Inductions!?? Second birth!?

[Babybarn]

Hello!
Due to crazy birth anxiety (ex needlephobic!) my consultant is recommending an induction for my second child at 39weeks with epidural. I'm terrified because I've never heard of a positive induction story- does anyone have experience of similar to share?

Thanks!!

Yep. Brilliant experience at 41.5 weeks.
Had a pessary which did bugger all sorts seemed.

No progress from around 11am until 8.30pm when wanted to put up the syntocynon drip. I said OK, no problem but not without an epidural first. Epidural went in just after my waters broke. I was not dilated. At 10.30 I wanted to push. The midwives said "ha, ha", then they checked. The baby was born at 11.52pm. 8lb 13oz. No stitches.

The alternative was a section which was my preference. The baby turned feom breech the night before. I accepted a vaginal birth on the basis that I woukd have a very expetienced midwife.

It was a very easy and cathartic birth.

They are so,so many positive stories!! I was induced, I had my waters broken and then a normal delivery 8 hours later. I didn't need any more intervention than that.
You will hear more negative stories because there is more to talk about.
Induction does not need to be a negative process, especially if it's your second baby and you've laboured before.

The only needles I had to have giving birth was for my second labour. Which was an induction. I’m confused!

Induction was fine, btw.

I had an induction with my second. (Induced on due date owing to me being 40.) It was great. Had the pessary at 11am. Went for a walk and lunch. Contractions started in the late afternoon. 9pm doctor and midwife had a heated debate about how far along I was. Doctor proved wrong as I was rushed into the labour ward at 10.30pm and had the baby with no pain relief. Tea and toast by 11.15pm.

My first labour was awful (placental abruption) so this was my redemption.

My sister also had a really positive experience with her induction for her second and that was at 37 weeks.

It's having an induction first time that seems to be the problem IMO.

I cannot tell you how reassuring these responses are. Thank you SO much for taking the time to share your experiences.

Mine took longer than I would have wanted but once I got going and had my Epidural it was so much better than my first (natural) birth experience.
I felt much more calm and in control

I had a perfect induction for my daughter.Absolutely no drama . Cannot remember exact timings but few hours after pessary waters broke and baby born 5 hours later.

2 inductions at 37 weeks due to IUGR.
1st start to finish was 4 hours, 2nd was 90 mins. Preferred the second as I had the drip and it was quicker.

ORIGINAL POSTER:

I just wanted to reply to this thread because in my search for peace as a pregnant woman I ended up reading a lot of threads that never had an ending.

I ended up choosing to be induced a day before my due date. I was called in on time and met with very friendly nurses. I was not dilated enough to have my waters broken, so had the pessary inserted and very quickly felt contractions. They had to remove the pessary And I was transferred straight to the Delivery Suite with an epidural as I had requested within a few hours. At 11:39 pm on the same day of my induction I delivered a healthy baby boy. This labour and delivery was beautiful and totally the right decision for me. The midwives were phenomenal and I never in 1 million years thought I would be writing such a positive post birth story.

I really hope and pray that if you are reading this with anxiety for birth, you find comfort in my testimony, but mostly in the fact that you are amazing and will choose the right thing for you and your baby, no matter what!
It took a lot of therapy and reflection for me to figure that out. Xx

I was induced due to high BP and was very apprehensive due to all the horror stories that people love to tote around! Mine was lovely. Had my waters broken, started the drip. Laboured for a few hours on gas and air then had an epidural. Fell asleep for a few hours overnight. Woke up as the sun came up and pushed the baby out! Also a really funny thing that DH and I appreciated about induction was that we could plan for it - make sure the house was all clean etc before going in, could organise childcare for older DC if needed etc.

Ah I’ve just realised the dates OP and that this is an old post. Congratulations I’m so glad it all went well! Hopefully others will see this thread in future and be reassured by your story 🙂

Thanks for coming back to update OP. I’m really glad it went well for you. I’m fully expecting to be pushed towards an induction again, so it’s reassuring to read some positive stories. I was induced with my daughter and it was the most horrendous experience so I’m feeling really anxious about it.

When you say you requested the epidural - was that prior to the induction or on the day? I think I’d be more open to induction if they guaranteed me pain relief this time. With my daughter they wouldn’t even check me to see if I was in active labour and so I didn’t even get gas and air. By the time they checked me (still on the induction ward) I was fully dilated and in a right state.

@DejaMoooyou poor thing. I have a friend who’s dad is a very experienced gynaecologist and he says, the biggest birth risk no one talks about is being a first time mum. I found real reassurance in that when having my second.

I had consultant led but made sure all my midwives knew I wanted an epidural. When I went in to hospital it was the first thing I said to the midwife. Before they had even put the pessary in I’d had an anaesthetist visit me to sign the papers and explain everything.
My friend is a gynae nurse too and chose induction with epidural, so it’s gotta be good … right!?

I am sending you positive vibes as I sit next to my little miracle boy, who healed a hell of a lot of trauma from my first birth. May you have the same!!! Xxx

@Babybarn thank you for this. that’s honestly so reassuring - and I’m really glad that you had such a positive experience this time. I have my first appointment with my consultant coming up soon and so I’m going to have this conversation with them. Seems stupid but I didn’t know you could request an epidural in advance - I suppose one of the biggest benefits of having a second baby is being more prepared. I definitely didn’t speak up for myself first time round.

Congratulations 🥰 enjoy all those newborn cuddles!

@DejaMoooi totally get that, and felt the same. I had a consultant this time around that said- weigh up all the worst case scenarios and then choose the ‘least’ worse case scenario for you.

For me, pain relief was a number 1 priority, over labour length. So I had to go for the option where I could control the variables! I know it can all be pretty unpredictable, but in my head I felt a lot more in control.

Thanks lovely !

Had 2 inductions (1st & 3rd) and hands down would do it again! Was calmer, and more organised.