Induction - is it really that bad????

[Kaybee7777]

Hi this is my first baby. I am 40 + 7 today, and have had two sweeps already. Last one was 2 days ago, and the midwife said I was 2cm dilated. Since the second sweep I have had no show or anything, just some back pain in the evening but it's been constant, not coming and going like I'd imagine a contraction would (?)

I am booked in for an induction on Wed morning, I agreed to this as I didn't want to have to go to the hospital for monitoring every day after I am 10 days over. But I am worried about being induced as it seems more painful (or at least a sudden pain instead of a build up) and to lead to more need for epidural/emergency c-section....Also I don't want to be attached to a drip and/or monitor while I am in labour, I want to be able to move around for pain relief.

I have tried heaps of the 'natural' methods but nothing seems to be working & now I just don't know what to do...

Sorry for long post. Does anyone have any advice/thoughts on this?

Thanks

Isn't the waiting a nightmare!! I was 8 days overdue and booked in for an induction. I'd had a sweep several days before hand and was told i was 1-2cm and at that point I'd had no indication to myself anything was going on!!! I was taken in and contractions started 2 days later. Inductions can be bad if you don't know what can happen I think. The way I understand it is that you could get pain that most people experience in the latter stages right from the beginning so you might want to think about your pain relief options. The fact that you're already dilated is a good thing and it might be babs comes before you're induced - it might just be like me you're a slow burner and if I'm honest I think it was a good thing as it gradually allowed me to manage the pain a bit at a time. Hope it all goes well

I had an induction and it was fine They start you with gel first inside - thats all it took to get me going. I had my waters broke, because DSs heartrate increased & there was meconium, so I was attached to bed & drip I think (Some bits are hazy!) but that wasnt due to being induced. I found it very comforting being in hospital from the very first contraction - I could just jump in and out of the bath, walk round in my dressing gown and nightie... not have to worry about getting in a car etc. I did have an epidural, but thats because I was monitored full time, so on the bed full time and was shattered from walking around the hospital all day & racing DH up the stairs! Youll be fine hun xxxxx

I had a TENS machine from pretty much the beginning - I didnt think about having one, but a midwife just handed me one.... it was so so so brilliant! Dont rule it out

if you are induced..you will most likely be given a pessary to ripen the cervix..if it is ripe already..you might have your waters broken and a drip to stimulate contractions..therefore you will have a drip and you will need to be monitored as the drip can give hard & fast contractions...i would discuss this with the hopsital before you are induced as it might not be possible to be active as you would like...unless they are happy for you to have the waters broken and no drip...

if you are confined to bed, with a drip, on a monitor , in pain,,,you are more likely to ask for an epidural and more likely to end up with more intervention....

if you are 2 cm already...you might have made more progress before wednesady.... surely agreeing to be monitored every day is worht it if you don;t want to be induced>>

Hi Kaybee. The waiting can be sooo tedious at this stage, can't it?
I was induced twice. First time took a long while for things to get going (three days!), so I had time to get used to things. Ended up with forceps delivery, so had an epidural.
Second time was exactly 7 hours from induction to birth - taking us all a bit by surprise. Just had gas and air, and recovered really quickly.
No matter how it goes, you will be able to cope, and the staff will advise you of all your options.
It's silly to tell you not to worry; it's only natural that you will, but take your birth plan with you, and see how you can incorporate what you want into the suggestions made by the staff.
All the best for a safe and happy delivery.

They range hugely just like non-induced labour! All I can say is that it is worth it just bear that in mind - having a healthy baby at the end is worth all of it (and I've had some long and bad inductions.......)

If you 2 cm already with your first that's a good sign.

I agree with lulamama on the monitoring thing. I was admitted before induction with suspected pre-eclampsia and although I thought at the time 'great I've got to be in hospital for a few days' I have to say that the reassurance it gave me was amazing. Being monitored etc and hearing the heartbeat just calmed my nerves about being overdue and I think it really helped prepare me mentally for the labour part so give it some serious thought.

I didn't think the induction was too bad. It is true that the contractions kicked in quickly and were quite painful until you get "into it", but I think it makes for a quicker labour and, at the end of the day, as long as you have a healthy baby at the end of it all, when you look back, I don't think you mind how you got there as much. Good luck!

Everyone's experience of induction is different... for some they are no big deal and go very smoothly for others they are hell.. no way to know ahead of time. What is a fact is that they do increase your chances of more interventions (and c-sections) and obviously once you start an induction it becomes a managed labour with protocols, etc... so not necessarily easy to deal with.
I think t is importnat to have a dialogue with a MW before you get started. You may not need monitoring every day from 10days +... many hospitals only start daily monitoring at 14 days + (BTW you have a right to decline that daily monitoring... that's just for your info). Most women will go into labour before 14 days but it is quite common to go 10 days over !
Good luck what ever you decide and let's hope for a good labour

I've had 2 inductions as well, so I don't know any different, but I agree that I was glad to be in hospital and didn't have to worry about the trip in the car, or getting there in time etc or misreading the signs and not realising!
The first was 8pm mon with DS1 arriving at noon tuesday, DS2 took nearly a week to start but once he kicked off it was 5 hours (but that was at 39 weeks). You shouldn't have to be monitored all the way through if it proceeds normally, hopefully just an hour or so to start with then insist on moving around with occasional monitoring.
My birth plans just said " I have no intention of being brave" and that worked fine cos they waited till I asked for anything but were prepared for everything You'll be fine, good luck!

My first labour I was brought in for induction at 5 days over. I was sharing a room with a lovely woman and we got on like a house on fire. The gel did the trick for me and my room mate and I both gave birth within an hour of each other the next morning. I was so nervous the first time I was reassured to be in hospital. It was all good

I really enjoyed my induction. I had a prostaglandin insert overnight, they broke my waters in the morning, then they set me up with a drip. Ds was born 12 hours later. Once it got going it went so fast. At 8 am I was 1/2 cm. At 5pm I was 4cm at 6pm I was 10cm. At 8:12 ds was born.

Lulu is right that if you are induced you will be more likely to get an epidural, but you don't have to. I was lucky to have a nurse and midwife who were very supportive of hypnobirthing, and didn't push pain medication at me.

You can ask for a walking monitor and a walking drip so you aren't confined to a bed. Oh but make sure you eat like you are eating for a small country before you go, because when you are in there and hooked up to a drip, you can't eat anything (at least not in the US).

Hi Kaybee, I was induced and it was a pretty good labour - I didn't need any pain relief other than gas and air and it only took 14 hours from first pains to baby, less than 8 hours of which was actual labour.

Anecdotally, from accounts of what friends have experienced, I would say that the pain is only more intense if you need a drip to increase the contractions - if the gel is enough to start you off it seems to be comparable to self-started labour. If you are in a "favourable" state (you get a score depending on the state of your cervix) you are more likely to only need the gel. 2 cms dilated sounds a good sign.

For me the biggest irritation was the continous monitoring, but it's important to remember that you don't HAVE to lie on the bed to be monitored. Older midwives usually prefer you to do this so you may have to be firm and state your preferences, but as long as they can still get a reasonable trace there is no medical need for you to lie down. In fact I did most of my labour standing up or on a birthing ball and was very active. After a couple of hours of perfect trace I even requested to come off the monitor for a while which my midwife was happy to agree to as there had been no problems, she just monitored me intermittently and only advised me to go back on the continuous monitor during the pushing stage.

I was VERY reluctant to be induced but it really wasn't as bad as I had expected - in fact as others have said there are even advantages, none of that annoying too-ing and fro-ing from the hospital and being turned away, you just turn up with your bag and know that you have a bed and a parking space until the baby comes!

Oh and just reading MKG's post, I ate and drank throughout! I but I didn't have a drip.

missgolightly...its good to read an induction story..that is not about being confined to bed , being immobile and constantly monitored

therefore i would reiterate the point that it is vital to discuss this before you are induced..to make sure you can get a more active birth......

I was 40 + 13 when I was induced. (1st baby) I'd had 2 sweeps but no luck - and I wasn't dilated at all.

Like you I really wasn't keen on being induced, but I'd read that around 39 weeks, the performance of the placenta starts to deteriorate, so I felt it was for the best.

I was admitted and had the pessary, gel,and my waters broken, but nothing. Even when I was put on the hormone drip (Syntocin, i think it was called), it brought on very strong contractions, but only got me to 5cm dilated. DS finally arrived by emergency CS as he became distressed. It took 4.5 days from the start of the induction process to the CS.

Apparently, the placenta was in very poor condition when DS finally arrived and could have compromised his health if things had been left any longer to happen naturally. Sorry to be so graphic.)

2cm dilated already is good going (by my standards anyway) and I have my fingers crossed for you that it happens before Wed!

vtired...obviously, being induced was a good thing for you and LO...

yes, placental function does decline., but in many instnaces , it is more than capable of sustaining a baby in utero for 42 weeks or even a bit longer! that is why increased monitoring is suggested past a certain gestation, to ensure that the placenta is functioning well enough to sustain the baby .,

some women are meant to carry longer ( or shorter ) than others..

38 - 42 weeks is within the acceptable range....

Lulumama, I absolutely agree - too often there is a feeling of resignation about induction and an expectation that all the mother's plans and preferences have to go out the window, which is sad. Induction is just kick-starting a natural process - ok, it can sometimes be more difficult for the mother and baby to cope with, but not necessarily.

Kaybee7777,

Is this your first baby? One of the benefits of being induced first time was them saying, "ok we're breaking your waters, ok you are in labor now, ok you are dilated and it's time to push". It was nice to not be at home freaking out about everything.

Thanks everyone for your posts . Yes MKG this is my first baby.

I think I might try to get the date for induction moved forward a couple of days, just to give us more time, and hopefully lo will be ready to come out of his own accord....
I'm not sure who to call now, lulumama, do I speak to the community midwife or the hospital to change the booking?? The mw I had been seeing was off last week ( and perhaps this week) so I saw two diff ones for my sweeps.

speak to the community midwife..she can liase with the hospital for you......x explain why you wish to postpone, you are happy to be monitored re placental function but are happier to wait and see if LO appears without assistance ! let us know how you get on !

Hi Kaybee7777
I had a fantastic induction - had my waters broken and a drip - the whole labour was 1 hour and 45 minutes - fast and furious, but over before DH and I had finished watching 'House' on Patient Line. I couldn't recommend them highly enough!

oh, also, afterwards, I couldn't work out for the life of me why i had been putting it off (I had waited for 5 hours or so before I let me them break my waters) - yes pain, but extra time with baby? Wonderful.

i had an induction in july this year at 40+2 wks but my experience ended with an emergency c section, - there is no guarantee that the induction will work, and i am just glad that i had read all the hospital info before going in as i was psychologically prepared for a c section. Won't bore you/upset you with the details as it all ended well and my ds is now a cute little charmer!!good luck

mine ended in a c section and bubs heart rate was going down...i was over the moon with having a healthy aby but for me the induction was hell.