Induction - was yours positive?

[BrightSparkles]

If it was a positive Induction, what did you do to prepare for this? What did your partner do if anything to prepare for this? I'm wanting to make sure i'm prepared and covering all bases. Have a check up tomorrow and will ask for a sweep to be done but DH and I have also spoekn about it and if bub hasn't arrived by Friday naturally then will have the induction.

[Toomanytoomany]

If it was a positive Induction, what did you do to prepare for this? What did your partner do if anything to prepare for this? I'm wanting to make sure i'm prepared and covering all bases. Have a check up tomorrow and will ask for a sweep to be done but DH and I have also spoekn about it and if bub hasn't arrived by Friday naturally then will have the induction.

I've had four very positive inductions, but the big thing to consider is your bishops score - ask your OB/midwife what yours is if you have a sweep done tomorrow. The better your bishops score, the more likely it is that things will go relatively smoothly (although of course there are absolutely no guarantees). It may be that you can have it done in a staged way... an AROM to get things going, if that doesn't work, just a little bit of syntocinon (with #3 I just needed a "sniff").

If your bishops score isn't great when decide by Friday to have an induction (if baby hasn't arrived yet) then it may just be worth waiting an extra couple of days to give yourself the best chance of getting into an induction working.

Good luck - with Tom I had decided to have an induction on the Wednesday if he hadn't arrived (he was due the preceding Friday), had the s&s done on the Monday and he decided to come on his own on Tuesday. Must have scared him out!!

[Toomanytoomany]

Oh and to answer your question - in my inductions, I tried to make them as normal as possible - walking, moving around. Many hospitals will require constant foetal monitoring now with an induction, but you can get your partner to hold the belts on you so that you can move around without too much difficulty. I did this with dd#5. My sister helped too - I didn't really have restricted mobility, used the ball, etc. I think if you can avoid an epidural, it will help.

I always asked them to increase the synt slowly and warned them that I was a quiet achiever so not to feel they had to bump the stuff up to make me look more like I was in labour!

When you go in for an induction, it's easy to feel like you've given up a natural birth and are in a highly medicalised environment, but it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to accept everything they want you to do because they've stuck in a drip and taken control from the beginning.

[BrightSparkles]

O

When you go in for an induction, it's easy to feel like you've given up a natural birth and are in a highly medicalised environment, but it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to accept everything they want you to do because they've stuck in a drip and taken control from the beginning.

This was my biggest worry. I had an induction with DD and swore black and blue that i'd NEVER have another one and have a c/s over an induction anyday. Though i've done more research now and will have the induction if I have to. I just don't want to lose the feeling of a natural birth when it's something I have worked on and have been preparing myself for for so long.

[mummy of 3 boys]

Sunshine, i was induced at 37wks and 5 days... I was purely induced as i didnt have enough amniotic fluid around my son and i had lost my water but no bub...

Wasnt much to prepare for as this was my first i had the drip and the only thing i found hard was i did not sleep the night before so i must stress get as much sleep as possible as i couldnt sleep once the started inducing....

I was already 3cm dialated so they said id have a good chance of it working which it did they started inducing at 12 midday and he was born at 4:59pm so had a pretty good response to the drip....

Goodluck and Keep us posted on how u got would love to know!

Edit: i still personally think ur doing it naturally because ur feeling all the contractions still and having to push the baby out!

[Toomanytoomany]

This was my biggest worry. I had an induction with DD and swore black and blue that i'd NEVER have another one and have a c/s over an induction anyday. Though i've done more research now and will have the induction if I have to. I just don't want to lose the feeling of a natural birth when it's something I have worked on and have been preparing myself for for so long.

Sunshine, mine felt very "natural" despite the fact that they were helped along. I didn't have internals or anything, was able to do what I wanted. Really the only thing that was different was the monitoring. In fact, my last labour which was more spontaneous was much more disrupted by my annoying midwife than any of the inductions had been!

One extra thing - afterpains can hurt more after an induction, and certainly more so with subsequent babies. Also, it can take a little longer for your milk to come in after an induction for some reason, so be really scrupulous about making sure you can get the baby to the breast as soon as possible, and have a lot of skin to skin and nurse, nurse, nurse! I think neonatal jaundice is more common with inductions too but I could be wrong there.

[HotI]

Nope. I would do anything to avoid another one.

[AliBaby]

hun, I know how desperate you are to meet your bubba.

I can remember from the very beginning you saying how much you wanted to avoid induction. If bubs is doing well, can you see if you can put induction off until 42weeks?

I desperately wanted to meet DD when she was overdue as well but I pushed induction out until 42wks (I agreed to go in for monitoring every 2nd day) and she came naturally at 41wks + 6 days and didnt need any intervention. Just letting you know that you can tell them to wait if you want to. I hope bubba comes soon.

[BrightSparkles]

Thanks girls for your support. DH and I agreed that 10 days would be as far as we go before an induction. Just preparing myself mentally for all things that could happen. I REALLY want it to be a natural labour but i'd rather be prepared for all scenarios.

[nellnell]

I've had 2 inductions.

1st was fantastic - as far as inductions go. 40 weeks + 8 and was induced for suspected IUGR. Bishops score indicated I was too ripe for gels, so synto straight way. Had ARM and synto early in morn, easy labour, although monitored externally (hated) and like 2 many had a relitively 'natural' labour, used fit ball and any position I wanted. Didn't care too much for the monitoring which is a waste of time as it always moves. bub born about 6pm so 10hrs after synto. No drugs.

2nd was okay. 40 + 3, induced for suspected IUGR. Bishops indicated to ripe for gels. Same deal, ARM and synto. 36hrs after synto 1st given, I gave birth. Long process, on and off synto, 1 middy stuffing up and turning it down when it didn't need to be and me bearing the brunt of contractions but actually doing nothing for dilation of cervix. still quite natural with internal and external monitoring, no drugs.

1st time I didn't really prepare for it - just went with the flow and so did DH. Second time I tried to avoid it, but after many growth scans and monitoring every 2 days for 3 weeks, I was ready to see if bub was okay.

In hindsight, I think I am supposed to have 42 week pregnancies, and although my kids were smallish, they may have been a little bigger if allowed to stay inside for a little longer. I think that whatever you are comfortable doing, roll with it. If you don't want to do it, wait. Put it off by a few days. GL with it all.

[ezymay]

I had an induction with DD. I had high bp so was induced 9 days before my EDD. I would try and avoid it next time but mine was positive. I had 2 lots of gel which didn't do much so went on the drip. They kept turning it up so the pain came hard and fast and my bp was skyrocketing so had an epi. That allowed me to rest tho and it wore off enough that I was able to push and be in control. They broke my waters at 12 and DD was here by 6.
Next time I would like to go into labour on my own but my feelings about my induction was that it wasn't terrible. I didn't need the vacuum or forceps which is what the book I read said would be guarenteed with an induction and an epi!!!! As far as preparing goes I didn't have the chance I was sent straight from my dr appoint to the hossy!
Good luck Hun!

[Michelle71]

Sunshine - where about are you located?? I had acupuncture for induction as DD2 was due on Christmas Day - she arrived on the 21st. I know of a very skilled clinician in Newtown / Marrickville who has been successful for me. It may take a few sessions (daily is suggested) this close to (over)due date but it is an option to consider.

I have been induced (with DD1) but that was not a positive experience on many, many levels so my story is not pertinent to you and your journey at this stage.

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

Yep mine was positive. two lot of gels inserted, told to get some sleep as drip would be put in next morning...BUT....my DD had other ideas and labour started on its own after i rolled over in bed and my waters broke. 7 hours later (no drugs, or further induction methods used) my DD was born safe and sound.

[BellyBelly]

You can't plan for or have a favourable setting for an induction. I was put on the drip for an augmentation (same drug only labour had started, was 5cms and it stopped) and had a horrible experience with it. So my body was ready to labour, it had been in labour but it wasn't great.

[cindyb]

I had a great induction too!
I even managed to only have the gel placed and i had her 4 hours later! I was strapped to the monitors and asked to stay in bed, to which i refused and i kept telling any nurse who walked in the room that i needed to go to the toilet and i would either stay in there or even at one point i decided to go for a walk and ended up walking out the hospital and stood out the front and chatted to everyone out there LOL makes me laugh that i did that but it worked for me. No drip, No drug and when i was having the gel placed i was told by the ob that i would be there for a while and would end up on the drip for sure as i was not dilated at all and my cervix was sitting posteriorly!! Didnt i prove him wrong when i asked to be checked 4 hours later and she popped out before he could get a glove on!

Good luck!!

[PollyA]

My waters broke with DD and then...nothing so I had synto...nothing for 5 hours and then bam 0-100 in seconds and 8 hours of full on labour with 3 of those hours pushing. A great midwife and advocate helped me to avoid intervention (though I did get an episiotomy) and when my daughter was born I felt like superwoman.
Then I would hear people tell me about birth and say things like "I said to my partner... or I said to my partner..." and think...you could talk? I couldn't do anything in labour. It was full on. And was exhausted afterwards.

Fast forward 2 years and 11 weeks ago I went into natural labour with DS at 41 weeks...exactly the same gestation as my DD. It was amazing. Between contractions I got a rest, I could talk, I could make sure DD was ok and my recovery was much quicker

So...given a choice I would choose natural labour anyday but when I think of DD's birth I think it was an amazing, wonderful experience. So I would be disappointed if I needed another induction in the future but I would still expect an awesome birth and have faith in my body to birth my baby!

Whatever happens...you are about to meet the baby that you've incubated for 9 months....that is a pretty positive experience altogether
My one piece of advice is not to expect induction to mean anytihng...like more pain....or more intervention....they are often easier after someone's had a baby before, they might be able to rupture your membranes and you won't even need monitoring.

Good luck....I hope your labour dreams come true!

[Junglemum]

My non induced birth was definitely my preferred birth. But my induced birth was still positive. I guess what i did to prepare was just come to terms mentally with the fact i was being induced, and was at peace with that. Sure it wasn't what i had hoped and planned for but ultimately it saved my babies life. Faced with the same situation again i'd certainly be induced.
Being induced might only mean having some gel put in to kick things off. Or perhaps having your waters broken. You can still be active and in control of your birth.

HAve you thought about acupuncture? I had it when i was overdue with DD2 and managed to go into labour on my own.

However baby arrives, best of luck to you.

[BellyBelly]

You also have to bear in mind everyone here has had varying methods of induction, all with varying side effects, risks and some more intense than others. You cannot compare breaking someone's waters to a synto drip etc.

This article has all the methods and side effects etc.

Induction of Labour - To Induce or Not Induce?