induction advice please?

Question

I'm 40 + 8 weeks, had a sweep yesterday but nothing has happened having another on sat and if still nothing I'll prob be induced mon. I'm really scared, are inductions really that bad? Are they more painful? What was your induction experience?

Answer 1

My water broke at 37wks but nothing else was going on. So they gave me pitocin in an iv to start things up. my water broke at 8:30am gave me the pitocin at 9am and i was in labor at 9:30am it wasn't painful at all.... well until I hit 5cm then it was epidural time an hour later i went from 5cm to 10 that quick. my friend who was my nurse delivered my baby b/c no one thought things would go so quickly, she basically handed the doctor my baby b/c he didn't make it in in time. Which was funny to say the least. it was the first baby my friend actually had to deliver...lol the rest of labor and delivery was a piece of cake and labor last for just about 6 hrs and that's was awesome considering my first was 15 and a half hours, which i wasn't induced. And I needed an epidural at 3cm. labor was hard and delivery was complicated b/c my baby was almost too big for me and he got a little stuck and was face up. He was a 38 weeker

If you ask me my second was a lot better than my first and i think for one my body remembered doing it before but also i'm certain the pitocin make things go alot quicker and easier
My sister-in-law was given cervidel that they put near the cervix and that's all it took to get her going. overall she didn't mind the experience so much.

i think the word induction scares people but there's really nothing to get scared over I don't think. every now and then you'll hear some bad experiences. but overall i wouldn't worry about it. it can make things go a little faster and sometimes that's not a bad thing. sometimes inductions don't work b/c the baby just isn't ready and your body isn't cooperating after 24 hrs and they'll stop the induction for a while. if not they'll try again another day.

no need to worry.

Answer 2

Is there a medical problem? Normally, doctors shouldn't be inducing until you've hit 42 weeks. You still have almost another week to go. If this is your first baby, a Harvard study determined that first time moms typically go one week past due date.

What is your Bishops Score? The higher the score, the more successful the induction.

I was not induced, but know some women who were. Their recommendation is that you plan on an epidural. Two members of my scrapbook group were induced, but the induction wasn't successful. They turned down breaking the waters, went home and came back in two days to try again. That could be another option since you can avoid a c-section this way if the induction isn't working for you yet. Once your water breaks (or they break it for you), you're stuck at the hospital.

Answer 3

I was induced on my due date. This was my first child so I do not know if it is worse than just going into labor or not, but from my experience I really should of asked if I could of waited for a few more days. But seen as you are over due I'm sure you will be fine. I got the epidural pretty early and I was in labor for 14 hours and I had to push for an hour and a half but once you are holding your baby in your arms you soon forget about all the pain you were in and everything is fine. My advice is after wards ask for a pain reliever right away. It will make you more comfortable. Try to enjoy your labor, I know that sounds funny but it is such a great experience. Good Luck and Congrats!!

Answer 4

My overall induction experience was not too bad. When I was about 41w3d I went to the hospital for my first dose of prostin gel to help "ripen my cervix". I ended up getting two doses that Monday, one on Tuesday or Wednesday, and one on Thursday. By that Friday I was still pregnant so the doctors told me to have a fun weekend and to come in on Monday (when I was 42w3d) to be induced by pitocin. We took the doctors advice and had a great weekend sightseeing, going to fairs, and eating out. On Monday got up early and a light breakfast because I was so nervous (big mistake, eat up!) and we went in about 7am. First they started with a fetal nonstress test. I was then hooked up to IVs and all the monitors (luckily they were portable so I could still move around at this point). I was definately having contractions but they weren't so bad. We walked the halls, used the birthing ball, etc. At around 1pm I had advanced enough that I could have an epidural and they broke my waters. At this point I was stuck in bed for the duration. I progressed well and at 8pm I was able to start pushing and the baby was delivered at 8:46pm. The worst part, for me, about the induction was how hungry I was the whole day. When you get induced they don't let you eat or drink anything. When it came time to push I was so tired from not eating and I was nauseous because my stomach was empty. I ended up vomitting bile (sorry TMI) through most of the pushing, which the doctors said actually pushed the baby out better than when I was trying to bear down.
So really, I can't say that being induced was a bad experience. I would have liked the element of surprise (not knowing when the baby would be born) and to have been able to stay home until I was in active labor (and not starve to death :)...hey I'd been eating for 2 for 9 months and then I was cut off cold turkey, what do you want? ). In the end I had a beautiful baby girl which made every little hassle I went through worth it.

Answer 5

Usually inductions are a little harder than going on your own. Think of it as your body is being forced into something it's actually not ready for yet. But...obviously your overdue and your baby needs to come out. I would recommend an epidural if your worried about the pain. If you want to go natural then make sure there's a lot of back rubs, not commotion in the delivery room and deep breaths.Also they might let you walk around the halls which also relaxes you too, but if you get an epidural you can't.

Answer 6

I had a really good experience. I wasnt late I was only at 37 weeks. Not quite sure why they sceduled an induction but i was fine with it. Anyway- It started at 6:30 am and the pain started to get uncomfortable about 12:30 then at 3:50pm i had my son. Everything went very smooth. Now I am 15 weeks right now with #2 and the midwife I have does not do inductions unless it is medically necessary, so i will see how this one goes. I dont know it the pitocin made my delivery quick or if I just got lucky. But hope you the best of luck with a fast delivery too!!!

Answer 7

I was induced with my first child. I didn't think it was that bad. I was in labor for about 8 hours. The worst thing was having to stay in the bed because of the IV and the monitor. I didn't have an epidural either. Just try to relax and don't listen to people who tell you horror stories. Everyone has their own labor experience and you will get through yours. I think a positive attitude is very important. If you expect it to be terrible because you are being induced then it probably will. But I can tell you from personal experience that being induced isn't that bad.

Answer 8

I was induced at 38 weeks d/t pre-ecclampsia. My cervix wasn't ready so they used cervidal. I had lots of painful contractions and didn't dilate much. They ended up inducing me 4 times. twice with cervical and twice with oxytocin. I found the cervidal painful but i had an epidural with the oxytocin and that helped. I think you'll do just fine and be ok. Its painful but so is going into labor naturally. I think you'll do better b/c your further along then i was and your cervix is probley more ripe then mine was. I was also really exhausted since i was induced on the 17th and had the baby on the 21st. That's a long time to be in labor ( well in and out of labour several times)

Answer 9

I was induced at 38 weeks because I kept dialating but not going into labor.

So I went to the dr office I was at 4.5/5 cm. So she sent me to the hospital to be induced.
I get there at like 530-6. Get into a room and get hooked up to an iv and monitoring device.
They break my water like thirty min later.
I am fine. No drugs. No nothing. Everything was fine. I was having more contractions but nothing hard.
Well my dr appartently didn't think i was going soon enough so she gives me the med in your iv, patosin, and then the contractions start coming.
Well after like an hour or so I was in pain and siad i wanted an epidural. My dr checked me and siad i was at 9 and ready to push any min. But i wanted an epidural anyways.
So finally they come in and give me an epidural which did not work right. ONly half of my body went numb and not even numb liek it is suppose to .
So then the nurse checks me and says I am at 7, well my dr lied and siad i was at 9. The dr kept turning up the med to make me hurry and give birth.
About 30 min later I felt like I had to push and so I did and I gave birth.
Being induced at first was not bad. if my dr wouldn't have rushed me into getting more and more med It woudl have been fine. She didn't even give me a chance to get the epidural before she kept kicking up the meds.
All in all if you get an epidural you will be fine. even though mine didn't work all the way it worked enought to help me. And so i can only imagine if it worked fine. It would be great.
Yes the contractions are harder but with an epidural you will be fine.

Answer 10

I was induced at 41 weeks due to high blood pressure.

I will do everything in my power to avoid it this time.

The drugs they give you can make contractions more intense and more painful. They require more monitoring, so I stayed chained to a bed for 14 hours.

It was nice laboring under the influence of an epidural, for a while, but not so much when the drugs wore off.

Not to mention inductions increase the risk of c-section. However, many women have perfectly wonderful inductions. I'm not one of them.

Most first time moms deliver at 41.5 weeks... so you'll probably go into labor soon. Lots of walking, sex, nipple stimulation, all of these can help trigger labor if you're ready to go.