Being Induced....what to expect

jellyhead

It seems hospital vary. Mine only gave pessaries once per day, in the morning. They asked us (overdue ladies) to arrive in the morning, and we got a pessary soon afterwards.

I thought I'd be allowed to go home if labour didn't start, silly me!

After a few days and a few pessaries they decided they'd be able to break my waters. If you have more urgent reasons for induction then they might go at a faster pace.

In the end it was the same as with my first baby who was induced due to pre-eclampsia. Both times I was nowhere near ready but they managed to get the stick-thing through my cervix to break the waters. First time around I was allowed gas and air for this but second time around they said my cervix was softer due to the pessaries and I wouldn't need it.

First time around they put an epidural in because it lowers blood pressure and they used the drip straight away. It took around 8 hours from start to finish.

Second time around they broke my waters then they said I could walk around the hospital for a while and try to go into labour without the drip (I didn't want the drip). they said 2 hours but I asked for 4. After 4 hours they put the drip up and baby was born after 3 hours.

If you have the drip you have to have a monitor on your tummy, which is a nuisance if you are trying to stay upright and you are wriggling a lot - the monitor moves then it beeps at the desk and the midwives have to come and reposition it. I still found my second labour a lot easier standing, leaning over the bed or ball etc. compared to my first labour where I stayed in bed the whole time.

It's different for everyone I suppose.

They will tell you what's going to happen and go through some sort of plan with you

evie-mays-mum

Hey op
I was induced 13 days after my due date with dd.

I went in the monday evening 8pm,was given a pessary at 10pm,first contractions at 11.30.
I was left with gas and air during this time and have to be honest and say that as soon as the contractions started they were coming thick and fast and were strong from the offset.

I had decided months earlier that i wasnt going to pretend that I could do it "naturally" and would take any drugs for pain relief that i wanted.....at around 1pm i noticed that i was loosing a small amount of blood,the midwife examined me,a popping noise and gush later she told me "whoops i popped your waters"from that second on the contractions were agony right up until i had my an epidural (had to move rooms to have it,which I can now laugh at when thinking back to crawling across the ward and arriving in an empty room and demanding to know what everone was messing at)

My epidural was in place and running on the second attempt and despite the scare stories of huge needles in my spine,i can honestly say i didnt feel a thing and the relief was out of this world
I didnt have a catheter and had minimal feeling so i could also move about slightly on the bed.

I then had a nice sleep and was checked on and off over the next few hours and was told i was going to start pushing at 11am(tuesday morning)at 11.38 dd was born weighing in at a whopping 9lb 3oz no stiches required which im sure was down to the fact that i coudnt feel anything so therefore wasnt in a panic.
I was up 45 mins later for a bath , i know epidural can effect people in diffrent ways but i think i was lucky with mine and was up and about really quickley.

so dd needed dynamite to shift her and ds 3 years later came out like dynamite 8 mins after arriving at the hospital with 2 puffs of gas and air and stil half clothed!!

everyone is diffrent and that is just my experience,its a daunting thought being induced but you will be in good hands and a step closer to holding your little one.
good luck and keep us posted op
xx

PerfectPeaches

Fruit_Gum wrote: »

Hi

I have experiences from both sides, I was induced with my second child and I am also a midwife.

Can I ask why you are being induced at 38 weeks?

With my second DD I was induced at 39+3, it took 3 pesseries and breaking my waters and drip to get my contractions going. The induction process was started on a Tues morning and I didn't actually deliver till the Thurs teatime.

The problem I see is that the earlier you are the more difficult it is to soften or ripen the cervix (that is what the pessary does). Once the cervix is open enough the waters can be broken and hopefully the contractions start without needing a drip.

I think a lot of mums struggle with the idea that if you are going to be induced on a Monday then you will have your baby that day, which is not always the case. Depending on your hospitals guidelines some women are given up to 4 pessaries, usually 6 hours apart, and sometimes after 2 or 3 you are given a "rest day".

Is it your first baby?

Hi Fruit Gum

Thanks for your response!

I'm being induced because of a high amount of fluid and there have been various other complications which have now proved unimportant! But they just want to be sure. I'm scanned every 2 weeks and have been since 14 weeks so they are keeping a very good eye on me!

Peaches x

PerfectPeaches

Thanks for your responses everyone, it really is nice to hear (or read!) peoples own experiences it really does help as reading a leaflet may advise you but doesn't really offer you any real life thoughts and feelings.

Doesn't help that the hospital is nearly 2 hours away and my OH is on a course over in Coventry (hospital is in Cambridge) so he will be taking one day off and taking me in and then going back over to Coventry as I have been told it could take up to 4 days which is fine as long as I know where I am!

Just anxious and obviously wary of the unknown! But I'm sure seeing my little girl will be worth every anxious second. Just hope my OH gets there in time!!

Peaches x

keigcf

Have you got someone else to stay with you? Its nice just to have that bit of company/support I was lucky and had my sister who was also a nurse, so could explain things to me, husband was useless, sat and ate his lunch in the delivery room!

gratefulforhelp_2

Sometimes if you're not dilated they can give you pessaries, these either work or don't. They have two goes generally.
If you're dilated, or the pessaries don't work, then they stick you on a hormone drip.
They keep cranking up the amount until something happens, though I'm not sure it always works.

I had the drip, it was fine, fast labour, not too painful. eta baby #1

Don't worry too much. eta again, forgot to mention breaking your waters/sweep. Have had a sweep with #2 and that was ok, no worries.

cjj_2

I was induced with baby 1 and baby 3.
Entered hospital very early on the morning both times, ended up having both babies within minutes of 11pm. Was slow and extra painful contractions compared to baby 2 who arrived naturaly.No drip for me though. HTH. Having said that the minute you get your little bundle its all forgoten anyway.Good luck x

hm71_2

i was induced with dd3 had an ante-natal check 38 weeks & they immediatly took me in- had high bp etc... had 1 pessary & the contractions started within the hour yes was painful bt think thats just cos it was a sudden start- quickest labour i ever had did get to delivery room but always remember mid wife asking me if i wanted a cuppa as us silly 1st time mums always think we are about to give birth- i of course had already had 2 children so she left the room- hubby delivered DD (good thing he had paid attention in the past) but overall it was no better or worse than the 1st 2 labours you will be fine.

Suzanne_Louise

I was induced at 42+2, 12/07/09. Was examined and a pessary inserted at around 13.00. Was told that my cervix wasn't ripe, and I probably wouldn't give birth until the Tuesday, but wouldn't be allowed home . I was devastated as I was expecting to give birth that day (it was my late mother's birthday). Anyhow, I started getting pains at about 16.30, which gradually got worse. My partner kept telling the midwife that I was in pain, and she kept saying I was 'doing really well' and eventually gave me 2 co-codamol!!!!!! Another midwife saw me literally hanging from the toilet door, as it was the only position I was comfortable in, and on finding what little pain relief I had, said 'that's not going to touch the pain she's in!'. Thanks to her, my original midwife then put a machine on me and confirmed I was getting contractions every 2 minutes. On examination, I was 4cm dialated and was told I could go up to the delivery suite. I arrived up there at about 21.15. My water's broke as I was having my epidural, and our beautiful daughter arrived at 23.15, so still on my later mothers birthday!!!!!!! :j Funny thing is, she's blond and blue eyed, just like her late grandmother!!!!!!!!

Triggles

I was induced with DS2 & DS3.

DS2 was induced when I was 40+4, due to some severe SPD problems. I was given a pessary at about noon, went into labour at about 6pm, and then delivered a few minutes after midnight. Vaginal delivery, no pain relief other than tens. It was painful, obviously, but tolerable.

DS3 was induced when I was 39 weeks, due to GD. I was given a pessary twice over two days, neither worked. I was given the option of having a 3rd pessary or attempting to break the waters. I chose the attempt to break the waters as I was exhausted and didn't want to have another day of labour starting up and going for hours then dropping off again. I was barely dilated at all, but they managed to break the waters (gas and air for that procedure - was painful, but tolerable with the gas and air). They gave me 2 hours to see if labour would start on it's own, but it didn't, so I was hooked up to the drip to start labour. I was given the option of epidural prior to starting the drip, which I was happy to take. The first epidural didn't work as well as it should, and I was needing gas and air for the contractions, so they redid the epidural and what a wonderful difference!! I think the drip went in about 3pm and DS3 was delivered just before midnight (with the ventouse, but only because he had some slight distress and they wanted to speed it up a bit to make sure he was okay). I had been a bit worried that they wouldn't be able to break the waters, as it not, I was told it would mean a c-section, but thankfully they managed to break the waters.

I've had regular labour and delivery, as well as pessary induced and drip induced between our kids. I would say the pessary induced was MUCH more like regular labour and delivery... more gradual and easier to handle the contractions with tens unit or possibly gas and air. The drip induction was ever so slightly like a catapult into labour - or at least a much stronger jump start - which made it more difficult to ease into it. I felt the drip induction had much stronger and more painful contractions, so I'm glad I chose the epidural. The midwife I spoke to said that they generally recommend an epidural when the induction is by drip as it often means harder and faster labour/contractions (more intense more quickly).

Don't know if that helps you at all... but that was my experience.