Induction stories and advise :)!

[Sarah1087]

Hi ladies

FTM 40+ 5 today
Had sweep 40 weeks
Having the next sweep 41 weeks and I'll also be being booked in for my induction.

I'm really nervous about this - hopefully I won't need the induction after the next sweep but I'm not holding my breath.

I have some questions and plz be honest :)

1. Is it a long process ?
2. Are you more likely to have a c section ?
3. Painful ?

Ideally I would've liked a water birth with gas and air and diamorphine if needed, but I have read ladies who are induced tend to go straight for epidural due to the intense pain of contractions coming in full force.

If it is going to be very painful and yes I know every woman/labour is different! I think I would prefer to know so I can go and have the epidural so I can try and at least be as calm as possible with my first baby.

Thanks in advance :)

I was induced at 38 weeks with my first due to PROM.

1. Everyone is different. Mine took 3 hours from first contraction to hello baby - but my waters were already gone.

1. Statistically yes you are more likely to need an emcs. Induction is the first step in what can become a cascade of intervention. Usually because a lot of women opt for an epidural during induction, which in itself increases the risk of needing an assisted delivery.

1. Yes. But childbirth hurts no matter what route you take.

Induction drugs do tend to make contractions more intense, as they are forcing your body to do it.

All in all, induction and the entire hospital experience are not things I would go into again willingly. The induction and birth itself was fine - 3 hours start to finish, no pain relief, a few minor stitches etc, but for me the entire hospital experience, the way I was treated by staff and my stay on the postnatal ward are not something I wish to repeat.
I opted for a home birth with DC2.

I was offered induction last week but turned it down, if you are induced then I was told that you can't have a water birth because you need constant monitoring and the equipment doesn't work with the water. As it turns out, I can't have a water birth at all due to BMI being JUST over the threshold

Was also told it was a more painful way to labour (which is why I said no but was only 39+3) but they couldn't give any timelines as to how long it would take to start - I've known friends who got going within hours and others that have had multiple failed inductions and been in the hospital for days.

I think it really does vary from case to case. Good luck with the sweep - I've got my second tomorrow!

Also very important to remember:

You do not have to be induced if you don’t want to be.

If I’d have known I could decline it back then (naive just-turned 20yo), I would decline in a heartbeat.
With DC2, my plan was to carry to 42 weeks, then accept daily monitoring, and if baby still hadn’t arrived by 43 weeks, then request an elective csection rather than induction.

MybreadlsEggy - thank you and I'm sorry to hear that your experience from the staff in hospital wasn't very nice, that's not something you should have to go through on what's supposed to be the happiest day of your life. I know I can decline a induction and tbh it has crossed my mind, I think I may speak with the midwife about this and see if they would let me have a c section if I choose to opt for that.

Lifechangesforever - keeping everything crossed for your sweep tomorrow. Keep me posted, good luck.

I had the same questions as you! I was induced at 38+6 due to a (supposedly) big baby. At your next sweep, ask your midwife what you can expect. My friend had 3 6 hour pessaries but just up the road I had 1 24 hour pessary so see which route your hospital take

It is more painful and I think statistically you’re more likely to have an assisted delivery for the sheer fact that baby isn’t actually ready to come. My friend had forceps, I had an emc.
I was having pains within 12 hours of the oessary, my friend took over 24 hours. Everyone is different.
It is your choice though, you don’t have to be induced. You might find putting it off even by a few days makes the difference between induction and spontaneous labour. For me, once I got the idea in my head, I liked knowing when I would be going to hospital, no mad dashes in the middle of the night! (Our “local” hospital is almost an hour away so I was keen to avoid this!)
Enjoy your last few days of pregnancy and remember, whatever happens, you’ve already been pregnant for 9 months and the first few weeks with baby go so so fast that your labour and birth are a really tiny part of the whole process

Just read your update. Personally I would choose induction over c section next time (I think!!) c section recovery for me was very hard and very long (severe infection in my wound) whereas if you do manage to deliver naturally your recovery will be much easier

I've had 3 inductions - 34 weeks, 38 weeks and 37 weeks. All delivered vaginally. The quickest labour was the one at 38 weeks and the slowest the one at 34 weeks but even that wasn't bad, started with prostin gel at 6am and delivered by 11pm.

1. Is it a long process ?

It can be, or it can be very quick. My second only needed the prostin gel to kick start things off but my other two needed the drip.

1. Are you more likely to have a c section ?

Probably yes statistically. My first two needed no intervention, my third needed ventouse as she was distressed.

1. Painful ?

I have nothing to compare it too but I found it manageable. I tend to describe the pain as riding a wave. It increases, you peak and it goes back down. I had diamorphine first time but I wasn't keen on the effect. Second and third time I only used gas and air. It didn't work as pain relief for me but biting down was a great distraction. Right at the end of my third labour I was given a spinal block in theatre as they wanted to do an emcs but by the time it was sorted I was at 10cm so pushed instead. I would say that I pushed more effectively even though I had no feeling as I'd done it before, so for a first birth it might be more effective to avoid an epidural if possible. Nothing medical to back this up though just my opinion.

I hope everything goes well for you

I was induced at 41 weeks and it literally took forever. This was almost 14 years ago though so things may have changed. I was admitted for 4 days while about a million pessaries were inserted and must have had the same number of stretch and sweeps. Then sent home for a night cos I was seriously fed up and the lazy little blighter was staying put! Back in the next day for the drip, labour took a long time and he was back to back so ended up needing a ventouse delivery.

The best advice I can give is to stay mobile for as long as you can, stand, lean over the bed, circle on a birthing ball but just keep moving. I did this with baby number 2 and active labour lasted 3 minutes!

Don't be afraid to tell them what you want and what you need, have confidence in what your body can and will do, try not to be scared of it (easier said than done I know!) and don't fight against the contractions, just let them wash over you!

Mine's a positive story (if you ignore the useless midwives who didn't believe I needed to push until they saw babies head 🙄😂) I was induced at 40+1 due to high blood pressure. Had the the 24hr pessary and nothing happened so had the gel next at about 2pm and nothing for a few hours , waters broke naturally and I was
3cms at midnight, 10cms at 2am, baby born 2:30! Super quick once it got going. It does hurt but it's not unbearable until just before you need to push. I did it all on gas and air but I didn't have to push for long so it may have been a different story if I had laboured longer.

I think if you have the drip it can be more painful as the contractions are forced but with the gel and pesaaries you're just kick starting a normal labour in a way.

Good luck with the birth 🙂

1. Is it a long process ? My friends were so I was expecting to be days. Mine was very quick - I went from 0-10 in 3 hours. Then 3 hours pushing.
2. Are you more likely to have a c section ? I almost ended up with a c section as this was the next option if forceps failed
3. Painful ? In my case yes very. However, this was due to the midwives not believing I was in labour so they wouldn’t give me any pain relief. DD was also back to back which is meant to make a big difference pain wise