Booked in for induction TONIGHT, any stories pls?

[geemeister]

Went in to get checked out last night because little lady (39+5) was being a little quieter than usual, because I’m over 39 they offered induction. Which is an opportunity I jumped on because I’ve had SPD since 20 weeks and i can’t deal with it anymore tbh
Only thing is, induction is 12 hours away so I’m very anxious because my first child was a very fast natural labour and I’ve heard so many horror stories about inductions that I’m now extremely anxious!

anyone have any stories to share? I’d appreciate hearing any and all stories, just to get an idea of what to expect !

Been told that it would start with two rounds of the gel, see if that dilates me (had a sweep last night) enough to break waters, and if those fail it’ll be the drip I go on ! Don’t know if this is the standard way of induction but I figure it might be helpful to know if anyone had it done that way or differently <3

Hi, I was induced with my first baby in January because of a few episodes of reduced movements, leading to a scan which showed my fluid was lower than they’d have liked. I was 38+2.
I had one lot of the pessary gel at 12pm and they checked me after 6 hours. In the 6 hours I had mild cramps and a bit of aching but was able to rest and eat etc.

They checked at 6pm and I was 3cm so they sent me up to the delivery suite. I told the midwife I really didn’t want the drip if I could help it as they seemed to be ready to hook it up regardless. I didn’t want an epidural and had heard that I was much more likely to want one with the drip as contractions are more intense more quickly. She agreed we could see how it went first. The doctor wanted to get me straight on the drip but she said it was because they wanted everything done quickly. She did warn me that if things slowed down then I would need the drip. She broke my waters at 8pm which was slightly uncomfortable but nothing major. My contractions started slowly and by 10pm were regular and longer. I started pushing at 2am and my little boy was born an hour later. I didn’t need any pain relief or further intervention.

The baby and I were monitored constantly which I liked as we’d had reduced movements etc. I think I was lucky in that it all started and continued without intervention. I guess he was ready to come out!

Good luck tonight. Hope it’s as straightforward as possible for you. Whatever happens, just focus on the fact that you’ll have your little one with you in a matter of hours!

I had two inductions and no spontaneous labour to compare it to, but both were absolutely fine. It’s my mission to come on these threads and tell my positive induction story!

Both times I was induced at term because I had Gestational Diabetes. Both times they put the pessary in late afternoon and said it might take a another one to get going. Both times I started getting crampy contraction type feeling around 12 hours later at 4am-ish.

Baby 1, I was having full contractions by 6am, had waters broken at 8am, syntocin drip at noon, started pushing at 5pm, baby arrived at 6pm. So 26 hrs start to finish, 12 hours in ‘established labour’.

Baby 2, full contractions by 6am, begging for all the drugs by 7am, started pushing at 7.05, three pushes later, baby arrived at 7.15. 15 hours start to finish, 2 hours of labour. I was delighted as I expected to be going all day!

So, two really good experiences for me. I hope you get the same - good luck!

I was induced at 38+1. I had the pessary as I was a FTM. The pessary was I nserted at 4pm and nothing happened overnight. At 5am I had the pessary reinserted as it fallen out and nothing happened. We went for a walk to the on-site coffee shop at 10am and contractions started on the way back, I’d had 3 contractions in the distance from the coffee shop to the ward and was back on ward by 11am. At 1pm I asked for the pessary to be removed (should have been in until 4pm) and 2pm part of my waters broke naturally. Contractions were regular throughout this time. I had to put the TENs machine on about 2pm because of the pain and they couldn’t give anything stronger than paracetamol and codeine on antenatal ward (which I threw up). At 5pm I got onto delivery ward and could finally have gas and air, I was 8cm. I got to 10cm by 9pm, I was asking for more pain relief and I was given some codeine. I slept for an hour, waking for a contraction and having gas and air to get through it. Midwife woke me at 10pm and told me to push and baby was born 40 minutes later.

Good luck for your induction.

I had a pessary and a drip after breakfast; the Labour wasn't particularly quick (DS was born at 7:30pm). I had an epidural around 5pm.
It was all fine, he was vigorous and huge, I had a few stitches. Recovery was fast. Try not to worry.
The best advice I had about labour was 'go with the flow'.

2 inductions here as overdue on both occasions.

In both cases, I had the first pessary in the evening and 40+ hours later my lovely girls appeared.
Although it was long and drawn out, the epidural smoothed the way to sleep and to be ready for pushing. The drip was turned down so I could feel contractions to push.

Good luck and hopefully you will have a baby by the weekend.

I've had 2 inductions.

The first was due to being overdue and reduced movements. They said it might take ages to work and as it was late evening, they tried to send my husband home. I refused and luckily they found a private room so he could stay. I'm glad I did this, as it actually worked very quickly! I was having contractions quite soon but kept being told I wasn't very dilated. Eventually I asked for pain relief, had pethidine which did fuck all for the pain but did make me hallucinate! Eventually I asked for an epidural and had one within an hour or two of asking.

Delivery went well enough, they got worried at one point and said if the baby doesn't come pronto you'll need a section, but once we hit the pushing stage the baby was out in 20 mins! From induction to delivery was around 24 hours.

The next induction was due to complications including a transverse lie. It took literally 2 days to really move things along, I can't remember exactly what I had but I was walking laps of the hospital car park and I was in some pain but still very mobile and doing my best. Eventually the baby turned, they said great let's break your waters and get you going. By the time they wheeled me into a delivery room the baby had flipped sideways again. Unsuccessful ECV. And then eventually an emergency section, but really not 'emergency' like I imagined, it was very well-managed and didn't feel that stressful. I knew it was quite possible I'd have a section given the complications anyway.

So no real horror stories from me, and I can totally understand the desire to just GET THE BABY OUT NOW PLEASE if you've suffered with your pelvis. The one word of warning I have is that some women (including me!) feel that the pain ramps up very quickly with an induction. I had done no research at all and it was only afterwards that people said oh yeah, that's quite common. I wish I'd known as I might have handled the pain a bit better! I just thought shit, if I'm struggling this much already then clearly I'm not cut out for this and I should request ALL the drugs immediately 😂 (still a big believer in the drugs, but aware others might be trying to go a bit more au naturel and feel a bit miffed to not know that it's normal to feel the pain more intensely, more quickly with an induction.

Good luck!!!

I've also had 2 inductions. Similarly to SunshinePiggy, I've had the first end in a vaginal birth, and the second, for reasons unrelated to the induction, with an "emergency" (all was very calm) C-section.

I consider both to be positive.

First was 2 gels to get to ~1cm. Or enough to have my waters broken anyway, which happened in the early hours of the next day. Labour didn't start, so had the drip. Did ok with gas and air until 5cm/6 hours on the drip, so had some diamorphine. Spent the next 5 hours sound asleep between contractions. Got to 10cm just as it was wearing off. 20 minutes later I had my baby.

Second was 1 gel which got me to 2cm. There was then a few days delay as there was a bit of a baby boom in my area. Waters were broken, and once again no labour, so had the drip. Did much better this time with just gas and air for 12 hours. However, I wasn't dilating, baby was still high, and I was starting to get distressed, so had an epidural in the hopes of some passive descent. Didn't happen, so had an emergency C-section. Turns out baby was stuck (he'd been breech up until the week before, but was in brow presentation) and was never going to be delivered vaginally.

Best of luck for later.

Good luck. I was already 1cm dilated when I went in for my induction, so they broke my waters and hooked me up to the drip. DD was born 8 hours later with G&A and no tears.
I'd like to labour naturally this time as I didn't like being hooked up to all the wires but overall, it was a very positive birth experience.