FTM, booked for induction!

[Mairita]

So im currently T+6 , and this baby boy is definitely not coming out by himself, he’s too happy in this bump, ive had no signs of my body processing the thought of going into labour naturally, (i still have time, and would rather go into labour naturally -fingers crossed). Im booked for induction on Monday, but im getting a bad feeling about this. Induction is such a long process, and i fear those hours, just being there in hospital. Pain is the least thing im worried about as there are plenty of options for pain relief. But just the thought of lying there and like any FTM would do , ive gone through a bit of reasearch and the amount of women having complications, just worries me. Going overdue was something i never wanted as an experience in pregnancy.

( Just to mention i was offered a membrane sweep today at the appoitment to maybe progress things without needing to have an actual induction, but i had to refuse due to unbearable soreness around the area and inside, didnt want to make myself feel worse and then if labour kicked in with all that soreness , wouldnt be so great )

I was induced at 39+3 4 weeks ago due to pre eclampsia. I had the 24 hour pessary at 5pm Wednesday evening, hooked up to the hormone drip at 6pm Thursday and gave birth in the early hours of Friday morning.

It was painful as labour really kicked in but, being a FTM myself, I can't say whether it is more painful than spontaneous labour. All I can say is, I was pleasantly surprised with the speed and several midwives on my ward commented that, if the cervix reacts well, there's no reason why a FTM can't have a fairly speedy induction.

Best of luck - it's all worth it in the end

If your getting a bad feeling about it, do a bit of research. You don't have to be induced if you don't want to. Obviously you have to be sensible at some point and weigh up the pros and cons of waiting for things to happen naturally v induction as time passes on. I was bullied into induction by some community mw despite me explaining I'd read research etc and didn't want it. They didn't listen and in the end I didn't turn up to the appointment. I did instead have a consultant appointment where I had a scan to make sure placenta was all working as it should be and a longer term plan to be monitored. In the end I went into labour naturally at 42+3 .

@1sttimeDD @thismeansnothing thanks for a bit of reassurance, i do want this baby out as soon as i can, as we all can guess how fed up i am of being pregnant, im not against induction, its just being overdue and having induction does make a big impact on whole labour in general, as its assisted and has a bigger risk of complications, i just hope it wont be me!

After all i am a first time mum, panic is something to expect of me. 😅

Hi OP. I was 10 days overdue and then went in for a sweep. I couldn't let the MW complete it because I found it uncomfortable however i went in to labour that night. So the poking about up there did seem to help. You could ask for a sweep first?

Otherwise I have always said if I'm induced I'd go for an epidural as that's apparently recommended. But like a PP said, there's no reason the labour cant progress "normally" after an induction.

My induction was 48 hours with no dilation. Despite this I had very little time hanging around, except when I was admitted (books/ magazines/ earplugs helped).
Once contractions started they were actually over-keen) to keep things moving. Unfortunately baby didn't want to play ball.
Prior to induction I had, I think, 3 sweeps. Nothing happened except some dull aching. If you are sore, skipping them seems very sensible.

I had an induction with DC2 went in for 11am and had the peasant in at 12, nothing happened so had the next one at 8pm and contractions started about 8.45
They were a lot more stronger and together, baby was born at 12.31 am
So definitely quicker for me but I did find that the contractions were more frequent and painful
Hope everything goes well for you OP

@Heatherbaby I already mentioned about the sweep. Unfortunately i had to refuse it because if the unbearable soreness i have down there, and even having pants on makes it painful to walk, so i didnt want to have a very uncomfortable painful sweep and end up either going into labour with all that piled on top of contractions or have no progress and have even more unbearable and uncomfortable pain down there.

@Azra12 Induction is definitely a bit of a process to handle, especially like me being first time mum, im really surprised in not worrying about all the pain, more like about the hours most women go through to get that baby out.

Thanks, fingers crossed he comes without reaching the induction day! ☺️

I'm in the same position... 41+1. I just had my 4th sweep yesterday and still nothing. I know there's still time for it to work but I doubt it will.

I'm so over it. I feel like she's never going to come out. I also really don't want an induction. Hopefully she comes by herself before Sunday. Fingers crossed for you

Hi OP, I understand you are sore, however if you are induced how do you think they are going to break your waters to induce you?

Why are you so sore? Is this something you have mentioned to your midwife/GP? X

Soreness? What on earth is that about? Did you discuss with your mw? If you have an infection or any chance of an STI, natural delivery might be contra-indicated. You need to find out what’s causing the sensitivity/ pain - that’s not a good sign just as you are about to stretch that whole area. Get some medical advice (I’m surprised they didn’t investigate at your appointment if you said this was the reason for no sweep).

@FruitCider @Mamaryllis , i had the soreness for a long time, and had examination done for any infections at hospital , which i dont have, ive mentioned it to the mw, answer to anything ive ever complained about is, that its just how pregnancies are are how my body reacts, i just need to get on with it, use some creams. I didnt expect to hear anything else of her tbf so had to make my own conclusions what could it possibly be and how to make it any better, could be the irritation from going to toilet so much for that one drop and wiping with normal toilet paper, so i had to switch to waterwipes to not irritate the soreness and it helps. Also ive had a lot of vaginal discharge so ive been having to use little pads, and im not a pad person , never been one, but ive been putting a baby nappy rash cream on my pads to help with the soreness, so i can atleast walk with having that pad rubbing everywhere and making it painful. ( Im sorry if this is a bit uncomfortable maybe to read but this is all i can do for myself and all i could really think of, as my midwifes are useless and to anything i complain, excuse always has been, that this is how pregnancies are and i need to get on with it )

OP I was induced at 38+6 as a first time mum and my baby was nowhere near ready to come out. Pessary went in at 6am and baby arrived at about 10am the next day. Very little sitting around but I spent as much time as I could either walking around or bouncing on the birthing ball to try and speed the process up. If you’re that sore you need to try and do something about it before you’re induced or you’re going to struggle with examinations and sweeps. Have you tried just spending as much time as possible lying in bed or on the sofa with no pants on and airing the area? Also dab don’t rub when wiping.

I was induced at 39+6. Pessary went in at 3pm. My waters broke on their own, and my baby girl was born at 10.25pm! Induction isn't always slow!

OP the soreness really isn't an issue, it's the fact you refused a sweep because you are sore. Induction is likely to go-

Sweep
Vagina gel/pessary
Sweep/vaginal exam
More gel/pessary
OR breaking your waters
Vaginal exam every 4 hours

Your waters will be broken as soon as they can get 1/2 fingers into your cervix and a hook. Then you'll be put on a drip and have continuous monitoring. If the monitor doesn't have a good connection then will want to use a fetal scalp monitor that will involve more prodding.

None of this is going to be particularly comfortable and is completely unavoidable if you are induced. So you need to work out how you can manage the soreness in preparation for this.

Sorry for being to the point, it's just it might not have occurred to you how many times your lady parts are going to be invaded for induction and I think it's important that you know if you have vaginal soreness... x

I had an induction booked for the Monday morning and my labour started on the Friday. You still have time to not need one.

Same as Flatwhite! I was booked in for an induction, pessery went in at midday, felt totally normal until about 8pm when I started getting little contractions, then waters broke by themselves at 10pm, because they broke naturally I got to go back to my original birthing plan and had my daughter in the pool at 6am.

I only had to have 2 internal examinations and the 2nd one I was 5cm dilated and having contractions so I barely even remember noticing!

Don’t panic OP, hope it all goes well for you, just remember it’s all worth it once you’re holding your little one!

Two weeks ago exactly I was in established labour after being induced. I was 37 +3 and they couldn't even perform a sweep as my cervix was so unfavourable. It took 3 days, but the first two were mainly me walking round and round the hospital. I did the whole thing on just gas and air, and they let me go in the water bath thingie. Mild second degree tear that has healed already, and only needed the drip at 10cm (my contractions tailed off then for some reason) Now sat with my little daughter in my arms. So a long but not bad experience