What a crazy journey it has been! My husband and I struggled with infertility for 3 years and were given a 2% chance of ever having children before we decided to do <a href="https://glowing.com/glow-fertility-program">IVF</a>. God blessed us with success and the first of our four precious embryos implanted on our very first transfer!

I hope sharing my failed elective induction story helps pregnant mamas decide whether an elective induction is right for you. Maybe hearing my story makes a “bad” induction outcome not seem so bad and helps you decide the risks are worth the potential benefits. Maybe hearing my story makes you realize how badly you don’t want to end up in this situation and that an elective induction is too risky and not right for you. Either way I’m SO for respecting everyone’s personal desires for labor with their doctors approval, including elective inductions!

At 39+2 I went in for an induction without a medical necessity. My doctor said I was favorable, and between my discomfort and immense anxiety about something happening to my little miracle, I was so ready. I went in incredibly positive even though I knew it could have an outcome I didn’t prefer. I easily labored through pitocin for 12 hours with contractions that were not painful. I only dilated from 1.5cm (which I was at before starting pitocin) to 3cm after the 12 hours, and my pitocin was maxed out.

Midwife decided to take me off for an hour and basically restart to try to build up to strong, painful and effective contractions. It didn’t work for another 8 hours. I was praying for myself to be in pain at this point and trying all kinds of things to progress.

Finally, at 3:20am, 20 hours after pitocin had initially began, I started feeling super painful contractions and asked for the epidural. The midwife and nurse cheered for me! Unfortunately even though they were real, strong, painful contractions, they continued to do almost nothing. I only progressed to 4cm when they checked me around 5:20am.

At this point, my blood pressure had been dropping, causing me nausea and lightheadedness, and the baby’s heart rate started to crash some, causing the nurse and midwife to rush in to move me around and get him to a good place again.

The midwife had prepared me a little earlier in the process that if I continued not to progress well, we may need to talk about another plan, and it was now that time to consider a c-section. I could labor for another 7ish hours until the 24hour mark where she had broken my water the day before at 10am if I wanted, but honestly it wasn’t looking like that would do anything, and I would most likely end up in a c-section after that as well.

I knew it was time to do the c-section, but I got really emotional feeling I would be judged for it. It was an elective induction after all...I felt like so some people would think I made a terrible decision, and I hated that feeling.

After we made the decision to do the c-section, things moved quickly. They prepped me right away and I was brought back for surgery somewhere around 6:00am.

The c-section could not have gone better! I didn’t feel a thing, and the pressure was nothing like what I heard, it was so light. The whole thing was quick and super easy for me! My little miracle was born at 6:34am, about 23 hours after we began the induction process. He weighed a whopping 9lbs 8oz and was 21 inches long.

The doctor who did the c-section said that with the size and positioning of my baby I probably would have gone another week and a half before going into labor on my own, and likely would have had the same labor experience ending in c-section with an even bigger baby.

After it all, I wholeheartedly felt like I still made the right decision and I don’t regret a single thing. Recovery has been great, incision etc. barely bothers me, I have been able to move around great, and everything has been an absolute dream as a first time mom starting life with her baby!

So was it a failed induction? Yes. But was it a failed positive birth story? By no means. This mama is so happy and has absolutely no regrets. Listen to your doctor and then trust what you feel is best, the rest is out of your hands mamas! Wishing you all who are waiting the absolute best birth! My little man is absolutely precious and perfect. Completely worth it all ♥️