6 hour pessary for induction

[ttbren]

I'm being induced on Friday and have been told that I'll be given a six hour pessary. I've only ever heard of the 24 hour ones. Could anyone who had the 6 hour pessaries please share their induction experiences with me?

Also what pain relief did you have? I wanted to avoid an epidural as I'm deathly scared of tearing but doubt I'll be able to cope with the pain now that I'm being induced.

I had a 6 hour pessary and my labour started within 3 so they removed it. The contractions were intense with no time to catch my breath between them, but i was fine on gas and air.

It was quite overwhelming at first, because I expected the pain to ramp up much more than it actually did. And the gas made me vomit but then I was fine so give it a chance.

I was induced because baby was overdue which I think makes a difference, my body just needed a nudge and took over.

Just thinking now that actually don’t know if it was the 24 hour or 6! They could remove it, and called it a propess i think, not helpful I know😂

I've had the 6hour and the 24hour. The 6hour pessary needed two attempts for anything to start. The second one was at 6pmish, slow contractions overnight and baby born at lunchtime the next day.
The 24hour was like a shoelace (according to hubby). Left in for full 24hours, when removed I quickly began contracting, had some IV medication to slow contractions down. Baby born a couple of hours later.
Both labours I used gas & air. Despite what I've read, my induced labours were less painful than natural starts.
Hope all goes well.

I had 2 24h ones and it was the 6h one that got me into labour after that.
My labour was pretty fast for a first timer (less than 4hrs) but I managed just on g+a.

I had a 6 hour one with dd, but I did have to have an epidural as I was not allowed any other form of pain relief.

Can I ask why the epidural causes you concern re tearing? The chances are the same regardless of what pain relief you choose surely?

Whereisthen1ght, epidurals increase your risk of having intervention which in turn increases your risk of a tear

Those who have had it, did you need the drip as well or was the pessary enough to kick start labour?

Just pessary for both. No drip.
Baby 1 was back to back, she turned sideways during delivery and got stuck, so I was given an episiotomy and a ventouse delivery. This meant I didn't tear and only needed a couple of stitches.
You can make plans, but unfortunately in many cases these are only preferences. Just make your birth partner aware of what you would & wouldn't like. Labour doesn't always go to plan, but the HCPs will do the best for you and baby.

@ttbren I wasn't aware (only have 1)

The pessary didn't do a lot for me so I also had the oxytocin drip, that certainly kick started everything.

I didn't have any additional interventions other than dd needing a headclip to monitor her as she was an absolute fidget still is and avoided the stomach monitor.

Can you ask if your hospital offer patient controlled epidural maybe? I had it for a variety of reasons but it is basically a much lower dose initially and then a pump that you can use to top up if the contractions are too painful