days may be all you need to get going on your own.

Good luck