Induction failure

[NauseousKitty]

Has anyone else had their induction fail? I was in hospital fr 52 hours until this afternoon with nothing more than a few tightenings and a scary hour of continuous pain last night. After three attempts they have sent me home for a few days rest.

Anyone else been in this boat? If so, did it work second time around? They have been really vague about the next course of action.

NB being induced because of gestational diabetes not because i am massively overdue, currently at 40+2.

Hey kitty sorry to hear that :(. I'm being induced in a few wks at 39 so will be interested what other posters say.

What I don't understand is why they do that; I mean to let you get some rest fair enough but to stop it all after that long to restart again seems silly. Were you just on the pessaries? I'm guessing no ARM or drip or else LO would have been out either way. Did they say why they didn't progress to that or why they even started if your cervix just wasn't ready?

Hope you get a decent night :)

I've had 4 inductions, the 2 I had when I was 42 weeks+ were much much quicker, the other 2 done at 41 and 40 weeks were a struggle to get going.

Hopefully once you've been home for a few days and caught up on some much needed sleep it will work next time.

You could try expressing colostrum. It stimulates oxytocin, which in turn encourages labour. Sex helps too, it delivers prostaglandins to your cervix. Its hard to say how effect it is but I used both to avoid induction at term with GD and dd was born at 39 weeks.

My induction failed last year. Nothing happened at all, not one contraction. I had severe spd so when they offered a cs on day 3 I bit their hand off. In fact they could have offered to pull ds out my nose and I would have agreed. Ds was born at 42 weeks by emcs (we had almost 20 hours notice so not so much of an emergency).

I personally would never go to induction again, I couldn't walk because of the spd and I couldn't leave the hospital. So I was stuck in bed with only company at visiting time from dh.

What have you been offered as a solution? Go back and try again in a few days? Has a cs been mentioned? I presume you are being closely monitored for the gd. How do you feel in yourself?

I also had a failed induction at 40+1 as I had high bp. My hospital was very pro-CS and after 48 hours of nothing happening basically told me that as the pessaries hadn't worked at all I would probably end up with a CS, even if I did go into labour, so I may as well get on with it. After 48 hours on the pre-natal ward and an examination from a doctor with enormous hands who said that he would just get on and break my waters (still on the ward) if I had even started to dilate, I was quite relieved to take the CS. It was quite a sudden shift though from expecting to go into labour to realising I was about to have my baby without ever experiencing a contraction. I do think the hospital made the right recommendation (not least because my baby showed signs of being affected by my high bp so it was right to get him out), but I do wish that someone had told me beforehand that inductions can fail and that you may go straight to CS as I found it a bit hard to get my head round it all when I got home (although I think that was largely as a result of sleep deprivation and hormones messing me around).

I hope that you are able to rest over the next few days and that you and your baby are safely home together very soon. I would agree with pp that it may be worth having a conversation about CS and at what stage you should consider taking this route, if it's something you feel comfortable with. All the best!

Thank you ladies.

I was on two types of pessaries and had three in total. Last night was horrendous - basically my body had had enough and I was getting painful tightenings every minute or so to the point where I couldn't get out of the bath! The midwife had to try to dig it out (tmi I know) with much pain?,

I haven't really been given the opportunity to discuss anything with anyone, the registrar was so busy today but he sad I would have to essentially go though the same process again. No CS was mentioned. Not against CS per se but I live in a village with no public transport so I am a bit wary of going mad with a six week recovery period.

Will try xpressing but thought of sex after six internal exams over the past two days fills me with something akin to dread. I think i just need to sleep and bounce on my yoga ball!

Wow - glad I read this (sort of!). I assumed if pessaries didn't work it was next thing on the list and that ultimately failed induction meant a CS; had no idea you could be sent home to repeat the process

Does make me wonder that in cases like the OP and mine where its a 'medical' reason for induction (as opposed to being lots overdue) why it gets to this stage? I know CS has other risks but either the baby needs to come out for whatever reason or it doesn't IYSWIM.

Good luck OP :)

It could just have been as simple as there weren't enough beds/staff to get on with a c-section???

Plus C-section is major surgery they don't want to put you through it if a couple of extra days and some more pessaries will get things going.

Thanks lois.

What galls me is that my bloods have been perfect other than two random blips yet I was still taken in for induction on the say so of a consultan I have seen once for less than 15 mins.

Anyway, it is what it is. I am just going to wait for Wednesday and hope that I have enough hormones washing around my body to bring it on naturally... well fairly naturally!

Hopefully a more relaxing environment at home will boost your oxytocin to get things going and like random says maybe you've escaped a CS if you're otherwise well :)

Bloomin' consultants!

Very annoying if your bloods are good and baby doesn't seem massively huge.

My 2nd dc was 10lb 6oz and all was fine, no tears or stitches

If they get you dilated and then want to give you the drip ask to have the epidural first, everyone I know who had one said it made the pessary pain seem bearable in comparison

I was in for a week being induced. They didn't send me home and I had 'rest' days whilst I was in there. I had the pessary, day 'off' resting, 3x gel, day 'off' resting, ARM and syntocin for 24 hours and then EMCS for failing to get past 4cm! In on Minday, had DD on Sunday.

You've got my sympathies OP. It's so frustrating when you are expecting your baby to cone at any moment and nothing happens. And everyone texting/calling asking if you've had DC yet.

Hope the next phase goes well for you...

With one of my near fails they told me if the ARM didn't work then I'd have a c-sec, I stupidly asked how likely that would be - 50/50 they said!!!!!

Fortunately it worked and dc 3 was born about 2 hours later.

Just remember you have options, you can give induction another go and if ARM doesn't work skip the drip and ask for a section. Don't feel pressuried into anything.

Eeek Random - pessaries pain was rubbish so will definitely think about epidural. I think my drug free, natural birth ideal went out of the window at 29 weeks when I got diagnosed.

Watching a film with my lovely DH and trying to relax. At least I get a few more days in peace. Will update you when stubborn child eventually decides to move but all other pearls of wisdom are appreciated. Thank you!

I had the same thing happen. 3 days in hospital, 4 gels, nada. They were umming and aahing over section or let me go home and rest, I told them I was going home

Went back 5 days later and started getting contractions after the 2nd gel. Waters went an hour later, DD2 born an hour after that, 10lb6 . No drip or anything.

I was so surprised at the difference a few days made. I was fully expecting another long drawn out process. I hope your second experience will be as good as mine. Best of luck :)

randommess just reread your post- DD2 was 10lb6 too, no tears or anything for me either, fellow bucket fanny