Induction set next week. What's your experience?

amslam15

We have finally set a date! I've been stuck at 4 cm 80% for 2 weeks despite all the tricks I've tried to keep labor going and my doctor went ahead and gave the okay to induce me next week. (39 weeks) I'm nervous about it, mainly cause I'm giving my body a little nudge and making it do something. However doctor believes I'll have a fairly easy labor and "should go quickly" as my cervix is favorable. Just curious how you ladies' experience with induction has been?

rklinge0

I was sort of induced. I was set to be induced on May 26th, however, my water broke the 24th. My contractions weren't strong enough so they gave me pitocin. My actual labor was 7 hrs. The first few hours weren't bad it wasn't until I was about a 6 that I really felt a lot of pain. Not sure what labor feels on its own though and it may have been painful anyways.
One thing that is a downside is that if you are gbs+ you can't get it watered down with saline. And its pretty painful getting It injected directly into the bloodstream.

mishmardhiono

I had a catheter induction, had it inserted at 10pm, started cramping/contracting almost immediatley, catheter fell out at 4am nurse broke my waters at 630, epidural & pitocin started at 7. Failed to dialate beyond 3cm and had emergency cesear at 1400. Wasn't a bad experience, different journey than expected but ultimately same outcome.

krystleshel

My doctor also suggested induction since my cervix was favorable.

I'm terrified of stalling like @mishmardhiono & having to have a CS. My chiro is not to happy about it, giving me statistics about inductions ending in CS...
I wonder if dilation & effacement have anything to do with how well you progress in induction (like the more you are when you go in {being "favorable"} helps?) any connections you've seen @klkonwi @HayesRN13 & @dancegurl1118 ... Any other l/d nurses please chime in!

btm013

I had an induction date scheduled and it's an ongoing joke within my ob practice that once a patient is scheduled they end up going into labor naturally. It happened to me! Here's hoping it happens for you. Perhaps once things are set in motion and the end is in sight your body relaxes enough to let nature do its thang.

mishmardhiono

krystleshel said:

My doctor also suggested induction since my cervix was favorable.

I'm terrified of stalling like @mishmardhiono & having to have a CS. My chiro is not to happy about it, giving me statistics about inductions ending in CS...
I wonder if dilation & effacement have anything to do with how well you progress in induction (like the more you are when you go in {being "favorable"} helps?) any connections you've seen @klkonwi @HayesRN13 & @dancegurl1118 ... Any other l/d nurses please chime in!

I'm not sure if this could have been apart of the issue but they said her head wasn't engaged, still really high and my cervix was closed and high? They did say that I was never in labor, I had contractions but as soon as they stopped the pitocin contractions stopped straight away.

Please don't be scared by my story, that wasn't my intention of Sharing it.

Good luck for you, I hope you get the birth experience your looking for but if it does change a little bit remember you get a beautiful baby that will make your heart explode with love and if you have a partner, the man he was before you delivered will be gone forever. A new super hero version of my husband has arrived and I wouldn't change him for the world

henrytviii

I was also set to be induced at 39 weeks due to some complications. Is did acupuncture w/doc approval and had my membranes stripped at 38 weeks, early labor started slowly 36 hours later, he was born at 38+3. I did the acupuncture to a avoid a medical induction. I am not against induction if medical indicated but for those of you who are afraid it will end in CS then perhaps wait for your body to be ready and hold off until 41-42 weeks unless there is a medical reason. I went to 41+6 on my first and was so glad I waited as hard as it was, he came when he was ready. This time I was okay with facing induction given the substantial risks of continuing the pregnancy. If your Bradley score is favorable and you are miserable then perhaps it is worth the risk to you as well. You can look up online the CS rates relative to Bradley scores for FTM and STM moms. There is a good scientific study I found easily that confirmed my desire to wait with #1 and agree with #2. But my Bradley score with #1 was definitely not favorable.

EDIT: Sorry bishop score not Bradley - blame that mix up on new mom of 8 day old, and I thought I was doing so well! Guess not! Good luck everyone facing induction. I hope it is a good experience. I'm glad to hear people sharing positive outcomes. I have no idea if the acupuncture induction worked or if it was just time but it was a relaxing hour to myself!

princessjesssie

I'm a FTM and a 4th year medical student, as well as my SO. A bishop score is what a lot of the OBs use at the hospital I train at....a score of >9 is indicative of a ~100% chance of successful induction, and a lower score means a higher probability of failed induction. Here is the chart, hope it helps:)

princessjesssie

It won't let me attach it on my phone....but Google "bishop score!"

R87

I'm being induced tomorrow 39 weeks 3 days and I have the same feelings and fears. Hoping it all goes Smoothly. Good luck

krystleshel

Thank you @mishmardhiono for the reply!
& thank you @princessjesssie ! I googled it & you can put in data on a chart & it gives you a number! SO HELPFUL! I have much to discuss with doc today!

MrsRucinski85

With my first I was induced and nothing happened so they sent me home. Maybe you can get induced and see what your body does and ask for the doc NOT to break your water. If things start progressing awesome. If things don't then maybe ask if you could try again in a week?

katyertl

I was induced Tuesday morning at 36 weeks. I was only 2cm dilated and 80% effaced when I was admitted. Labor went great! I was nervous since I've heard horror stories on here about induction. But everyone's body and baby is different. I'm sure your nurses and doctor will take great care of you both. I had IV drug pictocin given around 10 am they broke my water at 230 (such a weird feeling!) they did give me two rounds of IV pain meds but that did nothing for me at all. So I did get the epidural which I would do again in a heart beat. It made me so much more calm and able to get some naps in too. I did however throw up 3 times because of acid reflux, don't know if that's due to the epidural or not. I did have the shakes which I could manage by breathing techniques. It took a while to get dilated past 2cm but finally when I got to 5 it sped up. I only ended up pushing for 30 mins. All in all From being admitted to giving birth we were there for about 18 hours.
Good luck! You'll do great! Have trust in the medical team they know what they're doing

rklinge0

@katyertl it wasn't from the epidural. The only time I threw up during my whole pregnancy was during labor, go figure. And I didn't have pain meds.

Rnobinb

I was induced with my 2nd daughter and everything went the same as with my first (that I was a week early with). Don't worry about it. Being induced doesn't cause any more problems than waiting and going naturally.

Rnobinb

P.S. I loved the epidural!

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

mamameghan

Anyone have any experience with cervadill? I'm being induced on Monday and am really nervous about this! Did they send you home after inserting the Cervadill? Did it actually take 12 hours to kick in?

MaglioMomma

I had cervidil with my first and it worked like a charm. I wasn't showing any signs of labor prior to coming in to get induced, and that kicked in pretty quick. It was slow (took the full 12 hours) but then once they took it out the dr broke my water and gave me a round of pitocin. 7 hours later and only 40 min of pushing and my daughter was here! Overall I had a great induction experience, and wouldn't mind going through the same process again.

HayesRN13

krystleshel said:

My doctor also suggested induction since my cervix was favorable.

I'm terrified of stalling like @mishmardhiono & having to have a CS. My chiro is not to happy about it, giving me statistics about inductions ending in CS...
I wonder if dilation & effacement have anything to do with how well you progress in induction (like the more you are when you go in {being "favorable"} helps?) any connections you've seen @klkonwi @HayesRN13 & @dancegurl1118 ... Any other l/d nurses please chime in!

Overall, yes if you are already dilated and effaced that will no doubt help with the induction process... If your cervix is ripe and open they won't have to start with a cervical ripening agent.. They will just go straight to pitocin.. Most likely if you are dilated and effaced your body is most likely already contracting and somewhat "ready".. don't let induction stories scare you....there are many positive outcomes, but yes there is a correlation of induction when cervix is hard, long, and high ending in section, because your body was in no way ready, and docs won't think about inducing in this scenario unless it was medically necessary, in which most likely other things are going on as well that would be a risk to baby, so they don't mess around if baby shows signs of distress... So what I'm trying to say.. If they want to induce you when your cervix is not ready, there are other things going on besides the induction itself that would lead to more chance of a c-section... Does that make sense?

klkonwi

Your cervix is favorable. Go for it. Just remember that induction or No induction that you are not garunteed anything in labor. You could have 30 hrs or only 4 ..... Our bodies are unpredictable.
I wish you luck. I would have zero qualms about inducing if my cervix was 4cm.

HayesRN13

Labor and delivery is so unpredictable induced, home birth, c-section, whatever the situation there are always unknowns and things can change.. You can only do what you feel is the best thing, and if you have a favorable cervix (you do) then go with it

krystleshel

Thanks ladies! Scheduled my induction today. 1 cm dilated & thinned out (didn't give %). Said everything was favorable. Said he would start me on the cervidil the night before & then pictocin in the morning... if I didn't dilate 2-3 cm within 2-3 hours during induction, he would send me home before he broke my water (as to avoid unnessesary CS) like you said @MrsRucinski85 . I liked that, DH did not... Apparently that messes with his work schedule... UGH. Whatever, he got over that issue real quick. Oh & mom decided to tell me she has a doc appointment that day that she "guesses" she'll reschedule. Needless to say, I'm not as happy as I should be about this afternoon. Damn people & making it about them.

Other than being pissed about people (thank God for my friends who are super supportive about it ALL), I am at peace with it & my birth plan! Thanks for the reassurance ladies. For real. Kept me sane today.

kkdb14

I was induced two weeks ago tomorrow for IGUR at 0 cm and 0 effaced. It took 20 hours for active labor to begin, at which I was 1 cm dilated (they used cervadil overnight, put me on pitocin in the morning, and after the 20 hours my water broke on its own). I got a round of nubain and immediately followed that with the epidural. I had progressed to barely 3 cm 6 hours later, fell asleep for two hours, and woke up fully dilated and in +1 station. I pushed for 18 minutes. The whole process from admission to birth was 28.5 hours. I personally had a great birth. It was a long process, but very very easy on me.

taboullio84

For one pregnancy I was 3cm . I was induced with pitocin. Whole thing was 4 hours. From IV to baby in my hands.

My second round I was .5 and " stretchy " whatever that is. And they did a cream on my cervix then pitocin later. My whole labor was 7 hours. That one was the easiest. I got the epidural at 5 cm and slept till it was time to push.

HoosOnFirst

I took Cytotec and then pitocin after my water broke and no contractions occurred naturally. My labor was decent - I can't compare pitocin contractions to others since this was my first kid. I had an epidural and early ones I slept through, later ones were very noticeable despite epidural. I pushed for almost 4 hours and ended in forceps delivery, but can't chalk that up to induction: according to doc, my baby's large dome and my pelvic bone were at a stalemate!

dezpez07

Came Into the hospital after my water broke on my due date 6/3/15. I had no contractions prior to my water breaking but started about an hour after they did. However they were very mild, and I Was attempting to have an all natural birth but got induced with pitocin. Two days later I'm barely at 5 cm and if I don't dilate on my own by the afternoon I may have to have a cesarean section. Ladies if I can offer one piece of advice is to go into labor and delivery with an open mind. After 24 hours of non medicated labor and being told I was only at 5 cm I opted for an epidural. I was able to sleep and I feel so much better for when I do actually get to push! Anything that can happen may happen and although you expected it to be one way you should not feel bad if it went another. We all want our babies here healthy! I'm still in labor but am well rested! Good luck all you June Mommies and remember baby will be here before you know it!

dradira

This whole thread has made me feel so much better. I go in tomorrow for more labs and monitoring since they think I may have preeclampsia. I'm 37 + 3, so I'm not too concerned about having her now, but the thought of induction definitely scared me. Now I can go in and be a little more at peace with the idea of meeting monster #2 a little earlier than expected. Thanks for telling your stories! Maybe after tomorrow I can add my own.

klkonwi

@Gianna05

amslam15

I have loved reading everyone's responses .. Yall are awesome and I feel so much better! Good luck to everyone!

tracy_betak

Reading these have made me feel better, too.  I was due on 6/4, but I am scheduled to be induced on 6/10 unless she decides to come in the next 2 days, which I am really hoping for!  My doctor was confident 2 weeks ago that baby girl would come on her own.... she's still not here.  lol  I have been dilated for a little over a month.  I was 4cm last week and she said my cervix was nice and soft.  Hopefully that means that the induction would be fairly easy for me.  Good luck!

amslam15

Thanks! They told me the same thing about my baby girl but here we are going in Wednesday! Good luck to you too!

Westypet

Ladies who've been induced already and had their babies or those who are up getting induced today.. any updates or anecdotes about your induction to share?

ElRuby

I think it's important to have an open mind... After I got admitted the doctor said she wanted to insert a foley balloon catheter and use a little pitocin due to lack of cervical change... I got anxious because I had never heard of that before... After walking around for about 2 hours I was rechecked and still made no progress so I had to decide to use the balloon or get sent home (I freaked again given the intensity and timing of contractions)... I called my own doctor and discussed with her and she agreed with the on call doctor's plan so my anxiety was relieved and I went for it... It worked beautifully and I didn't need pitocin until after balloon was out since my body was having regular contractions on it's own ... Luckily I was able to have epi before they started pitocin and everything progressed beautifully... The hardest part was having no indication of how long it would take to dilate me... I ended up delivering faster than expected.... The insertion of the balloon hurt like hell though (doctor said it would just feel like "pressure" which was not the case!) but once it was in it was fine and it comes out once you dilate to about 4 or 5 cm).

bride92310

I went in yesterday morning to get induced. I'm a STM and fully expected this delivery to be a smooth vaginal birth like my first.

We arrived at 5:00am and were in the room by six. My nurse checked me around 6:30 to see if I had dilated any since my appointment last Monday. When she checked, she found that my cervix was high and was having a hard time finding the baby's head. Because of what she found, the nurse was worried about inducing with pitocin and wanted to wait to speak to my doctor.

My doctor arrived around 7:30 and came in to check me. He found the same thing she did which was odd because the baby had been head down for the last 2 weeks. He immediately grabbed an ultrasound machine and found that DS had flipped and was now breech.

I was then scheduled for a c-section (and absolutely terrified because I hadn't seen it coming), but we were in the OR at noon and I was out of Recovery by 2:15.

Nothing went as planned, but DS is here and everybody is happy and healthy!

mamameghan

I went in on Monday and was supposed to get Cervadill. I was worried about it taking forever to induce me so all weekend I was walking a really trying to get the babies down. Well, it worked! When the doctor checked me I was 3 cms and he broke my water. So instead of the cervadill I was sent to L&D and started on oxytocin. At 10:30 I started to feel light contractions, by noon they were hurting pretty bad. The doctor checked me and said I was 4-5 cms and could get the epidural. It took a while to get the epi but even after it was in I was feeling pretty decent contractions. The nurse decided to check me and said I was 6-7. After one more contraction she checked me again and I was 8. She got me into this cool position that was like a side squat with me leg on a bad table and said I was 9 and got me to do a practice push. Then she told me stop I've got to call the doctor you're ready to push. By 2:45 I had pushed out Baby A and then I had Baby B at 2:52.

So my whole process was fast and healthy. The contractions were painful but I was glad I got the epi because it might have been way worse progressing so quickly without meds. Don't be scared if you're about to be induced...it was a great experience for me!