Miss Heather - gels are a bit different to synthetic oxytocics (syntocinon in Aus or Pitocin in the USA) which is intravenous and doesn't stop being pumped into you until well after the labour (unless you're confident enough to tell them to take it out/stop if it gets too much or not what you want - have helped a couple of women achieve this in their labours - and no it didnt make their labour stop as much as they will tell you, which is the reason most object to stopping it in the first place). Gels just ripen the cervix - yes it can still hyperstimulate but its different to the drip. If your labour didn't start with the gels and/or waters breaking, they would have put you on the drip since all other avenues are exhausted. Some women are given gels and just get niggles and it doesn't take... so they need the drip.

A drip will highly likely prevent you from having a natural third stage also. Because your uterus is under the pump from the synto, they want to keep it going so you don't bleed. Its truly a cascade as they describe it, one thing leads to so many others.