How do they induce you, what happens?

[twitch]

Hi Ladies

My OB is saying that if bubs hasn't come by the end of next week, he will induce me. They are worried about bubs as I have lost weight and she doesn't seem to be moving as much, they think the fluid around her has dropped. I had a ctg today and have to have another one on Saturday. In all my reading and thinking about the birth I never once thought "Hhmm, what if I need to be induced?" so I am totally oblivious to how it all works.

How do they do it? How long does it take to "kick in"? Is the labour longer/shorter, more painful/less painful than if you were to just go into labout naturally? Does it increase the chance of needing a c/s? Any advice, your stories or info would really be appreciated!

[borntobemummy]

There are different ways to do it. At my hospital, they insert this stuff on a string (sorry vague, but it was before DD was born) in the afternoon. Then in the morning rupture membranes and leave you for a while and if nothing much happens the put in a drip of oxytocin.

[the_queen]

Ask for an ultrasound before you agree to an induction - maybe bubs is just too big to move around anymore :) Fluid levels can be accurately checked through ultrasound. You're not due until 9th May? So you'd be birthing 2 weeks early, which could be detrimental to bubba - but if there is a genuine medical reason to induce then obviously not birthing early would be detrimental too. :hugs: Tough decision!

Induction usually involves putting a gel on the cervix, to artificially begin dilation. They may give you pitocin, which is an artificial oxytocin, to speed up contractions. This usually means that instead of the usual slow build-up of contractions, with large breaks inbetween, you will get hit with huge contractions very close together, almost immediately.

Being that bubby is not ready to come out yet, sometimes it can take a lot of artificial things to get bubby out. Being induced means you will have a 40% chance of ending up with an emergency c-section - this rises to 60% if you have an epidural, which most women will because of the sudden onset of the contractions.

:hugs: Good luck. Don't be pressured into anything though, remember that it is your body, your baby, your birth. But I would definitely ask for an ultrasound to check bubby, before agreeing to induction.

[april83]

Hi there I got induced the day before I was due as they thought the baby was a bit small and didnt want her to go over her due date (altho she came out a healthy 7 pound 2!!).. they put the gel on my cervix at 4.pm on the Tuesday afternoon to try and ripen the cervix, the next morning nothing had happened still so they took me in and broke my waters at 12.30pm . They told me I was in for approx 9 hours or labour and wanted to put me on the drip to speed up the contractions - they put an epidural in first as I was warned that the contractions come hard and fast with the drip. My daughter was born at 9.19pm that night. Although I didnt really mind being induced I would defnitley like to go naturally next time as it was a very long 28 hours!!!

[BlueGin]

Hi there, well hopefully your bub is doing just fine in there, an ultrasound seems like a good idea (I was given 2 before they induced me, made me feel more confident in my choice).

If however you need to be induced, it can be a pretty great experience if you go in to it well informed, and confident in your decisions.

The drip can be started at a very low level, this way the contractions are pretty mild. They can then up the dose gradually so that your body adjusts. I needed gas after a few hours of contractions, on a low setting, and didn't need the pethidine until I'd been labouring all day.

Also, at any point they can stop the drip, and if it gets too intense for your body (which happened to me) they have a drug they can give you to stop the contractions entirely.

Induction can be a gentle process too, but you will have to keep in mind that you do statistically have a higher chance of a caesar, though I think the stats are skewed by people like me (:o), who are induced because the baby can't get out, so the induction fails.

Good luck with it, and congratulations on being so close to having your baby in your arms!

[OneBabyBoy]

Ask for an ultrasound before you agree to an induction - maybe bubs is just too big to move around anymore :) Fluid levels can be accurately checked through ultrasound. You're not due until 9th May? So you'd be birthing 2 weeks early, which could be detrimental to bubba - but if there is a genuine medical reason to induce then obviously not birthing early would be detrimental too. :hugs: Tough decision!


Definitely ask for the ultrasound, I was induced early (in my case there was a medical reason - pre-eclampsia) and the induction process is something I would have preferred to avoid if possible. Also, being born early meant my DS had to go into SCN, so make sure they think it is completely neccessary first.
Good luck with everything :hugs:

[mum33]

i was induced 3 ways.

i had a gel inserted twice.

i had a drip.

and the Ob broke my waters.

i was induced early because i had GD and a large baby.

[GraceUnhearing]

my waters had already broken but nothing happened after that
so they put me on a drip to get the contractions going.
one minute i was fine and the next i was in intense pain, the contractions were all on top of each other and there was no break in between them!
i never want to be induced again unless its 100% necessary!

[ann n mick]

i had the gel at 3:30pm on thursday the 17th feb i had to stay in hospital all night witch wasent fun at all at 7:00am i got taking to birthing suite and got checked out i was ready and they broke my waters with a hook 4 and a half hours later i had my son 8 pound 11 ounce 51 cm long

[tootiredtosleep]

OMG Twitch, that was my due date!! This time last year I was hoping and praying for something to happen!!!

You can always get a second opinion and ask for more ultra sounds. I was induced with the ddrip and ended up with a caesar, but everyone is different.

I think it is great to ask as many questions as you can and think things through.

[LittleMissMel]

Hi :wave:,

I think that the chance of an assisted delivery (forceps/suction cap thing) also go up when being induced.

I was induced two weeks early (pre-eclampsia) and they put the gel on my cervix the night before (unsure of time) and I dialated 2cm overnight so about 8.00sih am Monday morning they broke my waters a put a drip in. Almost immediately I was having contractions every 30 seconds and they weren't too bad at the start so I thought it was okay but they got stronger very, very fast and 12pm they were really strong with hardly any break in between and I was vomiting and had really bad pains in my lower back (bubs spine was against mine... i think... worng way around anyway... not sure what the term is... posterior?? sp?) so I had an epidural about 1.30pm and slept in between the midwife coming in and checking on me!! Hardly felt anything at all. When it came time to push the stopped the epidural and I could feel the contractions but they weren't painful and I was telling them when I needed to push. They needed to use the sucion cap thing to get bubs out and watching the doc on the end of that... that was the worst part i think, looked like someone water skiing on a boat going 100km per hour!! lol but scary cause i knew where the end of the rope was :eek: . lol. Bubs was born at 6.18pm so about 10 1/2 hours of labour. I had a fair bit of tearing aswell but didn't feel the stitches going in cause the epidural was still working.

The midwives didn't really explain a great deal to me and I wish I had of known that the drip could be gradually turned up ... I'll know for next time!

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM if you have any questions. Hope i haven't blabbed on too much!! :rolleyes: Or given TMI :o.

xoxo Mel

[SassyMummy]

I was induced 3 times (all of which did absolutely nothing)...

First two times a "tape" was used. It looked like a flattened tampon and was inserted into my vagina to sit next to my cervix. It was supposed to ripen my cervix so that my waters could be broken.

Last time I a big syringe squirted gel into my vagina. It was supposed to do the same thing as the tape, it was just a different method of doing it.

As I said, none of the 3 attempts did a damn thing.

[Melo]

I was induced with DD, they broke my waters and inserted the drip (syntocin). 3.5 hours later DD was born :yes:

[Sheer Bliss]

I wanted the Gel, as i'd heard that is a more 'gentler' way to be induced. But the OB didn't want to risk a long labour, so he said he wanted to break my waters and use the syntocin drip. I reluctantly agreed.

He broke my waters and then took AGES (3 attempts) to get the canular in my hand, but before they could hook up the drip i asked if the contractions were meant to be hurting by then. I don't think they believed me, so they put the moniter on, and sure enough fairly regular contractions had started. So no drip for me - and 2hrs 16mins later my little man was out. The waters breaking was not pleasant - but not as bad as i had expected.

[korahblue]

My daughter was induced 8 days after her due date, the only reason being that it was after the due date. I went into hospital at 8pm the night before and after an internal the midwife used the gel to ripen my cervix. I was told i might experience period like pain and i think that is an accurate description. I was offered a sleeping tablet which i took and I got 4 hours sleep from it. I then had a panadeine forte and drifted in and out of sleep until about 6 in the morning with no increase in pain. I was examined in the morning again and at 8am my obstetrician broke my waters. I was having contractions within 15 mins and couldnt wait for my fiance to get there at 9am. My labour lasted 4and half hours and i only had a jab of pethidine for pain relief.
This was my second baby and i wouldnt say it was any worse than the first time around. I had also taken part in a self-hypnotherapy trial for pain relief during labour which i really liked. We were taught to relax [as much as one can when in labour!!] and see each contraction as being one step closer to meeting your darling baby and that once the contraction was over you would never have that contraction again and it would seem like a long rest until the next one. This worked really well for me and i remember feeling like i almost fell asleep in between pushes.
Sorry bit off topic i know!! I was initially scared about being induced as i had heard bad stories about it, especially after being told that i couldnt move around if i had the drip. But having now been through it, i would do it again if needed!!
Hope this helps

[Natsmummy]

When I was induced they said that they would give me one lot of gel late at night, then more the next morning, and if nothing had happened by midday of that day they would rupture the membrane and put me on a oxytocin drip.

In the end though I had my first lot of gel at 10 pm and then went into labour half an hour later and didn't need anything else. I gave birth to DS at 7.45 the next morning.

[Mummy2Noah]

my waters had already broken but nothing happened after that
so they put me on a drip to get the contractions going.
one minute i was fine and the next i was in intense pain, the contractions were all on top of each other and there was no break in between them!
i never want to be induced again unless its 100% necessary!

This is exactley what happened to me and i also NEVER wont to be induced again. Due to the intense pain of the contractions and the time i was on the drip for about 13 hours
I had to have an Epidural (which was bliss) But not on my birth plan!! Make sure you HAVE to be induced its not nice!!

[scorpio83]

I was booked in for an induction after what they call a strip and stretch (not very nice at all!) I got my show on the thursday (induction booked for Sunday) and still wasn't in labour so went for the appointment. Instead of getting the gel, they told me I was already dilated 3cm. They let me stay the night, then sent me to the labour ward at 8am. The drip was put up at 10am and the doctor broke my water not long after. Ended up needing an epidural (which only numbed one side at first! Contractions are strange when you only feel them on one side, let me tell you!) The midwives went to luch at 12pm (one stayed!) and I kept telling her I needed to push....she didn't believe me though! Luckily my original midwife came back and I delivered my daughter at 2:47pm. Only after did they tell me that I could have waited for the induction, as I probably would have went into labour in the next day or two! I could've killed them, I tell ya! Make sure you know why the induction is booked though, and ask lots of questions! It might not be neccessary!

*When I got to the hospital for my appointment, I met a lady at the kiosk who said she went to 46 weeks with all 3 of her boys! Imagine that!:eek: *

[mum33]

i must be the only one who is glad to have been induced :D

38 weeks gestation with a 10lb 1oz baby. if i was in the same situation again i would have no problems in being induced again. :yes:

[scorpio83]

I was overdue and she came out 6 pound 4, so I could've waited!

[iluvmeboyz]

i was induced both times cause iwas over due my first was gel and it worked straigh away he was 7lb 8oz and my second they just broke my waters and he was 9lb 8 oz but both boys came into the workd in under 2hrs and a half.

[MrsDribbleDrawers]

I was induced because of pre-eclampsia... cervix was already ripening, so tried a stretch and sweep first (where the midwife inserts a finger and sweeps the membranes away from the cervix to try and rupture that way.) Didin't work, so the next day a doc did artificial rupture of membranes (ARM) with a gizmo that looks like a crochet hook... Because of the ARM they say it is possible for an emergency caesarian (sp?), especially in my case, as we had a HUGE fluid increase (as the water comes out, it is possible for the cord to drop out, in which case they won't let you labour at all!) Because we had been birth centre patients, we were still trying for a natural birth, so insisted on no drop straight away (they can leave it for two hours if you don't want it, gives you the chance to try getting contractions happening naturally), and as soon as they take the monitor off, start moving!! I walked sideways down six flights of stairs, then back up again, and was in full labour in less than an hour. Because of induction, the contractions are more intense, they start all of a sudden, no slow build up, but at the end, it's worth it! And ask for another ultrasound, they can estimate to within 500g how big your bub is, and how much fluid is there. BTW, I was only 2.2wks early, and already ripening, so would have gone early anyway. Good luck with your birth, however it may go! Cate :)

[Olismum]

Hi, I was induced at 37 weeks. My waters broke and my contractions didn't start until almost 5 hours later and they weren't very strong so I was put on a drip and monitor. It was a painful experience but being my first I have no way of knowing whether or not it is any worse than not being induced. I used gas and air and had a pethadine injection. After being put on the drip my contractions started immediately coming within 2 -3 minutes of each other. My daughter was born with minimal assistance after 6 hours. I had a 2nd degree tear but that was my own fault for not listening to the midwives and pushing when I wasn't supposed to be. It sounds silly now but I was just so tired, I wanted it all to be over, lol. Being my first experience I would have no hesitations to be induced again. I didn't have any problems with being induced but it's personal preference and what your comfortable with. I decided not to have a birth plan as I'd heard too many people say that they had taken alot of time to write one out and then they were really disappointed when nothing went the way they'd written it down. The best thing for me was to go in with an open mind and take everything as it comes. Also if you have very specific ideas on what you want and don't want, make sure you have someone with you who can step up and speak for you.

[jarrahsmumma]

so any updates Twitch???

i was offered induction at 40+9 said no thank you

again at 40+13, again no thanks

bub arrived 40+15 7lb 12oz (3.5kg) APGARS 10 and 10

wonderful healthy bub eager to feed

so much for "you baby may be stillborn" i cant believe Dr's pass on this **** to vunerable mums

also normal birth is considered 37-42 weeks long...hmmm why all this induction talk at 40+ dates:detective:

[Bubble*Crazy]

i must be the only one who is glad to have been induced :D

38 weeks gestation with a 10lb 1oz baby. if i was in the same situation again i would have no problems in being induced again. :yes:

I didn't have a problem with being induced with my second bub last year ... I was overdue by 9 days ... and would gladly do it again.

My GP broke my waters at around 8.30am, let my MW give me syntocinon and by 9.15am I was starting to feel contractions and I gave birth 5.28pm that arvo. They were expecting me to give birth a lot earlier (around lunchtime), but bubs turned & became posterior which slowed things down a little, but I was perfectly happy with the way my birth experience went.

[pookiesossige]

so any updates Twitch???

i was offered induction at 40+9 said no thank you

again at 40+13, again no thanks

bub arrived 40+15 7lb 12oz (3.5kg) APGARS 10 and 10

wonderful healthy bub eager to feed

so much for "you baby may be stillborn" i cant believe Dr's pass on this **** to vunerable mums

also normal birth is considered 37-42 weeks long...hmmm why all this induction talk at 40+ dates:detective:


I am so glad you posted this..
So may of us think we have to be induced- as if we are in the Army following orders! I consider myself reasonably well-researched and an independant thinker thanks to Bubhub and people like my mum who work in the medical field yet constantly question the status quo. But when the ob said to me "I think it's best we book you in for an induction for 3 days' time" I said "that's a pity.... well, ok then, I guess it has to be done." :eek: What was I thinking??! Thankfully she was born naturally, beautifully and easily before it came to that! I've been induced before and never want to experience that again :no:

[twitch]

Hi ladies! Yes an update. :D I saw my OB and he said that the CTG's were "passable". He reckons that there is no point inducing me as he seems to think bubs will come in the next week anyway and that from looking at the results, I just scrape in (in his books anyway). He did say that a lot of OB's WOULD suggest induction, based on the results from the 2 CTG's I had, but that he thinks it's better to let baby cook. He asked what we wanted and I think if I hadn't have had the information from all of you guys, I probably would have opted for induction. So thankyou. He also checked my BP and weight and they seem to have levelled out and he is happy with those results too.

I can see how it would be easy to be "talked into" an induction if you had a few little things that weren't quite right. I am so glad my OB sent me for the tests. Even the middies at the hospi were saying "Look at these results, you'll be induced for sure", so I'm glad he looked at them objectively.

Thanks heaps for all your info, I really appreciate it.