What to expect from an induction??

[Mummytobe2014]

Its looking like i am going to be induced at some point this week, unless the baby makes an appearance on his own.
I really dnt know what to expect, no one has discussed the procedure with me. I.e what happens, how long it takes, do i stay at hospital all day, how do i get induced etc etc???

Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect or need to ask for?

I am nervous about being induced as wanted tl be at home for the most part.

Thank you

I can tell you about my induction - may bear some/no resemblance to anyone else's.

I was 12 days overdue with 3rd baby. Went in to hospital at 7:30. Had gel pessary inserted about 8 am. Had about an hour of monitoring on a bed in the ante natal ward and then was "allowed" to leave ward. Was advised to stay near hospital and chose to wander around the grounds, have a cuppa etc but probably could have gone home as we only lived a mile away. However had 2 toddlers at home so stayed at the hospital instead!!! Nothing happened all morning - had lunch then sent hubbie home to see the kids, let grandparents know what was going on and so I could have a sleep on the ward while he was gone. Thought we could be in for a long night as no inklings of anything happening at that stage. He went about 1 pm. By the time he came back at 3 pm I was having full blown 5 min apart contractions and was being moved to the deliveries ward! Got there, asked for the pool, paced around while they filled it up, stripped off, climbed in had about half an hour of wallowing like a hippo before feeling need to push. Only had about 2 pushes before dc3 shot out.

So that was my induction. Very different to both my previous 2 labours. One was full epidural and ventouse delivery after a very long back to back labour the other was a spontaneous labour at 10 days over about 6 hours and also a water birth.

Mine was very positive, I was given a vaginal pessary which started contractions and my body took over from there.

Until the pessary my cervix was closed and unfavourable, but contractions started within 20 minutes and my son was born in 12 hours.

Things don't always run that smoothly, it would be wrong of me to suggest they do. The hormones can start false labour, and it can be very intense very quickly. You might be put on a drip to speed things up. And nothing might happen at all, in which case you'll probably have to wait a while (12 hours rings a bell) and then try again.

Your midwife or consultant should really talk you through all this, when's your next appt?

I hope, if it comes to it, that you have a positive experience and it's all nice and calm. Good luck!

Thank you, my cervix is closed and unfavourable have had two failed sweeps. Nxt appt is wednesday, its difficult because i am seeing a different mw each appt now so they all do thinga differently. The mw today said mw from fri should have referred me for induction but she didnt amd no one has given me any clues as to what happens.
So if i have a pessary i can still move about etc? But if i have a drip i will be limited to bed?
Was you nervous about an induction?

You have to stay in bed for a while for the pessary to stay in the right place long enough to work, because I wasn't getting strong or regular contractions in this time I was able to read and chat to the other women on the ward though so didn't feel I was suffering. After that I was free to move around, bounced on a ball, paced up and down etc. I even walked up to the delivery suite under my own steam!

Once the drip goes in I think you're tied down because of the line but I never had one so I'm not really sure.

I wasn't overly nervous, my Mum was a midwife until she retired and warned me it could go on for days, have false starts etc so I wasn't expecting anythin dramatic (I took two full novels to keep me entertained, I got halfway through the first one and that was mainly down to the time DS spent in SCBU due to blood sugar problems) but like I said it kicked in quickly and progressed well and was all very positive for me.

Stupidly I'm now 33 weeks with DC2 and more worried about labour than I was last time!

I was just put on a drip at 33weeks the waters had gonebut nothing else jhappened. Sat there strapped to a bed for 36hrs nothing happened but thankfully dd was not in distress and no sign of infection ended up with emergency cs originally planed at 4am but had to wait till 9:30am. Noone really explained that I might not go into labour they all seemed to think it would work but no noticable contractions.

I do have to say the cs wasnt as bad as id thought it was going to be but was a shock to me at the time as I was against it from the moment I found out I was up duff really didnt want a spinal or epidural (scare stories) but was ok and after was ok.

Im still waiting for my induction date but looks like it will be going ahead as no sign of baby!
I think i am nervous because from what i understand the pain can be alot more intense as your body isnt really ready etc..
Im also pretty anxious about spending alot of time at hospital with nothing happening im worried that i wont remain positive and therefore struggle with pushing as il be tired etc
What will be will be but i had hoped things wld progress naturally.
Thank you for sharing with me

Hi mummytobe :) I was induced in October. One thing I wish I'd known is how long it can take; a full three days for me (I was unlucky though!)

I had the full induction experience! It was:
-Pessary put in for 24 hours (but I had to stay in hospital; got to walk around though).
-Gel dose one 24 hours after Pessary
-Gel dose two six hours later
-Gel dose three another six hours later
(I had only very mild discomfort during all of this).
THEN on my third night in hospital my waters had to be broken by a doctor, and I was put on the syntocinon drip, which kick started labour which lasted 13 hours.

It can work much faster of course; but do be prepared just in case you have a long haul like me!

Good luck! :)

Mine was as follows:
Arrive at hospital at 8.00
Pessary at 9.00
Released into the hospital grounds to wander aimlessly for hour
Return to ward for crap sandwich 12.30
Continue ambling around like a barge
Labour started around 5pm
Back to back birth with increasing intervention for next 24 hours. Gas and air (meh), followed by a bath, then some morphine (crap), then they broke my waters, more pointless contractions.
New midwife arrived, offered me an epidural (yes please!) epidural administered and I fell asleep for an hour!
Woke up determined, consultant said I could push so got on with it. Mobile epidural so birthed within an hour of starting on a birthing stool.

It took ages but was totally worth it. Hope it goes well for you

Thanks Bree - Blimey three days thats scary altho i have prepared myself for it to possibly take time! Did u find the drip made ur contractions very painful? I have read that they really hot up and can be alot more painful?

Hi The, i have considered the mobile epidural and i also liked the idea of birthing chair.

Im booked in for Sat so im trying to relax now and just take it as it comes

I've had 2 inductions, both on the drip.

First time, pessaries for 48 hours, this opened cervix enough for them to break my waters, waited an hour then put on the drip (was admitted wednesday morning, had baby at 2am early hours of saturday). I found it incredibly painful (gas and air didnt work for me, ended up with diamorphine, which I didn't like) but then I did all my dilating in one hour, so it was ridiculously quick, hence the pain i think. I was also kept to the bed (which I hated), I had pre-eclampsia so had more wires on me than normal.

Second time round was fantastic :-) I had one pessary, they broke my waters - I got 2 hours to see if labour would start, then was put on the drip about 11am - had baby at 8pm - contractions were totally fine, in fact I did the whole thing with no pain relief at all, they came in waves and were easy to breath through. I was able to stand beside the bed (I told them I wanted this at the beginning and it is doable, so make sure you tell them that you want to be able to get on and off the bed) and in all honesty it was a great experience (brilliant midwife). So, the drip itself doesn't necessarily mean it will be excessively painful.

Once you get the pessary, you have to stay in bed for a while (maybe an hour?) while they link you up with a ctg, after that, you can do what you like :-)

Some women will go into labour after the pessary is inserted (happened to two women on my ward) so you might not need to have the drip.

Good luck :-)

I had one just two weeks ago! Straight on the drip at 7pm. Mild discomfort untill 10 were I got gas and air. 11 diamorphine. At 2 I felt the urge to push and at 3am my little boy was born! I was soooo scares o being induced because I'd heard so many scare stories but mine went well, I felt in control and I knew what was going on. I did go in 1cm dilated though.
As I was on the drip I couldn't move from the bed which was a pain especially as I needed to go to the loo!
I'd take some food with you to have very early on as you will need the energy. And the contractions are supposedly more intense (I have nothing to compare it to) and mine were back to back for a long time.

I had a really positive induction!

Prostaglandin pessary at 6pm, waters broken 8am, Syntocinon drip started at 9.30am, active labour at 12.30pm and baby arrived 3pm. Fast and furious but managed on gas&air.

It's not always bad, and the drip wasn't nearly as awful as I'd expected.

Wow pretzel ur labour went quickly, congratulations on ur new arrival
Little bit worried that u cant even use the toilet when on drip thats a worry for me but will keep in mind so make sure i can go beforehand. Iv got a bag of food to take with me and my dp will be around so if need be he can nipp off amd get something.
I think i need to write a few things down on birth plan (which i havent done yet) so that i remember.of that mw know.
I want to feel in control like u did as i do feel that will help with my state of mind, at the moment i only know what i am reading on here and altho its extremely helpful i feel i havent had a chance to discuss properly, if u see what i mean! If i dnt know whats happening i cant feel in control
Thanks Scot, i am pleased u had a good experience too its nice to read these stories. Perhaps i am imagining the pain on drio to be alot worse than it is but i guess thats a good thing really

Thanks I think a bullet point plan I things you defo want and things you don't is essential. I went into labour early so hadn't done this yet and as there was more than one midwife I got sick of repeating things.
DH knew what I wanted and what I didn't so that helped. I'd said no to an epidural but wanted one near the end but DH encouraged me to push through the pain and I'm so glad I did and didn't have one.
Id also take cold drinks and a flask of ice and straws! You will be able to go to the loo but have to be disconnected from everything and it's a phaff. I had to use a bed pan on a chair at the end not really the most dignified thing.
Also ask questions!! Even while the induction is going on just keep asking questions, there aren't any silly ones. This helped me feel like I knew what was going on.
Also go into it with a positive mind. I was really scared and was being induced because my little man had stopped moving. DH lightened the mood and cracked jokes which broke the tension. Took silly pictures etc It helped me relax a bit which I think helped to move things on.

You can still go to the loo if you need it, they just unwire you.

Definitely ask about being able to stand up - don't accept that you have to be bedridden, it gives you so much more control (I played music throughout my induction and danced through most of it (kept me distrascted and helped me work through the contractions - also kept all the midwifes happy :-)

I think the reason my second induction was so good was because I was a lot more positive (as it was sort of planned) and I felt really in control of what I wanted.

I also asked them not to put a clip on the baby's head for heart beat monitoring straight away as I didnt' want the extra wires interefering with my movement, and they agreed to check heartbeat manually for first part of labout, then they put on ctg but made sure I could still move around (albeit just close to bed).

My midwife also fought for me and tried to make the increases in syntocinon slower to give my body opporunity to adapt, whereas the consultants were a bit miffed that my contractions weren't that strong early on and were pushing to have it upped.

Totally helps to talk through what you want at the beginning, then they can talk to you about it.

Good luck - my little baby is 9.5 months now, so jealous that you're going to have a sweet smelling newborn soon -D

Unfortunately it is possible that you will spend a few days in hospital without much happening. In both my inductions I reacted well to the pessary but it didn't start labour just dilated me enough to hVe my waters broken. Both times I then had to wait for a bed to become free on delivery. First time the wait was 2 nights! Second time it was 12hrs.
Once on the drip things happened quickly though.

Make sure you take some nice snacks and entertainment.

Thank you very much. I am very keen not to be bed ridden so will definately write this somewhere for mws to see, i was thinking of having the mobile epi if drip is given but may hold of and ask them not to ramp it up too much as this wld make me feel more comfortable i think!
Some really good options to think about so thank you everyone for sharing, there r things i wouldnt have thought about

Mummytobe, I have no basis for comparison as he is DC1, but I got to 5cm dilated on gas and air (wonderful stuff which made me feel high as a kite!). After that I needed an epidural which worked great for me; I was able to just chat and "relax" a bit!

Good luck for tomorrow... You'll be fine! A tip just in case you're in for a while: find out if your hospital has wifi and where you can get the password. I did lots of MNing :)

Let us know how you're doing :) x