Induction with pessary

[Betsy7]

I’ve been offered an induction tomorrow I’ve agreed but if pessary does not work will wait a little longer as still 39+4. What are peoples experiences?

for context I’ve had a bloody show last night followed by a series of contractions which died off so midwife feels I’ll be favourable for this but as expected I am quite anxious at the thought

I had the pessary the first one didn't work, but the second was like a rocket!!

Had my baby within 3.5 hours and was let out the next day.

I was 38 + t so just under what you are, definitely give it a go l would say.

I’m hoping it’ll be the same. My first labour was so straight forward with no intervention and I’m just hoping it can be the same.

definitely not looking forward to potentially being in hospital for a few days either

I had a pessay that didn’t work followed by the gel that also didn’t work. I’ve had sweeps twice which got things going (at 41+5 and 41+4). Why are you looking for induction? Unless I had really strong reasons for needing the baby to be born I’d wait, especially when not at term yet. It sounds as if things are starting anyway. Maybe a sweep would just help to nudge things along but be more gentle.

I was induced at 37 weeks. Came in at 1cm, they tried to fit the balloon but couldn't get it in so I had the pessary and I ended up having to have an injection to slow it down again. I had 3 contractions in 10 minutes and was at 3cm after 10m. Safe to say I didn't need anything else

I’m not looking for induction it’s been recommended due to issues picked up at my recent scan and appointment. Im just wanting an idea of peoples experiences to allow me to think through any potential issues that I may not have considered yet as that can help my decision.

Wow that’s so quick. Did you find the rest of the labour as expected?

I also was having contractions on and off for days before they offered induction (due to reduced movement) at 39+4. Had the gel/sweep and within an hour was pushing. Things progressed really fast for me

Yes. They prioritised me to get my waters broken and she was here 10 hours later. No real issue for baby but it's a good job I was watching her heart rate while the pessary worked as I had to get my partner to get someone quick as they'd just left me in there and baby was obviously distressed. I know you're not looking for advice on induction but she had really bad jaundice and I think that's because she came at 37+2. If I had my chance again I think I'd try leave her a little longer

Oh dear! I had such a positive experience first time so I’m reluctant to change anything in the worry it’ll cause any issues. I’m 39+4 tomorrow and had my first at 39+6 so timing wise baby has had the same amount of time to develop so I’m hopeful that wouldn’t be an issue but who knows these things are so unpredictable

Oh my days, 1 hour? I don’t think I’d have even processed what was happening that quick.

Where you able to keep a birthing partner with you from the point of induction?

If you've already had one normal delivery, an induction is more likely to be successful, OP.

(BTW did you know that the Reply button on Mumsnet is broken. It doesn't do anything. If you want to respond to someone, click on the three dots and select QUOTE.
Otherwise you end up with a thread of unrelated posts and none of it makes sense)

I'd keep your husband with you from the start, OP.

You never know how long inductions will take.

No I didn’t know that haha, thankyou! I’m utterly clueless with this.

my midwife said the same thing about second babies and my first was straight forward other than being back to back so I’m hoping for the best

Hey, it's not your fault! We've been asking MN to fix the Reply button issue for years.

I'm a midwife and I've seen some really fast inductions for second babies, I mean.

My own was really slow though lol.

I had my first at 39 weeks naturally, no issues. I was 39+1 with dd2 and they said they’d start me off with the pessary but when they looked they said I was 2/3 cm dilated. I wasn’t having any discernible contractions though. They left me about 12 hours on the ward then took me down to delivery to break my waters. Nothing much happened so 2 hours after that they put the drip up. Then I had her within an hour. I would really avoid them wanting to break your waters if the pessary doesn’t work. The way they explained it to me was that there was a risk of infection if I was left too long with my waters broken so you have to have the drip. The drip was awful. Avoid

I had induction at 39 weeks worked with the first pessary didn't need anything else.

Yes luckily it was still within the hours of them allowing visitors etc so husband was with me and they said if nothing happens then he'll have to go home at 7pm and I can ring him when they take me to delivery but things happened way before then 😂

I had pessary with first & cervix was favourable midwife said. Things kicked off within 30 minutes 8:30pm. I was 37 & 6 induced due to many reduce movement episodes. Pessary was removed in morning around 10am as body didn’t like it & rest of labour delivery went beautifully. Had my son at 2pm.Hoping for similair positive experience with this labour delivery. Good luck!

Mine sounds similar to other posters here - first pessary did nothing, second went off like a rocket and DS was with us within the hour.

I did do a lot of walking around the hospital grounds in between - my advice is to take a warm coat!

Why are you being offered induction before 40w? Have you discussed what happens if you have the pessary and labour starts but stalls?

It sounds to me like this is going to be very unpredictable. I’ve got a call with my midwife tomorrow to discuss anything else before I potentially go in at 4pm.

just hoping for something positive like last time

Had the pessary in the morning, waited around for 24 hours, tried to get some sleep but the hospital was hotter than the sun so mainly watched TV, ate snacks and wandered the halls. Had a few tightenings but nothing much.

They were a bit busy the next morning so some more waiting around before they were able to check me and I was 2 cm dilated. They manually broke my waters about 1pm, contractions started pretty much immediately and were consistent. DD was born just after 6pm.

Other than being a bit bored for the first half of the process, it all went well and was a good experience.

I had a pessary induction on baby #2. I was 40+13w but cervix was completely unfavourable. I had it put in at 1.40pm, had nothing but a tiny bit of backache all day. Out of nowhere my waters broke at 10.30pm and he was born at 11.57pm - a very successful induction. I also had one in July '23 with baby #4 due to GD. Had it put in at 4pm, by 5.30pm I was contracting A LOT. Waters broke around 10pm. I was examined at midnight - 5cm, but baby had unfortunately turned transverse during me labouring so it was a cat1 emergency c-section. Definitely not how I planned him being born.

Mine worked in about 12 hours, laboured very quickly, overstimulated my uterus and had to have the injection to slow everything down. Ended in an emergency c section as baby was stuck and in distress. Was ignored by the consultant when I was saying there was something wrong for hours until I was taken to theatre and he then realised there was no way the baby could have been born naturally. Enjoyed my overall experience and I wasn't keen on being induced but had to be for medical reasons. I enjoyed my section and baby was here and safe. If there is ever another time I will be electing myself for another section over an induction. I recovered very quickly just as quickly as my previous natural birth but I know it's different for everyone.

I had the pessary at 39 weeks, started contracting regularly within an hour, painful but manageable, was examined as they were back to back and was only 2cm, so they removed the pessary as was hyperstimulated. For me the contractions stopped and I had to wait for five days to get onto the labour ward to have my waters broken, only got on there due to issues with her heart rate. Otherwise think I would have been waiting longer. I think it would be good if on admission you sit and chat about the process, the what they do if the pessary doesn't work, what else they offer, if not favourable at what point would they offer section, just try and get as much info as possible as to what to expect from the process in your trust and keep an open mind. Hope yours moves quickly for you :)