Is spontaneous labour really different to an induction?

[getintheclowncarswifties]

First birth- 3 days of induction, stalled contractions, ended up on the drip, didn't realise that meant soul sucking pain and asked for a c-section. A little voice in my brain periodically comes out and calls it giving up.

Now considering VBAC for number 2. I just really want that vaginal birth experience but I don't know if I have the mindset for it. Is it really that different? I did get to 5cm without much discomfort last time.

Oh my.

I had an induction that lasted six days (ended in an EMCS) and would absolutely not have been ‘fine with gas and air’ when I had contractions every 90 seconds on the drip. I am not of low pain tolerance, and even if I was, what a monumentally twatty thing to say!

I was lucky in that most of my induction was just boring waiting around. Once it actually kicked in and I started getting contractions it all happened reasonably fast and certainly fast enough that I didn’t get to the point where I was exhausted by it or couldn’t tolerate the pain anymore. I’m not a martyr so if it had lasted hours and hours and hours I’d probably have called for an epidural or c-section but DD was born 4 and a half hours after the first contraction. I had the pessary and then waters were manually broken.

My first was a 4 day induction and nearly 14hr labour, was only thankful I’d opted for an epidural before the drip started.

With my second I rocked up to hospital apologising for not being more stoic only to find I was 9cm. DS arrived an hour later. Only had gas & air as nothing else was an option given the speed of things. It was bloody intense pain-wise near the end, but infinitely easier to recover from than the first time around.

First birth induced epidural and took her 45 hours to make her arrival. Second contractions started and lasted 2 hours as soon as we got to the hospital he was out within 10 mins and 2 pushes. No pain relief with him either and I would 100% give birth again after my second experience

My water broke at home. I went to the hospital and they said I was 0cm. 28 minutes later still in triage I delivered feet. I went from 0 - 10 in 28 minutes. It wasn't painful as such. It was more like the bad period pain plus an urgent need to poo. I had absno control over what happened. They pusjed the red button and i had an emergency csestion under general anesthetic.

The second i had was planned section and it was such a lovely experience. It was so relaxed and stress free. If I had another id absolutely opt for a planned c section.

Everyone labours differently. We experince pain differently. This labour and birth will be different from your last. Just fo what is best for you.

A little voice in my brain periodically comes out and calls it giving up.

I've never had a vaginal birth OP, so I can't answer your questions but I just wanted to ask you why you felt a C section was giving up?

I'm just asking because birth is a very unpredictable and vulnerable time. We experience a lot of things that could contribute to negative feelings, and you don't deserve to feel this way if you have another unpredictable birth that ends in a C section.

Is it that you'd like a VBAC but would be fine if it ended in a C section, or have you got a lot of pressure placed on you to have a vaginal delivery? And if so, is that pressure coming externally from other people or is it something you have been thinking yourself?

I felt like I had PTSD when I couldn't have a vaginal birth (footling breech, bicornuate uterus), but I realised that I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to have a "real" birth or it didn't count. I just don't want another person feeling like I did.

Whatever choice you make, make sure it is an informed choice, but please don't give yourself and negative self talk. C sections certainly aren't an easy way out and they're courageous and admirable in their own right. You choose what is best for you and your baby at the time.

It has nothing to do with pain tolerance. Mine is high, yet both of my labours were absolutely brutal (one induced and one natural).

Both times, I went from 5 cm to 10 cm in around 20 minutes. That wasn’t because I “couldn’t handle pain”: it was because my labour progressed extremely quickly, my cervix dilated rapidly, and my baby’s head was putting a lot of pressure where it needed to. The intensity of labour depends on many things, including how fast your body changes, how the cervix stretches, the baby’s position, and the pressure through the pelvis.

People need to stop assuming that a painful labour means someone has a low pain tolerance. Labour can be incredibly intense even for someone who handles pain well.

No one is going to give you a medal for having an unmedicated labour. Would you say someone is a better person because they had a tooth removed without pain relief? It’s the same thing. Making other women feel bad about their choices is unnecessary.

Yes I’ve had both. Spontaneous labour was slower and less painful initially, although I had an epidural later on so the actual birth idk

Night and day different for me. My community MW said second time is completely different too because your body knows what it is doing. I questioned that because I'd been induced first time, but she said that didn't matter, it still "counted".

I had what I considered contractions for over 48h with my second (labour ward said not active enough to count, but still sore by my standards) so it wasn't a walk in the park, but it was a very positive experience that really put my demons to rest after my first labour.

It was very different for me.
First son natural labour, slow build up, relaxed, got to 7cm dilated before any pain relief. Ended up with an epidural (massive regrets) i dont think i needed it but started to panic when they said i was at the last point I could have it. Ended up with a dural puncture, worse than labour, soent 10 days in hospital couldnt feed my son, couldnt shower or stand.
Second birth was induced early as baby was measuring very large, waters broken by nurse, on the drip, rapid intense pain.

You say this as if feeling pain whilst squeezing an entire human out of your body is a weakness

Your comment is not the flex you think it is. It just makes you look like a horrible person, which I’m guessing wasn’t the intention.

Completely different for me. DS1 I was induced with the pessary, then had my waters broken and started on the drip - which was absolutely agony. Had all the pain relief I was allowed and then ended up with an epidural, forceps, episiotomy. Absolutely unbearable pain to the point I couldn't even breathe when contracting never mind think about pushing. Took 4 days overall, pretty shit experience but DS came out fine.

DS2 water broke Sunday morning, contractions started 9pm, laboured through the night at home just fine, then everything ramped up about 6am. Got to hospital and into the pool at 7 and he was born at 10am Monday. Paracetamol and gas and air got me through fine. Ring of fire for head and shoulders was brutal but over in a moment compared to the hours of agony I'd had on the drip.

Yes, I did. Twice. It was s genuine question. I'm curious because I don't think it can be the drip causing the pain if everyone has different experiences?

Yes, hense rhe gas and air!

Yes there is a difference but the epidural was the game changer. I asked for it at 4-5cm asked for it to be turned off at 9cm so I would feel the contradictions for pushing.

Don’t think they would give you an section because you asked. Otherwise they would have let me go home which is what I asked for in the hard stage.

I’ve been induced and gone into labour spontaneously. Both were horrific pain but the spontaneous labour experience was much better for me.

The contractions were more intense with my induction and I had less freedom of movement because I was hooked up to drips and monitoring equipment which I don’t think helped. I also felt less in control for some reason like it was happening to me rather than me going through it, difficult to explain. I had to get an epidural in the end, it was ok after that but ended up having some complications that could have ended in a c-section but didn’t, just needed some interventions in the end.

When I went into labour naturally it still hurt a lot and I did ask for an epidural, then changed my mind and then it got too late anyway. I was able to freely adjust my birthing position which I think helps a lot and it sounds a bit woo but I felt more in control and more in tune with my body during it. There were no complications or interventions needed, which could have been down to lots of things and a lot of luck. But I was in the shower half an hour after it was all done almost like nothing happened. I was shocked at how ‘well’ I felt compared to last time.

For me my natural labour went far more smoothly than my induced one. I know there could have been other factors involved but one thing I do know is that in my experience the induced contractions were different. Stronger and more intense, harder for me to cope with anyway.

I had 3 spontaneous births and then an induction on the drip. My first birth I didn't even need gas and air. My induced birth I was screaming in agony at 4cm dilated.

OP there are lots of scientific reasons why induction of labour with the drip is very different to spontaneous labour.

Synthetic oxytocin doesn’t cross the blood brain barrier but the hormones released during a spontaneous labour do. The hormone mix going to your brain makes you better able to manage the pain.

And then there’s the build up, spontaneous labours usually build up naturally and involve the body getting baby into the best position it can for the exit. The build up gives your body chance to get used to contractions to an extent.

Contractions on the drip often have no or very little built up, it’s just 0-60 very quickly.

Continuous monitoring is also usually required which often requires women to be lay in a bed on their back which a. Means you’re pushing baby up hill, b. Means gravity can’t help c. Doesn’t allow the pelvis to open fully and d. Doesn’t let you move on a way that’s intuitive.

For me it's really hard to judge. My first was spontaneous, but it lasted days. Second was induced, much quicker and pain came on hard and fast.
Pain levels were about the same intensity for both.

I haven't had an induction but I gave birth in hospital which was horrendous - no major interventions but was pushed and poked and they wouldn't let me move how I wanted to move. It was horrible and I sucked down an enormous amount of gas and air.
My second was born at home with no vaginal exams, I felt safe and comfortable, and while it was painful it felt like a good pain, totally different to when I was in hospital. I didn't even consider asking for gas and air until baby was literally crowning, and then I didn't bother to ask because there wouldn't have been enough time for them to open the bottle.
It was the best day of my life, hands down. I felt incredible for most of it and was giddy for weeks afterwards.
What's being done to you makes all the difference, in my experience.