Being induced

[Pastmyduedate0208]

I don't think my baby wants to meet me!
Or i have made it way too comfortable in there.
I think i will be going in for induction although it is a few days away still, I just have no feeling whatsoever that anything will spontaneously start moving.

My hospital only has the stay on ward option (ie gel, stay, wait, no going home after 1st bit).
I will prob b there for 2 days :-(

Can't help feel down, like i have failed at something.

Anyone had 'good' stories of hospital stay induction?

You have not failed at anything, look at it like you are doing such a good job of providing a home for your baby they don't want to leave just yet!

How many days over are you? I have no advice to offer as I'm just due today but have no signs of going at all and will get an induction date next week so will be Interested in replies as our hospital keeps you once the gel has been administered also

Oh, try not to start the next bit of your relationship with your LO feeling you've failed. That would be horrible for you!

Do what you can in the meantime. Walking & all fours action when you can.

But, if you're induced.., so what? You'll get a lovely wee baby at the end!

Oh op that is exactly how my dd was born, I was on ward for 2 days before labour was established and then moved to labour ward for birth and back on ward for a further two days ( although we had to stay after birth because I had gd and baby was born with low blood sugar so you probably won't have to stay very long afterwards). It was actually quite a good experience for me, there was no uncertainty and I was given super care, when they noticed I was dilated enough, my waters were broken to help things along because my induction was taking a little long (no big issue but it just helped things along) and then labour went quite quickly after that 5:30hrs from breaking waters to baby in my arms. My best tip would be to keep as active as you can after you've had the gel (I didn't as I dint know it would help) that way your induction might work faster and labour might be established sooner and without them have to break your waters. Once you've had the gel I would say walk around the hospital as much as you can, you don't actually have to be on the ward, go up and down some stairs and just amble along as much as possible. Make sure you take someone with you though, a friend of mine did that and her waters broke while she was walking around, no great gushing or anything but it was nice for her to have someone help her back to the ward.

Oh also wanted to say don't feel like you failed op, I'm a strong believer of it doesn't matter how your child ends up on this earth the important thing is they get here safely.

You could just ask for monitoring instead of induction and you should eventually go naturally.

Hello OP just another view you don't have to be induced unless there are medical conditions dictating that this is the safest route.
Hospital policies vary but you can ask for more time if you would prefer that.
It is also of course perfectly possible you will start labour naturally before then.
As others have said it is a means to an end and won't matter a jot once you have your baby in your arms but if you feel like the ticking clock is putting you under emotional strain then look into alternatives in terms of monitoring and buying yourself a little more breathing space.
Good luck

Ah cross post with PP!

Thanks for the replies guys.
I don't have any medical conditions but the general guidelines is to induce by week 42 in case the placenta stops working. I am halfway through week 41 now.
I would prefer to wait!

I think i will speak to my MW about whether a 2+ day stay in hospital could b avoided....

The guidance about placenta failure can be managed by inducing or monitoring. Did your dates get moved much at your 12 week scan? Mine got moved 5 days so by my dates I'm due tomorrow but by scan dates I'm 5 days over tomorrow. It's not an exact science.

yeah the dates moved by a few days, the induction is based on earlier dates... thanks for the info.

I was booked in for induction with ds3 at 11 days over but he chose to come the day before all by himself! Stay active and on those feets or spend some time in all fours and don't feel like a failure ... A due date is merely a guesstimate ... bubba may just not be cooked enough yet and things will progress for you ... I bet when he does decide to come he won't hang about desperate to meet his mumma!!

I have a positive induction story!

I was induced at 40+12 with my DD.
I was admitted onto maternity ward at 3pm. They came at 3.30 to put me on monitor for half an hour to check baby's heart rate before coming back at 4pm to give me first gel. Unfortunately at this point I mentioned my asthma which was nowhere on my notes apparently so they have to delay induction to get a doctors ok to start, this took until 7pm but was the only real hiccup. I had hubs with me all this time and we were relaxing on ward and brought a meal etc. I remember just being really excited about meeting my little girl.
So 7pm first gel. Hubs stayed with me until 10pm when we decided he should go home and try and get some sleep (he should have left when visiting stopped at 8pm but the staff turned a blind eye to him being with me until then). Not long after he left my contractions started, I tried to have a little snooze, read a magazine, play with a contraction timer on my phone. About midnight I went to find a midwife to let her know my contractions were getting quite strong but still manageable. She said someone would be by to see me at 12.30am to put me on monitor before 2nd gel at 1am. So I was strapped to monitor which I do remember being quite uncomfortable as before that I'd wanted to be upright through contractions. However I was then examined and already 3cm or so dilated with regular strong contractions so they decided I definitely didn't need a 2nd gel. After this I took to pacing the hall as the only real issue I had with induction was that I was on a ward with 3 other mums and newborn babies and wanted to leave them in peace! About 3am I had reached the point where contractions had very little time in between and I was unable to do anything through them except lean against a wall. The midwife on the ward decided it was def time to go down to delivery suite and call my husband. Got to delivery around 3.10am, told the midwife I may need some pain relief to which I was told it was too late! I was 10cm dilated. My husband arrived about 3.45am just as I was telling midwife it was time to push and my little girl was born at 4.14am. I did need some stitches as she arrived very quickly in the end with ventouse (they got a bit concerned how low her heart rate dropped during contractions).
I was brought tea and toast and my lovely little family were left in peace on the delivery suite until around 11am during which time I even managed a quick shower in the ensuite. We moved up to the ward in time for family visiting 1pm-2pm. And then we were told once the doctor had given baby the OK we could be discharged. Hubs was with me all the time after baby was born and we left hospital about 6pm to spend our first night at home.

Looking back, my down points were that I laboured alone. However I am a very calm person and in hindsight I realise that due to my quick labour the midwives didn't see any urgency in me (when I went to see the midwife in between contractions I actually said very calmly "excuse me, I'm in a bit of pain".... I realise now I was probably far too calm about this!) So if I had been more assertive I'd probably have gone down to delivery a couple of hours earlier rather than fully dilated and therefore had my husband with me. Learning point for next time!

Fingers crossed you don't need inducing but I hope my story reassures you that inductions can be positive birth stories.

Thanks for your story mrsbee - I had a birth dream last night and it was a positive induction one, all previous dreams have either been idealistic natural birth or horror story so thank you so much for that. 40+6.

Pastmyduedate just to say that I was in just your position last week, I was booked in to be induced yesterday at 40 + 14 but DC made an appearance the day before. I know what it is like to have the induction hanging over you and I was feeling really down but then had a sweep and decided to be as active as poss to try and get things going on their own. So don't give up hope. And if you are induced just hold the thought that the end is in sight! Good luck x