Positive Induction Stories

[PeterPeterson]

Please, please can people share their positive induction stories with me.

I'm booked in for Monday when I'll be 42 weeks exactly, having to go for daily monitoring until then. I'm completely heartbroken, I'd planned a lovely, calm, hands off home birth and now I've got to go and have the complete opposite and I'm so gutted. DP doesn't get it, he's of the opinion that as long as baby is here safely it doesn't matter how that happens but I am petrified of the cascade of intervention and right now I don't feel like he's on my side.

If you have any tips to make this experience better please share them!

I’ve had 3 massively positive inductions (42w
And 2x38w). The worst one was ds2 in the 2018 heatwave but apart from that they all went smoothly and no interventions needed and no damage to me

DS1 was longest at 42 weeks. Ds2 and Dd much shorter despite being at 38 weeks. I was only pushing for 4& 2 mins with them

I forgot to add I've already got one DD who came 7 years ago at 40+5, spontaneous labour so this isn't my first rodeo! Her birth was really text book with minimal intervention but the 24 hours after she was born were quite traumatic/left a lasting negative impact. The birth itself I'm not particularly worried about but it's all the cannula's/monitoring/lack of movement/things moving insanely fast that I'm scared of.

I also planned a home birth but ended up being induced. I was dreading it but due to a combination of luck (the gel worked first time so no need for a drip or anything), assertiveness (dp and I kept banging on about a pool so they found a blow up one and got it filled just in time), and good care by the midwives (no doctors involved, despite not being on the "midwife led unit") DD arrived safely in the pool with no instruments used and gas and air only for pain relief. Around 6 hours from first contractions till she was out. The gel went in at 7am, I had a shower and escaped the hospital to go for a walk to the shop then came back to be checked at 1pm at which point I was 7cm dilated and started feeling like pushing very shortly afterwards - then it was a massive rush to get off the antenatal ward and into a private delivery room. Don't get me wrong - it hurt like fuck and I felt pretty traumatised afterwards but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. DD is my only child so I don't have anything to compare it to, but compared to others in my antenatal class I fell I got off fairly lightly!

My top tips would be - stay up right and active for as long as possible

• think about your preferences and choices you might have to make and make sure they're in your birth plan and your partner is ready to advocate for you
• accept that, in large part, how it goes is down to luck. Its ok to feel scared and overwhelmed. It's also ok to ask for pain relief if that's what decide you want once you're actually doing it.

Good luck!

Can they use wireless monitoring?

Do you know what methods of induction your hospital usually uses?

Thank you heeeey and pregnant!

I believe it's the Propess pessary for 24 hours, then ARM, followed by Syntocinon.

I had a pessary induction, they left me to it and said they'd check up on me in 6 hours. 5 hours later my baby boy was in my arms. No pain relief, no intervention at all, I just stayed in my private room on the ward with my husband and had an active labour. The only time they checked on me is when I buzzed the midwife to tell her I felt like pushing and needed to go down to the birthing suite - she checked my cervix and was very shocked to feel I was already 9cm! So my experience was very positive. Sometimes it doesn't go the way we plan but keep an open mind and a relaxed body and try to enjoy the labour as best you can. Good luck!

Thanks Baz, this is what I need to hear!

I agree with PP, just because it’s not as you planned, it doesn’t take away from the experience. TBH I read my [typed up] birth plan afterwards and laughed!

I was induced with a propess and started contracting about 5 hours later. The rest of labour was as if I’d started naturally/spontaneously. Very minimal observations, only G&A and labour took about 9.5 hours after that.

It may be worth just trying to think of it as starting you off into the process of being in labour (with no interventions necessary) rather than “it’ll then lead to this, this and this” IYSWIM.

And of course there’s the joy of finally meeting little one soon!

I was induced with my first, I was only 21 and a bit naive. I didn’t get given much choice in things and I didn’t know I was allowed to discuss options, thought I just had to do what they said. The induction wasn’t what I wanted and I was given pain relief/cannula etc without it being discussed.
Best advice I can give is remember you have a choice and you can discuss your options with your midwife at every step. It’s your birth and even if things don’t go as you planned you can still be in control.

I often tell my story on here. I was induced at 40+12, was dreading it. I had the gel in the morning, they booked me in to come back the next day for more gel, but my contractions started early afternoon and my baby was born within 3 hours of first contraction in the pool in the midwife unit. I had gas and air for the last 30mins (when I got into the pool). It was fantastic. I think he was basically ready to be born but just needed a bit of encouragement!

I just wanted to come and update, we never got to our induction, it was booked for 4pm on the 14th, but I woke up in spontaneous labour at 2am and DS was born at 6:45am. I honestly think your positive stories and opening myself to the experience really helped me get the oxytocin flowing and baby came of his own accord. Thank you everyone that commented!

Ah that's brilliant news! Congratulations!

My last birth was induction.

It was a really positive experience. I felt calmer knowing I could prepare before going to hospital e.g giving birth once there Labour was very calm and relaxed and birth was a wonderful experience with no intervention except from the midwife

Great news OP! I‘m also dreading this potentially happening. We‘ll see!