Is there any hope?

[HoneyMumandSon]

I'm booked in to be induced at 39+6 in 2 weeks time and I'm really hoping things will start on their own before then. I had an examination yesterday (they were going to try a sweep but couldn't). The dr said she could get a fingertip in but that was all. In my notes it says cervix was 2.5cm and in mid position. To me this doesn't sound very positive but I don't know much about this stuff. Can things go from this point to labour actually starting on its own quite quickly from where i am now or does it sound like I'm in this for the long haul still? Is there any possibility things could get going in the next few days?

Why are you being induced so early?

I've found that arranging to do anything that a baby might gravely inconvenience usually works. Building work to be completed by due date, nice trip out somewhere expensive, even a pedicure..

Who knows? They come when they come!
Only DS didn't either and I was induced at two weeks over. It was fine. It also gave me a chance to tidy the house and get the shopping in do there's always a plus side.

If memory serves, a pessary/gel induction is more difficult for them to control the speed/ intensity of contractions (but they can send you home) whereas a drip induction can be a v gradual process but you have to be in hospital obviously. Talk to your rmidwife and be firm about what you want unless there is a v good medical reason why they want to do something different.
I agreed to a vbac but only without induction so if things stalled I was off to theatre. Risk of uterine rupture is higher and I wasn't up for it.

Why would you be induced before 40 weeks?

I would hang on for as long as you possibly can - book the induction for 41+4 or 5 if you can!

I was induced at 40+0 with my eldest (due to low amniotic fluid levels). It was fine, but I think early induction is almost inevitable going to take quite a long time, you are likely to be on your back and need monitoring, you are likely to get v tired, all of which means you are likely to end up with quite a medicalised birth (I had an epidural and forceps).

Not that there is anything wrong with this - I had quite a good experience.

But my second baby was much more straightforward and quick, he came in his own time at 40+10 - established labour at 9pm and I spent most of it in a good position in the pool, he was born at 4am. With my eldest they started the induction on the Sunday morning and she wasn't born till the Tuesday morning!

I would delay induction for as long as you can - often if you say you will come in for daily monitoring they will be happy with this. Trying to induce before 40 weeks, if there is no medical reason, sounds mad to me.

Why are you being induced?

FWIW inductions don't always/only happen because of overdueness.

I could end up being induced bang on my due date, because I'll be off my clotting meds before then and there's a window where I'm neither too likely to bleed nor too at risk of thrombosis. I've been warned about this, it might never happen, but it might be something like that in this case?

That's why I asked Squiz. It's got to be a medical reason for induction at 39 weeks? Unless OP is tiny and her DH is huge

Tread Had a friend like that, she now says she doesn't know why short men aren't more popular with the ladies!

Position of your cervix sounds quite good to me being two weeks out from the induction still. I was induced at 40+0 with my second baby last time due to Gestational diabetes. I told them I wanted sweeps every three days from 38 weeks to try and get things going as was terrified of induction. The first couple they couldn't do because my cervix was so posterior they couldn't even reach it! It was only by a couple of days pre-induction that it came down enough to reach. Three days later on the day of induction it was 2-3cm and very favourable. And by the way the induction was v straighforward. One pessary inserted, a morning spent going for walks and reading the sunday papers, a good sweep and they were able to break my water a few hours later. DD was born under 4 hours later. No drip, entirely upright, active birth. Manageable with G&A. Induction isn't always a nightmare.

When I was pregnant with DS, they wanted to try to sweep or induce me from 38 weeks. I resisted, because I was desperate girls home birth, went 2 w over, and went into labour the day before I had to be induced.
Sometimes the threat can do it.
They can't make you be induced if you don't want to be. However IME there may be a reason, I'd probably gave taken induction a month earlier than the ECSec that I needed after a 3 day labour for an oversized baby if I had my time over.