How long did your induction take?

[lovelysocks]

I came in on Wednesday (it's now Friday) and I'm still waiting to be induced.
They've said it's unlikely to be today as it's busy.
I'm not allowed to go home because it's for medical reasons I need to be monitored.
I'm just wondering how long other people were waiting as I thought I was coming in on Wednesday and they'd do it then but the labour ward is busy.
I know once I've had my waters broken it's still likely to be a couple of days before labour starts.

Oh no, so sorry you've been in so long and not even started the process! I don't know your reason for being induced of course, but for me I had preterm premature rupture of membranes and my waters were found to be leaking at 33 weeks. My induction was booked for bang on 37 weeks, but I didn't get a call on the day to go in until 8pm. In by 9pm and pessary fitted straight away, baby was born just before 10pm the next evening. Hope you're not waiting too much longer. I suppose the urgency with which they act in regards to starting your induction depends on why you're being induced and how quickly they need baby out?

I think 3 days with one and 6 with the other.

In hindsight I wished I’d have just settled in for long wait and done some reading rather than being on edge waiting.

My advice - expect a long wait and be pleasantly surprised if it’s sooner. Try and have some reading, napping, tv you time.

Good luck. x

12 days with a 3 day break! It was.not a fun time. On plus side once the induction started to work (ie waters broke and was contracting /dating due to drip) I went from 4cm to delivered in approx 1hr.
Hope all goes well

Induction is awful. First they tell you that the baby needs to come out urgently and then you have to wait ages, getting worried. I've only ever waited 12 hours to have the process started. With DS3 I went into Labour just before I got a bed on Labour ward and he was born 2 hours later. With ds5 I was on the drip for 4 hours with very little progress and then he went into distress so I had a cat 1 c-section.

For both of mine, I was an inpatient already with pre-eclampsia. While they were started on time, getting down to delivery suite for ARM and the continuation of the induction was a whole other matter.

My first I was taken down early as, wonder of wonders, they had zero labourers on the night shift, and only myself and one other lady having an induction. My second though was a 4 day wait. Gel Monday morning, checked Tuesday afternoon, went to delivery suite Friday morning. Short staffing, lack of bed space, and everyone else having their waters go spontaneously contributed to the delay. It meant that even though I was a fairly high priority, women kept coming in who were even more of a priority than I was. I know it's the nature of triage, but it doesn't make it suck any less.

I got off the ward as much as I could, and read the rest of the time.

I had a great induction experience but I know I was lucky. Went in at 9am but didn't get started until 1am the next day.

I had the pessary and everything started really quickly and my daughter was here by 8pm.
Only issue I had was getting the midwife to believe my waters had actually broken. It was my first so I know it's unusual for things to get started so quickly.

@Alifemadelessordinary I had a similar problem! My waters went at 11am and that was fine, they believed that as had to mop them up off the floor! But I kept expressing that I felt my labour was progressing quickly but they just brushed it off. I asked four times to be checked and when I finally was checked I was 9cm (3cm at the last check) and had to be rushed round to the delivery suite. Like you I think they thought I was inexperienced (first baby) and that I thought my contractions were more than they actually were or something, whereas I had been in active labour for some time before they finally agreed to check me (I asked about 4 times over 3ish hours).

I went in on the Tuesday, had the pessary which got me to 2cm, and then it was a waiting game to have my waters broken, I had to stay in. O the Sunday morning I was rushed to labour ward due to issues with her heart rate, otherwise I think I would have been waiting longer, I had sat at the top of the list for two days prior to that. To put it into perspective, they were short staffed and for my labour I had a whole surgical team on standby as they didn't know if they'd have to do an emergency c section, the alarm was pressed 3 times during my labour,.at which point every available midwife/doc etc was by my bedside. It helped me to understand the impact that being short staffed has on the labour ward and those waiting to get on it. They had more than enough rooms, just not enough midwives and then when things kick off it further impacts it. Hope you're not waiting too much longer, it's soul destroying x

I can’t believe some of these days-long experiences. I was booked for my induction on a Saturday at 6 am. It was delayed as another baby was being delivered.

Drip started about 9 am and DS born less than three hours later. I was up and out of hospital the next day. He’s 16 though so clearly things have changed.

@BruFord The NHS has changed a hell of a lot since then and maternity particularly is in crisis. Plus we’re just out of September which is the busiest month on labour ward so sadly yes waiting for days is quite normal.

Went in on the 22nd and she was born 3am on the 25th (via c section).

I was SO tired as I got no sleep on the wards.

it’s against all protocol and advice but i actually went home at one point for a shower and a nap and it was the best thing I did. It’s a hospital not
a prison