Induction experiences please

crs89

Hello everyone! I just scheduled my induction for this Saturday...I'll be 40w4d. I'm not entirely sure what to expect so I was hoping you could share your experience with induction (the good and the bad) below! Thanks!

CSchoFink

You'll be great! Every experience is totally different. Have they told you the plan for how they will induce you? That made me feel much better because I looked up the medicines that they said they'd use and everything so I had some idea of what to expect.

I was induced at 39 weeks for health reasons--I was in the L&D bed for 31 hours and in active labor for over 14 hours. They started with cervadil which did nothing (Friday night to Saturday morning). Then they gave me cytotec which put me into active labor. I started progressing without pitocin do they held off on that for a while. Once they tried it, LO reacted poorly so they stopped it and let me progress on my own. I did get an epidural (I personally think it was the best decision ever but everyone gets to do labor their way) which helped so much especially given how long I was in labor.

The doctor had to break my water when the pitocin caused problems because they thought they might have to do a C section before LO's heart rate retuned to normal (around 5:30 on Saturday) so they were watching me closely because you can't have broken water for too long or you risk infection. I got an infection/fever but I was already completely dilated so I pushed and my little man was born at 2:36 AM on Sunday. They took him to the NICU for antibiotics and he's been fine ever since. I wanted to include that part because I can see how it might seem scary but the NICU was AMAZING and they made me feel so comfortable and they took great care of him.

Sorry this was so long! If you have any questions let me know!

chelseajeanene

Well you're already better off then me because you have a chance to mentally prepare yourself! I was induced on demand after a routine NST turned into my fluids being dangerously low. If they start you with cervidil it's really a piece of cake. I went to sleep with that and dilated to 2.5cm and 50% effaced by the morning, they gave me a sleeping pill to make sure I was rested by morning. I only had slight camping through the night and not any pain. They let me eat a light breakfast and then gave me pitocin and that kicked in before I even knew that had put it in the IV. I immediately had 1-3 min contractions but they weren't too bad. My anxiety couldn't handle the contractions so I ended up getting an epidural and it was easier after that. I ended up needed a second epidural because the nurses made me change positions a lot because my son wasn't moving down the birth canal. I ended up never dilating past 5 cm and my son never left -3 station so my induction ended in an emergency csection

AndieTessie

My induction went pretty well. The whole process was 14 1/2 hours from the time I checked in from holding baby girl in my arms. When I got there we went over my birth plan, hooked up to an IV, and got checked. (I was 1cm) I got the Foley balloon inserted and a small pill in my cervix (forget the name, think it started with a c) and was left to walk/ bounce on the yoga ball. Water broke on its own and around 2 we started pitocin and the contractions really started to kick in. I got an IV pain medicine when I was about 5cm which was suppose to help me sleep but I dilated to 10 in the next half hour and it was time to push! Too late for an epidural at that point but they gave me a spinal which was amazing. She was out in probably 20 mins but had to be checked by nicu team because the IV pain medicine could of made her sleepy, but she was fine. It wasn't my ideal labor ( I wanted med free) but baby girl is perfect and arrived safely!

acoope20

I had a 21 hr experience from check in to delivery. Started with cervidil and then switched to pitocin then they broke my water and I got an epidural. After that it went very quickly and only pushed for about 20 mins and she is perfect.

mdm173

I was induced for both of my deliveries. Both times, they used pitocin and manually broke my water. The first pregnancy, total labor time was 9 hrs (with nearly 3 hours if pushing). This time around, I was 4cm when I was induced. Was only in labor 2 hours before the baby arrived. It was super quick. Both experiences were positive. I hope your induction and delivery goes well!

mriandabusto

Plain and simple it was a great experience!
Went in, started pitocin at 8 am and started pushing by 2 pm, baby was born at 5:59 pm vaginally.

Knottie84998431

We checked in Monday night and it was 40 hours from check-in to delivery. I was on cervadil Monday night for 12 hours, then 4 rounds of cyototec (every 3 hours). I progressed from 2 cm, 50% to 4 cm, 80% through the rippening agents. They broke my water and started pitocin at 11pm last night. My epidural didn't cover 100% of my stomach, so I was really struggling. By the time they were ready to reset it, they checked and I was 10 and ready to push. 20 minutes later I was holding my baby girl. While this morning was tough, I couldn't really have asked for a better experience.

crs89

Thank you!! I appreciate you sharing your experiences!

The Dr told me his plan for when I get there on Saturday morning (5:30 am). I am currently at 1cm, 50% effaced and if I haven't made more progress, he will start me with cervadil. If I have progressed more, he will go ahead and start with pitocin. I'm glad to hear so many positive experiences with induction! My birthing class made them seem terrible!