Honest induction stories

[Librababy3]

Hi everyone

Following a previous post I made about C-sections, I would also like to hear all of your induction stories please. Positive or negative, I just need honest experiences

I’m due to give birth on Halloween for the first time and getting very anxious 😥

Thank you in advance xx

Induction at 37+4 due to advancing preeclampsia. Went in for 8am, was given a gel pessary at lunchtime to soften my cervix. They were monitoring DD1 at about 10.30pm, I rolled over so they could put the trace on and my waters broke. Went into labour spontaneously within 90 minutes, had an epidural at about 4am, DD1 was born at 10.29 that morning. 9hrs active labour, no drip.

It's not always terrible :)

I had a good induction. Pessary in and about 2/3 hours later contractions started baby was born an hour later. But I have fast labour's anyways. Just gas and air

Hi OP. I had an induction last year for my DS bcos they couldn't accurately date my pregnancy. I had my waters broke twice because it didn't work the first time, it's not a pleasant experience. I was progressing very slowly, had a long wait between them breaking my waters and being put on the hormone drip. After the hormone drip things progressed rather quickly. I did ask for an epidural when the pain of contractions became very intense but by the time the anaesthetist came back I was 10cm dilated so it was too late. If you're sure you want it I would make it well known so they can give it to you in plenty of time.

Only other advice I would give is with the state of the NHS at the moment I would prepare to be on the induction ward for a few days before they get started, because they are stretched and anyone who comes in with more urgent needs than you will skip forward (take lots of snacks, things to entertain you and pass the time, and a comfy pillow from home) good luck with your birth and arrival of your bundle of joy xx

Mine was ok overall. Was booked in for induction as baby was late. Then my waters broke but I didn't go into labour.
Pessary did nothing, drip did start contractions but labour just didn't establish and my cervix stubbornly refused to dilate. Baby delivered by section.
Induction doesn't really allow for a natural change in the speed and intensity of contractions so it often feels like you're a bit off balance or trying to catch up.
Pain relief really varies in effectiveness between women - I found gas and air really hard to get the hang of and it just made my feel a bit lightheaded. My best phase of labour was with pethidine, but not everyone gets on with it - I felt really calm and relaxed, but very focused. It didn't affect DD feeding on delivery. I was frightened at the prospect of an epidural but it was amazing. I was pain free but could still feel and move my legs.
Recovery post surgery was pretty straightforward and uncomplicated. We stayed in for a couple of days as DD needed antibiotics (I was strep positive) but it was precautionary and she was fine.
I don't look back on it all with horror. It was quite a medical delivery but we were both safe and well at the end.

Thank you all, very much appreciated

I had 3 out of 4 pregnancies induced. ALL 3 were very positive, very quick deliveries from beginning to end, ALL lovely births.

You will get so many differing stories, you may as well just wait and see how yours goes. After all, nothing prepares you fully for childbirth or life with a baby 😉 I hear so many horror stories about induction, but who’s to say the natural non induced labour wouldn’t have been the same?

Was induced when overdue with my first, and it was utterly horrendous. I was left screaming in agony for hours, eventually ended up with emergency c section due to foetal distress. No way I'd ever go for that again, my next two I had a planned c section date but went naturally before and it was so much better. I think in part my experience was so bad because the staff just didn't care, I'm sure it would have been much better if they had checked on me more regularly and properly managed my pain. I had no faith they would so point blank refused to ever do it again.

I've been induced four times after waters went with no contractions. Used the syntocin drip, each one was a normal delivery no complications. Also had ELCS due to breech, hated it, like to leave hospital and get on with my life so hated the pain and the long recovery afterwards.

All 3 of my babies were induced at 42 , 38 and 37 weeks

First induction was just because So overdue. Luckily yeh pessary got things stared. I did need the drip however so I chose to have an epidural at that point. Didn’t take long for a first birth about 10 hours from going down to delivery to baby. No need to interventions like forceps and no damage like tears or grazes

it was such a positive birth that I wanted inductions for all my babies. Faye was on my side because both ds2 and dd needed induction because my placenta failed

both their inductions at 38&37 weeks were again such positive experiences. I loved how calm it was and I felt much more in control than I felt I’d be with natural Labour. Both were very quick and easy births again with no interventions or grazing or tears for me

I understand som very privileged to have such positive experiences

Both of mine were inductions, both were fine.

1: 14 days overdue, pessary inserted, labour started, had to have my water broken. Delivered about 16 hours after pessary given.

2: induction on due date for "social reasons" (husband was a medic in the same hospital but due to start another job 100 miles away 6 days later). I was warned induction mean further interventions were more likely. Baby arrived quite quickly.

I haven't experienced labour without induction but would be happy to be induced again.

I had a planned induction at 37 weeks with twins. Went in on the Monday, they gave me the pessary and started getting some tightenings about 6 hours later - quite strong overnight but nothing regular, was taken over to delivery suite Tuesday evening but they decided it was too busy and they'd have to postpone me so I was sent back to the induction area. Waters went Wednesday pm spontaneously, I was examained and was about 2cm but not contracting.
I was advised from early on that I'd need an epidural in case there were any issues with delivering the second twin so I told them I wanted the epidural in before the drip started and it was bloody lovely!! I was comfortable for the first time in weeks and able to lie still enough to be monitored for the first time since I'd come in. I slept from 2cm to fully dilated!
I'd got a button to top up the epidural and as I was getting close to being fully dilated I stopped pressing it so I had a fair bit of sensation - I could feel contractions, had a good urge to push and could feel what I was doing (but still comfortable enough to tolerate forceps delivery for twin 2 who got a little bit stressed just before she was delivered)
I did have a bleed afterwards - due I think to having 2 massive placentas and a uterus which was slow to contract back up again rather than the induction/epidural.
The worst bit was all the hanging around before it all kicked off - boring and unpredictable at the same time. Would 100% recommend the epidural, having had one of my twins spend the last week and a half of my pregnancy trying to birth herself through my ribcage I had less discomfort in labour than I had beforehand and was well rested for pushing/actually looking after the little beasties afterwards!

Thank you all xx

I’ve had 2 inductions.

1st - it was an augmented delivery so I went straight onto the drip as my waters had broken but labour hadn’t started by 24hrs. I found it traumatic. 19 hours, contractions erratic and full force from the start. Epidural didn’t work down one side, ended up with an episiotomy and forceps. Unsympathetic midwife and consultants. Recovery was long.

2nd - miles better. Was a proper induction so had pessary etc, then the gel. Waters were broken at 4cm and baby was born 2 hours later. I was home the same day. MUCH less painful than the drip, managed it with breathing and gas and air. I was also used to be prodded and poked by then so found that less invasive.

My advice would be - avoid the drip. If you have the drip have an epidural at the same time. I liked not having an epidural the second time but that was because it wasn’t so painful and I could move more. With the drip you’re mobility is limited and the contractions are stronger so you need hardcore pain relief.

GOOD LUCK and remember - all pain passes, it helped me to visualise the contractions being over.

The other thing I forgot to mention is between contractions the pain stops. So, it's not continuous and you do get breaks!
Giving birth hurts, no two ways about it, but once it's over you can't really remember the sensation plus the baby is here, which makes it all worth it.
Good luck and try not to worry or second guess what will happen.

My body did not get that memo. The largest gap between my contractions was under a minute, they were practically continuous for the entire 6 hours.

Baby was 12 days overdue. My failed induction lasted 5 days and ended in an emergency c section due to fetal distress.

My 3 pieces of advice are:

1. Insist on gas and air for any examinations or insertions of the balloon, pessary, etc. Also for if you need to get your waters broken. These were all agony for me until I realised you could ask for gas and air. It was still painful, but not unbearable. You won’t be offered G&A. You must ask.
2. Don’t let the induction go on for too long. Speaking to friends after, I really should have been offered a C Section by day 2 and not have let it get to an emergency one at day 5. However, labour wards are very busy and so you must advocate for yourself and insist on one earlier if that’s what you want.
3. If you do need to be induced, insist on going home and don’t stay in the prenatal ward as you won’t get a wink of sleep and when a woman is distressed, labour will simply not progress. I had one slightly elevated BP reading and they wanted me to come in, but I should have gone home after the first induction method as I could have monitored BP there. If anything, the men yelling at their wives all through the night in the ward gave me high BP. Would have been much more chilled at home and more likely to go into natural labour. Live and learn!

Thank you everyone. I really want to avoid an epidural because I fear not being able to feel myself push and then needing forceps. It really scares me!!

I think that if I was giving birth for the first time and had to be induced, I would insist on an epidural. Induced contractions via the dreaded drip are extremely painful - much more than ‘natural’ contractions.

I have had two fairly easy, fairly straightforward inductions. But tbh I’m one of those people who goes straight into hard labour from just having the initial pessary put in. I did not need waters broken, or the drip. I was told that this is unusual.

Induction paired with epidural is probably the combination most likely to end in intervention in the form of forceps etc please don’t recommend this @MondaysChild7

I was induced as waters went but labour didn't start.
I was induced via the drip and had horrific back to back contractions (hyper unrefined stimulation). I unfortunately didn't have time to recover between contractions so this Led to the drip being turned down then back up several times during my labour. Had an epidural after 12 hours, c section at 15 hours as I wasn't progressing past 4cm and baby was in distress.
Staff said I just didn't react well to being induced. I'm pregnant again and very wary to accept any inductions despite wanting a VBAC.
Avoid the drip. If you do get the drip get an epidural early on. I waited far too late and had to be physically restrained by 4 staff members in order to get it in, as you can't move during it being fitted (easier said than done with back time back contractions).
Best of luck OP!

Induced (10d overdue and no sign of any action) with gel only. 5 hours or so where very little happened, despite walking around etc. Then an extremely intense 20 mins during which I went from 2cm to birth. Baby born with one or two pushes, in the waters. Walked home from hospital, with baby in sling, 4 hours later. (Tbf it was my third, which I am guessing also had a hand in the precipitous labour).

I was allowed to say no to having my waters broken once the pessary got me to 2cm. I knew that I had about an hour to contract or they’d put me on the drip and I didn’t want that. So I basically walked for 30 hours until it happened naturally. I think if you get someone who listens to what you want, you’re golden - I didn’t want to be strapped to a bed as I need to move when in pain.

Induced at 39+5 due to borderline blood pressure. I had awful SPD and just wanted her out at that stage anyway.

No need for pessary as my cervix was 'stretchy'. Waters ruptured by doctor and straight onto the drip. Things moved quickly. Horrendous contraction pain. Managed to get to 6cm before I insisted on an epidural. Epidural was brilliant but slowed things down a lot. I found pushing difficult and needed ventouse to deliver head. Second degree tear. Lost a lot of blood. Needed three blood transfusions over the following 4 days in hospital.

Waters broken to baby was 10 hours so not too bad. But I found the 4 days in hospital difficult as it was Covid and DH wasn't allowed to visit.

But I'm pregnant again and due in November so it can't have been too bad.

I started the induction process with the pessary (the one that's meant to be in for 24 hours) put in when 11 days overdue on the Friday morning, and my baby wasn't actually born until the following Tuesday morning. The pessary didn't really do anything for me and my waters didn't break, which meant that I was bottom of the priority list for a move to labour ward despite being 2 weeks overdue by the Monday and some blood pressure concerns towards the end of my pregnancy. We eventually were moved to labour ward on the Monday evening, but were being told from the Saturday onwards that the move would "definitely be today", "definitely soon", etc, which just made the waiting worse, and I would have been much better mentally prepared if I had been told from the beginning that it was possible that we may have to wait for a few days. The lady I was sharing a room with in the antenatal ward had been waiting for 5 days with her previous pregnancy, so I would definitely be aware and prepared that there could be a wait if nothing happens with the pessary and, as others have said, take lots of food and things to entertain you, or even go home if you can until there is a room on labour ward available.

Once on the labour ward my waters were broken by the doctor as the midwife couldn't manage it, and I was put on the drip. I found the waters being broken to be unpleasant but manageable, but unfortunately there was meconium in the waters from the beginning as the baby was distressed by them being broken. After reading advice on here and from my MIL who was induced, I asked for an epidural before being put on the drip, but the midwife was reluctant as she said it could slow things down, so I agreed to start the drip without one and see how things went. I actually found the contractions to be not too bad, and coped with a TENS machine and gas and air, and found that mentally imagining a balloon of each colour of the rainbow in sequence being blown up and floating away helped (and starting the sequence again when the contractions were lasting longer!), which was another tip I read on here. I also found that being on the birthing ball or stool made a massive difference, and things were far more painful on my back on the bed. I think I was quite lucky with the contractions though as it sounds like they are far more painful for some people, and I also only got to 6cm so it could have got worse if I'd got all the way to 10cm!

As the contractions progressed there was concern that the baby's heart rate was dropping with the contractions, and we were advised to have a Caesarean when I was 6cm on the Tuesday morning. We went quickly into surgery and the Caesarean went well and safely delivered our beautiful boy. We both had an infection (possibly caused by the meconium) and needed antibiotics in hospital for another 5 days, but by the time he was a week old we were both happy and well at home.

All in all it wasn't a pleasant birth experience and I wouldn't be keen to be induced again, but I got through it and it ended with a safe delivery.

Thank you all, definitely a lot to think about! :(