Would you have an induction or go straight to C section?

[Howdidido]

Over 41 weeks now. Stretch and sweep suggests this baby is in no rush to come out at all.
Midwife suggested induction starting on Monday.
I'm more scared of full induction - drip etc- than of a c section.
Was looking for stories of experiences of inductions when nothing seems to be moving- and what people would choose retrospectively.
So my plan now is to try just pessary part of induction and if that goes no where then straight to C section.
AIBU to ask for c section without trying induction?

(For context, second child..first was hassle free, gas and air and water birth. This one has been heavy on the hassle and caused loads of worry- and doesn't seem to want to come out at all)

Pushing the peak??? I meant to write pushing the pram.

I opted for a section over induction when I had my first, though my circumstances were rather different to yours. Obviously for a start it was my first baby, but I was only 37 weeks pregnant with a high head, an unfavourable cervix and a baby who was already stressed and with poor growth due to me having fairly bad preeclampsia. There were also concerns about me, including deteriorating kidney function and an problem unrelated to pregnancy that I have that can cause serious problems with anaesthesia. So the chances of an uneventful induction were not great, and the last thing I wanted was an emergency section in the middle of the night when staffing levels are lower and a consultant anaesthetist would probably not be immediately available. So I had what turned out to be a very calm and fairly straightforward section in the middle of the day with the most senior obstetrician in the hospital and the lead obstetric anaesthetist looking after me. Unfortunately I then proved to be one of the rare people whose pre eclampsia gets worse rather than better after the birth so I had a long hospital stay because of that. There were no problems directly related to the section though, and if I had ever needed another one I wouldn't have been worried about it. I definitely think I made the right decision. I got a fair bit of grief from some people, including some midwives about "not even giving it a try" but even the most pushy ones did admit there was a high chance I would end up with an emergency section so I just ignored it and chose what seemed to me the safest and most logical option.
All my subsequent children were born vaginally. The recoveries were definitely quicker than after the section - even forceps was ok for me though I do know people who have had difficult post forceps recoveries. But I still don't regret my section and it was a good experience.
In your situation though, I might be inclined to wait a bit longer (assuming you and baby are well of course) and I wouldn't rule out induction. As you have given birth vaginally before, if you go into labour, all other things being equal, you stand a much better chance of having a vaginal birth than I did in my circumstances. Maybe you could make a plan with your caregivers with agreed criteria around when you would want to opt for a section if the induction doesn't go 100% smoothly? For example - if I don't go into labour within X hours of the pessary I would like a section, or if I haven't reached y cm dilation by z o'clock I would prefer a section etc. Or you could say that you agree to say, the pessary +/- having your waters broken but not the drip. My last baby was significantly overdue so I had to make a similar decision, with the added complication of having had a section previously. I agreed criteria along those lines with my obstetrician though in the end I did go into spontaneous labour the night before decision day. By consenting to induction of labour you don't have to accept all possible elements of induction or to labour indefinitely. But if you feel strongly you want a section from the outset that is also a completely valid choice and YAdefinitelyNBU.
I hope things go well for you, whatever you decide.

I had a induction and forceps with my dd (4 months today!) and honestly I'd do it again. The induction itself was fine, I had an epidural which was lovely!!! 😂 only had to have forceps because my dd decided she wasn't budging and I was losing a lot of blood. I'm now fully healed and even considering another baby next year (😱)

You have to think that if you go with induction, it could still be 3-4 days before you deliver & will most likely have to have some intervention for delivery plus probably at least 24 hours in hospital after you have delivered. Opting for C section without induction, you will most likely be admitted on delivery day & if everything goes well be home 24-36 hours later. I would discuss with midwife or consultant that if you haven't gone in to labour by X date, you would like a C section instead of induction. That way you are giving your body a chance to start labour naturally & have the knowledge that you have a section booked if needed.

As someone tediously plodding through on week four of emergency c-section recovery, I'd advise trying to avoid section... Unless you're after weeks of misery following the birth of your child!

Induction comes with a higher risk of interventions.

I had an induction at 41 weeks with my first and planned section at 39 weeks with my second. I'd choose the planned section again and again. I had a hard recovery from a forceps delivery with my first., it also felt like the safer option for baby too

Ps, I'm being deliberately vague because you don't need horror stories. You need to be confident in your choice and trust your body

I've just realised I'm still using my affirmations from hypnobirthing 😂

I had an induction with DS.
It went fine. 7 hours after the first contractions started, baby was born.

But I had a friend who took days to deliver her DD after being induced. Still I would take that risk to avoid C section, it’s major surgery.
Good luck OP

The drip induction is hard. My first was induced at 38w with the drip. My second was a totally different experience and a total walk in the park in comparison. I’m your circs, you’d hope the fact that it is number 2 would make things easier and I’d be keen to avoid a section. So, although the drip can be unpleasant, it is probably worth a go, especially if you ever want a third.

There is little point comparing experiences of pessary and drip inductions. They are totally different with different sets of risks and complications. With the drip you’ll be constantly monitored and you should think about an epidural. Because I was in so much pain with no.1, I didn’t notice I was really in labour with no.2 until I hit transition and even then, I didnt realise how far along I was. I was shocked how different it was.

Pessary induction here. Ended up with a full labour to ten cm then an epidural, spinal and forceps but that’s just because he had a big head and was stuck. Forceps delivery was absolutely fine, didn’t feel a thing obviously, not in pain after at all, no healing problems.

Having had an induction+EMCS for baby #1(pessary, drip , so a 2 day affair in total then baby changed her mind and tried to head away from the exit) and induction +VBAC for #2 (balloon cath, ARM, 10 hours on drip) I would go for induction again if I was having #3. It's boring, then painful and boring but doable. Any chance of balloon induction? You can have gas+air while they put it in.

Also- you have already had one child easily so at least you know that your uterus and cervix can respond appropriately to oxytocin so I wouldn't rule out syntocin. My obstetrician friend says nonchalantly "Oh I always flog the first timers with syntocin; you have to, to get anywhere; second timers don't need as much to get them going"

Ive had 3 babies & been induced twice, once with the pessary and once with the hormonal drip.

Im not a doctor but i doubt they would need the drip this late on in the pregnancy, i reckon pessary will work fine

I had the pressary the 2nd time i was induced but as it wasnt progressing they put me on the hormone drip. I remember someone coming in to advise i had an epidural.... i didnt want one, was terrified of having a needle in my spine

I soon changed my mind when the drip kicked in. It takes you from 0 to 10, was very painful but as soon as i had the epidural it turned into the easiest birth id ever had ( this was my 3rd )

Could feel the pressure of him coming out but couldnt feel the pain and didnt need any forcecaps or anything x

I was induced with my first and it was a long nightmare of a delivery but I would choose that again over csection, recovering from a csection whilst looking after a newborn is not fun.

I was induced on due date for both my DC. My body was nowhere near ready to deliver and l still had good labours and deliverys....8hr first DC 2.5hrs second DC

Both mine started with pessary and then the drip.

Would never want a CS. Major surgery and no rest to recover from it

I've had two inductions one at 42 weeks and one at 38 weeks. Both had pessesary. With the 38 weeker they broke my waters at 4cm so I could have a scalp monitor. She was out 18 minutes later.

I was induced with my son at 36 weeks and honestly I was dreading it as in our antenatal classes they had said if you could avoid it as it was a much longer process, so we started with the gel and honestly nothing much happened for the first 2,after the 3rd I had some pains etc but I needed the drip,and my waters broke, also I had to have a fetal scalp pH test done to monitor baby's oxygen levels,my drip was slowed down also, I had an epidural, and after 9 & a half hours in labour, 5 in active labour my little boy was born, my induction took less than 24 hours and was not completely without stress but if I was given the option again I'd pick it, I know every induction is different but I was up and moving the next day and felt good, honestly induction wasn't the nightmare I was led to believe it was

Induction on a drip would be my choice. I had zero contractions without it. No way would I voluntarily opt for major surgery. You can, absolutely, push with an epidural. x

I was advised to get induced. Still wasn't dilating after about 12 hours so I asked for an epidural as they said I would be getting a c section if I was still like this in several hours. The epidural allowed by body to relax and I was ready to give birth after an hour. Birth itself took 20 minutes and I was on my feet an hour after.

As others have said a c section is major surgery.

I had an induction - and was in a similar position to you in that there was no way the midwife could do a successful sweep. The pessary did enough to allow them to break my waters, but it was then 12 hrs on the drop before I finally gave birth, and I did need a ventouse (thankfully not forceps).

It was unpleasant. Once I accepted that it was going to involve considerable intervention and opted for an epidural I at least slept through some of it. But the recovery afterwards was so much quicker than some of my NCT friends who had ended up with C-sections.

Despite the experience being unpleasant, I would still personally opt for that couple of days being rough in order to have the easier recovery afterwards.

I went in for an induction with my first at 41+4 after a failed sweep (cervix closed). Tried a pessary to soften/open my cervix. They can only put you on a drip I believe if able to break waters. Pessary did nothing for me. More failed sweeps. Cervix still closed. They gave me a pessary too. Cervix never ever opened. Had three days of this (one at home). C section was on 42 weeks. Was absolutely fine.

My consultant recommended straight to C-section because DS was so small and he "didn't want to put him through the stress of an induced birth.". (As pp have pointed out, they are much more aggressive labours than spontaneous ones).

My CS was fine, a very positive experience, and I recovered remarkably fast. (Anecdotal, but my impression is planned CS usually have a smoother recovery than emergency ones - possibly because you're not going into them on the back of 36 hours of pain and no sleep.)

Also as PP have said, inductions raise the likelihood of interventions including CS. I'd ask your doctor what percentage of their spontaneous labours end in CS versus what percentage of their induced labours. (There may even be a NICE report out there with the figures nationally but finding them for your hospital would be more helpful).

I was induced, first pessary and then gel. No change whatsoever! Options then were a second gel induction or a c section. At this point we were 30 hours into induction process. After lots of discussion, backwards and forward between decisions, it was actually a midwife that helped us make our decision.
She said to us it was unlikely that in another 6 hours after the gel went in that there would be enough of a change to break waters. So we decided on a c section for the following day. BEST decision for us by far!!
My 'just under average' sized baby came out weighing 9lb 9oz
I was told if she had attempted to come out naturally it's likely she would have got stuck and we'd have ended up with an emergency section.
This may sound silly but I believe my body didn't progress into labour because it knew it was best she came out via c section.
I have decided that any future pregnancy will now result in a c section.

My friend had indcutiins for both her sons - both very straightforward labours and home the next day - she feels they were both really positive experiences.

I had a back to back labour which went on for ages. Ended up pushing for ages etc and they discussed forceps (my biggest fear) - I said no, wanted to go straight for c section, which they were happy for and I had an emergency section. Recovery was fine after the first couple of days.

Wishing you all the best whatever you decide!