Scared about being induced in 2 days

Okay so I'm 41 weeks tomorrow. Had my last dr appt on Wednesday where I agreed to book an induction for Tuesday night/Wednesday (19th/20th). To be honest I thought I'd go into labour before then.

I've had 2 S&Ss, lost my plug and have been having contractions that are increasing in regularity and intensity but are only uncomfortable not painful (ie not in labour!). I was 1cm dilated on Wednesday at drs and midwife said I was the same on Saturday when I had my second s&s.

I have spent a good portion of this pregnancy focussing on being positive and gathering information on everything. I have felt empowered and excited about my birth journey until yesterday morning where I woke up and it hit me. I'm terrified. I doubt I'll go into labour naturally before Tuesday afternoon. I feel like I've cheated myself and my baby out of a natural birth by agreeing to the induction and not fighting to postpone it. I no longer feel empowered. I feel helpless and scared.

I just want to curl up in a ball and be left the hell alone by medicos, well meaning hubby and parents and friends. I don't even want to go to the hospital at all. I don't want anyone to touch me. I just want to hide in a cave somewhere with just me and my baby. I sound bonkers but it is how I feel.

I want and need to be empowered again or this birth is going to turn to **** I just know it. I might as well go straight to a c-section if I can't get my head back in the right place. DH and my mum (who is staying with us ATM) try to be supportive but just sprout freaking statistics at me and tell me why they want to induce me etc and that nothing else matters except a healthy baby at the end yadayada. True but not true you know.

Has anyone else felt like this and what did you do to get over it. Positive induction stories? Even if you didn't feel like this can you offer any positive but not patronizing affirmations please? I don't know, I just need some help to get my birthing earth mumma mojo back and to stop crying about it and I'm not getting what I need from my support team IRL. They just don't get it.

I'm stuck in this negative and freaked out mindset and just want to give up (or run away ;) ). I need to give birth in just over 48 hours and I'm exhausted from the stressing.


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Oh Hun!

I can't offer the positive induction story, but I can kind of relate to having the date set for induction. You do feel like your cheating yourself and bubba, but what can you do. I ended up having the luxury of canceling mine, but I wasn't overdue.

I can vouch for the positive thinking though.
Let's make a list of some positives you have right now:
1. Your body is already doing something, you are 1cm and having plenty of bh, which in my experience is a great thing. So if you are induced your body and bubba are in a positive place.
2. You are still healthy, doctors are happy and apart from this hiccup you are good to go.
3. Baby is happy. Your bubba is sitting there happy feeding off those mental strength vibes you've been giving it.
4. Baby won't know it's bday was picked for it :) only you do. Regardless of what happens it will be ignorant!
5. There are lots of positive induction success stories ( which im sure will come)

Now I was the same as you trying to be empowered as possible. It pays off.
Things that helped me were:
- looking up essential oils for inducing. I only ended up using rose and lavender in a bath, every day for 2 weeks with lavender only, then only two days with both. I think the rose worked for me.
- look up pressure points you can massage that are meant to induce. I used the ones on my hands (fatty bit between thumb and pointer) and the points on your ankles.
- dtd but try and get in the mood ;)
- nipple stimulation.
- get on all fours and Rock forward and back, also I did some yoga poses (via wii fit lol) mainly aimed on being on all fours etc.

Really hoping you come naturally, just for your mindset, but I think you'll do great regardless. Stay strong hun!

X

Oh and keep on the raspeberry leaf. Regardless of how labour starts I think it will help the labour :)

Do you want to talk it out some more?

Why are you being induced? I never quite understand inductions that are booked in advance. Either mother or baby's health is in immediate risk and you need an induction, or you don't? Perhaps if you could discuss why you need to be induced that will help you find your resolve and strength again?

If it is just because of dates then perhaps you can call up the hospital and let them know you plan to go longer before inducing and you are not even overdue yet. You might be surprised to find that no-one minds if you cancel the induction if that's what you choose, but you need to speak up.

This was my baby number three and i had never
Gone over due date before.
Four weeks ago today I was booked in for induction at 41 weeks. I had the whole week before pre labour and was pretty sure I was having this baby before induction day as I was walking around 3 cm dilated, loosing bits of plug, lots of contractions but they always fizzled out :-( tried everything to get this baby out buy nothing was working....I was so down and angry with my body for not having this baby and petrified of induction just like you.,,
On the day before induction we took the kids to my parents to stay with them, came home and went out for dinner with dh, had a shower and washed my hair, relaxed and mentally prepared myself for the next morning, I had to be at hossy for induction at 6.30am. I went to bed knowing and accepting that tomorrow I would have my baby no matter what and hoping nothing went pear shaped...
Just before midnight my water broke! Went into hossy and they got me and dh to stay the night as we were to come in at 6.30am anyway. If things happened to progress them great, if not I was in there a anyway and induction would go ahead.
No proper contractions started till 2.30am and ds2 was born 40 minutes later at 3.10am!
So I missed my induction by 3hrs.
I guess I just wanted to reassure you that miracles do happen and this baby can come at anytime! Stay positive and keep doing everything you can to get it out! Walks, climbing stairs, raspberry leaf tea, sex, eating a whole fresh pineapple, have a hot bath etc.... You never know ;-)
Everybody on here was great support for me when I was freaking out about induction and somebody said we aren't really over due until 42 weeks so maybe you can talk to your Ob about going till the end of the week? Xx

I had an amazing induction birth. It went so perfectly, my body responded to the syntocin, it went quickly and I did it without pain relief (gas/air only). I was worried too but I always had faith in my body that I could do it. (yes, granted I had done it all once before but not an induction so I didn't know how different it was going to be to my first labour).

Have faith! You were made to do this!! Trust yourself and your instincts. You can do this!!!

All three of my births were inductions, first two for medical reasons and the last for post dates. My first was long but I wasn't pushed into anything or told I wasn't progressing fast enough. What I did learn is that you have the right to say no to things. Also being induced does not mean stuck on the bed. I walked around with all three inductions, with my last I made them walk and hold monitor on when they wanted to do an ECG etc. I always wasn't in mentally prepared with I will do what I want and what is best for me and the babies. With my last as I was 2-3 cm at the start they actually broke my waters and gave me two hours to walk the hospital grounds to see if that would work but it didn't so needed the drip. They strayed it slowly and built it up over an hour to get to regular contractions.

My first induction was 17hours of labour but took ages to get it started due to cervix not being ready

Second was 3 hrs 45min of labour but still took awhile to start

Third 3hrs 40min from regular contractions. 4 hrs 30 from start of drip. And just under 7 from break off waters.

Hope this helps you. Good luck.

Just wanted to provide some validation for your feelings.

Remember you don't have to do anything. You don't have to turn up to the appointment, and you don't have to have an induction at all.

Perhaps we should unpack some of the things people are telling you? Do you have a medical condition indicating induction is important? Have you had any monitoring of your placenta or amniotic fluid?

If you don't want to be induced tomorrow you don't have to be! You can ring and ask to be pushed back a few more days. Most of the time the doctor is trying to help you, and will think that's what you want unless you say something.

What difference does it make to your dh or mil if it's tomorrow or Friday? This is your baby and your body!!!

Hope im not speaking out of place, if our going to go with the docs view and get induced than you will be fine, keep positive and try to keep mobile if you can. BUT i was keen to avoid induction, i agreed to go in every other day (and it was a 40 minute drive) to get scans and check the baby was ok, if all was good with bubba i was going to go to 42 weeks then see. i had a s and s on 41+6 and was seeing the doc the next day to talk induction. i went into labour at 1am that night. if you are fine, and baby is being closely monitored and is ok then the cant force you to do anything. maybe have a chat to a midwife when you next go in, the doc says what the doc HAS to say to cover his arse....the midwife helped me by giving me her honest opinion about WHY the doc was saying what he was.
Whichever you choose, feel empowered!!!! Your doing and amazing thing and you will be awesome!

You can change your mind it's not like they can force you to be induced. If its just post dates ask for more monitoring instead until you go into labour. I was 42 weeks when I went into labour with DS (well actually i'd been in labour for 3 days before having him). If I was you I'd not get induced that soon especially if it's causing you so much anxiety. Have a think about it some more and maybe put off being induced a bit longer to give yourself time to labour naturally.

:hug:

being induced is alot to process, especially if you have strong feelings about the way you wamted to birth.

i agree that if there's no medical reason you can ask for further monitoring instead.

if you don't feel able to, then we can all talk through the process & any fears you have. embrace it & arm yourself with information so you take back the power - things like asking for wireless monitoring, finding out what they expect (my hospital expected a 'good' contraction every 10 minutes) etc

i was induced with my ds & my body wasnt ready at all (i had gd) & i didnt end up with a c-section.

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Oh dantri sort to see your feeling like this Hun, *hugs*. I don't have any positive stories but can understand how your feeling. There are some great ideas in here, I hope you find something/someone who can help. Just sending my thoughts and positive vibes your way Hun, thinking of you.

I helped my sister have a very empowering induction two years ago. She'd had #1 baby at 41+3 spontaneously and vaginally and went to 42 with #2 baby, at which point she agreed to induction.

Ask them to start as low key as possible. Gels, night before. Two doses. My sister didn't have gels but I'm sure there are rules like you need to remain horizontal for a certain amount of time after they are administered, no going to the loo, etc. Make sure you ASK and follow the rules, to give the gels the most chance to work as possible.

Come morning, if you're still there, ask for the next least invasive thing - AROM. Once they've ruptured your membranes, get walking. Get rocking, bouncing on a fit ball, anything. If they decide you need monitoring, ask for wireless monitoring.

Actually, you need to ask for that straight up - as soon as you are admitted. At my sister's hospital, they only had one room with a wireless monitor and if she hadn't requested it when she arrived, she'd have been put in another suite and told she couldn't access the wireless monitor once the induction had started.

So, after AROM - get moving. Movement is the best thing to start contractions. Ask for a few hours for things to start off naturally. Push for as long as you can. If they say 1hr, ask for 2. Then get out of the room and walk the hospital grounds - if they can't find you, they can't start the drip ;)

Once YOU are happy that you've given your body a chance and things aren't happening, head back in and ask them to start the synto drip on half the strength they normally would. Then ask them to delay increasing it, as much as possible.

It sounds like your body is getting itself all ready and I wouldn't be surprised if a dose of gels or AROM is all that's needed to kick you off. But if you have to get onto the synto drip, that's ok. Just do what I said above.

If you're worried that you won't remember all these things - can you get a birth partner/doula who will be a strong advocate for you? That's what I was for my sister. I was the one who asked for the wireless monitor. I asked for the half dose of synto. I asked them to delay increasing it and by the end, they had turned the synto off and my sister was doing it all herself.

You can do this too. You can be strong and empowered - just because you're being induced doesn't strip you of all your rights.

Hang in there :hug:

At work so have to be quick, but I was induced via syntocin as waters broke with GBS, had the most amazing birth with gas only. Hope you still get the birth you want, just plan to work through all the decisions one at a time. Sending you natural labour vibes for today x x


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I agree with the others that you should speak to your dr and say you're not ready. Obviously if there is a genuine reason then it goes ahead but if its purely an arbitrary date then you have options.

I had an induction with DD1 due to increased blood pressure at 40+4. She was so far from ready - no dilation, no prelabour. It was long, but that's because we did things at my pace - very slow! - but we got there on our own eventually without instruments. As Sloane said, I had wireless monitoring so I could still move around, go in the shower etc. An induction doesn't have to mean you are flat on your back strapped to a bed.

Huge hugs to you. Its never nice to feel you've lost control over your own fate but you definitely have ways of taking that control back, whichever way your LO's birth goes from here

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Has anyone else felt like this and what did you do to get over it. Positive induction stories?

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Try to stay positive. There is still time!

My stories:
DS 11 days "overdue". I was booked in to be induced on day 12 (Thursday) because the hospital was booked out for the wednesday lol!. I went into labour on my own on the Wednesday morning about 1.30am. He was born after a drug free labour at about 12.45pm. No intervention at all.

DD 7 days "overdue". Booked in to be induced day 8 (saturday) - I desperately wanted her out as I had really bad pain from a fall but that was the earliest I could get. I had S&S on my EDD at which time my ob said I was already 2cms. Acupunture 3 times during that week. Friday morning came & went without any sign of labour. I posted on FB about 6pm that bubs wasn't coming that day. An hour later, my waters broke & DD arrived about 9.25pm. Again, no drugs or intervention apart from the S&S a week earlier.

So there you go - 2 positive stories. I like to think that the "eviction" date scared them out :lol: It sounds like you are nearly ready and your body is well prepared. Good luck :)

Also, if you can, relax as much as possible - do so. Watch an easy movie - something light, not to deep. Have a bath with candles & bubbles and a good book. Go for a walk somewhere peaceful, along a river or beach if you can. If there are jobs that you feel "need" to be done before the birth and are therefore stressing you out, do them (or better yet - get someone else to do them ;)) During my antenatal classes with DS, the midwive said that labour will often begin in the early hours of the morning because that is when we are most relaxed. It turned out to be true with my DS.

I wonder if your labour is not progressing due to your worry about the up coming induction? Rather than focus on the induction, try to think about this baby coming, on its own.... I'd take little_o's advice and have a bath, take some time for yourself just being.

Can you speak to your Dr about the induction and see if you can put it off a little longer (if you want to?). Otherwise I'd be as proactive as possible and make it clear how you want to be induced, along the lines of what OceanPrincess suggested. That way you have some control over the process.

Dantri I had an induction with my first two children and they were both absolutley amazingly births!!! I loved them!!! If you would like I am more than happy to forward you my birth stories for you to have a read.
If you do end up with an induction please don't give up on any of your birth/labour requests as you can still have have an active labour with an induction. Both of mine were.
Sending you heaps of labour vibes!!

I love you guys. I really do. Thank you.

DH woke up to my trying to be silent meltdown last night and we ended up staying up until almost 4am crying and talking it out. He listened (properly) and helped me work through some of the junk in my head.

To answer some questions, I've had a textbook pre nancy and am only being induced due to dates. My dr I've only seen twice as the one I've been seeing has gone on holidays. Both ladies are just lovely and this doc didn't bully bully me into it (apart from the normal "post 7 days" risk increase statistics that she presented factually). I went with the flow too much and they only do one induction a day (small regional private hospital) so we had to schedule and she goes away on Thursday. She bumped another lady or rostered more staff to fit me in. now feel I've backed myself into a corner. Indont know why i was so blaise about it.

After unpacking it with DH I think the main issue here for me is the fact that I don't have a relationship with my caregivers because I haven't had the time/opportunity to build one. They are all new to me. I'm not 100% comfortable with being induced at 40+8 if my body isn't ready. I'm scared about complications as well but know if there is a medical reason for them I can process them. It's the trust thing I think at the root of my anxieties.

DH and I have come up with a plan to get me back on track to be a birthing goddess and rock this birth :). I left a message for my doctor to call me back to discuss a few things. She just called and i know what to xpect tomorrow afternoon and she is fully supportive of trying to go as natural as possible and reassured me that it is my body and I'm still in control. She gave me reassuring stats on inductions and after i told her what the midwife said this morning (see next paragraph) and the fact that I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders she said it sounds like i could go into labour before the induction. I think i mainly needed reassurance to know that my right to make decisions on my care won't be taken away. I would prefer to go into spontaneous labour and would have preferred to wait a little longer until induction day but feel at peace with the decision I have made. DH and I also spoke about our plan in the hospital to ask for some time to discuss alone any decisions that need to made (except emergencies of course) so that we can maintain that feeling of control and choice. We are just to easy going sometimes and need to be more assertive. We are just going to ask for time to discuss for all the decisions that way we won't cut ourselves short.

Also, my mum persuaded me to go back to the hospital for a third S&S (instead of running away and refusing to let anyone touch me ever again) and it found that i am now 2cms dilated bubs is almost fully engaged. Midwife was lovely and said bubs is in optimal position and snuggled nicely in my pelvis. She did a thorough sweep and said she hopes to see me on her nxt shift tomorrow morning. So my body is making progress and I'm hoping to go into labour before tomorrow or at the very least have my cervix ready for my waters to be broken and to go it alone from there. I've had ouchy cramping since and a bloody show. :) I feel like these things are possibilities now.

I had reflexology this morning and went for a big walk around the paddocks this afternoon. I'm about to have a nap as I'm exhausted. Going to have a bath with my clary sage and rose oils tonight and get DH to give my aching hips and belly a massage with my special childbirth massage oil. Oh and I'm bouncing on that fit ball like a little kid.

I'm still scared but feel more settled and confident that I CAN do this! I'm going to print out this thread and put it in my little birth affirmation book to refer to during labour because your answers are exactly what I needed to read/hear!

I was hesitant to post but so glad i did. I feel so cared for and supported by all of your responses. Thank you all so much. I will keep you all in the loop as to how the next couple of days pan out. I am now able to put anxiety aside to be excited that I finally get to be a mummy in a couple more sleeps.

Please keep sending labour vibes though.


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Oh and liviam, I'd love to read your birth stories if that is okay. Can you send through PM or do you need my email addy? Let me know.


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I had an induction with DD1 when i was 2cm dilated and after a S&S. Gels at 5pm, went to bed at 10, woke up at 5 with contrax and SROM, babe arrived at 8.20am with no other assistance. :D

I'm glad you've got to a better place in your head about this. Reading the progression of your thoughts through this thread, it really sounds to me like your head and your body are very ready to get into the business end of things. Prelabour - check, cervix dilating - check, baby engaged - check, emotional block dealt with and put to rest - check. You are in a really good position now to totally go and do this birth thing and do it well.

I had 2 inductions, one with 1 dose of gels and 1 with AROM only and they were both great, the second one really awesome. For me both inductions were kicked off by the induction method but from then on it progressed just like a spontaneous labour, minus the rush to hospital!
Let me tell you, you and your baby are waaaaay more ready than I was before either of my inductions. I've never had a baby engaged before labour kicked off and never felt a pre-induction crampy BH thingy. But twice I went from that place to pushing a baby out a few hours later so it is definitely a very real possibility for you when you are soooo close!
Good luck!

dantri, it sounds to me that your labour - and your baby - is very, very close.

Baby is nearly here and you will be ready to birth very soon. Maybe keep an open mind about being flexible and pushing back that induction date if things are still going well. I don't think you need to be induced, all you probably need is space and loving care. I hope you get it!

Wishing you a beautiful birth

I would say things seem very reassuring for either a natural labour, or very little intervention. I hope it does happen, but glad to hear that you have plans in mind if things dont go as expected. Can't wait to hear about your impending labour, good luck xx

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Dantri - I had two amazing inductions, and felt supported in my desire to have as much or as little intervention as I wanted. If you are happy with being induced and have educated yourself on the process and are at peace with this decision, then it's the right one for you. If you are not, then feel empowered to say so, because you don't have to do anything you don't want to - none of your caregivers will think any less of you! Like you, I didn't want to be induced with my first birth, I read everything there was to know about it and was scared I would end up with a C section and regret my decision later. However once I had decided what I wanted to do, and spoke at length with my OB and the midwives, I knew that there was nothing for me to regret because I was making an informed decision based on what I could deal with.

With my inductions, I had gels for bubs #1, then had my waters broken and from there, my body did what is was supposed to on it's own. WIth bubs #2 it was just waters broken and away we went, no gels needed. Two hours both times from waters breaking to birth. Everyone is different, so a short labour isn't what anyone should be aiming for of course, but the most important thing is that you feel as though the people who are looking after you know what you want and support whatever decision you make. I hope everything goes the way you would like it to, and look forward to hearing your good news very soon and joining you in the June bubs thread.
xxx

You sound in a much better place. Have a relaxing and romantic evening with DH (that can help get things moving too ;)) and focus on the empowered birth you have prepared so well for.

Dantri you are so going to rock this birth!! So looking forward to hearing about your birth and the BA!!

:happydance:

All the best for tonight hun( unless you've already snuck the little one out)! Xxx