What to expect???

[marinaW]

Hi!

I am a first time mum. And, I was told that i will be induced this Friday.
What do i expect? Would be great to hear some stories from mums who have been induced. :ecomcity:

Thanks.

Marina

[mim]

Hi Marina,
I was induced with both my DS and DD.
I was 2cm dilated the night before my first induction, so in the morning I had my waters broken and the drip put in. I started contracting at 10am, but only started having regular contractions at 12pm, when I was 3cm dilated. I managed a lot of the pain in the shower, hated the gas, then had a shot of pethadine at around 3.30pm. This made me completely tune out between contaractions! I started pushing at 5pm and my DS was born 17 minutes later.
With my DD it was pretty much the same except it took 3 1/2 hours to start contracting, then she was born 1 1/2 hours later!
I don't know if the pain is any worse with an induction as opposed to natural labour, but I actually liked getting straight into it.
I wish you the best of luck on Friday! :fingerscrossed: for a quick labour!

mim xxx

[charlach]

I was induced and was in labour for 17 hours. I received drugs at about the 12 hour mark. It was my first baby, so I cant compare to non induced labour. Dont be to anxious, you will be fine. :o

[Rockett]

Hi Marina
I was induced too,with the syntocin drip,it took the midwife 3 tries in 3 different places to get the drip in and working properly (the syntocin kept pooling under my skin causing large bruises).
Apparently the pain is worse if you are induced,this was my 1st child so I don't know that for sure,but the pain was pretty bad,I tried the gas which made me feel out of it,and didn't help with the pain at all,then I had an epidural....absolute bliss!
I had my girl in 9 hours,I was told if the drip had worked properly in the first place I probably would have had her in about 5 hours.
Good luck for friday!! :smiliedance:

[OM]

I was induced and it was horrible so I won't post the details of it! But I do want you to remind you that everyone labours differently, and what is bad to some ppl is okay for others!:)

Good luck with it all!:fingerscrossed:

[sarah81]

I have had a spontanous labour with DS1 and an induction with DS2. While I found the pain similar, the induction was a lot faster 3hours as compared to 9 hours and it was slightly more intense. But it was over so much quicker I was able to cope with gas only. I had gas only for my natural labour too.

Don't let anyone tell you it is like period pain, that is the worst analogy, it is different for everybody. Good luck with the induction and remember that you forget about labour the moment you see your baby:smiliedance:

[Tea Lady]

I was induced with gel and got bad pain for about 3 hrs but it didn't acheive anything :banghead: then I had my waters broken - the pain was pretty bad but it was quick until I had to push - but that was only because the naughty girl had her hand next to her ear (think superbaby) and wasn't coming out the normal sized exit :eek: I got through with just pethidine but I did ask for an epidural that didn't arrive in time.

One thing to bear in mind is that an induction can take a long time too - it can be around 3 days before the baby actually arrives, depending on how your body responds - I wasn't told this till I turned up at the hospital.

Best of luck..... I hear it really depends on your individual situation :)

btw it would prob be a good idea to talk to whoever is delivering the baby about avoiding tearing if possible - this can be an issue if it's a bit of a speedy labour, but I imagine you've already thought of this!

[wattle]

My waters broke at 2.30am in bed. I fluffed around for a while because I wasn't quite sure what was happening. I didn't have any contractions. I rang the hospital at around 6am, they told me to have a shower and come in. It was nice just being calm and driving into hospital. I'd always imagined I'd be labouring during peak hour traffic etc. :eek:

They did routine checks at the hospital and I went straight into the delivery room. I walked around for ages hoping contractions would start, they didn't. The ob turned up at 2pm and wanted to start the drip. I said I was exhausted from no sleep, and asked him if we could wait until 6pm. I had planned a natural birth, and needed a bit of time to rest, and get my head around the fact that I was going to be induced.

Still no contractions, I was induced at 6pm. Being my first labour I had nothing to compare it to. I was glad when it was all finally underway. I laboured for 8 hours with 1 - 2 hours of pushing.

I found that being connected to the drip was a bit annoying, but I spent most of my labour sitting on the toilet anyway, so it didn't really matter. Dh had to cut my tshirt off, because it was pretty awkward trying to take it off while I was connected to the drip. I didn't really want clothes on by then anyway, plus I had a shower.

I used a lot of gas (loved the stuff :o ) but I think it made my recovery a bit slower. I had pethedine too, and felt really groggy for quite a long time afterwards. But use whatever you need to get you through - that's what it's there for.

I'm sure you'll be just fine. It's hard not to feel anxious about your bub's birth, but hopefully you can relax and enjoy the most incredible miracle of your life.

[marinaW]

Hallo hallo!

Thank you for your contributions.
At least I am a little more mentally prepared tomorrow.
:yelclap:

Cheers!
Marina