Anyone got some induction advice please?

[jessi]

Hi
I am booked in to be induced in 3 days and am wondering what happens?
Also I had a sweep last week which did nothing, but wondered whether I should ask my midwife to do another one, say tomorrow, to try and get it going that way-rather than just being induced? If I am induced, does it take a long time? I am booked in from the morning and wonder when would be realistic to expect ds to be able to come and see the baby? Will it definitely be the same day or could it go on into the following?
I have been on the raspberry tea/tablets/pineapple/walks/spicy food and sex rota for over 3 weeks now and it ain't working! And now I really cannot sleep for worrying about induction, does it really hurt? Do you always have an epidural straight away with the oxytocin drip?
Many thanks, I would be really grateful for any info!

Hi, I've had 2 inductions. I think they are all different. How overdue are you? With my first I was 10 days late, had a sweep the night before at 9 days, and when I went in I was a cm or so dilated so they just broke my waters. That was about 11.30am. Things progressed from there and dd was born at 10.30pm. Mind you they tried to put me on oxytocin at about 2pm because they said things weren't moving fast enough and I said no - I felt things were moving along fine! Glad I didn't get bullied into that one as it could have made everything very fast and painful. Had an epidural at about 4pm at about 4cm.

With my second, I was 11 days late. I wasn't at all dilated despite a sweep before, so went in in the morning for a prostaglandin pessary (at about 10am) and told to come back at about 5pm if nothing had happened. Things did start happening slowly at around 1 - 2pm, went back in at about 5 at which time contractions were really establishing, had an epidural at about 10.30/11.00 at about 2cm, went to sleep and woke up to find ds crowning at 1.30am! Born at about 1.31am!

So no, induction per se doesn't hurt, although I understand that oxytocin drip inductions can be very fast and with very strong almost continuous contractions so I would try and avoid that if at all possible. It also means you need an epidural early, which can slow labour down, which means you need more oxytocin, then more epidural, and it can become a bit of an exhausting vicious circle which often ends up in csection.
Mind you some people spend days trying to get things going with pessaries and that obviously isn't ideal either.

I'd get the midwife to do another sweep, no harm in it (although a bit eughh) and may get things going.

Good luck!

ps I'd definitely assume your ds won't be coming to see the baby until the next day - the labour ward often takes ages to get going with your induction in the morning even if you are booked in for 8am, (and they monitor you for about 40 mins before they do anything anyway) then the whole induction process can take a while to get labour going, and even if it is relatively quick by the time you've been sorted out and stitched up if necessary it is likely to be evening/nighttime and you'll just need to sleep!

Hi

I was induced with my ds as I was 10 days over due. I went into hospital at 7.30pm and had a pessary inserted. This didn't work, so the next morning I ahd another! This didn't work either so they broke my waters. I was 3cm dilated at 2.15pm and ds was born at 9.15pm. I found the whole process quite enjoyable actually, nothing about being induced actually hurt and if I had to do it again I wouldn't be worried. Good luck, and relax!!

I was 9 days over with my second baby and the consultant at the hospital was very scary, putting me off the home birth I had wanted.

She told me dreadful stories just to get me to go into hospital. I spoke with my lovely midwife who advised me to use my common sense and do what I wanted.

Nate was born 9 days late, after a sweep and some reflexology. I too had tried sex, curry, walking, raspberry tea etcetera etcetera and nothing happened. I had used reflexology with my first, Grace, also 6 days late, and it worked then.

Its worth a try. Don't be bullied into an induction, they can monitor the baby every day. Do what you want, you won't regret it.....;-)

I was induced for both mine, one 17 days overdue and the other 9 days over. The good things are - you can prepare for it properly, get a good nights sleep the day before, sort out childcare if you need to, know that you once they have started the induction they won't send you off home again, you wont have one of those horrible 24 hour labours etc etc. On the down side, they do tend to be a bit fast, so you usually dont have time for the gentle walk around the ward, back massage, and slow build-up to labour that natural births can give. If they use a drip you'll have to stay put and can't wander about. I would not have chosen inductions, but in the end I had had enough of being pregnant and just wanted to see my babies !!

Hi Jessie, I was induced with no. 2. I went in at 7.30 am and had a pesserie inserted but nothing happened so they inserted another about 4 pm. At 9 pm everything began and ds born at 1.12 am. It was so fast I had no time for pain relief. I would definitely do it again if I was to find my self pregnant again. I was home at 1 pm the same day with DH and DD. I wish you all the luck in the world.

I don't want to sound offputting, but induction didn't work on me - they tried everything for 3 days and finally they did a c-section.
I guess this isn't that common, but just thought I'd mention the possiblity

Message withdrawn

my first labour was a prostin induction at 4 days overdue. They started inserting pessaries on Saturday, my daughter was eventually born on Tuesday. I did find the induction itself VERY painful - had horrendous 'prostin pains' (felt like labour contractions but didn't do anything), the insertions were extremely unpleasant and by the time I finally went into labour I was exhausted - three nights of little sleep thanks to prostin pains and being on a busy ward.
However, I've heard a few times since that being induced with a first baby is a lot harder than with subsequent ones - a woman in the bed next to mine was started at the same time and her baby popped out there and then five hours later.

Hi Jessi, I was induced for a week and nothing happened! I was a bit fed up as I had imagined that being induced meant that you would have the baby within the next day or so. I ended up with an artificial rupture of my membranes followed by 12 hours on a drip and still nothing. So I had an emergency c-section. Dd was fine but as a result of all these days of my womb trying to go into labour and not managing I did have a post partum haemmorage which wasn't very nice. I must stress that is pretty unusual and I am not suggesting that you worry about it, however it is best to be forewarned.

Good luck!

Jessi - there are verying methods to get your labour started.

If the cervix is soft and dilated it may mean that you will be admitted to the labour ward to have your waters broken. You might be encouraged to get up and walk about to see if your contractions start. If they don't then you will be started on a hormone drip which is slowly increased until you have the right strength and frequency of contractions. You might just be started on the drip straight away though if the cervix is not particularly soft and thinning.
If, however, the cervix is not soft and opened at all, you might need to be given prostin as a gel or tablet. That is given via an internal. You then wait about 4 hours to see if it has worked. If it hasn't then it will need reprated 4 hours later. Sometimes even a second dose doesn't work, so they will wait until the next day to try again.

As you can see, there are a lot of variables to take into account, so you will not be able to know the answers just yet about whether you will deliver on the same day etc.

I have attached a leaflet you might find helpful though it might take a bit of time to download because it is a pdf file.

here

Meant to add that you will not necessarily need an epidural because you are being induced. I have looked after many women who did not need one. HTH.

im up for an induction on wednsday too but after 2 miscarriages i was expected to give birth at 36 weeks when i had the sutre removed but this didn't happen! now at 41+ weeks im going to ask for a sweep and hope it will help! for someone with an incompetent cervix it seems to be holding up alright now ! thanx for all the advice ladies its put me off having an induction i just want my baby to come when s/he's ready!

Thanks for all the advice ladies and the leaflet information Mears, I found it very helpful. I am in abit of a panic though as neither my GP or midwife has even mentioned monitoring the situation this week at all. From the leaflet it suggests that I should be being monitored to check all is well in there. I have also noticed less movements today which is slightly panicking me too. Oh dear!
Have booked in off my own bat for another cervical sweep on wednesday and dh and I are going to go for it every night too in the hope it'll start on its own. I hadn't heard about the nipple tweaking , I guess I should give that a go as well! The things you do eh? Should I be worried that I am not being monitored more closely over the next few days?

I drank a cocktail of 50ml castor oil, pineapple juice and a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda - absolutely disgusting but it worked! I drank it at about 9pm - at 11pm I had to rush to the loo and then woke up with strong contractions at 2am. I also had the cleanest water birth the midwifes had ever seen as a result!

A friend of mine swears by caster oil for all six of hers! 2 desert spoons I think she said.

I was induced with DS1. had pessery at 8am 4hrs later no contractions so had lunch the downstairs to have membranes rupured. stil nothing so they set up cyntocin drip. midwife was great and increased very slowly. Although I was monitored with 2 straps on belly all the time I was allowed to stand up by the bed. (let gravity help) I found concentrating on the numbers on the monitor representing the strength of the contraction really helpfull as I knew roughly how high it waould go before it would then go away. After 4hrs M/w asked if I wanted any pain relief. I asked to know how far I had gone and to find I was still 3 cm I asked for an epidural. She then turned up the cyntocin drip and started to get another drip set up for the epidural. It took the anaesthetist 30mins to arrive by which time i was 10cm and ready to push! I am so glad she turned up the drip as I didn't need the epidural. The whole thing had taken 5 1/2 hrs from the rupture of membranes, and I would do it all again. It doesn't have to mean epidural, vontuse, forceps ect.

by the way babies do go a little quiet before labour starts! fingers crossed for you. Hope all goes well.

jessi - Monitoring does not necessarily mean going on a machine. I presume your GP listened in and palpated your baby, as would the midwife. I have to admit that increased monitoring only happens at our hospital once women are about 41 weeks.They will be monitored at day care and a plan made therafter. If they go to 42 weeks then there is increased monitoring. If, ofcourse, women are worried about movements at any stage the midwife will monitor the baby. HTH.

I had an induction 15 months ago with DD. I went in at 41 weeks and 5 days. This is what happened to me:

I went in to the labour ward at 6pm on the Wednesday evening. I had the first pessary that evening and was sent up to the wards to sleep, Dh went home. That night nothing happened and Dh was back in time for the next pessary attempt at about 8am in the morning. After a few hours I had the odd twinge but nothing to cause any form of pain.

That evening I went back down to the labour room for another internal. The internals hurt quite a bit as the pessaries dry 'you' out quite a bit, so it is uncomfortable but doesn't take too long. You can have gas and air too if you want. For me it still hadn't done much, just started to thin out my cervix a little. So, that evening another pessary and back upstairs and Dh sent home.

By the early hours of Friday morning I had very painful contractions. Well, not contractions as such - more one long pain rather than peaks and troughs. I had a bath and some painkillers from the HV. I was being sick a lot too. At about 4am I went down to the labour ward, another internal and found I as 2cm dilated. I was then given something to stop the sickness and some pethidine for the pain. This let me sleep for a couple of hours or so. When I woke they sent for Dh for me and put me on an oxytocin (sp?) drip to try to move things on.

By 9am I asked for an epidural as I was in a lot of pain and nothing was happening for me. I got this quite soon and it did take most of the pain away, apart from one small area in the small of my back. I can't remember having the epidural so it can't have been that painful in itself. I had the type that doesn't numb your legs so I could still go to the toilet - on a pot though - and didn't need to have a catheter at this stage. This was topped up every sooften as needed during the day, and Dh and I were left to talk and watch TV most of the time, with MW coming in periodically to examine me and check for signs of progress. I was being monitored throughout this - quite intresting to watch the contractions graph and see how bad they are when you can't really feel them. Baby was okay all the time, but lazy! I had to keep moving positions to keep her awake and moving.

By 8pm, still nothing had happened so after a chat with MWs and Doctor we decided on a c section. After this it happened quite fast. I signed the consent form, my epidural was topped up to a full one, DH was taken off to get togged up in greens, I was shaved and prepared, and then off we went to theatre.

By 8:45pm DD was on my chest having a first cuddle. Not long later we went off to recovery where I got to help bath and change her, and then feed her.

This was my experience. I didn't work for me. I dodn't intend writing this to worry you but to let you know what happens if you go the full way like I did, and to not worry. My DD turned out just perfect Good luck!

I was induced with my second labour and it was absolutely fine. I had a fantastic midwife who encouraged me to try different positions and I delivered standing even though on the drip. It might of just been her, but she made me feel I was in control of how fast the induction was going so it might be worth asking if you can ask them to slow down if you are finding it too intense. I got through it with just gas and air at the end and a tens machine and would certainly go for induction again if things weren't happening naturally.

I haven't had time to read the whole thread - but I have had 2 inductions.

First one was at 38 weeks for high blood pressure - had 3 lots of gel over 2 days, also had the oxytocin drip (because of the blood pressure problem). I didn't have to have an epidural because of the drip, but had one in the end because I was told I was only 4 cm and it hurt - by the time the epidural was in I was 10cm (that's why it hurt so much!). Took 5 hours from start of the drip.

Second was at 35 weeks with twins because one had stopped growing. Had one lot of gel and things got going pretty well. Had epidural early on because of potential problems with twin birth. Took about 12 hours from the time of the gel.

It is not necessarily a downward spiral to c-section.

This thread is so interesting thanks so much everyone for telling me what happened for you. Its good to see the different outcomes and dh is going to have a read of it too later. Where can I get castor oil from? Is it from the chemist? I may have to try that if nothing else is working after sooty and sweep no 2 on weds!

Downside of castor oil is stomach cramps and diarrhoea....and no baby. Actually, downside is diarrhoea AND baby....
I wouldn't recommend it even though others would. When the apple is ripe, it will drop.

jessi - how late are you? Generally speaking the later you are the easier the induction because your cervix will be more ripe.

My dd was born 15 days late. I put off the induction for as long as possible. However leave it too long and the baby may be very big but you should know by know if you are likely to have a big one. Also the placenta will start to work less efficiently.

For me my cervix was quite soft. Had a sweep on the Saturday but nothing happened. Admitted to hospital on Monday morning and had one dose of Prostin at lunchtime. After that the contractions started very mildly and the whole procedure went totally naturally after that (apart from only partial water breaking which had to be completed by the midwife). I gave birth to dd spontaneously in the early hours of the following morning. So for me it all worked very well.

Oxytocin drips may not be necessary. From what I have heard from others the earlier the induction is done the harder it is to get going. If I were you I'd wait as long as you can and take things slowly and hopefully your body will take over and do the rest.

Good luck.

Both my two were induced but they were completely different experiences. My first was induced when I was 10 days overdue. I only needed the pessary and then everything progressed from there. My ds was induced at only 6 days over as the midwife said that he was big. I'd already had a sweep that hadn't done anything. This time I had the pessary in the morning and later had my waters broken. The contractions that I had been having started to tail off and by the mid afternoon I could only have contractions if I did laps of the labour floor (walking I hasten to add!). Eventually I felt I had no option really than to have the drip put in (very reluctantly). This started things happening again and after a few hours followed by a fairly swift second stage ds put in an appearance at 1am weighing 9lb 12oz. I did this on gas and air with a tiny tear and no stitches so please don't worry. You'll have your darling baby at the end however it happens.

Thanks Mears, I have also heard that too! Decision is whether that is better than induction lol!
I have now booked to see a massage accupunture person tomorrow afternoon, sweep is in the morning so I have a busy day tomorrow.
Eulalia I am 41 weeks + 3 days, induction is booked for 41 + 5 days so I have'nt long left at all.Nice to hear both yours and Bossanova's positive birth stories though..fingers crossed I go into labour before d-day. I had a horrible intervention spree with ds so thats why I would really like to have a more natural go this time.