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?

I had the hormone drip at 37 weeks after my waters broke, and I wasn't getting past 3cm , I also had GD. I have no comparison (PFB) but my pain threshold isn't great and it f*#£@ng hurt, baby was back to back too at one point I remember saying to DH I'm going to split in half - I'd had a lot of gas and air... My combined spinal and epidural was amazing (gave me combined because they ramped up the drip and I went from 4cm to 10cm in 40minutes and it was agony) , I could move etc but no pain until the spinal wore off and the epidural didn't work, ouch is an understatement. My advice to anyone would be have all the drugs, there's no need to be a martyr.

I was open to the idea of an epidural but I didn't need it in the end.

@amrscot

AIBU to think they're reluctant to give epidurals??
My midwife said early on after she'd fine a stretch and sweep and I nearly kicked her in the face, baby is back to back, it's early so your body isn't really ready and the drip is going to make it hurt, I can't tell you what to do but would you like an epidural (whilst nodding at me) 😁 I gladly accepted, after she left the room for a bit I said to DH do you think she knows I definitely want an epidural and he said oh yes you were very clear... . She'd been a MW for 32 years and DS was her last baby, when I suddenly dilated really quickly, even though I was in a lot of pain and in the midst of having the epidural I still managed to have a joke with her that he wanted to arrive before she retired, there was no judgement from medical staff at all and I thought they'd be reluctant.

I've been induced twice and gone naturally once.

Both inductions were worse than my natural.

My natural started nice and easy, little niggles every 20 minutes apart and didn't progress intensity wise till I was quite far into my labour. The intensity built up gradually.

My inductions (last one was last year) put me straight into intense painful contractions every minute apart early on. But as soon as my waters broke and I was moved to the labour suite I was able to get the epidural and the rest of it was relaxing. I slept after my waters broke at 2cm right up until I had to push 7 hours later.

So from my experience, it's only worse for a little while.

I'm pregnant again, I have GD again, so I will be induced again this summer. Congrats and good luck, you will be just fine.

@Bunnybaubles when are you due? And how are you getting on with the GD so far?

I was induced twice dd2 came with one pessary no drugs. Dd1 i needed 3 pessarys a 24 hour wait then a full induction, with drip and all. The full induction was very controlled every time the turned the drip up i was offer pain relief, first strong painkiller tablets, then gas and air, then diamorphine i never had an epidural though. It wasn't as bad as folk make it out to be, well mine wasn't and i asked to be induced the second time.

3 of my 4 were induced. I admit the first was longer and more painful but I’m inclined to think 1st babies are a little more difficult anyway. I had an epidural.

The other 2 inductions were quick. Quite intense due to speed but over quickly so coped with gas and air.

All 3 inductions needed a drip so I think it really can be different from person to person and baby to baby.

@amrscot I'm due July. Doing ok-ish with GD, I was diagnosed at 12 weeks (Same with my last pregnancy). I'm 18 weeks now and just started the Lantis injections yesterday. That's on top of the 2 metformin I take with my evening meal. It's always my evening / morning readings I struggle with. I'm the same as you, I'll be induced between 37 - 39 weeks.

How are you getting on with it? Are you on medication or controlling it with diet?

Hi OP,

I didn't have this experience either. I was induced and had an epidural at 4cm and the pain wasn't even bad during that time. It happened fast but I just really made myself relax, breath, meditate (not for everyone but worked for me)...

So I don't think it's a 100% give it's more painful at all.

Not that I know what it's like 4cm+ as it's my only child.

Good luck and try not to take in so many peoples advice,experiences as it will unnecessarily freak you out.

You'll be ok xxx

I had GD and was induced 2 days before my due date after an unsuccessful sweep. I've nothing to compare it to and however horrendous it may sound, it really wasn't that bad. My experience of being induced - had pessary inserted and nothing happened for about 12 hours, was quite boring really! I then took a reaction to the pessary and went from nothing to contractions 3 minutes apart. So as others have said, there's no build up and midwives said it is more intense. I had to have the pessary removed and they gave me injections to slow contractions down (didn't work) once I was at 2/3cms they moved me to the labour suite and broke my waters. (Contractions still 2/3 minutes apart) when I was 7cm they made the decision to put me on the drip as it had been so long. I had absolutely no problem getting an epidural. After 34 hours, my baby boy came (on his due date) and all is forgotten (almost haha) My advice would be to get a tens machine! X

Good luck! You'll be grand xx

@Bunnybaubles diet controlled for now, was diagnosed at 28 weeks.

All of my readings have been well below target, I haven't changed too much of what I'm eating, just cut down massively on sugary sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks. I've also introduced more proteins and switched from white bread to whole meal.

I haven't had a reading anywhere near going out of my target range (7.8 for post meals) so I'm hoping to keep it this way!!

@username1212 thank you xx

It all depends on how you are induced, if they sweep you with the gel and it works it should be as close to natural as possible, but if you're induced with a drip then expect some pain, I really don't want to scare you but I was told 9/10 women induced with the drip opt for an epidural like I did, it works by contracting your body for you so you get very little rest from the pain, don't be afraid to have an epidural it's not as bad as people make out and you will definitely benefit from it, also get it at the earliest opportunity so it's not too late if things develop quickly. My motto is if you go in expecting the worse then it'll never be as bad as you anticipated, good luck with the birth you will still have the same lovely outcome at the end of labour and that's the main thing x

In my opinion (after three kids) induction is so much more painful. I found it absolutely horrendous.

I would also recommend you ask for the epidural to be sited before the induction drip starts.

Epidurals get a lot of bad press in the UK because midwives lobby for so-called natural labour, but actually they do not lead to longer labours or to more intervention. In some countries the epidural rate is 90%, and they still have fewer c sections, instrumental deliveries and so on.

The epidural dosage has also reduced massively since the 80s, so you may well be able to stay mobile. I had an induction for medical reasons, slept while I was dilating 🙂, woke up, squatted and pushed for 2 minutes and my baby was born. I would really recommend it.

Good luck!

@amrscot I was induced at 38 weeks due to pre eclampsia and I was terrified that being two weeks earlier than my due date would mean it would take longer and be more painful. It wasn’t exactly a breeze but I had visions of it being much worse. One thing I would say is be persistent about pain relief if there’s something you’d like. My boy was back to back so I think the discomfort came with that but I was induced at 13:45 and after being monitored we walked around as much as i could manage and was told to keep drinking plenty too. My waters broke by themselves the next morning at 04:45 and I was 2cm dilated when examined at 07:30 and next time I was examined 6 hours later I was fully dilated. I ended up with a forcep delivery due to his head being massive and not being able to push it out but I would say that I’m so pleased we went for induction rather than waiting to see if the pre eclampsia turned more severe. I hope everything goes well for you x

I was induced on the drip. I did not have an epidural but highly recommend you do. It was very very painful. That said, I have only given birth the once so perhaps I have a very low pain threshold!

My waters went while I was under observation on the antinatal ward for high BP. Contractions started but then stoped, I was put on a drip the next day, I was dreading it from all of tbe horror stories I had read but ds arrived after an hour!!!

I found being induced with ds more painful as the pain seemed 'full on' from the start but will dd, I went into labour naturally and it was a slow build up which was better imo

Not in my experience - i had an induced drip labour with DD and a very rapid 'natural' birth with DS. They both hurt the same amount frankly! In fact i found DS birth more frightening and painful because it was so quick. Had gas and air with both. Don't worry about it if you can, i coped fine with the drip, you just don't know how you will do so wait and see...

I had a hormonal drip induced birth and no pain relief for DC1.
Worst pain I’d ever experienced. I went from doing the crossword with DH to rolling in agony in about 15 minutes.
And it’s not true you forget how bad the pain was. It put me off having another child for 7 years!

Then I got severe toothache. Now THAT’S the worst pain in the world...

Good luck OP. Whatever happens will be worth it.

OP don’t be worried, try to have the same mindset I had which is you’re pregnant now the baby has to come out at some point so it might as well be sooner then you get to enjoy your baby quicker! My induction happened so quickly, 3.5 hours from start to finish, only 36 minutes of real real painful omg i can’t do this contractions then 4 pushes and bam baby. I had pethidine and gas & air but only because they wanted me to sleep (minutes before it got that bad) and I’m not even sure it had time to start working before he was born. I don’t have anything to compare it to but the midwives all said people usually find induction more painful.

Just try to stay calm, know the pain is not for too long and think about your baby. I would also say unless you definitely need a drip, ask for a pessary (what i had) and I would hold off from the epidural at first until you feel you need one. Just play it by ear and good luck you’ll do great

I've had two, one was tough as hell. But I had Preeclampsia and felt awful and really was not well at all. Everything was more painful than normal, so yes it was tougher than my spontaneous labour in that sense, but not necessarily due to the induction.

My other induction was my best labour by far. The pain was manageable and being in hospital made me feel so much more secure and comfortable, so my head was in the right place.

It’s a scary time I have no idea but I had a very quick non induced labour started 4:30 am and had him out by 17:32 got to hospital fully dilated and ready to push at 2:30pm ( had to wait to be seen as they thought I was fussy new mum and not even in phase one of labour ... walked all the way to say care and waited my turn 🙄so started pushing 3:15 ish I believe ) down side no time to think about pain relief options / water birth and could barely breath in the gas and air. Upside it happened quick and I knew there was an end in sight and the promise of a cup of tea ... I don’t have the stamina for a long birth ... my point is the birth could be quick without help I think our bodies do what they are going to do and we have no control.

Birthing ball and maternity tens machine got me through it ... totally recommend and the time I was in the bath at home helped so I would look into a water birth if You can.
X
Everyone is different I have a pretty decent pain threshold so I was calm and therefore baby was calm.

If you feel pain more acutely then consider other options like epidural you need to do what is right for you and your baby.

You may get lucky and you go into labour naturally I was overdue and so pleased I escaped the inducement doesn’t sound fun I agree.