Feeling upset about impending induction at 42 weeks

[dancingbee]

I'm 11 days overdue today and back from the midwife after having a failed sweep. She told me that my cervix is far too far back and still hard and she wasn't able to do much with it. Said it's made zero progress since the sweep I had done on Friday at 41 weeks. Midwife told me she thinks it's highly unlikely baby is going to come of it's own accord today or tomorrow and I should mentally prepare myself for induction booked for Friday when I'll be 42 weeks.

I walked out of the appointment and immediately burst into tears. I know in the grand scheme of things it's not the end of the world as long as baby comes out healthy, but I am so frustrated by my body and that induction now seems inevitable.

I was really hoping for a calm labour at home with just me and my DH and am now terrified of sitting around on a ward waiting for the pain to kick in. Feels so clinical and not at all private. So many people have told me horror stories of their inductions which is stressing me out and I think I'm getting myself worked up.

Does anyone have a good experience of being induced at 42 weeks?

Thanks all.
Baby is still showing no signs of budging so now I feel a little more mentally prepared for induction tomorrow knowing that there is a definitive date to get things started!
Guess I'll find out at the hospital if things are looking favourable or not and will decide whether to send DH home at that point.

My best friend was induced at 42w for both her children. Both very straightforward, shortish labours (6 hours or so), no forceps or anything like that. Home within 24hrs for both.

I went into labour ‘naturally’, did loads of hypnobirthing stuff, staying upright & mobile etc, but ended up with emergency c section and a week in hospital! (Both fine now and nothing too serious at the time).

Hope all goes as well as possible for you.

I had an augmented labour (started naturally but after 6 days not much was happening) it did nothing to speed things up so I ended up with a section on day 7. I would think about your cut off point now and get your partner ready to fight for it at that point ( after a number of days you might not be in a fit state to argue your case). We hadn’t had the discussion before hand about c section and I had wanted to avoid one but thankfully he stepped in and we got one in time and we’re both ok.
Pp was right about the shower it excellent pain relief as are epidurals. I should have avoided the pethedine

I've had 2 inductions, my 2nd went very well. Pessary at 4pm, contractions properly started at 7am, baby born at 10.20am. I had a decent nights sleep and I just had gas and air for pain relief during delivery.

My first birth wasn't great but that wasn't anything to do with the induction.

DS arrived at 2:53pm yesterday at 42+1! I went for induction. Waters broke 10 hours after first pessary which midwives seemed surprised about as early examinations showed no dilation at all. I did end up on the hormone drip after 9 hours of irregular contractions, and insisted on an epidural at that point. It was fairly calm after that and I managed to sleep through contractions. Midwives examined me at lunch time to see if things were progressing (after telling me it'll take all day) and were surprised to see I was fully dilated. An hour and a half of pushing and my not so little 9lb6 boy arrived without any further intervention. Pretty sore now but overall a positive experience which went far smoother than I was anticipating.
Thanks all for your experiences and for helping me to mentally prepare!

Ahhhh wonderful! And 9lb 6, what a corker! Wishing you a speedy recovery from the birth, and all the best to you & your family.

Do not decline the induction. They are for a reason. After 42 weeks there are more risks of complications. Please prioritise your baby over a romantic idea of an ideal birth. I will not give you any scare stories but I could

Congratulations and well done x

Confusedbeetle if you read the OP’s post just two above yours you’d see that she didn’t, and that she has had the baby.

Ps congratulations OP!

Thanks all. Yes I was aware of the information on being overdue and so accepted the induction. I think I'd read far too much about how awful inductions can be so am glad it went as well as it did.
Thanks for all of your help and best wishes.