Inductions? Were you induced?

Jenny_Rose77

Hey ladies! Well, it looks like baby boy does like to be fashionably late. The doctors are planning to induce me tomorrow.

I was wondering, what is it like? I watched The Business of Being Born, so now I am completely afraid this induction is going to be PAINFUL. What was your experience like, if you were induced?

Give me hope! :-)

EmilyRanae22

OMG business of being born got me scared of being induced too! I had a friend who got induced a week EARLY I don't know why anyone would do that!

Random question for you, how late are you? and would the doc let you go later? Mine said he doesn't like to let women go past a week.

Jenny_Rose77

It'll be a week tomorrow. I don't really want to go later. I am definitely READY to have this baby. :-)

RBXChas

Ok, not personal experience, but my sister was induced with her second at 39 weeks (her water broke with her first around 38 weeks). The reason she got induced before 40 weeks was because she was having horrendous back pain where her entire right leg would feel like it had knives going down it before going completely numb. I have seen very few people so miserable. The thought was that she had bad sciatica, but since she was still suffering postpartum, she saw a specialist, and it turned out that she had a slipped disc and had surgery a couple of weeks after giving birth. Had she waited to give birth and/or have the surgery, her surgeon said she could have suffered permanent nerve damage because there were actually fragments of the disc floating around back there! She's fine now, though, and only has occasional numbness in her right leg, which is her sign that she's overdoing it.

Aaaaanyway, from what I understand, she went in very early on a Monday morning, around 7AM, and was put on an IV and given pitocin. They started slowly and then cranked it up because she said by 10AM she was pretty uncomfortable. She was able to get the epidural around 10:30 and had her baby around 11:30. The epidural worked perfectly, so she really felt no pain from 10:30 forward. All in all she had about a half an hour of real pain, and that was it. She said it was easier (and I know it was faster) than her first labor, but then again usually your subsequent labors are faster than your first.

I remember when a friend was induced that she went into the hospital the night before, and they gave her Ambien to sleep. I think they got her there the night before so they could get started nice and early the next morning. I'm not sure why that is, since my sister got to go in that morning. Maybe they knew my friend wouldn't be on time (she never is!). Same hospital, same OB practice, so who knows.

BBeccaJean

I was induced at 37 weeks, because they were worried about all the water I was retaining and two readings of high blood pressure. I went in at night to get the cervical ripener and then my water broke on its own in the morning. After 9 hours of labor, I wimped out and got an epidural. lol. It took 4 more hours and then baby was born! Each person and doctor staff is different though...so you never know...it could be pretty short. Anyway, good luck!

Pepper2185

I was induced at 41w1d. I had GD and my doc wouldn't let me go any further.

I was not dilated at all so I went to the hospital the day before and had a Foley bulb put in. Super uncomfortable, but I couldn't feel it once it was in and in the morning I was 2cm.

Started Pitocin around 10am, the thing I didn't like about it was that I wasn't free to move around because of the IV. They would give me ten minute breaks once in a while so I could pee and walk a bit, but I was stuck in bed or on the ball beside the bed.

Pitocin wasn't working for me, I was on the maximum allowable dose (30 units) and was only 3cm at 6pm. Contractions weren't mega painful and they were going to send me home and try again the next day. Dr decided to break my water instead, things happened fast and furious after that. The Pitocin really kicked in and I was having full blown contractions without a break in between. Pain was incredible. They reduced my dose to 15 units.

Between 7pm and midnight was crazy, crazy pain, but I declined an epidural.

I was 10cm at midnight and pushed for 2 hours. Pushing was less painful than dilating between 8 and 10cm.

I wish it had happened naturally, but I made it through. I think labor in general is super painful, not sure if an induction makes it worse. You just have to relax (ha! Easier said than done) or your cervix will stay closed like a bear trap!

Missmissy0003

With my first child, I was induced. The labor was incredibly painful. However, I was not induced with my 2nd child, and the labor was just as bad. I had originally thought that induction made more painful labor, but now having been through both, I disagree. It's quite painful either way.

For the induction, I went to the hospital at 5pm on Wednesday. They tried a cervical ripener overnight which did not work. Thursday morning they started the potocin drip. I felt nothing until about 2pm. I know they had turned it up to the maximum, I believe. Then, the unbelievable pain came. I had my baby maybe at around 430 in the afternoon. Once the contractions started, I don't remember very much. I think once connected to the potocin, I could no longer get out of bed - at all. I had to use a bed pan.

neelia

I've asked my doctor not to induce me before 40 weeks, but she said we will see how it goes. Good luck!

bushidowoman

Not all inductions have to be scary.
I've been induced at 42 weeks twice and at 41 weeks three times (I do not want to go past 41 weeks anymore). All that has been needed to get things started for me is an amniotomy (I was dilated, baby was low, etc.) My deliveries (and inductions) have been at home for the past couple babies, but when I was induced in the hospital, I asked for no pitocin unless I didn't progress after that. It wasn't necessary--baby got here quickly, within 3-4 hours, each time after breaking my water. Because I did not have pitocin, I was able to skip being continuously monitored. I had doppler heart tones every 15 minutes, and I had to be hooked up to the EFM just long enough for them to run a strip every hour. That meant that I could walk around, even get into the whirlpool, and deliver in the position of my choice. All I had was a saline lock for emergency access. I could still eat and drink. And I was able to deliver without medications or interventions...other than the amniotomy and a saline lock.

I will be doing this once again this week. I have had painful contractions off and on for the past week that haven't gone anywhere, and I am just plumb tired. My midwife will be giving me some herbs today, and if labor has not started by Saturday, she will once again come out and break my water. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, please!

mellynat

I got induced w my 1st baby one week after my due date. My midwife was convinced he was going to be a huge baby and didn't want o risk me going longer.. He was 7lbs 13oz. Not that big.. But when I got to the hospital they started me on pitocin right away about 9am. Around 10:30 they broke my water. My 1 pm my contractions were unbearable. They really upped the dosage of pitocin so I got the epidural around 2. Finally got to relax a bit.. 5pm I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. baby's heart beat was dropping so they had me wear the oxygen mask when I started to push. After almost 2hrs of pushing he was born 6;50pm.. Not too bad I just wish the midwife didn't pressure me into inducing since there really wasn't a medical reason he had to be out.. They over estimated his weight in the ultrasound. I'm glad nothing went wrong but I wish I got the chance to go naturally on my own.

redheadmommy

I was induced last Friday. I was only 39 weeks , but my Dr worried about that my fundal height not increasing. I had marginal insertion of the umbilical cord, which sometimes reduce the blood supply, so my dr decided to induce me, because the baby probably could do better outside than she was doing inside. I also tested positive to group b bacteria , so I had to get antibiotics .
I got IV penicillin at 9 am , and started pitocin 12 units at the same time. They increased the pitocin by 12 unit every half an hr. it didn't do much until it was around 80 units. Practically the whole morning was just sitting there chatting joking with my DH. At noon the pitocin was about 90 and I started to have regular contractions, but not really painful yet.
At 1 pm I got my second round of antibiotics. Once the penicillin gone at 1:15 pm my dr broke my water. At that point the pitocin was 120 units, which is usually the highest they go. The contractions become really bad . They checked my cervix 1 hr later and I was only 4-5 cm dilated with thick cervix. Since I was walking around 3-4 cm dialated for days prior induction, this was next to nothing as far progress goes.
The dr decided to increase the pitocin with another 12 unit. That made a huge difference , and 1 hr later I hold my baby in my arm at 3 pm. I didn't ask for epidural or any other pain management, but only the last hr was bad. ( freaking excruciating) , but it was over really quick.
I was really worried about the induction , but the whole birth was 6 hrs, and really the first 3-4 hr was nothing happening, but joking about the end of the world etc.

EmilyRanae22

It'll be a week tomorrow. I don't really want to go later. I am definitely READY to have this baby. :-)

I here you! Right now I am totally not for me getting induced even if she is late....I think my tune might change when I get closer to 40 weeks.....Can't wait to hear how it all went!


Redheadedmommy-I didn't realize you had had your baby! Congrats, I'm glad to hear all went well