Being Induced

I posted this on the Pregnancy board and got a few responses. I was hoping to get some additional ones by posting here. Thanks.

I'm due tomorrow and at my internal on Friday my cervix has thinned out but I am only about a fingertip dilated. I think baby girl is comfortable and going nowhere fast. Dr said he will let me go a week past my due date and then will induce. Best case scenario of course is that I go into labor on my own.

What can I expect if I'm induced? As a fist time mom, I'm understandably nervous and want to know what to expect. I keep getting well meaning advice to go for long walks, vigorous bouncing(!) on yoga ball, etc. I don't think this is really the way I want to go into labor either.

Would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Re: Being Induced

I was induced exactly one week past my due date and had a successful induction.

I was already 1 cent and about 40% effaced on my own. The hospital had me come in at 7:30 at night and they inserted the Cervadil to start things up.

An hour or two later my water actually broke on its own. By the next morning I was 80% effaced and about 3 cent. They started me on Pitocin. My contractions became very strong and close together. A couple hours later they gave me the epidural and me and baby both responded well to it.

They turned Epi off once I was 9.5 cent dialated so I could get feeling back to push. The epi wore off within a half hour of them turning it off and I felt EVERYTHING! I pushed for about 45 mins. DD was born exactly 25 hours after being admitted.

I'm very happy with the induction process and my outcome. Good luck!

ETA I also bounced on a medicine ball and walked around the entire mall 3 days in a row, and still needed to be induced lol

Message edited 7/28/2013 8:23:12 PM.

Re: Being Induced

Double post

Message edited 7/28/2013 8:22:54 PM.

Re: Being Induced

I was induced at a week past my due date as well. I was sooooo nervous!!! I went in around 8pm the night before, they started cervidil around 11pm. By 4:30am my contractions were becoming stronger. I believe i got the epi at around 7 or 8 am. I had my baby girl at 12:15pm! I too pushed for about 45 mins. So from the time I got to the hospital I had my baby about 16 hours later. The epi is wonderful!! I had a great experience and I now wish I wasn't so insanly nervous! Don't be afraid of being induced! I"m sure there are bad stories as well, but go in positive and you'll be fine! goodluck!!!

Eta: the only thing that sucked about being induced was that you are hooked up to all the machines, you have an iv of fluids etc. so if you have to go to the bathroom in the night, you have to call the nurse to unhook you. and it's also difficult to sleep being hooked up to everything. But they usually offer a sleeping pill. I only took half the sleeping pill because i know that I don't do well with anything like that. I"m glad I only took half because I went into labor only a few hours later.

Message edited 7/28/2013 8:39:58 PM.

Re: Being Induced

I had two awesome inductions, and my third baby (just born 2 days ago!) I actually went a week early on my own!

For my first son I was a week late. I was nervous about being induced but he was very low...I was about 2cm and 80% thinned I think...I had cervadil, started contracting and slowly went from 2 to 4...then they broke my water..contraction picked up big time, got the epidural and dilated to 10 within a few hours. I pushed for all of 10 minutes and he was born.

Second son, they induced me one day late at 2cm and maybe 80% thinned again....because I had had a successful first induction they let me go one day past due date. It went awesome. I dilated very very quickly once my water was broken and I pushed for a few minutes.

I would ask the doctor open and honestly if conditions seem favorable for a successful induction. No one can make guarantees of course, but let the doc know any concerns. It is true that inductions lead to c-sections more often, lots of times because the body is just not ready and trying to force it can backfire. But there are tons of great stories like my own!

good luck!!

Re: Being Induced

I was induced at 41 weeks. I was 3cm and 90% effaced. Everyone thought it would go great. I ended up with a csection. My son face up and kinda big. I didn't progress more than 5cm and 100% effaced.

However I read about so many successful inductions when I was preparing for my own. Don't be nervous. Just go with the flow and everything will be fine.

Re: Being Induced

I was induced at 40 weeks - I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced (was that way for 2 weeks).

Honestly when they said they wanted to induce me I FREAKED out. I cried on and off for 2 weeks and was a basketcase. I was so nervous and did not want to end in a csection. They assured me my conditions were favorable and things would go great so I went for it. (I had 2 conditions that led them to suggest an induction.)

Anyway the whole process ended up being GREAT! I realized I freaked for no reason. At the end of the day the most important thing is getting your baby here safe and sound so always remember that!

So I got the hospital at 7am and they didn't start the pitocin till 10:30am. I started having contractions but no pain. At 5pm they broke my water and a few hours later I started feeling the contractions! I got the epi pretty fast because my pain went from 0-60 so fast. After the epi I relaxed and slept awhile and by 1am I was fully dilated. DD was born at 4:45am. So the whole process was less than 24 hours and went so smooth. Oh except there being a dr shortage that night lol but that's a long story.

Anyway it was such an amazing experience and I wouldn't change a thing! Yeah I wanted to labor at home and have the whole rush to the hospital experience but I don't feel I missed out much. Plus it was so awesome being able to find out how dilated I was every few hours and I could get the epi whenever I wanted!

Good luck and get excited - you are going to meet your baby!!!!

Being Induced

I was induced at 39w3d because my amniotic fluid had gone down.

Everything went very smoothly.

I was started on Cervadil at around 2:30 in the afternoon. Contractions started slowly but surely, mild at first and then moderate overnight, but still not too bad. I was given Stadol for the pain twice during the night. By morning I had only dilated 2cm. I got Pitocin at around 7am. Contractions came fast. Dr. told me to hold off on the epidural as long as I could.

Contractions were bad, but still manageable at first. I used the breathing techniques they taught in the childbirth class which i surprisingly found extremely helpful throughout my entire labor. My water broke around 10:30 am and my contractions quickly went from manageable to unbearable. I asked for the epidural and of course, the anesthesiologist was in an emergency.

When I finally got the epidural, it was instant relief. Unfortunately, 10 minutes later, the baby dropped so low into my pelvis, causing so much pressure and pain and the epidural couldn't do anything about it. I felt such a strong urge to push but was only 5 cm dilated. The next 4 hours were tough. At around 4:20, i was finally 10 cm dilated. After just 40 minutes of pushing, DD was here!! And instantly, all the pain was gone... And not just Bc we were in love with her, the pain really disappears as soon as the baby is out!! Luckily, i didn't tear or need an episiotomy, so no stitches down below and my recovery was really easy. Honestly, I had almost no soreness at all and was moving around like normal as soon as the epidural wore off.

Overall, childbirth was such an amazing and empowering experience. Like you, I was so scared and nervous about what it would be like, and yes I'm not gonna lie, it was painful... But the second it's over, it's over. Just try to relax (impossible I know), but focus on the fact that you're gonna meet your baby. As painful as it was, I can't wait to do it again (in about a year or so!) It's amazing!

Re: Being Induced

I know everyone's induction story is different, but I was induced because my water broke, got to the hospital about 9pm, they inserted the cervadil at about 10pm, that was all I needed to get going because contractions started after that, so I never needed pitocin... Finally was given an epi at around 4:30am (They wouldn't give it to me until I was 4cm dilated.... and what a relief the epi was!!!) and DS was born 10am.

Good luck!!!

Re: Being Induced

Thanks for sharing ladies! Even though I am now officially late, am feeling a bit better if I end up being induced.

Being Induced

I was induced at 40 weeks, 4 days. I wanted to push it as far as possible because of how many people told me to avoid being induced. After hearing from people on here and reading a lot, I was less scared and went in with a positive attitude (a big factor in my mind!). I was admitted at 8:30am, I got pitocin at 9:30am, and had the baby at 7:28pm (after 30 minutes of pushing). It was easy and painless and I would be induced again in a second!

Being Induced

I was induced at 41 weeks 2 days with my first son. DH and I arrived at the hospital at 7:30 PM, they started the pitocin at midnight. At that point I was 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced. DS was born at 3:26 PM after an hour of pushing. It was painful, but I went into labor on my own with my second son, and I didn't find those contractions any less painful than the ones that were started with pitocin!