Positive Induction Experiences Please

[G1ng3]

Currently awaiting baby no 2, gender unknown. DD was born at 40+2 after a spontaneous labor, waters 1500, contractions from 2000 and born at 0130. Due to being 41 and consultant led I've been offered an induction at 39 weeks. I had planned to wait it out until 40 weeks with a sweep given at 39 weeks. In the last 10 days I've had an overnight stay in the labor ward for monitoring due to a bleed, have fallen badly twice, reversed my car into a work colleague and I'm now floored with the cold so feeling rather defeated overall. Just wondering whether I'm as well to accept the induction at 39 weeks or try wait it out for another spotaneous before 40. I know no labor is guaranteed to be without intervention but after a great birth and recovery from my first, I'm completely on the fence. Help.....

Uh poor you. A lot on your plate. Hope it was your colleague's car rather than your colleague!

My first was induced at 39+1. Induction at 6pm one day, full labour about 24 hr later and she was born at 9pm. I had no further interventions and scarcely got round to gas and air. Don't really have at to compare to that being said.

Blimey OP you have been in the wars!

I'd probably wait.

But for a positive induction story, I was induced at 39+4. Had the gel inserted, 2 hours later waters went, within 6 hours he arrived. They don't offer gas and air where I am so just did without anything. Minor tear.

I was induced with DS16
I was officially 14 days overdue but I knew their dates wre wrong and only agreed to be induced as I wanted to get it all over with to attend DDs first nativity play!
DS showed no sign of moving for 2 days and there were murmerings of a C Section (wasn't happening) but once he got moving the birth was pretty quick and uneventful. I had an epidural and chilled out for a bit then pushed twice.
I felt very relaxed and in control and went home around 6 hours later, made it to The Nativity as well
Best of luck

Id there is NO medical necessity leave well alone. Induction for 2hat medical justification? Nothing you have said warrents it.
I went to 42 weeks with DS2. DS1 came at 39+5 and was spontaneous.

I was induced with DS2 ONLY becuase I developed ICP. It 41weeks and my bile salts was over 100. So medically warranted. Otherwise I would have waited patiently. After I got taken in as inpatient I was already at 3 / 4 cm. So my body had started labour and was doing things it fits pace.
All worked out ok in the end I guess but I didn't like it. After my first positive natural experience this was not a positive experience for me. I hated it. If it was not medically needed I would have stayed well away from consultant led care and remained in community which is hands off and helped things progress normally and naturally.

I was induced with gel at 36 weeks for reasons. Bishops score was totally unfavourable and the midwives were not sure we were going to get anywhere.

Gel at 11am, active labour at midnight, epidural at some point of the night, baby born at 9am.

Induction does increase your chances of further intervention but it doesn't mean there will be further intervention. I have no regrets about my choice.

@JuneySunshine definitely my colleagues car 🙈this did give me the laugh I didn't know I needed tofay though so thank you!!

Thank you all, some food for thought. Being tired and emotional certainly doesn't help, thankfully a few weeks to decide ❤️

@G1ng3 hey no experience but just wanted to say I’m in the same boat. I am almost 38 weeks and they will be booking me in for an induction at 39 weeks if I haven’t gone myself by then. I don’t have high hopes that I will as my first child I was almost 42 weeks and needed a couple of sweeps to go into labour. I am quite apprehensive about it all as well. Hope it goes well for you.

Sounds like a rough few weeks! End of pregnancy is emotionally tough and it’s so hard trying to decide what’s the best decision. I’ve had 2 inductions. The first wasn’t great but that’s because I had the gel which my body responded to instantly and my womb contracted too much and too quickly which caused a lot of problems and panic. With my second I was desperate to avoid induction but baby had other ideas and I was gutted. But, it ended up being the loveliest experience. Apparently my trust don’t use the gel anymore because once it’s inserted there’s nothing that can be done to control it. Whereas with the drip they can turn it up and down. I had an epidural before they did anything so the vast majority of my labour was totally pain free. If I had another baby I’d actually not dread induction at all. In the end it felt so much more in control, calm and planned and I look back on that labour with good memories (unlike my first which I was so out of it). Im sure it will all work out whatever happens :) good luck

I was induced to due to baby measuring small, i was induced on the 22nd december started with a pessary at around 3pm waters broke at around 2/3am on the 23rd and i was checked on the 24th at 2am and was 9cm then she was born by 6am on the 24th i had a really positive experience.

Baby small so induced at 36+2. Gel applied at 5:30am, waters gone at 8am, baby born at 11am.
first labour (and my last!). 1-10cm in less than an hour. Slight tear and only diamorphine. I was off my face lol!

i was induced with ds2 due to cholestasis. Induction took awhile to get going but when it did it really kicked off. I remember going to Costa for a coffee at 5pm to try and move around. Waters broke at 6.30pm and ds2 was born at 7.17pm! We barely made it to the delivery room. All the midwives on the antenatal ward couldn’t believe how quick it was.

Minimal blood loss, 1st degree tear and felt back to normal after 2 weeks.

It was a much, much better experience than with ds1, which was spontaneous labour but very long, prolonged pushing stage, minor PPH and episiotomy which broke down, took 12 weeks for me to feel normal again.

@G1ng3 What a time of it you’ve been having OP 😭🙈

Induced at 39+5 - cervix was completely closed. I had 3 pessaries which got me to 1.5cm dilated then they took me to the delivery suite, broke my waters and started the drip.

Took just over 50 hours from start of induction to birth so was pretty long and was during Covid so I was completely alone and wearing a mask for most of it which I wasn’t a fan of 😅🙈 but other than that it was a very positive experience 😊

No further interventions needed. I used gas & air a few times for pain relief. No tearing.

Baby was born at 3am and I was home cuddles up with him in my own bed by 3pm 😊

Best of luck with whatever you decide 😊

I've had 2 inductions.
With DS was induced at 38 weeks for choleastasis. I had a pessary on the Monday morning. Early hours Tuesday I had diamorphine because the pain was unbearable but it knocked me out for 3-4 hours. Tuesday at 8am they broke my waters and he was out at 11.06. I just had gas and air. No tears, just grazing. Went home on the Wednesday.

DD is was induced at 39 weeks for static growth. I had the balloon inserted on the Friday evening with gas and air, it was excruciating. Slept all night. Balloon fell out when I went for wee first thing Saturday morning. Then I had to wait for a bed on labour ward. Finally got a bed and they broke my waters at 4pm. Nothing happened so I had the drip up at 8pm. The contractions were really painful so they gave me pethidine along with gas and air. It took the edge off but I needed an epidural because I was only 5cm. By the time the anaesthetist arrived 20 minutes later I was 10cm and pushed her out in 4 pushes at just after midnight. Went home from labour ward at 8am. No tears or anything.

I was induced at 40 weeks with my 2nd and 3rd. Admitted at midnight and had pessary inserted. Had a nice sleep. Woke up at 6am with very mild contractions both times. Doctor broke my waters an hour or so later and both babies born happily with me using just G&A by lunchtime.

It’s sounds like you’ve had a horrible time lately, so if you can, I’d just nest down at home on the sofa for a few days and see if anything happens spontaneously but if you do go for induction, it can still be a nice experience. I preferred my inductions to my first labour as I felt totally in control and was able to set the room up how I wanted (closed curtains, music on etc)

Hi! I was induced at 41+5, had the pessary at 10am, left hospital - went for a walk and a coffee, contractions started at 5.30pm and my DS was born on a birth centre at 1.30am! I managed on just gas and air and codeine. Had a 2nd degree tear but that's prob because my DS was a bit of a whopper at 10lbs1 (and I'm sure that would have happened regardless of induction).
I did drink loads of raspberry leaf tea beforehand so I think that might have helped with having a shorter labour

This is my story.

I went in at 8am to be induced at 41 weeks.

The pessary was put in at 10:45am. I started to get cramping around 2pm and was given 2 cocodamol. I was seriously struggling thinking the pessary had given me the runs as I wanted to poo and had realised they were contractions by 4:50 pm so the nurse checked and I was fully dilated on just the 2 cocodamol. My DH got an urgent call to come back as I sent him home thinking it would be days. DD was born at 8:17pm with gas and air so just over 12 hours after I entered the hospital. She was back to back and I had an epistomy but the overall labour was actually ok and the labour was recorded as 3 hours and 16 minutes.

I was in a similar position, over 40, but baby #1. I also hit a colleague's car at 39 weeks 🙈

I declined consultant-led care and extra growth scans. I also said I wouldn't consider any interventions before 41 weeks, and even then I would want to be convinced there was a genuine medical reason, not just "age".

Baby came spontaneously at 40+4 so didn't have to have another discussion luckily. No interventions, no pain relief either. Waters 5.30am, contractions 6.30am, baby arrived before 6pm after being in hospital less than 90mins.

I was induced at 37 weeks with DD2 due to PPROM. DD1 was born on her due date after spontaneous labour.

It was completely fine. One dose of the internal gel kicked things off, 11 hours later she was born. No more painful than my first, and no other interventions needed.