Being induced - help!

I'm a couple of days overdue, and have an induction booked for next Tuesday (going in Monday night to have the gel applied). Might be that the baby comes before then, but I just have this feeling he is too comfy in there and not going to budge!!

I saw my OB this afternoon, and my cervix is apparently nice and soft, and thinning, and about 0.5cm dilated. Sounds like everything else is progressing, but the baby just doesn't want to move down!!

I've heard horror stories about being induced - stronger, more painful contractions, more likely to need intervention etc... Can anyone give me some reassurance??

Thanks,
Bertie

Hi Bertie,
I was induced via syntocin drip due to my waters breaking, but not having established contractions yet.
I can't lie and have to say that it became very painful as the contractions came on strong and fast, which I believe is what led to me requesting an epidural.
Once the epi was in the pain relief was immense, though it also stopped me from feeling the need to push, hence when the m/w checked me I was 10cm dialated and ready to push - and could have been like that for quite some time.
After 20 minutes of pushing, with no tearing (only a graze) and no intervention needed, Aidyn was born into the world :)

So there you have it... I hope that wasn't a horror storry for you ;) I was pretty happy with how things turned out for Aidyn's birth.

Wishing you all the best and easy Labour Vibes for Tuesday!! :hug:

Hi Bertie,

I don't know much about being induced, but have the same questions as you, since it looks like I might be in the same situation.

I saw my midwife this morning, am 5 days o/d at the moment.
She is sending me for monitoring on Friday and Sunday (unless something happens in the meantime) and to see an OB on Friday (cos my dr is on leave) to talk about being induced.

So I talked to her a bit about what I can do to try to start off labour naturally, a my bubba is apparently all engaged and set to go, has been for 2 weeks, but nothings happening.

She said to try reflexology or acupuncture, which I've booked in for tomorrow, so here's hoping. She also said not to try castor oil -a maybe dark chocolate, curry or licorice instead.

Hi Bertie,

I was induced @ 37w5d with the gel due to high BP. My cervix had thinned as well and I was already 2-3cm dilated before the gel went in, so that certainly helps. I too had read lots of horror stories about being induced so the thought of having an induction was pretty overwhelming & scary. It didn't end up being as bad as I thought it would be though... don't get me wrong it was painful LOL but I thought it was going to be much worse.

I only needed the 1 lot of gel (at about 9:30am I think). They broke my waters at 4:35pm (which was when the contractions really kicked in), and Kynan was born at 8:05pm. I used the gas for the last few contractions before pushing.

Hope your little one decides to make a move before Tuesday! Good luck!!

Hey Bertie

I was induced as I was a week overdue.I was checked before they inserted the gel and found to be 1 cm dilated.I was also freaked out at the thought of more painful contractions but I only needed the one lot of gel to get going!I had the gel inserted at midnight, contractions started 1 hour later, then I had my waters broken by a midwife at 8am.By then the contractions were quite strong anyway but having my waters broken just kick started them more.I went up to the labour ward pretty soon after that.My contractions were quite painful anyway as Gemma was posterior and I only dilated to 9cm due to Gemma being to big to pass through my pelvis so I ended up having a c/s.

Goodluck........................

I was induced twice with some sort of a tablet, and was fine. As for whether or not it was more painful, well it was my first, and I have nothing else to compare it to lol. But all went well.

I was iduced and have to say it wasn't that bad. I had 2 lots of gel, my water broke naturally after the second lot of gel and i had the drip put in the next day. I was in established labour 1 hour after the drip was put in. They didn't really come on THAT fast in my opinion. I went into the shower and had the hot water running under my bump(had one of those on the long cord you can move around) luckly the contractions were only under my bump and no where else. I was in there for about 1.5hrs, then had the gas for the rest of it until i was pushing. I had a shot of pethadine but it didn't do a thing. I was pushing for 1.5hrs as she got stuck so had to have vacuum extraction. I never felt a difference when i was in transition, and it only took about 45mins to go from 5cms dilated to 10cms. The doctor actually told me he was surprised i didn't even need an epidural. So for me even though the birth was very traumatic the labour was way better than i had expected. Labour was 5 hours long.

I'll be looking at getting induced very soon which is worrying me too, I'm hoping it will happen naturally as my OB won't let me go past my due date. But my OB checked my cervix last Friday and it was very high and not soft or anything, so he decided against trying to induce me at that point as it may cause a harder labour and he wanted to wait and see how I'd go (due to a few medical issues). So in saying that the fact that your cervix has soften etc will probably make induction easier and you may not need intervention.

In previous pregnancies I'd been induced with the drip due to irregular contractions and I have to say it always made the labour suddenly a lot more painful and harder and with both I had epidurals.

Bertie, I wasn't induced for Nicholas, so I am afraid I can't help you. I just wanted to wish you all the best of luck and hope eveything goes smoothly.

Hi Bertie,

Induction is the start of one intervention that almost always leads to another intervention, be it pain relief, assisted delivery or a caeser which can be a result of a failed induction. As long as baby is safe and happy, (mum too) there is no reason for you to have a routine induction. You can have a post-dates scan to check that there is enough fluid and also blood flow through the placenta. Of course, any intervention carries risks, more often we are told about the risks for mum but not baby.

One thing you might like to do is check out the article I wrote on natural induction methods to try and get things going yourself here: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/...uction-methods

Other than that, you could just let baby come when he is ready. First pregnancies are often longer than subsequent (study has proven this) and dates are very often miscalculated especially with scans - how many times have you heard women being told they are having a 9 or 10 pounder and out pops a 5 or 6 pounder!

I know it's hard being patient for baby to arrive, but as long as you are both healthy, the best gift you can give to your baby is that of letting him come when he is ready and sets off the process himself.

Good luck!

*Edited to add: I was augmented with my first (labour had already started, but stalled so put on the drip) and I had an epidural after gas didn't do anything for me. Second birth I stayed home until 9cm and had a natural birth within minutes of arriving in hospital.

I was induced with DS on his due date due to Sciatica. I went in at 6pm (already 3cm), got the gel inserted at 8pm, had a few strong period pains, they took me down to the labour ward & gave me a few sleeping tablets as they didn't think I'd deliver that night and said they'd break my waters in the morning.
Slept for an hour but was woken to hellish contractions suddenly at 1am, straight back to the delivery suite, had him at 3.30am. I dilated too quickly so I couldn't have an epi. A midwife delivered him, I had him on all 4's. I had more intervention with my 1st labour and came out much worse after it.

My 1st labour came on naturally which I must say I did prefer. Even though it was a 9 hour labour the contractions came on gradually & I felt I could ease myself into it and ask for pain relief as I went along. With DS it was all so quick & I didn't enjoy the pain one bit, but being a 2nd labour that could have happened anyhow without being induced...who knows!
I also didn't like being given the gel at 8pm at night. I would have preferred to have it in the morning so at least sleep could have been an option the previous night.
Sometimes if your'e already 3cm they will just break your waters which I've heard can be really intense.

Wishing you luck! :D

Hi Bertie
I agre with BellyBelly.
Also the gel you are talking about is not as bad as the drip.
The reaon that the pain is stronger, especially with the drip, is that when labour starts normally the contractions (and thus the pain) build up slowly. This give your body time to produce it's own natural pain killers called endorphins. When you are induced the contractions start suddenly and your body doe not have the time to produce enough endorphins.
The gel acts on your cervix to encourage it to ripen. However the drip acts on your uterus to cause it to contract.

Hope this helps

Alan (Midwife)

Oooo Alan it's nice having someone agree with me in these forums! :) You're welcome back anytime ;)

Kelly wrote:

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Induction is the start of one intervention that almost always leads to another intervention, be it pain relief, assisted delivery or a caeser which can be a result of a failed induction.

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Yes this happened to me and the full story is in my birth story. My waters broke and I ended up with the syntocin drip after refusing it for hours beforehand. Cord was around Amy's neck twice and I had an emergency caesar.

Hi Induction guys!! It seems like only 7 months ago I was posting this exact thread - because I was.

I was induced at term + 11 days and while it wasn't the experience I had expected, it all went OK. I just had gel, and that was enough to get things happening after a few hours.

My only recommendation is if you are staying in hossy the night of the induction, get them to give you something to help you sleep. At the very minimum try to get into your own room. You will need the rest, and hospitals are crappy places to get it!!!

It will all turn out OK, and think of it this way - at least you know the latest time you will mean your little bubby. Best wishes to you guys.

Fi

I was induced also, both gel and drip and hated it. Yes I got my wonderful baby at the end but it would have been lovely to enjoyed my labour!

I believe that sometimes we are induced according to the ob's schedule and whether he is going away for the weekend or not - I know naughty me! [-X But I also believe that unless there is a clear medicial reason, let bubs come when he/she wants to.

I was induced via the drip after they broke my waters (BP issues). I was fine for the first 5 hours (only 4 cm dilated) then whamo I went to being fully dilated in less than an hour and that really really hurt (ahhhh but epidurals are WONDERFUL things). So that's my honest answer. But if gel isn't meant to be as bad, then that's good.

I was 10 days overdue with Aidan when I was induced with the gel. When the gel was applied I was already 1cm dilated (I wondered what those funny feelings were the day before?!) and when she went to apply the 2nd lot I was already 3cm dilated (whooppee) so hopefully the same will happen for you, it sounds as though you are heading that way but as we all know, all labours can be sooo different. I found the induction to be nothing different to any other labour story specifically related to the fact I was induced, and feel the only think I missed out on was suddenly saying 'ooohh its happening' if that makes sense? You will do a wonderful job!

Bertie - I am similar to Gemma in that my induction resulted in LOTS of intervention.
I was induced with Prostin Gel a few days before my EDD because my blood pressure was a little high.
It was explained to me that it would be better for me to have the baby sooner rather than later because the risk of pre-eclampsia was too high.
Gabby was not presenting well at all. She wasn't engaged (when I had a growth ultra-sound, the sonographer commented on how it was unusual for a first-time pregnancy to not be engaged by that stage) and I still felt fine. I had just had a few headaches. By all accounts, Gabby seemed pretty darn happy swimming away in there. Each time I was monitored, her heartrate etc. was all fine.
I didn't have any fluid retention at all and I still felt relatively comfortable with being pregnant.

If I could do my time over, I would not have let them induce me until I was at least 10 days over-due. Then, at least, Gabby may have been ready to come out.

I ended up having all the intervention you can think of... well... sorta. I had my waters broken for me after 5 days of cramping from 3 doses of prostin gel (they wanted to give me a 4th dose but I told them if they couldn't guarantee it would put me in labour, I didn't want any more!). I had an early epidural because of my BP (apparently it can bring your BP down), I was put on a syntocin drip to speed up the contractions then I ended up having an emergency c-section because the cord was wrapped around Gabby's neck. I have always wondered, would that have happened if I hadn't been induced?

Anyway... I didn't post all of this to frighten you - after all, everyone's experience is different.
Next time (if I decide to go naturally), I will refuse any sort of induction unless I am well over-due and/or the baby is presenting nicely.