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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

Getting induced tomorrow

141 replies

timewilltel · 01/03/2022 09:50

So I'm booked in to get induced tomorrow (2nd March) I'll be 40 weeks exactly, that's if baby doesn't come today which I'm hoping for. I just spoke to my midwife and she explained what will happen when I get to the hospital. She said there's different procedures they will try all depending on how my cervix is after they check it, one includes rods being put into my vagina?? Has anyone had this done it sounds so painful? Another is breaking my waters and another is putting a tablet inside me. I then asked if it's certain that baby would be here by tomorrow which she did say it could be but also for some women it could actually take days! What?! I'm not prepared to stay in the hospital for so long! Has anyone here been induced and how long did it take and how long were you in hospital for??

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toxitears181 · 01/03/2022 17:01

I had my waters broke at 1pm ish and didnt have my boy till the next day also the rod things didnt hurt me i was very suprised x

aintnospringchicken · 01/03/2022 17:04

I was booked in for an induction at 40wks + 2 with DC2 as my waters had broken a couple of days before and they didn't want to leave me too long in case of infection.
When they examined me before they induced me I was totally gobsmacked when they said I was 4 cm dilated as I hadn't felt even a twinge let alone any contractions.I was then taken to a labour ward to let things progress naturally .When I arrived on the labour ward I was examined again and was 8cm dilated (still no contractions).A short time later I felt the need to push and had to convince the midwife I really did need to push so she examined again and told me to start pushing as I was fully dilated.DC was born less than 3 hours of me arriving at the hospital.Hope your induction goes well.

CornishGem1975 · 01/03/2022 17:15

[quote timewilltel]@CornishGem1975 5 days?! Wow it can take that long? I really wasn't mentally prepared for this but it's good to know that it could happen so at least I can prepare myself and be ready! Thank you. X[/quote]
I hope that I am a special case! I think as I said, it was a combo of factors - hyper-stimulating so having to stop the process, wait and start over, then they were very slow coming around on ward rounds so it meant the 24-hour pessary wasn't checked for 36 hours, then labour was too busy and I needed 1:1 midwife care so had to wait another 24 hours...then I got all the way to 10cm (on the drip, with gas and air) and ended up having an EMCS. I can tell you, after spending that long in there with no sleep, I nearly ran out the door the next day!

For most people, I am sure it's a lot quicker, certainly, lots of people came and went while I was still in the induction bay. I felt like Rachel in Friends Grin

Daisy4569 · 01/03/2022 17:16

Do make sure you ask plenty of questions at each stage and remember you are still in control.

I had the pessary for 24 hours, when they came around to check they said they would use gel if I wasn’t dilated enough. I asked what the possible risks are for the gel and they seemed surprised that I hadn’t been given all the information by my midwife. I think sometimes they take for granted that you will be happy to go along with everything but you do have options

Holskey · 01/03/2022 18:11

I was called in on a Sunday evening (was only 34+3 but had obstetric cholestasis). Pessary next morning, another pessary Tuesday morning. Midwife broke my waters and started me on the drip Wednesday midday. DC came (forceps & episiotomy) early hours Thursday.

Maybe the pessary would have worked better if baby was full term. It was also my first and first labours usually take longer.

I think most horror stories with regards to pain are because of the drip. I tried to do it without an epidural and my advice would be to keep open minded about pain relief if you're having the drip and don't try to be a hero. The pain can get a lot worse quickly.

slapmyarseandcallmemary · 01/03/2022 18:26

Sorry OP, can't seem to tag you for some reason. I ended up with a c section as baby was in distress.

MunchyMonsters · 01/03/2022 18:31

DC1 14 hours
DC2 5 days

It can be a longggg wait !

Barkingmadhouse · 01/03/2022 18:36

[quote timewilltel]@Barkingmadhouse so it took around 5 hours after you got induced? That's not bad at all. I can see that it can vary so dramatically for different people. Thank you x[/quote]
@timewilltel yes, they tried a sweep the night before which did nothing then went on the drop about baby was here just over 5 hrs later. It took a while to get going but then once started working everything moved rather quickly

Marilla1966 · 01/03/2022 19:10

I was induced with a pessary at 42 weeks. My daughter arrived 12 hours later with no drama and I coped with just gas and air. Had another daughter 2 years later and was about to be induced again but she appeared on her own at 41+5. The birth experience was exactly the same as my previous one. Induction can have a bad name but I had no problem with it. Good luck xxx

Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 22:56

@Perfect28

Why are you having the induction op? Good luck!
It's because at my 20 week scan they said it was something to do with Doppler uterine something like that basically the blood flow to baby wasn't enough as they would want it to be and was worried this would affect baby's growth so I needed extra growth scans to check on baby's growth so I had 2 extra scans and both were fine baby was measuring perfect but then when I went to my last midwife appointment last week she said even tho baby is measuring on target she thinks I should have an induction anyway because of my age (I just turned 40 last month) 🤷🏻‍♀️ I was like really?? I was really baffled by that coz I was not expecting that at all but tbh I don't really mind as I'm really done being pregnant, I'm HUGE and sooo uncomfortable so I don't mind if baby comes now I mean I am 40 weeks now so it's not like it's early or anything but tbh I did feel like she was putting a lot of pressure on me to be induced but I guess they know what's best...
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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:01

@Nurselife2020 aww that was such a lovely message, I actually just repacked my hospital bag, well I just added extra comfy clothes and socks just incase! That's so good to hear your c section was a good experience because I'll be honest that's the one thing I'm afraid of them telling me that I will need one but I guess if it's gonna help baby or myself then I'm all for it! X

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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:06

@Raindancer411 thank you so much for the advice I will defo bars that in mind. Can I just ask you when you said it was painful do you mean the drip? And what exactly is the drip as I haven't been told about this at all??

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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:08

@toxitears181

I had my waters broke at 1pm ish and didnt have my boy till the next day also the rod things didnt hurt me i was very suprised x
@toxitears181 So glad to hear the rods didn't hurt you but did they break your waters before or after they put in the rods?
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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:10

@aintnospringchicken wait, so in the end you didn't even need to be induced?? And you didn't feel any contractions at all as you were dilating?

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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:15

@CornishGem1975 wow you did a lot of waiting around! Did you not get to sleep at all during the waiting periods?

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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:16

@Daisy4569

Do make sure you ask plenty of questions at each stage and remember you are still in control.

I had the pessary for 24 hours, when they came around to check they said they would use gel if I wasn’t dilated enough. I asked what the possible risks are for the gel and they seemed surprised that I hadn’t been given all the information by my midwife. I think sometimes they take for granted that you will be happy to go along with everything but you do have options

@Daisy4569 yessss I defo will ask a lot of questions for sure thank you! Can I ask what the gel is as I haven't been told about this?
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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:19

@Holskey oh I defo am open to pain relief I already told them this I want it as soon as I can get it! Also someone else mentioned the drip and how it is painful too? What is the drip and what does it do??

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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:20

@MunchyMonsters

DC1 14 hours DC2 5 days

It can be a longggg wait !

@MunchyMonsters I can see your two were very different!! X
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Original poster
timewilltel · 01/03/2022 23:24

@Marilla1966

I was induced with a pessary at 42 weeks. My daughter arrived 12 hours later with no drama and I coped with just gas and air. Had another daughter 2 years later and was about to be induced again but she appeared on her own at 41+5. The birth experience was exactly the same as my previous one. Induction can have a bad name but I had no problem with it. Good luck xxx
Oh I'm so glad you had a good experience. Yes! You do hear a lot of negative stories about being induced but that's what happens when you ask master google 🙄 this is why I wanted to come on here and ask real people and hear their experiences! I mean I know not all inductions will run smooth or go to plan but at least I know what to prepare for and what to expect. X
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Nurselife2020 · 01/03/2022 23:36

@timewilltel

Glad you packed yourself a few extra comforts. I think we all envision the births we like (mine was a natural water birth) but I think when the time comes we just want them here safe and sound. As soon as I knew the induction wasn’t going as well as hoped my husband and I had a chat and I said what will be will be as long as we are both safe and I just switched off, watched Tv on the iPad and let things run it course. I had no clue about C-Sections and it was the furthest thing from my mind but when in latent Labour for 5 days I was happy to have her in my arms. My section was wonderful even if it was classed as emergency and my recovery was so smooth (she was born at 1:58am and I was home by 6pm that evening). Be kind to yourself over the next few days and I’m keeping everything crossed it all goes quickly and smoothly for you. Ask lots of questions to the midwives and don’t be afraid to reach out for pain meds/advice etc (if the drip is needed have an epidural before, you will thank me) and just go with the flow knowing your on your way to baby being hear soon. Good luck for tomorrow 🥰

Original poster
timewilltel · 02/03/2022 00:44

@Nurselife2020 reading you message actually got me emotional. It's gone midnight now so I'm officially 40 weeks exactly and I'm just lying here thinking about tomorrow morning or this morning even! I'm really nervous but excited at the same time because I can't wait to meet baby girl but more nervous because I don't know what is gonna happen. This is my second baby and I actually had a water birth first time round, this was 3 years ago. I chose to have a water birth because you hear such positive stories about it and apparently it's not as painful as a regular delivery but maybe it's because it was my first so I had nothing to compare it to so for me it was traumatic! Don't get me wrong it was straight forward and it lasted about 5 hours and there were no problems but the pain was unreal! That's the thing you can't have any pain relief when you have a water birth, only gas and air which tbh didn't seem to help me much. I remember people trying to tell me to be prepared for the pain of child birth but for some reason I always thought I would be able to handle it and it wouldn't be as bad as everyone made out... boy was I WRONG. My husband said I was screaming so loud he was sure the whole hospital and locals living near by knew I was in labour 🙄

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Original poster
timewilltel · 02/03/2022 00:48

@Nurselife2020 and thank you so much for the encouragement and well wishes and I will defo ask questions on anything I'm unsure about and definitely will be asking for the epidural! Xx

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Raindancer411 · 02/03/2022 01:19

[quote timewilltel]@Raindancer411 thank you so much for the advice I will defo bars that in mind. Can I just ask you when you said it was painful do you mean the drip? And what exactly is the drip as I haven't been told about this at all??[/quote]
The drip was a hormone to help ramp up the process but for in delivery once your waters have broken. The drip wasn't painful, it was the contractions it caused that was, as it brought on labour fast for me. Usually in labour your body does it slowly so you can build up a bit of a pain tolerance.

Raindancer411 · 02/03/2022 01:31

Oh and your body may already be contracting without you realising now. I had a laugh with the midwives as towards the end when I went in for reduced movement, when they were monitoring me the machine was going off the scale in peaks. Each time they looked at the print out they were "And you aren't feeling these?" 😂

Zed99 · 02/03/2022 01:49

I had an induction. The pessary didn't work. Had my waters broken which was a huge relief and made me so much more comfortable to give birth but alas didn't set labour off so they gave me the drip. Baby arrived really quickly.....like within 4 hours. My only advice is take the epidural if you get the drip. Everyone on here told me to and I didn't listen Grin