Induction tomorrow - should partner be there from the start ?

[LizzeyBenett]

So obviously everyone is different but I'm
Just wondering is there any point having him here when they give me the first gel ? He has an hours drive to the hospital but i don't want him to have to sit here all day either and then potentially all night . Just wondering realistically let's say I get the first gel at 8am what time should I tell him to get here for ? I know it could Go either way and could
Potentially end up being a few days.

My induction took nearly 5 days in total. DH insisted on staying at the hospital with me the first 2 nights “just in case”. We thoroughly regretted it when baby arrived and he was already absolutely shattered due to a combination of sleeping in the car and uncomfortable hospital chairs.

Depends on how many babies you had already. Most inductions for first time mums take 2-3days, and then often is a short wait for a labour ward bed to complete the process beyond gels/pessaries

Obviously depends on your situation but I was brought in for an induction , and was rushed for an emergency section before they even got to induce me because of baby’s heart rate . Luckily my partner was with me if he wasn’t there was no way he would have got in time for baby being born.

Really hard to say…I had my waters broken and started having back to back contractions within the hour

I was in for 4 days before I was in a position to have my waters broken. My partner took paternity from then and wasted those 4 days sitting around the hospital doing nothing.
Partners are not allowed to stay overnight until in full labour. He was allowed in from 9am to 8.30pm.
This was my first child so maybe why it took longer.
It can be a long process so take lots of magazines/books to pass the time.
Good luck

I had the pessary and DD was born 24 hours later. But everything happened VERY quickly at the end. If we’d waited till I was in ‘established’ labour before DP joined me he would have missed it, and I would have given birth in a room on my own with DD landing on the floor! But I think I was quite an unusual case….

My induction took 5 days before DD was
born and DH was there all day everyday, not allowed to stay overnight until I was in active labour but he was adamant I would be lonely/bored and he wanted to be there so he took annual leave. It was actually lovely, we spent so much time doing puzzles, walking around the hospital, he brought me McDonald’s breakfast every morning etc. It was a really nice few days before the chaos began 😂

My induction for my first was quite quick ,
6pm - first pessary
Partner was there until maybe 10:30pm
Around 2am - second pessary
5am contractions , thought it would be ages so did midwives told partner not to rush he arrived just before 9am
9 am Take round to delivery
9:57 baby born

I wouldn't have done it alone. My husband was with me. The first gel did nothing and we watched Netflix on my iPad and walked around the hospital grounds a bit that afternoon. The second gel kickstarted labour and they didn't get to break my waters or anything else that was planned because baby was coming all on his own.

The women induced next to me was told that her induction would likely take a couple of days as things weren't "favourable" and her partner left, but her waters broke and baby was in distress so she was rushed off for an emergency c-section alone.

Both of us were having our first babies and both of us were under 24 hours from start to finish.

Induction with the 3rd. Wasn’t given the pessary til hours after I got there. Took about another 10 hours til contractions kicked in. But only lasted less than 3 hours until they were born

Depends on if you want him there or not for moral support tbh.

I had mine with me for my first, as it was new territory and I needed a little bit of a hand hold. Once we realised the grand total of fuck all was happening, it did feel like a bit of a waste, but I was still glad he was there.

For my second he stayed home. There were still COVID protocols in place, so he was limited in how much he could visit me anyway. Nothing happened again, so at least he wasn't sitting around bored.

Each woman's experience is individual to them. I was induced many years ago and was put on the drip at nine o'clock in the morning. By half eleven in the morning it was clear that the birth was imminent. My husband was phoned at work and told to come immediately. My son was born and I was tidied up by noon. So a very different experience to others here.

I was induced two weeks into first lockdown so no partner allowed. My induction was quick 17 hours start to finish. I would say the first 6/7 hours were completely uneventful

My induction with dc1 took about 12 hours. Went in the evening for first pessery DH was sent home about 9pm as wasn't allowed to stay. Was called back in the morning after second pessery as that set my contractions off and baby born not long after. Everyone is different 🤷‍♀️

It’s unlikely you’ll go from active labour to delivery in less than a few hours. I’d suggest he get his rest!

I’d tell him to keep a bag packed in his car with his phone charger etc and just wait until you’re in active labour to ring him.

It will definitely be more than an hour and so he won’t miss the birth even if by some miracle you went straight into labour.

Good luck OP 💐

Pessary at 4:30pm, baby by 8pm

From my the start of my induction to baby being born was 16 hours - first baby

My mum was with me through the night and advocated for me - Pessary in at 8.30pm very quickly had back to back contractions. By 3.30am when they checked me they took pessary out and had two lots of injections to try and slow down labour. Both mine and baby's heart rates were high.

Around 7am I was sent round to labour ward even though I was only 1cm dilated. This is when my husband came to the hospital. Baby born via Cat 1 emergency c section at 12.30pm. We did end up staying another 5 nights in hospital due to DS being in SCBU.

It's so hard to tell but as other posters say, first time mums can take days!

@ProudDada the first pessary ?? Was it your first baby ?

I had the gel with my second and dd was born 8 hours later!

First baby - pessary to drip to birth about 30 hours

Second baby - pessary to birth 5 hours.

I'd say it's a good idea for him to be there for the first few hours in case things go sideways. But once things are settled down and you're just going through the process there's likely no need for him to be there until you get down to labour ward.
Just remind him to keep his phone on just in case.

I would. I enjoy being around mine to be fair we always have a laugh. It takes a whilst to get things going sometimes so was nice not to be alone.

Hi @LizzeyBenett i had pessary around 14:30, contractions started around 17:00 and baby was born at 23:55. It was my first baby and I was thinking that induction would take days but all happened really quick and a bit of a shock so glad my husband was with me, everyone is different though. Sending you well wishes for tomorrow 😊

No I had 3 inductions and husband didn't stay, he take some good books