Induction - what's the procedure?

[zippy34]

Hopefully it won't come to it (got 7 days for things to kick off on their own) but I'm booked in to be induced a week today.

The doctor I saw the other day told me to bring a bag with me as I'd be staying in but I thought that they let you home after they'd put the pessaries in and only put you on a drip if that didn't work?

The timetable seems to be for me to go up to the hospital for the pessaries at 2.30 and then the next day they'll put me on a drip. I only live 10 minutes from the hospital and I really don't want to be hanging about the antenatal ward if I don't have to be.

I will phone the hospital before I go next week to double check but just wondered if this was normal? The doctor was quite junior, very nervous and I don't want to end up just going along with something that's not necessary.

I think it depends on if you are showing any natural signs and just need a bit of a booster to get things going, or if it is from scratch really, oh and of course which part of the country you are in (because obivously that has a great bearing on how people should be treated )

If it is any help to you, I was induced at Kettering General, I had to go in at 9pm on the Sunday night, they put the first lot of gel in which didn't do anything, 6am on the Monday they did the second lot of gel which got things moving pretty much straight away, by about noon it was in full swing and by 5.30 that evening DS was born.

I hope you go before next week though, I am 3 weeks off due date and I am already going out of my mind with bordom impatience, can't imagine how much that intensifies after the due date! Good luck

How overdue will you be? sorry I am sure you have said this previously, brain like a sieve.

zippy34,

I'm in the US so the procedure is different, but it was positive for me so I'll share, just so you don't go in with bad thoughts.

I was induced due to high blood pressure at 38 weeks. I went in on Friday night, they put in a proteglandin insert to ripen my cervix (I like the word ripen, like it's a fruit or something), it needs to be in for 12 hours and you aren't allowed to stand up, so I slept while that was in.
At 8am on Saturday the morning they broke my water and put me on a pitocin drip. Ask if there is a walking drip, because that will help you stay mobile. I could never have stayed in bed all that time. I was in active labor at 1pm. was 4 cm at 5pm and 10 cm at 6pm. Ds was born at 8:12 pm. I chose to have no pain relief. I pushed when I wanted to. In the end it was a great birth with no complications.

Good luck to you. You have plenty of time to go naturally, but being induced is nothing to fear.

Hi Zippy - Firstly, you don't have to be induced if you are not comfortable with it unless there is a real medical reason. Do speak to another doc/midwife if you are concerned.
I was induced at 9 days over as my waters were dripping and had meconium in. Dripped from Tuesday evening, went into hosp Wed noon, was examined (1cm dilated)& gel inserted about 2pm. Checked at 9pm (2cm dilated) but only forewaters had broken so they broke my hind waters (crochet hook = gush!!) and put me on a syntocin drip. They turned it up every 2 hours. Usually this would then take from 2-12 hours for you to give birth.
Unfortunately my cervix did not behave and at 9.30am Thurs morning I was back to 1.5cm dilated.
I had an emergency C section at 10am but this was because of the meconium, otherwise they would have put a second bag of syntocin on!
Good luck - however your baby is born

I was induced coz 13 days past due date. They put the prostaglandins in about 9.00 am and they wouldn't let me leave the hospital then. I walked around like a rat in a maze until my obstetrician came back at 12.30. He said the baby was too high, broke the waters - complained he had ruined another white shirt - and told me he'd be back at 5.30. I glared at him coz couldn't imagine being in pain that long. They hooked me up to a drip with syntocinin at 2 mg (mw said, just to make sure you get going) I don't think I needed it coz it was all over by 2.20 pm. Fast, fairly easy birth. The most annoying thing was the drip and the constant monitor they attached around my middle (which I don't think I needed either - but there you go, what did I know?) Although I dreaded the induction it was actually quite a positive experience overall. (Was in quite a bit of pain at 1 hour after waters broke but didn't think I could possibly ask for drugs that quickly - then it was too late by the time I was asking for a cs...) Dp (who is very tough and finally hooked me coz he won a mountain running race..) was very proud as generally I am a girly wusss.
I think you'd be lucky to get away from the hospital after they start their "intervention".

Hi Zippy,

I had a failed induction. 3 sets of pessaries and nothing happen for 3 days. Started labour on evening of 3rd day ended in emergency c-section after 24 hours ( to be hones I think my body was just too tired).

I did not have a good experience, I think my body and FunkyDude was not ready for labour yet.

They keep you in because they pessaries can have an effect on the baby. They monitor the heartbeat over a few minutes, half hour and I think again another half hour; If anything shows up on the trace they won't let you go.

I was induced at Princess Royal (Haywards Heath) and was pretty much told if they start induction you do not leave the hospital without baby. So be warned that they will want you to stay until you've delivered.

You are allowed to walk around etc.

hi zippy,

Well im going to be induced on sunday but have to go in sat nite at about 8pm so that they can put the gel in so it starts to work ova nite so have got to stay in hospital also they will then give me a 2nd lot of gel in the morning and this shud kick start labour!!

I think that although there are NICE guidelines, all hospitals have slightly different procedures. You can ask for a midwife and/or consultant to go through the procedure beforehand - I did and it really helped. I had also read somewhere that the induction can cause the contractions to be 'fast and furious' and more intense than if you were to start labour naturally (although, how do you compare that??) so I asked to meet with an Aneasthetist in case I'd opt for an epidural, and he explained that procedure as well. He was quite nice, actually, and good looking too... sorry, gone off in my own world there!! Anyway, I found it very reassuring to know what was going to happen next and had the opportunity to discuss and even 'customise' some of the procedures(ie wait longer before having waters broken). Good luck! Hope you won't need it!!

Thanks for all your replies. It's good to read about people having positive experiences as most of the people I know who have been induced for going over dates in the past 12 months ended up with emcs for "failure" to progress .

I'll only be 10 days over but tbh, had a very disappointing appointment on my due date where I was basically told what was going to happen with no explanations at all. It was very rushed and I really felt like this was the start of a conveyor belt of procedures unlike my good, midwife-led care up till now.

I've had a complication-free pregnancy and am feeling very well so I will probably see how I feel next week and possibly postpone the induction if the baby is still also well.

are you being induced because you will be 10 days over? if so...then you can request them to leave you for 14 days and you can have daily moniroting to check on LO and placenta.......

also, no point them trying to induce you if you are not ready...cervix needs to be ripe,,baby should be partially engaged....or they can give you lots of pessaries and hormone drips and it might not work

a compromise might be to have them examine you and see if you are favourable to be induced..if so...they might offer a sweep which can start things off IF you are ready......

if you feel you are being rushed and pushed onto a conveyor belt...don;t get on !!!!! you won;t be able to get off!

and yes..if you have pessaries..you are there until LO apppears.....

I think I'm getting there - baby is almost fully engaged but they tried a sweep on Tuesday and my cervix was still closed.

Things are progressing, just not very quickly but hopefully another week will do it .

I know you're right and I hope when I go back to the hospital I'll be able to have more of a dialogue about the possibilities if I'm still waiting. I should have asked more questions on Tuesday but weirdly I think I was a bit embarrassed for the doctor, she got so flustered when I asked questions about the baby's position, degree of engagement etc it was easier to just nod and get out!

Note to self: must be more assertive when faced with nervous junior doctors (she was a FY2).

I was induced (with pessary) a few days after my waters had broken (but I hadn't started labour at all - infact about from waters going that was it!). I had the pessary put in at 3.30 - by 5.30 the contractions were every 2/3 minutes!

like your note to self...she was going 'by the book', not all labours go 'by the book'...your body will get there...!

If you find yourself with a nervous junior doctor can you ask to speak to a more senior doctor or will this just cause you to be labelled "trouble"?

poppynic, no I think you should be able to ask for a second opinion, especially if you feel uncomfortable with the Doc you have.

I work in a hospital and actively encourage patients to ask questions and to speak up for themselves!

I don't think you would be labelled a trouble maker and if you are who cares? This is your baby and will hopefully be a special experience! Make the most of it.