induced tomorrow, any tips?

[RayeB]

I will be 11 days over tomorrow. Had unsuccessful sweep so being induced tomorrow. I'm really excited but nervous too. Any tips? My first baby was on time so this is all new, thanks

I would insist on speaking to a consultant. I found that I barely saw a doctor in my 4 day induction and I think that I might have had a better outcome if I had a proper conversation with one and had one look at my notes.

Take an mp3 player to block out the ward noise. Good luck!

Ditto to talking to a doctor - I only saw registrars during my (failed) induction and had a debrief with a consultant last week and found out stuff I didn't know at the time!

Insist they try doing CTGs when you're sitting on a ball, not lying on your back - if it doesn't work, you then have the option of lying down, but it may mean you don't have to be on your back. Not all of the MWs were supportive of trying on the ball (with those that were, it worked fine!) and I've now found out that DD went OP during the first 24 hours of being in hospital (main reason for the induction failing), so I really wish I had point blank refused to have CTGs lying on my back (as it works fine when sitting on a ball!).

FWIW, my induction was at 38 weeks because of PE and OC and DD really wasn't ready, so yours is far far more likely to work!

Hi firstly good luck with it i'm sure you'll be absolutely fine.

I was induced with my DS (already 5 months old ) at 39+2 because of gestational diabetes and was the same as you, excited but nervous. We went in prepared to be there for a few days but I went into labour pretty much as soon as they gave me the gel stuff! I would suggest having an overnight bag with just a few bits in with you and keep a bag with enough stuff for 3-4 days in the car just in case. Oh and take some puzzle books or something to pass the time.

x

Just so you know OP, not all inductions become horror stories of long labours and a cascade of onterventions. Yes, some do but this is far more likely when induction happens early because of medical neccesity. At 40+11 you're probably ready to give birth. I have been induced twice (1st and 3rd births) due to late dates and had very easy, straight-forward births both times.

DS1 was 3hours 12 minutes from having my waters broken to birth and DS3 was 1 hour 29 mins. No intervention and I only had gas and air both times.

I'm not writing this to belittle the experiences of those who have had difficult labours but I do think many people talk about the horror stories of induction and the "good" stories never get heard (at least that was my experience).

The only piece of advice I will offer you is to make sure your care-providers discuss everything with you and to ask lots of questions until you're absolutely certain of the facts. This will help you fell much more in control and calm about everything. Hopefully, at your stage in pregnancy you will only need pessaries and/or waters breaking to help you along (I had both first time and only my waters broken with DS3). The drip will be used if the pessaries fail to get your cervix moving.

Good luck and above all, just look forward to meeting your baby!

Hi there, I was induced on my due date also due to gestational diabetes - it didn't work for me and my DS went into faetal distress and I had a c-section - so probably the "worst" outcome you can have.

However, it was actually fine. I was well monitored all the way through and the c-section was no drama.

I will say, the contractions were quite painful as they came on fast and strong and I had an epidural, but lots of people I know who were induced didn't have epidurals so it isn't a sure thing.

Good luck and don't feel bad about having as much pain relief as you need! There are no medals and you still get a baby at the end of it, who has no idea how you have given birth anyway!

Christ "foetal"

Oh and definitely take something to help you pass the time. My labours were fast but waiting around for a bed in labour ward for the actual induction took forever because they were busy and as I was well and not an emergency I was waiting forever for the actual induction!

Hi, I was induced at 40+8 because I was overdue and because of high blood pressure. DS arrived two days later after failed ventouse and forceps. Before the induction the midwife tried to give me two sweeps unsuccessfully. In the end I had one lot of 24 hour lasting prostin gel, then they broke my waters and then syntocin drip. Proper contractions started after they broke my waters. I asked for an epidural before they put me on the drip.
My tips are:

1. Ask what they are doing. Once you are in the process you start feeling slightly out of control so make sure they tell you what the next steps are.
2. Bring big knickers that can hold the big maternity pads. I was given maternity pads once they had broken my waters but nothing to hold them. As a result I could not move around very much because I was leaking all over the place. Not great because I was then confined to the bed.
3. Not sure how you feel about pain relief.. I knew pretty early on that I did not want to go through it without an epidural.

The positive thing about an induction is that you are not caught out in surprise. You can be assured that you have a bed and a room to labour in. Friends of mine who went into labour spontaneously were labouring in bathrooms, hospital corridors etc..
Good luck! Who knows, maybe the gel is enough to kick things off for you.

I was induced at 40+12 and my labour took 3 and a half hours from start to finish, so it's definitely not true all induced labours are long and drawn out! If I have to be induced again I will be insisting on getting the epidural in BEFORE the drip. Because I went so fast there was no time for the epidural, and OH MY GOD did it hurt.

Tips;

• Remember you don't have to be induced, and you aren't even overdue for another few days.
• You don't have to accept CFM; a midwife ad a hand-held monitor to my stomach for the duration of labour instead, so I could be fully mobile.
• If you do choose to accept CFM, DO NOT tell anyone that you have to lie back on the bed, so it can work. If the mw needs to stand next to you holiding the pads down so it picks up the babies heartbeat, then fine, but stay upright and mobile all the time
• Any tips you pick up from this thread that you plan to use, inform your birth partner of. Get them to be your advocate, and to make sure nothing is done to your body that you don't want.

I've had two inductions, one dreadful (laid on back with cfm, resultingly so painful I had to have epidural, resulting in forceps delivery with minor injuries to baby and major, ongoing injuries to me) and the other wonderful, with no cfm, fully mobile, only gas and air, and no stitches or tears. You can be induced and have a happy result!

I would agree about asking for the epidural before the drip. I had it afterwards and actually found that the worst bit. I had planned for just G&A and was so overwhlemed once they had started to induce me and really wished I had felt a bit more in control... which I did so once I'd got the drugs! I went on to have a lovely 7 hour water birth with my second pregnancy and it felt so different to being induced. I don't mean to scare you BTW and really once I'd had the epidural it was fine.

not advice as such but a warning that in my hospital women being induced were often on a shared ward of up to 5 beds.

I was lucky in that I only had to share with one other lady in a double room (with its own bathroom)but in either case you just have the space of a normal hospital cubicle and there are only curtains dividing you from the next bed.

that means all discussions of your labour, talk of examinations etc can clearly be heard by everyone else so its not that private :(.

but in terms of being prepared, i took sudoko puzzles with me (I'm a bit mad that way!) and found that I whizzed through them really quickly in the middle of a contraction!

During the day I was allowed out of the hospital to go for walks and that really helped deal with the boredom and the pain when it came

I had a natural labour but DD arrived about 50 hours after I was admitted so it was a long haul. But, as others have said, don't listen to scare stories about induction, there are some very positive experiences and as its not your first DC things could move very quickly.

good luck!

No suggestions but watching with interest; 40+1 today!

Is there a medical reason why you are being induced? Is the baby showing signs of distress?

I was induced with my first at 38, so not quite the same as you.

ANyway, from my experience, when contractions started they were very mild and I couldn't feel them at all, it rather lulled me into a false sense of security! Once they got going properly it was instantly very painful, and I felt like I hadn't had a chance to get used to the idea of them, they were suddenly there and taking hold of me. It also took ages to get beyond 2cm dilated.

I would make sure you ask for an epidural in good time - if you don't want it when the time comes, that's great, but if you're having to wait for it that's less good if everything has suddenly got painful.

Agree re keeping mobile and the issue of continuous monitoring. I ended up on the bed the whole time, the monitor straps were very tight and uncomfortable. but because I couldn't feel the contractions to start off with I was happy to laze on the bed, read etc... then oh look, that's where I was kept by the MWs for the whole labour, until finally a lovely MW came on shift and briskly told me and the other MWs that I was to get off the bed and move around. The changes in dilation definitely came with moving from the labour ward to the delivery room (a whole floor away) and then once I got off the bed at around 8cm I think.

FWIW I had no other intervention than the epidural, so induction doesn't have to lead to forceps, ventouse, c section!

Good luck. oh yes and do keep questioning what's happening, why and whether it's necessary right now. Depends on the MWs but you can sometimes become an accessory to the birth if you lie back like a good quiet patient!

I was induced and was in labour in a shared room with 5 other people who weren't yet in labour, whom i quite frankly wanted to FUCK OFF.

I'd agree with keeping an open mind about pain relief, and speak up if you are in pain, as the nurse on duty wouldn't give me anything 'because i wasn't in enough pain'. What she meant was, i wasn't shouting loud enough. She came back to check on me and i was throwing up and barely holding myself upright in the chair. Clearly felt a bit guilty then as i got whisked off to a labour suite with a recommendation to get an epidural.

You wont get any medals for being a martyr, i'd definitely recommend the epidural, as by the time you actually deliver, you might well have been labouring for over 24 hours. An epidural means you can even sleep for a bit.

None of the pain and crap will actually matter though when you've got your beautiful healthy baby out. You'll be running in adrenaline and very proud.

Hope it all goes well for you xx

I was induced at 40+14, and, like some others here, it was all perfectly straightforward - far better than I had feared. I feel really lucky to have had such a good and straightforward experience.

It was 12 hours from the start of the induction to feeding my baby, and I didn't need any intervention or even pharmaceutical pain relief - I was able to spend time in a birthing pool, and to stay upright and active when I wanted. They asked me to lie down for the foetal heart monitoring as the default option, but were fine for me to get up and be active when I wanted to, with a midwife holding the monitor pad in place.

I guess my advice would be to treat it like you would if you weren't being induced - so follow all the normal advice to stay active, listen to what your body says about the position that will help you most and get in that position, etc.

Although I was really dreading being induced, I'm actually glad I was in the end, as I suspect that had I not been induced then it would have been much longer and might not have been such a good experience.

Good luck!

I was induced at a week overdue as the waters round the baby were leaking (but not broken) and I decided that I would rather go for an induction while the baby was healthy and strong, rather than wait for a natural labour but have a distressed and compromised baby by the time labour started.
For me, it went fast! Had the first round of drugs at 4.00 pm, was monitored for a few hours to check no adverse reaction. Was also told at this point that the first round of drugs usually indiced nothing but a few cramps, a sort of 'system gearing up' effect, so a second round would be administered at around 10.00pm. By 8.30 I was writhing on the ward bed saying to my husband 'I can't do this. If this is cramps, I'm changing my mind about this whole birth thing, I don't want to do it any more - it'll kill me.' He went off to find a midwife but they were all changing shifts so one rushed back with him, gave me some paracemtamol and left again. Then I did have a minor reaction to something (original drugs, pain, paracetamol, panic... who knows?) and threw up everywhere. At which point they came and checked me out properly and said 'No, this is labour.' And then I relaxed totally - I was just so stressed that what I was experiencing were just crampsand worrying about how much worse contractions would be. Once they said that these were in fact contractions it was a big relief and my attitude went to 'Oh, ok, I can do this then!' I got taken to a delivery room to be monitored, and then they gave me the chance to move around and go down for the waterbirth, all on my birth plan. In fact what i wanted by then was to lie very still, without talking, and just daydream - took myself off in my head to a place away from the pain. I also had the gas and air pretty much constantly - they said the contractions would start slowly and build so if I sucked on the g&a as soon as it started, it would be at full strength when the force of the contraction hit (takes about 10 seconds for the gas to take effect). Well, my contractions seemed to start in the middle. They hit me like a freight train, then died away. So I just hung on to the g&a so that I was ready for the start of the contraction. Can't think why, but my memory of the next few hours is a little hazy!!!
It all went like a textbook birth until right at the end, and that was nothing to do with being induced and everything to do with the baby having arms over her head and the cord round her neck. Despite that, and the sudden flurry of movement to get her out safely once they'd realised she was stuck, it was fast for a first labout and she arrived at 3.45 am - just under 12 hours from the time I got given the drugs!
Hope your birth goes well and that you are snuggling your newborn very very soon.

Keep on moving. Don't lie down. Take comfy shoes for pounding the car park and stairs. Take some snacks and drinks with you, the food is usually dire. Bounce on that ball for all you're worth. I had continuous monitoring, but staff were happy for me to bounce, walk etc. Get some sleep in tonight!
Good luck.

oh, my baby was 17 days late, and i'd argued to get it later. You really dont need to get induced if you dont think you're ready.

I was meant to be induced vis drip at 39 weeks due to migraines, but,
I went in the day before and after waiting a day and a half, the mw tried to break my waters, she couldnt do it properly so got the doctor to break them at 9.30pm.
Dd was born at 12.30am with just G and A, and no drip.
Dd was also my 2nd dc and my best birth! It was, dare I say, easy
Maybe you could see if they will hold off the drip, as I did after having your waters broken.
I also dont agree with what my friend used to say about having your waters broke leads to a dry birth, so if you have heard that saying ignore it. Good luck

via not vis

agree with everyone who says to keep moving. even if it is to go to the loo every half hour.
at the end of my induction my butt hurt more than any contractions because I was in more or less one position all the time because I was young and naive and the midwife a bit bossy...
don't make the midwifes job easier if it means you are not feeling right.