Induction your experiences

Amber - posted on 12/19/2009

I was induced two weeks early on October 28th due to high blood pressure. I was dilated half a centimeter. They inserted a pill (misoprostol) into my cervix to soften it. After three does, I was 2 1/2 centimeters dilated. It was around 9 am on October 29th. I started getting really intense menstrual cramp type contractions (10x worse than normal) I would get one, it would last a minute, I would get a minute long break and then I would get another one. Each one was worse than the one before it. I wasn't dilating any further than 2 1/2 centimeters. Around 10:30 I decided to get an epidural because I couldn't relax and couldn't work through the pain. By 11 I got the epidural. Sometime after that they broke my water. A short time after that...probably 2ish I was dilated to 7. By 3pm I was ready to push. They didn't need to give me any pitocin because once I was able to relax and rest I progressed really quickly. I pushed for an hour, only tore a tiny little bit. My midwife didn't even need to do any stitches.
I was very grateful for the epidural. I was actually able to enjoy my labor whereas before I got it I couldn't focus on anything.
I could still feel my contractions, they just didn't hurt. I knew when to push the midwife and nurse didn't need to tell me. It burned when his head came out but it wasn't horrible pain. Being induced really wasn't bad for me.

Kati - posted on 12/19/2009

I was induced on my due date, October 29th. I had been dilated to 4cm & was 50% effaced for a month already, but my son just wasn't interested in progressing on his own. I was so uncomfortable, my doctor took pity on me & agreed to try on my due date. We started the drip around 9 in the morning, & they broke my water around 1:30pm. The pains after that were pretty bad, so they backed off the drip, & I got an epidural which hurt even worse, but the drugs were definitely worth it in the end. The relief I got from that was so great I was able to take a nap! A couple hours later they increased the drip again. Once things really got started, labor was only about a half hour & I only felt pressure, no pain. I had to have an episiotomy, so I was very grateful for the drugs! My son was born at 7pm.

I would have preferred going into labor naturally, but being induced was fine & appreciated in my case. I think if it is suggested with my next child, I'll schedule it again.

Wendy - posted on 11/27/2009

well they tried to induce me on the 20th october they used a prespen string thing that stayed in for 24 hours, this didnt work so they tried again 2 days later again this didnt work so i ended up having a c section on the 24th October Alfie was born at 13.08 and weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce sooo it was all a waste of time as he was tiny and i would have been fine going naturally with him thank you for all your replies x

Chelsey - posted on 11/26/2009

i had a really good experience with being induced! my baby was due on Sept 28 but was induced on Friday oct 2 because he was so cozy :) I had been dilated to 3 for 3 weeks and was about 60% effaced. I went in at 7am. they started pitocin and i started having contractions pretty quickly. then they broke my water and i got an epidural. Then i watched a movie and a little bit after it ended they told me it was time to start pushing and my little guy arrived at 1:58pm after only a few pushes. it all went very smoothly except the cord was wrapped around his neck twice but he was just fine my hubby just didn't get to cut the cord. My doctor told me my labor looked my 2nd or 3rd baby because it went so quickly and smoothly but it was my first. I would have been out of the hospital by Saturday afternoon but my little guy refused to pee so we had to stay till Sunday.

Fiona - posted on 11/26/2009

I was induced because my little one didn't want to come out - I was due on the 28th September and was induced on the 8th October - guess she was comfy :)

Fiona - posted on 11/26/2009

I had a good experience with being induced - we went to the hospital at 6am, they used the gel at 7am (I was only 1cm dialated) by 1.30pm I was having regular (maybe 5 mins apart) mild contractions and was 4cm dialated so they broke my waters and put me on the drip. By 3.30pm I was having much stronger contractions and they were closer together. My daughter was born at 6.26pm. I've been told by many friends how lucky I was to have such a quick labour - as this was my first I certainly didn't feel lucky - it hurt like hell!!! I only had gas for the pain because I'm scared of needles - I complained more about the drip in my hand than I did about the actual labour lol

Hope everything went well for you. The best part is that at the end of all of your hard work you get a gorgeous little baby! :)

Rebecca - posted on 11/23/2009

I was due on 3rd November and got induced on halloween, I was in slow labor (Contractions) from the night before after having a stretch and sweep but I didnt feel any pain until 2 hours before I had my little girl. I have no other children so dont know about naturally going into labor but mine really wasnt bad, I had 2 hours of pain, got gas and air which i had a reaction to, then pethadine which made me really poorley then an epidural, my little girl was here within twenty minutes of me going into the delivery suite.

Hope everything has been okay for you x

Ashley - posted on 11/20/2009

I was due on the 20th. I had high blood pressure so I got admitted on the 21st at 430. By 730 I got a cervadil. I started having contractions by 800. I got a shot of morphine and gravol( I ended up getting 3 shots total before the epidural). (i suggest a hand held masager) the next morning I was in so much pain by 1030am I got epidural. i got the drip of pitocin. and was strapped into bed. My baby was born at 1133 pm. I was in labour for a long time. my body basically shut down and with more than 2 full hours of pushing my baby boy got vaccuumed out,

Now I dont know what normal labor feels like so if this is your first you have nothing to compare it to.

All I can suggest is TAKE THE DRUGS! in my opinion theres no point of being in more pain then what you need to be.
my son came out very alert. the drugs had no effect on him

good luck,

Peita - posted on 11/20/2009

I was induced for my 3rd child! I was 1cm dialated, so they broke my waters first, that didn't do much, so 2hrs later they started me on the drip, within 1/2hr, I was having contractions 2mins apart and they were at full strength! Another 1 hr 40mins later and only 3 pushes and my baby girl was here! I found the labour to be really intense, but very quuick, so they kind of evened out each other! (I was induced due to pre-eclampsia)

Jennifer - posted on 10/19/2009

Good luck with it! I just gave birth with much of the techniques of induction. My water broke, but I wasn't dilating or having regular contractions. I ended up getting 2 doses of the pill, which brought me to a whole 1.5cm dilation after 10 hours of contractions that were quite painful. I ended up getting an epidural and being put on pitosin, which was great! I slept all the way through transition. I only woke up when I started feeling pain again, which was when it was time to start pushing. Even then it wasn't as bad my first 7 hours of labor. I got my epidural in at 7am, and I delivered finally at 3pm so it didn't slow things down for me.

Good luck with your labor! I highly recommend getting an epidural.

Anastacia - posted on 10/19/2009

I was induced with my first baby by an iv. I was a week overdue and her heartbeat kept dropping. I was already 2 cm when they induced me. After 10 hours of being on the max of the drip I only got to 5 cm and stalled.

I ended up having an emergency c-section to get her out. So the inducing never really worked for me.

As far as more painful, I don't know because they gave me an epidural before my contractions were really painful. They did that in case I did end up going for a c-section.



Hopefully everything goes well for you.

Ellen - posted on 10/13/2009

Hi there, I just gave birth on Wednesday & it was the 1st time I've been induced, with my 1st child labour started naturally so it was an experience!! What they did for me was give me a VERY tiny tablet looking medicine & inserted it in my cervix to soften it (this does not hurt at all). I then had to lay for an hour & then walk for an hour & a half. They only did this twice until I was 3cm dilated & then just let the contractions come on their own. I did find that being induced hurt more than letting labour start naturally just because the contractions came harder & fasted but I wasn't dilating in sync with the pain so I had an epidural at 5cm dilation (with the natural labour I was able to get to 7cm dilation before having an epidural) Luckily when I 1st went to get checked the day I was induced, the nurse did warn me that induction does usually hurt a bit more than natural labour. Although I was induced the whole labour, from start to finish, only lasted 15 hours & I literally only had to push for 2mins to get him out.

I know it is probably different for everyone but all I can say is be prepared for anything & try not to worry too much because it is all worth it in the end.

Will be praying for a safe delivery for you & your baby - GOOD LUCK:)

Cassandra - posted on 10/12/2009

Hey there,

Now everyone is different of course, but I thought I'd tell you how being induced was for me with my first born (who's now almost 5). They gave me the cervidil (sp?) to soften my cervix and told me for some people it works right away and others it doesn't. I was a week overdue already and I started having contractions 2 hours after being given my first dose. Now they told me it was working better than usual for me as when I started getting contractions they were 5 mins apart. I don't know if that's normal or not, but overall my labour was fairly short, 13 hours total.



I was also induced the same way for my second who we knew ahead of time was coming stillborn, and even though i was only 23 weeks it still got my labour going pretty quickly.



I'll be induced on the 16th this time around (due the 26th) but I doubt I'll be on here much between then and when you go in so I'll just be hoping that all goes well for you and that you have a nice and quick labour!



Good luck!