To be induced or not?

[janski31]

Can anyone help me am after some advice, had my ante natal check up today am 38+3 and doctor has offered to induce me next week as I have had a really stressful pregnancy.

To cut a long story short had a high nuchal at 12 week scan refused any invasive testing (due to having a mmc not long before this pregnancy) was sent for a scan at 16 weeks all fine, had a 1:5 risk off my quad blood test at 16 weeks. Had my 20 week scan all fine. Then at 27+3 started feeling really ill ended up in hospital for 2 weeks with what they thought was a kidney infection turns out it was my appendics so they had to whip them out when I was 29 weeks. It took me ages to recover was talking all kinds of pain relief (prescribed by the hospital)lost over a stone in 3 weeks my wound got all infected was a really difficult time for me.

So I think doctor is thinking of my emotional well being by offering to induce me but what I want to know is should I do it what does it involve and how long does it take? Thanks for reading x

[thisisyesterday]

i wouldn't be induced unless i felt it was for the benefit of the baby.

how are you feeling right now? in yourself?

[janski31]

A lot better health wise but just really scared for the big day not because of the pain but if the baby is ok, but I suppose we all feel like that.x

[trixie123]

you don't have to look hard on here to find many many bad tales of induction I'm afraid. It involves giving you hormone pessaries (which was pretty damn painful in itself) to try and kick start things. If / when that doesn't work (after 4 days in my case) you are put on a drip of Syntocin which will bring on contractions. They can turn that up to different levels as needed and the contractions will usually be more intense than if they occur naturally. Because you are on the drip it is quite hard to stay mobile and they will probably want to continually monitor the heartbeat and contractions with sensors held on your belly with an elastic strap.In my case, any attempt to move around, sit on a birthing ball etc caused them to lose contact so I was on the bed all the time which apparently makes the pain worse. Eventually, (after 16 hours) as DS's head was wonky and not applying pressure to the cervix I was given a CS (which was completely fine and not hard to recover from). As you can probably tell I am not a fan of induction and have already told them that I WILL NOT be induced this time (despite having ges. diabetes). They can go straight for the CS! Sorry to give you a rather negative response and to be fair, some people have had perfectly ok inductions but the majority on here are not. I would talk to your hospital because all have a slightly different procedure and policy on this kind of thing - I would particularly ask about the mobility issue because I really think being immobile didn't help! Good luck

[kikibo]

I think you should think about what you feel yourself. If you're scared then that's not going to change with induction, is it? If anything, it might cause you more stress because you know when it is going to start or when it's possible to start. Chances are that you'll be so wrapped up in being in labour that you cease to care about 'the big day' at the point when the big day has finally arrived. And it'll take you by surprise. I would prefer that rather than worrying about whether it's going to be alright tomorrow. But that's me.

It's your choice.

You have had a lot of stress though, but good luck

[almost3]

I'm currently mulling over the same dilemma! I don't want to be induced if I can help it but might not have much choice if things don't get a move on.

However, I have been through induction before and I have to say it wasn't that bad. I was given pessaries and that kick-started things, then my waters were broken and ds arrived 3 hours later. Yes it was painful, but so was my second natural labour.

I will say that the waiting for induction is stressful as you know it's going to happen and as you're in the hosptial from the start, it seems longer as you're not in an environment you're comfortable in. My second labour I was able to stay at home until things progressed and found that much less stressful.

It is completely your choice, weigh up the pros and cons and decide which avenue will cause you the least distress. Always keep in mind, this is your pregnancy, therefore, your decision. Don't feel pressured my medical staff and always make sure you ask plenty of questions before they do anything (i've learned this the hard way)!

Good luck to you hun whatever you decide x

[japhrimel]

Is going on for another few weeks going to make that much difference to you? If you're feeling well now, I'd use it as a chance to rest as much as possible before the birth (and then dealing with a newborn) - it sounds like you could do with plenty of "me time" after what you've been through.

I'm scheduled for induction at 40+3 because of OC - I'm lucky in that as my OC was caught early, it's been so well controlled by meds that I haven't had to be induced earlier. But as the risks with OC rise as you go overdue, I'm being induced if I don't go into labour anyway. FWIW, the risks with OC are that the baby might die so it's not something to mess around with!

Induction is definitely something to avoid unless there is a good reason for it. It increases the risks of needing further interventions, especially when done before you & the baby are ready. So if there's no risk or severe stress associated with not having it, I don't see why a consultant would suggest it TBH.

[FoxyRevenger]

I was induced, I'll just tell you how it was for me, they're not all terrible!

Had a pessary inserted 2pm Tuesday. Contractions started about 2am Wednesday. By 10am Wed went in the bath on the ward and read my book for a couple of hours, spent the rest of the day on the TENS machine.

At midnight, 4cm dilated, went to Labour suite, was put on monitor. Waters were broken (this really hurt, to be honest) and drip was started. Contractions went through the roof so had epidural in by about 5am.

Basically after that I went to sleep, they woke me up every so often to check on me etc, but essentially I napped until it was time to push.

Baby was back to back so ended up being delivered by forceps at 3pm Thursday. I couldn't have worried less, trusted the staff completely. She was born without a mark on her and my episiotomy was totally painless until healed.

Yes, it was long, but not bad and not scary and the outcome was as good as you would hope.

If you do decide to go for it, just remember it's not necessarily some terrible awful experience, your baby is still being born into the world

[janski31]

Thanks for all your messages you have all been really helpful, I will have a good think about it. Doc is going to examine me next week to see how soft my cervix is etc and I think we will go from there.x