Being induced tomorrow - No idea what to expect!

[erised24]

Had it sprung upon me today that I will be induced tomorrow. She explained what the induction entails but I have no idea what to expect from labour except that it'll be worse than natural labour. Any advice?

Try and stay mobile and upright throughout rather than lying on a bed. Ask if you can have telemetric monitoring that allows you to walk around, sit on a birth ball etc. During the pushing stage stay upright as well if possible e.g. on all fours, squatting, kneeling rather than lying on your back. All of this will make your labour quicker and easier, and reduce your chances of needing intervention 😊

It might take a long time for things to get going - make sure you take plenty of snacks plus your iPad/Kindle/books etc as you could be in for a while.

Also, it won't necessarily be worse! The drip can cause more painful/intense contractions but it doesn't mean labour will be awful. Have a look online for positive induction stories to get you in the right frame of mind.

Honestly, just go with the flow.
I was induced 8pm Saturday, contractions started mildly at 1am Sunday, waters were broken artificially at 3cm at 8pm Sunday, no progress for a few hours so placed on a drip, baby turned head so wasn't coming down the canal so had EMCS at 2:30pm on the Monday
Gas and air made me sick and I didn't want any other medication other than an epidural as I personally don't like the fact it passes into baby
Just relax as much as you possibly can

Sleep when you can. Sleep when you can! I was under the impression that being induced would just make it happen, ended up being awake for about 40hrs and MY GOD that's a terrible way to start parenthood!

Thank you everyone.

I had the pessary at 8am and DD was out by 10pm. Things progressed really quickly for me, almost too quickly as they had no delivery rooms available so I was in active labour in the induction suite with no pain relief 🤦🏻‍♀️ But once I got that all was swell. I would really recommend a TENS machine if you’ve got one, it gave me something to concentrate on when contractions got bad which helped I think. Good luck, so exciting you’ll meet your baby soon!

Thank you!

I'm guessing I'm going to have to pack a bit more for myself? Extra clothes etc? Also do you normally have to stay in longer after baby is born with induction?

My induction went quicky.

Basically she put a pessary in at 9pm. My cervix was still closed and it was a little uncomfortable. But she did offer me gas and air and I said no lol. I thought it was just going in like a canestan pessary but it's put in your cervix.

I was then monitored for 20 minutes.

Sent back to the ward for a good night's sleep.

At 10.45 i starting shaking (just my bodies reaction nothing bad) pressed the buzzer. I was taken to the labour ward to be checked. Shaking stopped about 11. I remember a midwife putting a belt on my tummy and saying did you feel that contraction. I hadn't felt anything.

At 11.30pm I had my first contraction with pain. They came every three minutes lasting a minute. It was strong from the start with me but many don't go into labour as quickly as I did. Around 2.30am it got stronger. I think it was 6amish when a dr said to me the babies heart rate had dropped. I was 9cm so she wanted to give me some help with a suction cup. I managed to push her out myself (determined haha) and she was born at 6.32am.

From the first pain it was 7 hours. It was 9 hours from the pessary going in. X

My advice is take a little extra. I stayed in with both kids. One was an induction and one was natural. Just to keep an eye on my blood pressure with baby one. With baby two he was born too fast and had loads of fluid on his chest and a temporary hole in his heart. He was perfectly fine lol.

My advice is 4-5 sleepsuits. 4 vests. 2-3 nighties for you.

I took my changing bag with babies stuff in. Put about about 8 nappies in. Then folded all the outfits.

Take some snacks to last you 2-3 days. Biscuits, crisps, apples and coke and water if you can. Some mints. Lipbalm as gas and air makes you thirsty.i had a shot of water after every pain lol.

Don't worry you will do amazing xx

The reason it's good to take more is sometimes new babies are sick alot. It's nothing bad. Both of mine were sick throughout the first night. It's basically the water and mucus on their chests. I recommend muslin clothes for underneath them too. I found they needed changing 3 times in that first day or so. Soggy sleepsuits. But that might not be the case for your baby x

2 pessarys 6 hours apart got me to 3cm with no regular pains. Midwife then broke my waters and my daughter was born 2 hours later. It was very quick and I only
Had gas and air, no time for anything stronger unfortunately. Push like you're pooping!

Forgot to add onto my essay. Good luck. A massive congratulations and how exciting. It will be a fond memory this time next week. Enjoy your beautiful baby x

Staying in longer after the baby is born is usually related to if you're being induced for medical reasons (i.e. meconium in waters, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes). It's so they can monitor you and baby to make sure things are normal. Or at least getting back to normal.

I would definitely bring more stuff for you though, as inductions can take a while. My own induction, my body didn't really respond until I was hooked up to the drip. After that, I was definitely in labour!

It is a shock though to be suddenly told you're going to be induced and soon. Hope you're doing ok.

Staying in longer after the baby is born is usually related to if you're being induced for medical reasons (i.e. meconium in waters, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes).
I was tested for GD a while ago and given the all clear but they now suspect I have developed it and will do the tests tomorrow to find out.

It's definitely been a huge shock. Thought I had a few more weeks to prepare myself but nope! She actually wanted to book it for next week when I'm 39 weeks but had no free slots so was like "How about tomorrow?". Feels very surreal!

How is everything op?

Everything is good! Baby girl was born on 12th at 19:49 and 15 hours in labour. Ended up having to have forceps in the end.