Congrats on being a (nearly) new mom! Hurray! Oxytocin is a hormone our body releases to begin labor, Pitocin is the synthetic form of this drug.
I was induced with my daughter and after about half an hour of being on a Pitocin drip I was ready for the epidural. What happens is that oxytocin is released gradually when we are going into labor . . . pitocin is given over time but is more powerful with starting labor . . . thus our bodies don't have time to adjust to the pain of the contractions becoming more & more intense. This can be problematic as we are free of pain and 15-20 minutes being on Pitocin our contracts are too intense to comfortably manage.
As far as a possible C-section, this could be for several reasons: first of all you are a new mom, thus the birthing process can take longer because your body is new to the process and your body parts aren't stretched out. To top it off you are at some risk for C-section because your baby is a past due & probably a good healthy size, it might be harder for you to push'm out.
Good luck & congrats! Happy NEW YEAR!
2007-01-02 11:01:03
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answer #1
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answered by NautyRN 4
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If possible, you could try having sex - a lot! The semen helps soften the cervix. The gel that will be inserted in you to help soften your cervix is actually made out of pig semen. So if you can use human semen, well, I suppose you can see it would be better! The softening gel is called Cervadil, if you want to do more research. They usually put it in during the evening, and give it all night to work. Some women go into labor on their own, just by using the gel.
Then in the morning, they will start pitocin through an I.V. If you were planning for a natural birth, then you would really want to try and do everything to avoid pitocin, because it does make the contractions much harder to deal with. The reason is because instead of your body increasing or decreasing the amount of oxytocin (hormone) it makes to bring on contractions, there is a synthetic form dripping into your arm at a steady pace. About 95% of women with pitocin end up with an epidural.
Using pitocin and/or an epidural can increase your chances of having a c-section. These are medications that are being put into your body, and your baby may not tolerate it very well.
Here is a list of risks of pitocin from birthingnaturally.net:
Risks for Mother:
Mothers using Pitocin frequently report increased pain with contractions. Most mother using Pitocin also use pain medication to handle the increased pain.
Pitocin use requires continuous monitoring to detect complications and/or progress which interferes with mobility.
Pitocin use requires an IV for administration.
Pitocin use can cause long contractions and contractions with double peaks.
Pitocin use increases the possibility of a uterine rupture.
Pitocin use increases the likelihood of a fetal malpresentation or malposition.
Pitocin use is associated with an increased need for cesarean surgery for distocia and fetal distress.
Risks for Baby:
Pitocin use increases the likelihood of depressed fetal heart rate patterns.
Pitocin use increases the chances of Fetal Distress due to decreased oxygen availability.
There are increased risks to your baby if you have a cesarean surgery.
A wonderful story to read about one mothers experience with pitocin can be found at: http://www.pitocin.bizland.com/mystory.htm
Do your research about induction, and good luck!
2007-01-02 19:08:58
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answer #2
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answered by mcdaid36 2
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If they have let you go past 40 weeks in the first place there is no pressing medical reason to induce you. If I were you I would ask to have the doctors reasons explained. Avoid inducing at all costs!! Only for your safety or the babies( clear and pressing safety) should you be induced. I was induced for my first and after 3 days of being prisoner ina hospital bed they decided to give me a c-section for my 6 lb 7 oz baby. 2 years later I fought tooth and nail against induction and gave birth to a 8 lb 10 oz baby naturally. Induction has a chance of not working and is almost an excuse for the doctor to give you a c- section for no more reason than their own convenience. I did have pitocin with the second and it does produce some hellish contractions but they use pitocin in amost all deliveries these days to speed things up (again for the doctor's convenience) Make your doctor work for you not the other way around.
2007-01-03 08:45:24
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answer #3
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answered by leavemealone 3
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Wow! I just went through this 2 weeks ago! Exact same thing! Well, I was induced and after 16 hours I wound up having an emergency c-section. One point of advise.. get the epidural as soon as you can. That way your body is prepared if you do have a c-section, the last thing you want to happen is an emergency section with no pain relief, which they will do if its an emergency! I (like you) was mentally prepared for a c-section but it was still scary. I have had 3 babies natural and 1 c-section...natural is much better than a section. I only had the epidural with the section...since your doctor already told you there is a chance of a section, my best advise is get an epidural as soon as your allowed because the more pain your in, the harder it is to sit correctly when they put the epidural in. Good luck to you & God Bless!
2007-01-02 19:06:17
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answer #4
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answered by wickedness_one 3
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I was induced at 38 weeks due to high blood pressure and bad headaches. They had me come in at 7 am and they did non-stess testing on the baby for about 30 minutes. Then my OB put a pill on my cervix called Cytotec. This softens and dialates the cervix, once the cervix was dialated to 2 cm (which happened at about 11 am) she broke my water and hooked me up to Pitocin to get the contractions started and keep them coming. The contractions were tolerable until about 5 pm when they started feeling less like menstrual cramps and more like someone twisting my ueterus, so I got my epidural (which seem to slow things down) by 10 pm I was only dialated to 5 cm (and my epidural had run out). At that point she told me that if I wasn't dialted to 10 by midnight she was going to do a c-section because I wasn't progressing quickly enough and they were worried about the baby being under that amount of stress for extended periods of time. I really didn't want to have a c-section so I was worried. She came back at 11:30 and checked me and I was 10 cm so I could start pushing. I pushed for about 3 hours and my beautiful baby girl was born weighing 6 lbs 13 oz and was 20.5 in long. After it was all over I felt great. I was up walking around about 45 minutes after she was born, I felt great however, it was a long day and I was very tired, so at about 4 am my husband and I went to sleep, only to get up at 6 am to make calls to everyone! My advice to you is to not get the epidural early on in your labor, hold out as long as you can because I feel it really slowed down my progress. You will be just fine, it may be a long day, but you will do great! Good luck!
2007-01-02 19:11:28
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answer #5
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answered by Busy Mommy of 3 6
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I was induced at 40 weeks... and had NO idea what to expect.
It's very painful! The potossin makes everything happen fast...and hard. Your contractions will come closer and closer together...then they will get more and more painful. It was a pain that i'll never forget! It took forever to get to 4 cm and when I got there they broke my water which felt like i kelpt peeing on myself)
They told me the baby was too big and were gonna give me a c-section...but they decided they would let me push just to see what would happen. So i was in labour for 19 hours and 25 min. I only pushed for 1 hour and 25 min...and out came a 8lbs 4oz and 21in long babygirl! I had a big baby! Before I got pregnant... I was 5'4 and 95 lbs.... Crazy huh? Good Luck
2007-01-02 19:00:21
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answer #6
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answered by NaVy WiFeY 2
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I was induced but they started with the prostaglandin gel on my cervix...It made my water break but no labour. So I started the Pitocin drip. Be prepared though that induced contractions with the drip are very intense and can come hard and fast. Make sure that you have a talk with your Dr about the pain and what measures you have available to you.
2007-01-02 18:53:48
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answer #7
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answered by mommy_2_liam 7
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Why are you being induced?
I'd...start asking your doctor a lot of questions.
You still have time to get to a library or bookstore and find a copy of "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" (http://www.hencigoer.com/betterbirth/) which has some information on inductions that's well worth reading. It's loaded with references, unlike a lot of stuff on-line...
The author has a web site with some useful info, too.
"Problems with inductions stem from two sources: the physiology of initiating labor and the side effects of the procedures and drugs. First, despite common belief that they can, obstetricians cannot switch labor on at will. Starting and intensifying labor involves a complex cascade of feedback mechanisms that mutually reinforce and limit each other. It is an elegant and delicate dance of hormones and other substances between the baby, who initiates and controls the process, and the mother. Dumping in oxytocin—with or without cervical ripening procedures—often won’t initiate progressive labor unless labor was on the verge of starting on its own. This is the main reason why studies consistently show that inducing labor, apart from the reason for induction, considerably increases the likelihood of cesarean section in first-time mothers.2,8-9,23,28,32,36,42,45 (Some studies have concluded otherwise. The reasons why are instructive and will be discussed in the next section.) (See Table.)
Second, all of the procedures and drugs used in inducing labor can have adverse effects.
oxytocin (Pitocin, also called “Pit”):
uterine hyperstimulation: Uterine hyperstimulation is a more common and serious problem with inductions than when using oxytocin to strengthen contractions in an already established labor because it takes higher contraction pressures to get and keep a labor going from a standing start.20 Of ten studies comparing hyperstimulation rates at two different oxytocin dosages, hyperstimulation rates ranged from 2% to 60% at the lower oxytocin dose, and six of the studies reported rates of 15% or more.14 At the higher dose, hyperstimulation rates ranged from 13% to 63%, and half reported that 25% or more of the women experienced hyperstimulation.
fetal distress: Uterine hyperstimulation can cause fetal distress. Four studies reporting hyperstimulation rates also reported fetal distress rates.14 One reported an 8% rate at the lower dose; the rest reported rates ranging from 15% to 54%.
low Apgar score: A separate study reported that induction increased the percentage of babies born in poor condition from 16% to 21%, doubling the odds after statistical adjustment for interdependent factors.21
postpartum blood loss and neonatal jaundice.4-5,7,13,16,29,37 Blood loss and jaundice may relate to direct effects of oxytocin; increased use of IV fluids, especially IV fluids that don’t contain salts; or both. "
from http://www.hencigoer.com/articles/elective_induction/
And:
"In the early 1800s a German obstetrician simply declared that pregnancy lasts ten moon months counting from the start of the menstrual cycle prior to the pregnancy. (2) It took nearly 200 years for researchers to investigate whether this was, in fact, true. It turns out that it wasn't. When researchers in the late 1980s followed a group of healthy, white women with regular menstrual cycles, they discovered that pregnancy in first-time mothers averaged eight days longer than this, or forty-one weeks plus one day (2)."
from http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/0,,jb56,00.html
Actually, barring some serious reasons in favour of the induction, I'd flat-out refuse the idea, not just ask questions. Your pregnancy, your baby, of course. But. It's not something you should just accept blindly. Doctors do NOT always know what's best.
Edited to add:
Wow; can't believe people are still getting Cytotec for inductions.
See
http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/plabor/0,,6xr4,00.html
Clearly, women need to do more research on their own. Which sucks, but.
2007-01-02 20:49:33
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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Don't be nervous when it's all over all he pain you go through it worth it. i got induced with my 2nd child and for me that was hell. Be prepared to have contractions close together and painful and very little change in dialating. But take it all as it comes. it might go really fast for you. GOOD LUCK!
2007-01-02 18:57:25
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answer #9
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answered by KRISTI 1
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