Please share your experience about induction.....(only answer if you've had labour induced)?

Question

I am due today. Thursday I had elevated blood pressure and my uric acid levels were high which was the possible start of pregnancy induced hypertension. I was sent home and asked to return this afternoon to re-assess. If things don't look great, they want to induce. I am wondering if you could share your experience about your induction, how far along you were when you were induced, and if you ended up in a c-section in the end.

Answer 1

I've been induced three times...I'm a pro! The first time was done with pitocin and I was 2 weeks over. I didn't give birth until 24 hours after they started the pitocin. I ended up with an epideral 18 hours into the labor, even though I wanted to go natural. Since I was only dialated to a 2. After the epideral things progressed much faster..and prevented a c-section. My 2nd & 3rd inductions were started with a pill placed in my cervix called cytotec, which contains prostaglandins and I never received pitocin with them. I was one week over due with both. I was in labor 6 hours with my 2nd and 11 hours with my 3rd, I didn't get an epideral with either of these and didn't have a c-section. My water was broken with all three of my births after I reached a 4 dialation. I was able to walk around with all three, until I had my epideral with my first. But I was required to get an IV with all of them and I wasn't allowed to labor in the birth tub. My biggest advice is to eat right before hand (they always told me to), bring some rented videos to watch, and if you find that you can't relax through the contractions...then get pain relief (narcotics, epideral, etc). It will make the labor go faster.

Answer 2

I was induced 16 days early because of high blood pressure (160s/110s). They didn't even let me go home and get things prepared. From the non-stress test appt I had that morning, I went straight into the labor room. They put me on magnesium to lower the blood pressure, and then they gave me pitocin (?) to induce. Before that, though, they ripped my membranes, which was really uncomfortable, but not bad. Because I was only a loose 1cm dialated, they inserted a little balloon that they inflated inside the cervix so that it would help it to dilate to 4cms. After a couple of hours, I was finally 4cms, they broke my water, and I didn't actually have to start pushing until the next morning....10 hours later I think. I was able to push, but they also told me that if there were complications, that I would deliver via c-section.

Good luck with everything!!!

Answer 3

6 months ago my labor was induced. I was 42 weeks. They used "Cervidil" which was a 12 hour process and BARELY made progress, then they broke my water. They broke my water at 9:45am and I delivered my daughter at 10:54 am- I did end up with a C section but not due to the induction, because my daughter had a dropping heart rate because of a mitochondrial disorder we did not know she had until after she was born- so needless to say, it was fantastic once they broke my water! good luck to you, I hope you have a healthy happy beautiful baby!

Answer 4

I was induced for my second child because I was losing weight for no apparent reason at 39 wks. I went in at 9 a.m. had water broken at 10 then began pitocin at 11 and my son was born at 3:30 that afternoon after only pushing for 20 minutes. So all in all I'd do it again. No c-section.

Answer 5

I had to be induced with my first. My waters broke and nothing happened. I ended up being what they called “prolonged ruptured membranes”. You’re supposed to go to the hosp after 5 or 6 hours after your waters break – I waited about 12 hours and I was induced 5 days over-due after my water had been broken for 14 hours.

Anyways that and being induced ment that I had to go on the “high risk” side. I was given an IV and a nurse snuck me a sandwich and they started my pitocin drip at about 1:00pm. This caused me to have contractions 5 minutes apart. At first I couldn’t feel them, then I felt them, then they got uncomfortable, then they started to really suck and then at like 1:00 am I finally got tired enough to request an epidural. Ahhhhh….then I slept (just like hubby had been for the past 2 hours GGGRRRRR!). The contractions were slow to build getting progressively stronger and stronger.

They woke me up at about 8:30 and checked me and I was 10 cm. They agreed to wait until my husband got back from a quick run home to start pushing. We started pushing at about 10:00 am and 2 hours later, still no baby and now no epidural either. They decided to let me rest for a while, (or maybe it was cuz I wouldn’t move anymore) and shot me up with more happy epidural drugs and I went straight to sleep.

An hour later, they woke me up, time to push again. Another hour of pushing (and an episiotomy later) and I finally had my baby out.

The benefit to being induced by pitocin? You can get the epidural as soon as you want. You don’t have to wait until you’re at least 4 cm or 6 cm or anything like that.

What sucks? Couldn’t labour at home – I was stuck to the stupid monitoring machine and I had to call the nurse if I wanted to pee, which was like every half hour, to unhook the wires etc.

Don’t be scared & don’t be worried. You’ll be in good hands.

Answer 6

Hard and fast! No build-up time to sort of get used to the labor pains. Labor was shorter than it normally would be.

TAKE THE DRUGS! There is no reason to be a hero. You don't get extra brownie points for no pain meds!

I was induced because the pregnancy caused a strain on my liver and I was jaundice. I had itched REALLY BAD for about 4 months. Found out it was may gall bladder and I was fine with my other 3 kids

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 7

I've been induced 3 times. It's fine. No big deal. You go in, they start you on pitocin, you have cotractions, you give birth, no biggie. Just try and stay away from the epidral, that has more of a chance of causing you to have a C section as you can't feel what you are doing.

Answer 8

I was induced w/ all 3 kids. I had them all vaginally. I was 41 weeks w/ the first, 39 weeks w/ 2nd and 3rd. It really wasn't as bad as some people make it seem. Each of my labors progressed as expected and I had to have my water broke w/ all 3 but that's not unusual for any labor. They will induce you if they feel it is better for you and baby. They will weigh all pro's and cons and determine the safest route.

Answer 9

I was 38 weeks but was having contraction that weren't regular however I just felt horrible so I was induced. My experience wasn't that bad. I was in labor 16 hours but I had an epidural so I wasn't in pain. I had a vaginal birth of a 7 lb 7oz boy

Answer 10

I fear my story may make you more nervous...

I went to my OB appointment on a Thursday. They found elevated BP and protien in my urine (which is what they test for when you pee each visit- protien spilling into urine means your kidneys aren't functioning properly.) So they made me do a 24-hour urine test Friday, I returned it Saturday, and they called me with th results on Monday. My doc called me a told me to come to the hospital, they were going to induce me. I was 38 weeks at the time.

When I went to the hospital, they did an exam to check my cervix. I had not dialaated at all, in fact, I wasn't even softened or thinned. So before they induced, they put something into me to try and soften the cervix. (It was like a string soaked in meds.) I had to wait 12 hours for the string to work, and while I waited they monitored my urine and BP. After 24 hours of trying to get my cervix to soften, they decided NOT to induce me because the protien was gone and my BP was normal, instead I had to stay at the hospital another day doing another 24-hour urine test. After that, they decided they WERE going to induce me because the protien was still there. >.<

Ugh, that was a ridiculous experience. In the end I was induced, went through 24 hours of labor before it stalled and I ended up in C-section because my pelvis was to small for my daughter's head to fit through.

All in all, the experience kind of sucked, but either way I had my beautiful baby daughter. :) I wish you the best of luck (and more competent medical care than I had.)