Tell me about syntocinon PLEASE

[Joye]

This is a very interesting thread, thank you so much to everyone for sharing their knowledge and personal experiences. Have been told I'll have to be induced (not for weeks yet) - still getting my head around it all - good to be better informed.

[dollbaby]

Hi babybloom,

I have not been induced myself, but have cared for many women as a midwife in a public teaching hospital. Hopefully I can answer a few of your questions, but this is based on our hospital policies - your hospital may be different.

Firstly, once you consent/agree to be induced, you are basically agreeing to the whole process (gel/cervical ripening, ARM or waters breaking & Syntocinon). Some women, although rare especially for first babies, do go into labour following just the cervical gel or ARM. Most women being induced to go on to have Syntocinon.

At our hospital, once you have your waters broken you usually have a CTG for 20-30 mins then it is taken off. You are encouraged to mobilise etc. to encourage labour. If nothing is really happening after an hour or 2 the Syntocinon drip will be started. It is started at a very low rate and increased every 30 minutes by a tiny amount each time, until a level is reached that gives you regular strong contractions every 2-3 minutes (established labour) - this is different for every woman, therefore it is impossible to know how much you will need, and the amount required can change throughout labour. It will also be at this point that continuous CTG monitoring is commenced. Until you are having regular strong contractions, baby is listened to with a Doppler every 15-30 mins. You can't really negotiate the amount of Syntocinon running through the drip - you will need to have the amount that gets you into labour and maintains it - if you decrease that amount it's pointless - you could potentially cause labour to slow down/stall and not progress, something you don't want.

You are still encouraged to do all the things you would normally do if in spontaneous labour: mobilise, use birth ball/mat/bean bag, use heat packs, deep breathing, massage, calm/hypnobirth etc - even with the CTG on & drip. The only big restriction at our hospy is you aren't allowed to use the bath/shower when Syntocinon is running. NOT because of the CTG (we have wireless waterproof ones) but because the Syntocinon runs through an electric pump that cannot be near water (as per the manufacturer). The Syntocinon drip will continue until you give birth. If it is turned off, so is your labour (in most cases). It doesn't necessarily cause fetal distress, but it certainly is a risk and that's why continuous CTG monitoring is recommended.

Yes, being induced with Syntocinon does cause painful contractions, but so does going into labour spontaneously! Either way it is going to hurt - there's no denying that! Stay focused, in control and use what you learned through calmbirth - it will help immensely. Don't listen to people who say "oh, you're having Syntocinon so you won't cope and will need an epidural". NOT TRUE! Plenty of women are induced and don't use medical forms of pain relief. Do what you need to do at the time.

I hope this is of some help to you. As I said, this is the framework within which our labour ward operates, and I think most are similar. I wish you all the best, it can be a scary time so make sure you communicate your concerns with your caregivers and don't be afraid to ask "why?" and "what are the alternatives?". Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[futuremamma]

Hi BabyBloom. I'm jumping in a bit late here but felt compelled to reply. Most women responding here seemed to have had quite positive experiences so I feel bad jumping in with my negative story. But I really wanted to respond because I wish someone had told me to refuse an induction. I had hopes of an all natural birth, completed a Calm Birth course etc etc. Being my first baby I really had no idea what to expect and of course my OB was very convincing in making me think I was somehow making a bad decision by waiting for my baby to arrive when she was ready. Anyway. I was a classic "cascade of intervention" case. Contractions on top of each other, synt even needing to be turned down twice, bub in distress, c-section, PTSD. The truth is it is your birth. You make the decisions. But. When it's your first baby it's all quite overwhelming and of course you just want to trust in the professionals. Many people seem to have fairly fast, easy labours when being induced and I thought perhaps I would be one of them (in truth, 15 hours with bub posterior) I really hope you are, if you go ahead with the induction. Once again, sorry to post a negative slant on it all but I just wish I had someone do the same for me.

[futuremamma]

Oh and as far as I know, if your cervix is "ripe," often they will go ahead with ARM and the syntoconin but if you are still closed and firm then they will use the gel first.