INDUCTION HELP, PREM BABY?

[ctahir]

Good morning all, so a little advice and guidance is much needed! My baby has had static growth for roughly 4 weeks, I was advised I would of been induced a week ago (at 34 weeks) however the consultant then went on spoke to Fetal medicine doctor who had said that it's best to hold it out another 2 weeks - so that was the plan just to hold it out until 2 weeks and a dose of steroids were given to me.

At 34+2 my waters had broke and I felt the urge to push. I went into hospital and I was 2cm dilated, I was then given some sort of medication to stop the contractions and a second dose of steroids. After 6 days of being in hospital and tightenings all day yesterday with no significant pain I was told my cervix was now closed?

I've been given a date for induction which is in a weeks time which would make me 36 weeks. I've been told they could possibly induce me with a hormone drip? Anybody else been induced with the drip? I've heard people mention that you need the epidural with the drip? I'm so unsure as to what's going on and how I should cope with it all!

I had a drip induction and was very strongly advised to have an epidural as the contractions are very intense. It took about 6 hours to have DD

Thanks for your reply, was he your first? Spoke to a consultant today and she had said that the drip is good as it's more manageable in terms of how much dose you can take?

I had the drip without an epidural, it was painful but not unmanageable. If you don't want an epidural you absolutely don't have to have one. Start on G&A and see how it goes.

@sayanythingelse thank you, I'm just concerned about the pain as I've been told it's PAINFUL

Different people are different but it would have been very traumatic for me if I had done it without an epidural. You won't get a prize for giving birth without pain relief.

And yes first baby

@SnuggyBuggy no I know that I just want to be prepared in terms of pain relief, I'm worried that gas & air won't get me through it as I've heard the pains are that intense

I tried an induction without an epidural for my first baby and gave up after 6 hours. Mind you, if I'd had longer breaks between contractions (0-90 seconds break for all that time) I might have been able to manage. The epidural was great.

Second baby was induced for IUGR. My consultant told me that an epidural can be a good idea for growth restricted babies anyway as it can improve blood flow to the baby. I'd never heard that before, but I looked it up and found a few studies supporting it. I noticed it also lowered my blood pressure back to normal.

My thought was that after all I went through with an IUGR pregnancy I was happy to have an excuse to skip the pain this time

Drip induction doesn't automatically = epidural, it really depends on the person, the birth... many factors.

I had a drip induction and used a TENS machine for pain relief. By the time the pain really started to get too much I was 9cm dilated and started pushing (at which point the pain almost stopped).

I was very apprehensive of an induction via drip, because I'd heard similar to you about the pain being "worse" than non-augmented labour. But ultimately just because someone tells you something doesn't make it true. It was my first birth, so I had nothing to comare it to, but it was fine. I know other women who have had drip inductions and no epidural, so it's not unheard of. And while some hospitals/midwives seem to advise epidural before drip starts, others don't (it wasn't mentioned to me once).

That said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having an epidural if you want one. It's a personal choice. If you're being induced then you'll be in a place where there should be an epidural available if you feel you need one, so try not to worry about it until you know if it'll be necessary. Just state very clearly to the midwife/consultant that you want the option and want to be listened to if/when you ask for one!

@QuickGetTheEggplants I've been told I have IUGR too, at how many weeks was you induced?

@TheSubtleKnifeAndFork thank you for your advise! I've been back and fourth with what I should do, I would rather much be prepared as when I did ask for an epidural with my first it seemed like I was waiting ages for them to prepare it and by the time they had it ready I was 8cm dilated.

@TheSubtleKnifeAndFork I think I like the idea of having a tens machine too!

Hi OP I was induced for IUGR with one of my twins. Well obviously they both came out but only one had problems! Anyhow they used a pessary and it was fine. I had no pain relief at all and it went quickly. Maybe ask if you can start with a pessary which is gentler?

I was 34+3 when my waters went. I'd lost my plug 2days earlier so decided to be induced 34+4 as was strep b positive. I was induced by drip. I held out for 8 hours without epidural but asked for it in the end - best decision ever! Baby was there in 4 hours but I managed a nap after the epidural. There was just no relief between contractions to recover - definitely take the drugs! And good luck!

I have had2 prem babies 1 came on her own at 35/6 weeks second i was drip induced at 35 weeks I'm not going to lie it is really intense because there isno build up I had pain relief and gas and air no epudural.

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff I'm unsure if I'm allowed a pessary as my waters broke on Friday?

@kshaw thank you! I'm going to definitely have the epidural on standby my only concerns were that I was told labour is longer with an epidural 

@MrsJayy yeah that's what I assumed it would be like, I think when it's natural it kind of builds up and you go from a period pains to contractions to full on every bone in your body is breaking, that's one thing I am baring in mind 

@ctahir We made it to 37 weeks, but the last week I had daily monitoring and twice weekly blood tests.

Mine was 12 hours from start of drugs to her being born - was worried about it too but once had the epidural I didn't mind! I was 2cm dilated when they gave me the drip

@kshaw can you feel the pain through the epidural?

I couldn't feel pain but I could feel the pressure of contractions and I could still move my legs - some people can't though

I could feel the contractions, they felt almost mechanical, but they didn't bother me. I had an episiotomy, there literally had the ventouse out but I had a big contraction and pushed baby out without it.