How bad is it really to be induced?

[Mip]

Hi everyone, have heard that induction makes labour (even!) more painful and that it increases risk of forceps/ventouse and potentially c-section - none of which I want. However at only 40+4 I am feeling very stressed about being overdue and starting to imagine all sorts of things going wrong, also he's still growing - won't he be enormous by 43 weeks?! (when they induce where I'm living).

I am feeling so paniky even though I'm trying to keep calm and have arranged nice things to do every day. My mother was induced when she had my brother (he wasn't late but they thought he'd stopped growing), she had an epidural but that's it, didn't find it any harder than her labour with me. Is it really as awful as midwifes and people on this website often make it out to be? Thanks very much!

P.S Not intending to ask for one any day now btw, would like to get things going just before or at 42 weeks if labour hasn't started naturally.

i was induced with dd2. the contractions were more intense but the pushing bit was exactly the same and because the contractions were more intense she came much quicker than dd1 who took nearly three days the lazy moo!

Idobelieve - interesting what you say about it being less painful if you are overdue. Makes sense.

Thanks for very interesting links Hertsnessex - really helpful and I've now printed them out!

IDBIF- sorry your other births were so painful though.

I was 2weeks overdue with both of my induced babies. My first induction was with my first baby. Incredibly painful from first contraction to the last. So bad that when I realised I was going to be induced with my last baby, I broke down in tears with dread.
I needn't have worried. Two lots of gel to get things started. Contractions started 7hrs after second gel and increased smoothly and manageably until baby born 2hrs later. No different to my non-induced labours.

Mip I was induced with my first baby at 38 weeks and it was wonderful. I had prostaglandins overnight. Woke up to ARM and pitocin drip. 12 hours later (only 6 hours of actual labor) ds1 was born. I didn't have any other interventions and didn't bother with an epidural as I got on fine with no medical pain relief.

I also found it no more or less painful than my natural labor with ds2.
It isn't always a bad experience and is probably my favorite of my two birth experiences.

Juuule and MKG - thanks very much for your stories (though sorry to hear about your first birth Juuule - sounds absolutely awful). Really cheered me up!

I was 2 weeks late when they induced me and it turned out that i had to have an emergancy c section (for infection reason not linked to induction) but i was so relieved that i had DD in my arms it didnt bother me at all. Didnt make my labour or contractions any worse. hope everything goes ok.

I was induced and it was quick (esp considering it was my first) ... I had 2 shots of diamorphine which realy helped chill me out, and then gas & air, and tbh baby shot out without me even realising it .. yes really. dc2 wasn't induced and that labour was FAR more PAINFUL - trust me !!! I also didn't need foreceps etc with the induction. don't worry it will be fine.

I was induced at 42 weeks, as my scan showed I had oligohydramnios (no water left, basically).

First pessary gave me mild contractions, then the second worked straight away. Twelve hour labour, only gas and air, then 25 minutes pushing and he was out.

It was absolutely fine.

And you may well go into labour naturally. So many women go at least a week over.

mip i think you are a good candidate for a doula, have you considered?

Oh more happy stories - thank you!
Fishie - no doulas in Sweden, or only if you haven't a partner, otherwise they sounds wonderful!

'Sounds wonderful' - sorry, went a bit redneck there!

oh well if you are in sweden you will be all stretchy with fish oils and ready to open like a flower.

(that was my pep talk)

law of average says that you will be pretty ready to go so an induction hopefully not too dreadful.

God I would avoid at all costs

I was induced for a week with pessaries
Nothing happened
then they did ARM and the syntocin drip for 12 hours and still nothing
Then emergency c-section followed by PPH, 12 litre blood transfusion, 9 hour general anaesthtic and a stay in intensive care on a ventilator

Given a choice again i would go straight for c-section and avoid the induction tbh

However I am sure I was an extreme case and you would be fine as most seem to be.

I wish someone had told me this before I went, I did think twice ++ before posting this I must say but I think you should be armed with all the possibilites to make a decision.

I have had 3 births:

First- 9 days late- natural birth after a sweep
4 hours of contractions to get to 10cm
contractions stopped, put on drip to speed them up
4 hours of pushing- was absolutely awful, only used gas and air- was so exhausted I wanted to die. Tore quite badly.
Baby weighed 8lb6

Second- 12 days late- induced
Given one dose of gel- had moderate ontractions every 5 mins for 6 hours got to 3cm
Had waters broken- immediately had VERY strong, painful contractions (MW went to pieces). Had diamorphine but dd1 was born in less than 30 minutes so it didn't really kick in on time. Tore badly and needed a cathater.
Baby weighed 8lbs

Third- 12 days late- induced
Given one dose of gel- had mild contractions every 5 mins for 6 hours got to 3-4cm
Asked for diamorphine BEFORE my waters were broken
Had waters broken, had stronger contractions for another hour, used gas and air.
She was born after just 3 pushes and a small episiotomy- barely felt her coming out!
Baby weighed 8lb 1

So IME being induced was better!

i was induced (at 38 weeks) with pessaries with ds1, it took 2 lots before things started to get going,
with ds2 (induced at 36 weeks)i had 3 pessaries, my waters broken, and then put on the i/v drip.

i cant compare to a normal labout as obv not had one but i have been told induction labout is worse than non induced labour. obv it is very painfull, but epidurals (well it failed with ds2) and gas and air got me through it!!

if your induced at 42 weeks maybe your more ripe and ready to go than if youre being induced prematurely?

when i had ds2 the girl in the bed next to me was induced a few minutes before me and was in labout within half an hour, i could hear her moaning until they took her to the delivery suite, and then there was me waiting and waitning till 3 days later it happened.

I was fairly successfully induced with my first baby, because he was overdue and also because the consultant was concerned about my age.

What I most disliked about the induction was that I spent a lot of my rather long labour (26.5 hours) strapped up to monitoring equipment. I progressed steadily but just very slowly even with a drip to speed things up (one of the reasons for the monitoring). A ventouse was used at the end, but it worked and that in itself didn't upset me, I just hated being so restricted in movement for so much of the time.

I was induced (sweep, two days later gel, next day contractions started and I had another sweep then waters broken and six hours later DS was born) but no drip and i managed on gas and air. I was also concerned about the escalation of intervetion and i really didnt want the drip etc but as it happened i went from 2 cm to 4cm and fully dilated v quickly. I was term + 10 when I had the first sweep and term + 13 when I had my waters broken.