Can I hear your induction stories please?

[arianasky]

Hello, had my 39 week growth scan today ( 38+6 ) and baby has only gone from 6lb1 to 6lb9 in three weeks so I’m being induced Saturday if he doesn’t arrive by then, I have a sweep booked for Thursday aswell, if you’ve been induced could you share your stories please wether good or bad? I’m obviously overthinking everything now 😂 thank you all

I’ve had 2 inductions as I went overdue with both my babies, with my first it took 4 days was very long and exhausting as my contractions kept starting and stopping ended up having an epidural was dreading going through it again but with my second had the pessary at 1pm and she was born at 1am so was a lot quicker and managed with only gas and air.
My advise would be just go prepared with lots of snacks and something to watch as there is alot of waiting around for doctors etc and if your contractions don’t start straight away it does become very boring.

Mine worked after the 3 pessaries and had my waters broken so from that side of things it was quick but I found it uncomfortable im not going to lie but then again I'm abit of a drama queen. Definitely take your ipad, magazines and loads of snacks etc as it can be very boring. Goodluck!

I was induced at 37+3. I had the pessary inserted at about 9.30pm. At 2am I woke up with contractions and my waters broke. Baby was born at 4am.

Mine was quite long. Pessary at midnight, waters broke at around 2pm the following afternoon, moved to delivery around 7pm, epidural pretty soon after arriving on delivery, drip at some point overnight, started pushing around 5am I think, DS born at 5.35am. So almost 18 hours in all.

I found the pessary to be uncomfortable, consistent back ache from about an hour after it was put in. Once my waters broke it ramped up massively, my contractions were really strong. I wanted a water birth but was told no because they needed to monitor DS so I had the epidural instead. After that it was pretty straightforward, was topped up with fentanyl because I was still in pain with the drip but it allowed me to rest and let DS come down on his own so pushing wasn't too long. Overall I'm pleased with how it went and currently pregnant with DD. If her labour is similar I'll be happy with my lot

@arianasky what is wrong with him heading for 7lb? Due date are only
Guesstimate it could be 2/3/4 weeks out and remember growth scans aren't always accurate. Do plenty research, inductions often result in a cascade of intervention resulting in EMC's

I had the first pessary and within an hour was in early labour. Baby was born about 90 mins later with gas and air. It was so fast DH almost missed it.

I was induced with both my pregnancies

DC1 - induced on due date due to reduced movements. I was 2cm dilated so had to wait for a space on labour ward then they broke my waters. 4 hours later nothing happened and they found DC1's head had moved straight down and hind waters hadn't released so broke those and then I went into labour. Intense back to back contractions within an hour and had an epidural after 2 hours. Baby arrived after 8 hours after contractions started, 13 hours after starting the induction process with first attempt to break my waters.

DC2 - induced post dates. Went in at 41+6, I was 2-3cm so waiting around for bed on labour ward for breaking my waters but they gave me a pessary in the meantime to try and get things started - just gave me irritable twinges but didn't start anything. Bed on labour ward came up 17 hours after being admitted for induction, they broke my waters and contractions started within an hour, baby arrived less than 3.5 hours later. Despite being induced I still could have a water birth and it as a great experience (although I'd rather have avoided the waiting around beforehand)

Mine was fine, no issues. Was just glad to be offered one so my daughter could be born healthy. It costs them money to induce, so my understanding is they don’t tend to offer unless there is good reason. Good luck.

I went in for induction and was told to prepare for it taking 4-6 days. Went in on the Wednesday afternoon, pessary inserted at 1pm, contractions started at 9pm, baby born Thursday at 5am. All very quick and was a lot better than I was expecting. However no one believed that I was in labour so by the time the dr examined me I was 7cm and she could feel the baby’s head and it was too late for any pain relief so I did it all with just gas and air. My advice would be to plan for both long and short inductions as it’s hard to know what to expect, but trust your instincts as I knew I was in late stage labour and I should have spoken up more! However it was doable with gas and air and I would do it again if that is any help!

Thank you so much everyone, great to read all the different ways it happened it's been really helpful thank you 💕

Echoing what PP poster said - is there another medical reason for the induction? I’m not an expert but doesn’t that growth sound about normal for last few weeks? You could ask them to cancel this booked induction and rebook for following week when you’ll actually be over? They booked one at 40+4 and 41+4 for me and I cancelled the 40+4 one on my due date to see if I’d go naturally

Absolutely horrendous. Put me and child in danger. I was just left. Nothing happening for days. Went to emergency c section.
With my 2nd i insisted on no induction apart from sweep. Absolutely was never going thru it again.