To think induced labours are more painful?

[amrscot]

Have been told by diabetes midwife likely to be induced anytime after 37/38 weeks.

Everyone I've spoken to who has had an induced labour has said the pain was much more horrendous than when they went naturally with there other DCs.

AIBU to think induced labours are always more intense or is that not always true?

[BitOfAKerfuffle]

Not true in my experience. I was also told this by a lot of people and was really panicking about DC2 labour

DC1 very quick labour arrived at hospital 6cm dilated baby born under an hour later but it was really really very intense it didnt feel like contractions more like one very very long contraction no time for any pain relief other than a quick bit of gas and air when pushing i felt really out of control.
DC2 was a preterm induction 36 weeks already 4cm dilated (no pessaries required) so ARM and synto drip. Total labour from them breaking waters and drip up was 7 hours, i had gas and air and managed fine, it felt much more relaxed and i felt much more in control and was able to breathe through the contractions and remain calm despite it also being a much more complicated labour and delivery with a few uncertain moments of whether it was going to end in an emergency c section.

If i could choose which labour to have again it would definetely be DC2 !

[LittleBirdBlues]

There often is no build up during induced labour, so your body doesn't get a chance to raise its pain threshold. It does depend on the type of induction though I think. There are gentle ways, and then there's the last resort hormone drip.

If you can, I would ask to start gently so that your body gets a chance to go into labour on its own (sweeps, pessaries etc). If going for the hormone drip, perhaps check what the lowest possible dose of hormone would be and make sure they start with that and then increase after some time if necessary.

In my experience, labour is ALWAYS painful, no matter how it's done. But you will be fine.

[ZigZagRevive]

Not to shut down your question but nothing is true/ fact/ certain with labour, they are truly all different and impossible to compare. I have given birth three times and would still feel it's pointless to tell anyone who wanted to know what it was like how it felt, because the many factors at play won't be the exact same for them. And then on top of that they don't have my body. And their baby is not in the same position as mine was. And their pain threshold is not mine and so on.....
Induction, similarly, can be different for different people and there are positive stories.
Honestly, I did dislike my induction but not because it was painful, just because when it finally did start (two pessaries - nothing: needed the drip) it went from zero to full on in seconds. Seconds. I don't think that's always the case. It was not painful, just......I don't know, not nice. However, all things considered it was necessary.
Good luck with it all. Induction or not I would do it all again just to have that new born experience once more.

[Crunchymum]

My induced labour was with DC3 (DC1 was augmented so I got to 6cm and then it was waters broken / synotocin drip. DC2 was completley natural). They all fucking hurt

Is this your first baby? I was induced with DC3 due to GD (at 38w) and in was told it was because I needed my blood sugar levels and insulin levels monitored during labour and delivery. I had a 24 hour propess put in, had pain almost immediately but it was bearable. 22 hours into the propess I began having proper contractions and baby arrived very quickly. We struggled to find a MW and a room for me to deliver, let alone have any of the monitoring I was meant to have. Nothing to do with my GD was checked (until I took my blood sugar levels after eating for the first time after having baby!!)

[adelias]

Spoke to a midwife today who had had two labours. One 'normal' and one with the hormone induction drip, she confirmed that the drip was a lot worse. I've only experienced the drip, it was horrendous 😢

[PlinkPlink]

I was worried about this.

Has GD. Was booked in for induction.

However, I had stated all alomg that i wanted it to happen as naturally as possible. At my midwife appointment, she gave me a sweep. Kicked things off quite well.

2nd sweep put me into active labour.

So, you don't necessarily have to wait for the induction 😊

[Bluntness100]

I think this is true in certain circumstances. I was given prostaglandin vaginally over night, then taken down to the labour suite first thing, but it had not induced labour, the doctor wished to give me a second dose, but had to get permission from my consultant, as I was consultant led, and he said no, my labour would be too painful, and I recall he said it would be more painful after one dose, but two would not be acceptable so he wouldn't allow it.

So I think it depends, but ultimately what matters is you and your babies safety and you need to trust them to do what's right. There are several ways to induce labour and I don't know if all of them make it more painful or to what degree. It could just be minor or not at all.

[Wellit]

No I was induced and was over very quickly and managed on gas and air til the end

[CountFosco]

Not always. I've had 2 induced (with drip) and one natural. First was the worst because I was exhausted (2 disturbed nights on antenatal ward before labour induced with drip) second (natural) and third (induced with drip when waters broke at 36 weeks) were both OK since had slept the night before. Second was best because labour was about 6 h so built up gradually, third was very intense (2h30min labour, 10 mins from 5cm to birth) but done without much pain relief.

[MatildaTheCat]

If you have a syntocinon IV running you will need to have the fetal monitor on continuously which means it’s hard to be very mobile and move around to ease the contractions. The contractions do also build up less gradually and can become quite intense quite quickly.

This is partly why more women undergoing induction choose to have an epidural at some point. Which is absolutely fine.

Good luck.

[Spotsandstars]

Yanbu in my opinion they are. BUT labour is painful! You just got to get through it. I had an epidural with my second induced labour and it was fab.

[Didntwanttochangemyname]

I was induced for DC1 and it was much easier than DC2 who came naturally.
People telling you that it's more painful are just doing that really dickish thing of trying to scare you.
Try to get your head around the fact that yes, it's going to really hurt no matter how it goes down, but you'll get a baby at the end of it.
You can do this!

[PickettBowtruckles]

I went into labour naturally but didn’t dilate past 4cm. 12 hours after waters breaking and contractions the doctor decided I’d need the hormone drip as I wasn’t progressing. The lovely midwife in charge of the unit that day spent some time talking with me and advised I have an epidural first as I was struggling with the natural contractions and she said the contractions from the hormone drip can be quite intense. I did opt for the epidural which they sorted before starting me on the drip and I progressed overnight and was dilated fully by the morning. If I ever had another and needed induction I’d definitely ask for the same process again!

[ReaganSomerset]

My NCT teacher told us that, yes, they are. Natural contractions cause the release of 'happy hormones' in the brain, which help you cope with the pain. Synthetic hormones used for induction purposes don't do this, so they hurt more. They often also cause contractions that are closer together and more intense.

[amrscot]

Eeeeek thanks everyone! To give some background, I am shit with pain and my threshold basically doesn't even exist 🙈😂

I'm really nervous but will try not to work myself up about it. I'm sure he will be worth it

[amrscot]

Also the hormone drip sounds horrendous.

[amrscot]

This is my first baby by the way, so I will have nothing else to compare this labour to

[ReaganSomerset]

I think they start with a pessary and the waters, only going to the drip if that doesn't work, so you might not need it, you never know.

[formerbabe]

I had one spontaneous labour and one induced...no epidural with either.

The induction was so much more painful...and no build up, just straight into contractions.

[SnuggyBuggy]

I had the drip, I was strongly advised to have an epidural with it and was glad I did.

[Stupomax]

In my case the second (or was it third?) pessary tipped me into labour and I got through it with gas and air and a bit of pethidine. I wouldn't call it massively painful. I never felt like I needed an epidural (which is a good thing as I wasn't allowed one).

If you need the drip I believe it's much more painful and it's recommended that you get an epidural at the same time. If you think you'll struggle to cope with the pain then that seems like a good plan.

[Buddytheelf85]

Obviously everything varies from person to person - there will always be people who had ok inductions - but the NHS website does say:

Induced labour is usually more painful than labour that starts on its own, and women who are induced are more likely to ask for an epidural.
Your pain relief options during labour aren't restricted by being induced. You should have access to all the pain relief options usually available in the maternity unit.
Women who are induced are also more likely to have an assisted delivery, where forceps or ventouse suction are used to help the baby out.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/induction-labour/

[Boulardii]

I don’t want to be dickish and scare you. However, since you asked, I will share my experience.
If I was to have another child I would do everything I could to avoid being induced as my experience is that it’s much harder to manage the pain. I coped with gas and air for the first 2 normal deliveries, but the 3rd which was augmented was far and away the worst. I had more drugs and took longer to recover. I also became much less cooperative for the hospital staff.

Good luck.

[NatureGal]

First two labours natural and precipitous (under 2 hours). Had no pain relief. Painful but fine. Third Labour induction, had pessary twice and it didn't work. Waters broken, syntocin drip start to finish in half an hour. No time for pain relief and not going to lie it was painful, (husband said looked like you were being torn apart from the inside). No foetal monitoring though but bp went through the roof and left with bp issues. No discussion about epidural, and couldn't even get gas and air in time. It won't be happening again, with this pregnancy.

[amrscot]

@Boulardii no, thank you for being honest!!

I'd rather people be honest so I know what to expect and prepare myself (kind of) than not be truthful.