So what are the odds of an induction working?

[FuckYouChrisAndThat2014]

I'm being induced at 38 weeks due to severe SPD. It's not my first baby, and with the others I went to 42 weeks but always just avoided being induced.

I don't actually know what the figures are. All the Midwives keep assuring me a bit of prostin gel and it'll get things going no problem. But is that actually likely or am I getting my hopes up for nothing?

I don't have any data but I would think your body will take over pretty quickly. A road once travelled and all that. Your body knows what to do.

That's what I'm hoping will happen :)

I just don't want to get my hopes up if it's a complete shot in the dark.

I could have written this post a week ago! I was induced at 38wks on Boxing Day for SPD and low liquor volumes. Had pessary at 9pm, crampy by 4am and delivered at 09.47 - got home that evening. Fingers crossed for you!

I was induced with my 3rd at 40 +5 and it worked well - so much so I didn't need the gel stuff.
My cervix was already favourable - midwife done a bit of a sweep and stretch, she advised me that she could examine normally or she could cause a bit of pain and encourage force things along. At that point I'd have agreed to almost anything so told her to do it.
I was put straight on the drip and things moved quite fast, she popped my waters very soon after - 3 hours from start to finish and it was over.

Hope everything goes well X

Pinkcomet that's exactly what I need to hear! Congratulations!

That's great Carbe, I've been told that they only do the drip if waters have broken, so they'll just be trying the gel (presumably with a sweep) and hoping it gets things moving.

My induction went really well but I was 42 weeks. Pessaries went in at about 10:45, pains started at midnight. Went through till about 5am before even asking the midwife to come back. Started on gas and air about 6am, DH came back at 8:30 with a picnic ready for the day and I was in full established labour. All done by 10:30am, home in time for tea.

Fingers crossed you have the same

I was induced with DS at 40+12. Pessary put in at midnight, another at 6am, DS arrived at 11.40pm that night. Didn't need a drip, although they did break my waters for me. It'll be fine!

Thanks for all the lovely reassurances :) I'm so glad I asked!

I've had 3 inductions.

First one: pessary & ARM, just over 3 hours from first contraction to baby in arms, no pain relief, no intervention.

Second: ARM only, less than 90 minutes first contraction to baby in arms, no pain relief, no intervention.

Third: ARM and drip, less than 2 hours from first contraction to baby, no pain relief, no intervention.

In fact, my only DIY birth was the worst one, begged for an epidural with that one. All my inductions were lovely, calm experiences, I liked being prepared. Just make sure you ask any questions as you want so you know what's going on and keep an open mind. Your body knows what it's doing by now so let it do its thing.

Best of luck, you'll be grand

Boysie, they sound like really lovely births. I hope I have a similar experience :) thanks for sharing.

I had a failed induction. At my debrief the consultant casually mentioned that more than 50% of inductions failed.

If I had known that I would have gone straight for the c-section, rather than it ending up as an emergency c-section after hours and hours and hours of bloody awful pain.

I was induced at 38 weeks, had 2 pessaries in during the day then went to sleep at about 11pm. Woke at 2am feeling crampy. In full labour at 4am, had the baby at 5.45am. No time for any pain relief as the labour ward was full and they don't administer the drugs in the ward I was in. Was in labour ward for 20 mins before baby arrived! :)

I was induced at 38 weeks because of SPD with my 3rd. The midwife broke my waters without the gel (at 7pm), she said it's really common to be able to get too them with the hook if you've had more than one baby already. She then put the drip on at 10pm (there was a delay as both mine and the baby's heart rate was a bit high.) After some random cotractions dd2 was in my arms by 4am and we were all home by 10am!

The pessaries are nothing compared to the drip, by the way. Nothing at all.

Anne, that's my worry. Interesting to see it's so high. I hope I'm in the other 50%

Durham, good to hear from another 38-weeker.

So I guess I shall find out on the day.

Interesting stuff about the drip. I will ask about it.

It's the drip that get things moving very quickly - there's no real natural build up in contractions like with a DIY labour, they come very fast. Midwife will talk to you about it I'd imagine.

I'm not sure why I was put on the drip first before she actually broke my waters, I can't remember too much about the reasons why as it was 15 years back, I can only assume my cervix was open enough for her to know she could do it later.

Never had an induction but I'm close to my due date and I've been reading about the Bishop's score: "pre-labor scoring system to assist in predicting whether induction of labor will be required [...] grades patients who would be most likely to achieve a successful induction.
Here on Wikipedia along with a handy calculator
Not sure about scientific validity but my MW did mention I was a "3" so it is used.

I had 2, both worked. 1 at 42w (so getting a bit urgent) and took 3 gel pessaries to get me goning; Bishop's score was rubbish (about a 1, iirc) and it took from Sunday eve (about 9:30) until 2am Tues, so ~30h, to get DS1 out. No further intervention required, except for a shot of anti-emetic and another of pethidine; the anti-emetic worked (they could have given it to me earlier though! ) but the pethidine made no noticeable difference to the discomfort. Waters broke naturally down the loo, probably around 11pm.
At 11:30 on the Monday night, I'd gone back to 1cm dilated (having been at 2cm earlier) - by 1:30 am (so 2h later) stage 2 started, and lasted half an hour - I had to tell DH to go and fetch a MW as we were still in the observation room on Labour Ward, they were very busy and I hadn't looked like I was doing much. I told DH to go when I felt DS1 "move down" and when the MW came back it was panic stations! he was born 2 pushes later.

Second one was for different reasons, done at 39w - DS2 was unstable lie, transverse oblique with his head up under my ribs. Had something called Cervidil to ripen the cervix for delivery, which could have been followed by a balloon thing to open it further except that wasn't necessary (phew!) - that was on the Monday - and then the induction proper was started early Weds morning, with baby being turned (ECV) and an attempt to break my waters, which failed because there was no contact between his head and my cervix, so no back pressure. Had him held in position with towels, syntocin drip put up to create the contractions necessary to push him onto the cervix, and then the waters broken a couple of hours later, at which point the contractions increased in intensity MASSIVELY. He was eventually born about 4h after that, because his head got stuck behind the anterior lip - once he dropped clear of that, he was born in 2 pushes.

Hope that's not too much information for you - but just to let you know that:

1. an unpromising Bishop's score isn't necessarily an indicator of whether or not it will work;
2. that just because you're at 1cm, doesn't mean it's going to take you another 10 hours to get to fully dilated - the MW who cleaned me up after DS1 said that it can go very quickly in induction cases (including mine) and 3) inductions may require further intervention if you decide to have an epidural - the anaesthetist told me this with DS1, so I decided to ride it out and not go for the epidural.

Good luck!

It didn't work for me at 42 weeks. I think here really it only works well if your body is getting ready to go into labour anyway. Good luck x

argh! Lost my long post!

Thanks for all the info, think I'll score poorly on the Bishop's score. I should probably expect either further intervention or to end up going home.

I think your point 3 thumbs is a bit of an opinion rather than fact. Some inductions won't work and will require further intervention whether or not you have an epidural.

First baby, 37 weeks, full works from pessary to drip including ARM. Took a while to get going and then there was no stopping me, very easy birth without epidural.

I'm very much liking all the "easy birth" stories :o

My understanding is once you start induction you don't go home til you get a baby . I had a day on the pessaries of just waiting around and wanted to go home then (I lived a couple of mins away) and was told no I needed to stay. My induction didn't work but that was because his head was stuck rather than the process itself. But perhaps everywhere is different as I got the drip even though my waters weren't broken (they did try though).