induction tips?

Question

I was really hoping that I would be able to have a natural birth, and while it's still possible, if my baby girl isn't here by Monday I will be induced at 8am. I'm worried about how things will go and how much different an induction is compared to going into labor on your own. Does anyone have any tips for how to handle an induction? Or stories about being induced and getting through it without pain meds? Thanks in advance!

Answer

I was just induced Tuesday night and my experience was unlike anything they have seen at the hospital I delivered at. Here was "the plan"....I was to get 3 doses of misoprostol, one tablet every 4 hours through the night starting at 9:30pm to ripen my cervix and then at 8am I was going to get up and shower and order breakfast and at 9:30 pitocin was going to be started. Well, 2 doses of the misoprostol was enough to put me into labor!  At my 5:30 dose the nurse asked me if I was cramping and I said yes because it just felt like really bad period cramps. My husband got back to the hospital around 6:40am and by then I was "cramping" every minute or so. Around 7:15 I called for a nurse to come see if I could do something for the pain. She suggested a heating pack and sitting up in a rocking chair. Sitting up made it worse so I stood up instead. Around 7:45 I said I really couldn't take it anymore and needed something. The nurse got a resident to check me and see if I could have a dose of nubain. Well, the resident came and checked me and was shocked....I was 8cm dilated and 90% effaced just from the misoprostol!  She kind of said, you are this far you might as well see if you can make it the whole way, but an epidural was an option. Around 8am I said I felt like I needed to push. I was checked again and was fully dilated and ready to go. It was complete chaos in my room because no one was ready for things to have happened that fast. The nurses got everything ready, my doctor literally was just coming in at 8am to start the day. About 10 minutes of pushing and my son was born!  Completely natural, no pain medicine at all. If I had opted for an epidural it wouldn't have been possible because of how quickly I progressed. I'm now known as "the rockstar first time mom who had a delivery they have never seen before".

Answer

I was hoping for the same thing. Are you dilated at all?? My mid wife said since I was 4cm she could just break my water, pump and then walk. So I pumped for 15 mins and walked for 15 mins. I only had to do 3 sets of the walk/pump and I was in active labor! Once active labor started I delivered baby in 3 pushes. Active labor for only 2.5 hours!!

Answer

All i can say is it wasn't as bad as I read about.  I know everyone's reaction is different, but mine was pretty easy. It did take a while though,  we went in friday night at 6pm, cervidol placed at 10 pm. I was hooked on the piciton Saturday around noon,  had her Easter morning at 330.  I can't really speak of the pain, because I got the epidural when I was only 3cm. Reason to get it was them checking my cervix was more painful then the contractions, ( i didnt even know inwas havong contractions till i looked at the monitor lol) because my cervix was still high. The doctor was going to break my water and said it's going to be painful since the hook is straight and they have to curve it in there. 
 My birth was far from my plan, but being induced wasn't too bad.   Good luck ! :]  remember whatever happens,  it's all worth it on the end when you have your little one in your arms.

Answer

I was not happy about being induced, but it ended up being a good experience.  I was 1.5 cm, 80% effaced and I had cervidil placed around 7pm on 4/20.  It sent me into labor in the middle of the night.   (The cervidil actually fell out around 3am.)  At 7am I was 4cm and having frequent painful contractions.  I was really scared of having pitocin, so I requested an epidural.  That ended up being amazing.  I got the epidural at around 9am.  Doc decided I was doing fine on my own and never put me on pitocin!  By 1pm, I was 10cm.  Baby girl was born at 3:03pm on 4/21.  I could feel enough with the epidural to tell when my pushing was effective.  And it was so helpful that I was able to rest the entire morning, because I didn't sleep at all the night before!

Best of luck- you'll do great!

Answer

Hey! I was just induced on 4/15 and I felt the same as you, but it went much better than I hoped. Went in the morning at 41 weeks and had my son just 12 hours later (they told me to expect 24-48 hours for an induction as a ftm). Ate a good breakfast before going in. Was only 1cm dilated but the nurse "stretched" me to a 3 with her hands while I was having a contraction (apparently they were happening I just couldn't feel them). I was in real labor after that and didn't need pitocin--moved along at about a cm every hour or two. They did give me a foley balloon at one point (that was NOT pleasant) to speed things along. It popped after about 45 minutes-thank god- and got me a centimeter further. But I could still move around out of bed with it in, so I'm glad they did that instead of something from an IV. Also, you should know that your induction could get bumped. I was scheduled for the day before but they were packed all day and we had to go the next morning. It was frustrating bc our families were texting all day and we were ready. At the same time, it was a lovely bonus day that my husband and I got to spend relaxing together and soaking in some last free moments just the two of us.

Answer

Eat before going in ! Is most important cause you can't eat or drink anything until the baby comes . I got induced && it was nothing different from natural birth , I had my son vaginal I didn't have to get a c section . Unless the induced medication doesn't get you dialated then you would have to get a c section . But other than that I don't see why you wouldn't have it natural 😊 I had a good experience so good luck on yours !

Answer

I was the same. I had a natural waterbirth planned and unfortunately didn't get it. I was 41+3 when I gave birth and I was READY! Through the whole process my midwives let me call the shots. They gave me options and let me choose which direction to go. At one point I asked for a break from anything for an hour or so and they agreed- at which point we realized my contractions were coming on their own. I ended up having miserable back labor and at one point had contractions that were a minute apart and I was only 3-4cm dilated after about 7 hours of that so I got the epidural. And thank god I did because honestly, I'm not sure I would have had the energy to take care of baby afterwards if I didn't get some rest at that point. Even with the sleep I got- I still was dozing off after delivery before they got us in the mother/baby room. All in all - I did NOT feel ashamed of any part of my birth. I still got to choose how it went and I tried my best to get through it but ended up needing some help- and that's ok!! I got a healthy baby out of it (plus he ended up being over 9lbs and I'm very small framed normally only like 115lbs... 😳)
So yeah, id just say go in with the expectation of it having much of an expectation other than getting your baby 😁 (that's the whole point of this- right?!) 😉

Answer

On Sunday I'll be 42weeks and I think I'll probably have to be induced as well. I also learned that I won't know what method of induction will be used until I go in to be induced... Praying this baby comes this weekend..... Do you know ahead of time what method they'll use?

Answer

I got induced for the first time & it was a great experience! The pitocen worked really fast on me & I'll be honest, I couldn't imagine laboring without an epidural. I dialted so quickly that it was almost too late - meaning I felt the worst contractions of my life while at 8-9cm dilated.

Answer

Eat a big meal before going in. I ended up having some complications after delivery and didn't get to eat for about 36 hours. I ended up getting the epidural but if you want to go without medication, make sure your partner reminds you that's what you want. My husband was super good about reminding me that I didn't want one but I decided I really did. Lol.

induction tips?

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