What happens..when you're induced?

[Highlandgirl]

I was just wondering what happens when you're induced?

I've been told if nature doesn't work I'll be induced later this week. I'm a first timer so a wee bit nervous

Thanks

Talk to your midwife about what will happen for you as I'm sure it'll be different for everyone, and will depend on your hospital etc. And everyone's experiences of induced labour will be different.

For me, I was induced at 42 weeks. I had one prostaglandin pessary and that was enough to send me very quickly into full blown labour. However, I know that it doesn't always happen like this and some people have to have several pessaries/further intervention.

After the pessary was inserted I was constantly monitored which made moving around difficult (had things strapped to my bump!)

If I were you, I'd do some research about the interventions that can happen after induction. Research pain relief too. I was only going to have gas and air but ended up having pethidine and later a spinal block as DS was delivered via ventouse so I had to have an episiotomy. Also, once I was induced I automatically went under consultant care and so was told I couldn't have a water birth as I'd wanted.

Finally, remember that you don't have to be induced if you don't want to.

Good luck!

Thanks BorntoFolk

I'm currently 40/4 but doctors have advise I should have one. Since i've had contractions but they stopped last week. Plugs gone. Had a sweep on Friday as I was 1/2 cm. I'm already 3cm gone (as of Saturday) But not having any pains etc etc at the moment.

Seeing my doctor tomorrow at her clinic, so will ask about pain relief, thank you for the tip.

Have a feeling if I was induced it might kick off quite quickly. But we shall see.

It's the knowing i'm dilated and nothing happening which i'm finding a bore

It does vary but will probably start with having pessaries inserted. If they don't work you will put on a drip to start contractions. I won't go into off putting stories / anecdotes but one of the main reasons why people (inc me) found it perhaps more painful is because the drip and constant fetal monitoring prevents you from moving around to relieve the pain of contractions. If possible, discuss with them the options for staying mobile as much as possible. Good luck

If you're 3cm dilated they would most likely skip the pessary as the whole point of it is to soften and open teh cervix. I was 2cm and they said I didn't need it.

The next step is trying to break your waters, and at 3cm this would most likely be enough to get contractions going.

If this doesn't work - they may not be able to break your waters or the contractions might not come on strong enough - they will hook you up to a synto drip. Once the synto kicks in the contractions will be hard and fast, or they were for me anyway.

My advice is, if you feel you need an epidural don't let them fob you off with crappy diamorphine, it made me feel sleepy but didn;t dull the pain, and it slowed DS's heartbeat down to the point they were getting quite worried.

HOWEVER, this is my experience only, and as trixie says, it's a different experience for everyone.

Good luck!

Thank you guys...this is a real help.

I have a friend who's a MW at another hospital so i'm fully prepped for tomorrow's appointment.

Having my waters broken, sounds horrid. God I hope it doesn't hurt...I do think I'll end up with an epidural as I'm a big chicken....

Just want this baby out now!!

Something that can happen with induction is that it makes BF more difficult, so if you are planning to BF you might need extra help and support.
Best of luck anyway.

Just had a long chat with my MW about this today

You are unlikely to need a pessary if you are already 3 cm dilated - it's purpose is to dilate you sufficiently to enable your waters to be broken (I have had this done before and it is uncomfortable rather than painful).

Once your waters have been broken then contractions should start. If they don't you will be given the syntocinon drip.

At my hospital provided that you don't require the drip you can have an active labour as they wont insist on monitoring. I plan to labour in the pool and apparently that is fine.

Hello there. I was induced with DC1 at 3cm (my waters had gone very early, so they wanted him out quick to minimise risk of induction).

As you are 3cm already, I doubt very much you'll have the pessary. As others have said, it'll be waters broken and then if that doesn't work, the drip.

As your body is already on its way, so to speak, chances are your induction will be successful. I say that from experience and as the thought of being induced was, for me, terrifying.

My induction was fine. 9 hours, gas and air, one shot of pethidine. No other intervention and a slight graze only - so inductions CAN be OK and not neccessarily lead to epidural, episitomy, ventouse etc. The pain, I found, was manageable, although I have nothing to compare it to as DS was my first.

What I would suggest is:

• You argue very strongly NOT to be confined to bed. Some hospitals try and keep you on your back in bed due to the need (if on a drip) to be continuously monitored. I refused, and spent my labour on all fours, leaning over the bed (even delivered standing up!). I could not have managed the pain otherwise and lucikly my midwives supported me. Please do insist on this if you want it as I'm pretty sure, for me, it led to an OK labour/delivery.
• Find out as much as possible beforehand what will be happening to you. Not easy, I know - no one told me at my hospital until I kicked up a fuss! But knowing exactly what the process was, what might/could /'go wrong' (e.g. at what point they would intervene if I didn't progress) and even where they would put me really helped me cope with being, frankly, shit scared about the whole thing.

Inductions can be OK and it sounds like you're off to a good start. Whatever happens, you'll have your baby very soon - best of luck.

ps. I'm currently 6 days overdue so facing up to the same thing AGAIN so know how you feel!

pps. you don't have to be induced if you don't want to, or want to give it a few more days. You can have expectant monitoring instead - they like to push you into induction rather than this and at my hospital they're not even talking about induction until 40+12 for me...

Not to hijack, but SGB what do you mean about it making BF more difficult? I had real trouble with DS in the beginning - it took ages for my milk to come in and he lost a lot of weight. We battled on for 10 weeks but that's as far as it went...I always wondered if being induced had anything to do with it (especially re the milk coming in).
Do you know more about it?

I was induced and had no problems with breats feeding once we had got over the initial latching on difficulties - good luck !

Thank you nancydrewfoundaclue and Sufi this is the sort of information I was after. Excellent stuff and yes I agree Sufi terrifying!!

I do not wish to be confined to bed, so will push hard to be 'active'. I believe this will keep me calm too

How's your father, pineapple, curry, a 2 mile walk yesterday and then more pineapple. This wee lump isn't keen on leaving! Try it all again tonight...!

You might want to try acupuncture too, Highlandgirl. It didn't work for me but it was very relaxing and made me feel like I was doing something to help get things started...

i was induced, it took 3 pessaries and a drip that requires epidural, took ages but all good in the end, i had difficulty breastfeeding, my milk took 10 days to come, the mw said because of the drugs, and ds was losing soo much weight we had to formula feed to start with, i manage to mixed feed for 4.5 months,...
in my hospital, they wanted me to move, apparently being on your back only makes it slowlier, and i could have a water birth, if i only wasn't exhausted but nothing to do with the induction.
hopes everything goes well and quick for you

I had trouble BFing, not enough milk (plus flat nipples and DS inheriting my pointy chin and nose meant a good latch was not exactly happening), gave up after a month. Then read later that sometimes the induction can cause problems with BF, especially if you throw beta blockers into the mix as well. I still think that with more support I might have managed to BF a bit more so my advice would always be to anyone having an induction who wants to BF, be preparedfor it to be harder and you to need more help.

My waters broke but I didn't go into labour so was induced, but was half expecting that anyway as was nearly 2 weeks late.
The drip was a bit of a pain and it does change the way that contractions come, the MW increase the dose on a regular basis which speeds up the contractions. I did find it painful and was on gas and air from the off. I also had pethidine, which for me was great - I had a few hours of peaceful and bearable labour with no obvious side effects on baby. However, I still was not dilating fast enough - my hospital had a policy of delivering within 48 hours of waters breaking to minimise infection so DD had to be got out.

By this time I had been offered and accepted an epidural which was a huge relief, much less scary than I had feared and made the whole process much much less painful, it also meant that they could 'top up' the epidural to enable me to have a c-section. DD was delivered, healthy and kicking and feeding within minutes.

Thanks SCG, Beamur and getofme for your posts...will make a note of everything so i'm fully armed this afternoon.

Just quite concerned today that my doctor is going to suggest another sweep.. which I know I don't have to have but really will another work if, the first one didn't

Borntofolk Oddly acupuncture the thought of it gives me the hebegeebees...been having reflexology but that hasn't work, but very relaxing on the old twinkle toe's.

It's hard as naturally we all react to things differently. I'm guessing BF is just one of those things we all have to deal with in some shape or form. In the end it's all positive but getting there might be a bit of a struggle, and as long as I'm well imformed and ready for it..then that should make things at bit easier (hahaha famous last words)

I ended up with cS when my induction didn;t work and it did delay BF a little because my milk didn;t come in for 6 days but I fed DS colostrum and formula in the meantime and then continued to mix feed perfectly well until we weaned him at about 5 months. I actually think giving them a mixture of things very early helps them to cope and not be too precious about ONLY boob or this particual bottle or whatever. It makes life much easier for you if other people can feed your baby occasionally, even if its expressed milk.

Hello higlandGirl >, am still here too (knittakid) and today it's 40+5. Was reading the nice guidelines yesterday and when given the gel they recommend to keep active, even in the pool for pain relief. It's worth having a look at those as people don't always tell you everything. If I went by what a new mw I saw yesterday told me I'd have thought that I had to have a sweep and then be induced at 40+10, no matter what. I knew otherwise and then she didn't deny it, but didn't volunteer the info herself.
As others have said, you prob. won't need the gel anyway. Hope things happen by themselves soon!

Hello everyone...

Thank you very much for all the advice about being induced. I felt very well prepared when I had my doctors appointment this afternoon.

I will be induced on the 8th if baby doesn't arrive before then. In the mean time I've had my 2nd sweep and I'm still 3cm dilated. Lets hope this does the trick.