September 2016 Moms
Shiva14
member
The Induction Thread
Shiva14
member
Ask all your induction related questions here, whether you already know you are getting induced or want to prepare yourself for the possibility.
Re: The Induction Thread
I was told yesterday I'll be getting induced Tuesday very early morning if the baby hasn't come by then. Part of me is so relieved to have a day so I can quit worrying about making it to the hospital on time. Part of me feels guilty - with DS I was very much against induction unless absolutely necessary and for some reason I can't quite bring myself to believe that precipitous labor qualifies as a necessity.I also got to have a med free birth with DS which brings me to my question -
Has anyone done a successful pain-med free induction?
I'm super worried the pitocin will make me cave in to get the epi and am thinking of asking them to just break my waters. I'm at a 4 now so I'm thinking that should be a possibility? Was pitocin really that painful for those of you that have tried it?
I was induced with my first and was on pitocin for 3 days and never took anything for pain management. I never ended up dilating (found out I have a narrow pelvic inlet I didn't know about) and had an emergency c section. So while I never transitioned naturally and can't speak to that pain, I did labor for a long long time on pitocin without an epi. And it was really tough. I mentally prepared myself by reading Ina May Garten's Guide to Childbirth over and over. I had back labor and that was probably the worst part. If you end up with back labor I would recommend alternating between using a birthing ball and standing on the floor, leaning over the bed, with your hubs/partner pushing on your lower back. The pressure will help offset the pain.
Id had 3 unmedicated births before (nubain shot with first) and took nubain this time to help me get some sleep about 14hours in to the induction. It lasts a couple of hours. I want to be a CRNA one day so had this plan that if labor was intense, I would get an epidural to try it out.
Only problem was I transitioned during the placement. I went from 3cm to crowning between however much time it took them to set up the tray, numb me, and insert the catheter into my epidural space.
I should have known I was transitioning bc I had the classic "I can't do this anymore!" Need to vomit, need to poop, feel like I have to push. I yelled all these things. Of course while a newer CRNA was threading my catheter. So my L&D nurse says to lay down and she'll check me. Which was supposedly better for the epidural to "settle in evenly?" But when she checked me baby was crowning.
Dr runs in, I push, baby is born. No medicine made it to me in time but it did help for the stitches. Then my legs and butt were numb. So I basically got all the side effects and no benefits.
But how do you know how fast you're going to progress? I coulda been hours longer and loved my epidural. Wish there was a way to forecast that.
Long story short; for me pit was tolerable. And if I had known I only had to deal w bad contractions for 30 min, I totally would've pushed through
Order of of how things went:
cervical check, epidural, cervadil, balloons to dilate, pitocin, baby! the whole process took about 12 hours.
Edited to add that I never felt a thing after the epidural. Literally nothing. Even while pushing. So the most unpleasant thing was the cervical check. Talk about a weird birthing experience!
@jensou and @NashBelle, thank you for your perspective!! My labor began with my water breaking last time and it was definitely intense immediately. If contractions with pitocin are less than that until your water breaks that gives me hope I can push through. Were you able to labor outside the bed? Last time the worst thing for me was lying on my back - if I could stand I felt fine.
Ugh I was so worried about being positive for that same reason. Are they just going to administer the penicillin after birth assuming you don't get it beforehand?
I was very nervous about the induction but it went so smooth and I couldn't have asked for a better delivery.
DD #1 3/26/13
Mo/Mo twins MMC 3/31/14
DD #2 3/31/15
DD #3 8/25/16
That being said they broke my water and started pitocin at the same time and within 30 mins of that I was having contractions less than 3 mins apart and they were intense. I got the epi after a couple hours because like others have said you can't predict how long labor will last and I had heard all the horror stories of 20 hour labor. Well mine ended up being pretty fast 5ish hours start to finish. I had no contractions prior to them starting pitocin however I was about 3cm dilated when I walked in. When it was time for me to push I could feel all the pressure but not the cramping pain of the contractions. And within 30 mins of delivery they determined I pretty much felt everything my legs were fine and I could walk. They of course assisted me to the bathroom to pee just in case they were wrong but I felt totally normal.
im praying this induction goes as smooth. At my appt yesterday I was 3-4cm dilated already.
It would have been nice to be able to walk but being allowed to stand and move about next to the bed was a pretty great option.
This was also great bc I did need to have a BM (admitted at 12MN and baby didn't come til 5:41pm) and if I wasn't allowed to get up would have had to use a bedpan.
@ab920 I hope everything goes well for you! Good luck
Checked in Tuesday night, cervidil put in for 12h, Started Pitocin Wednesday morning but it only helped me along a little, Wedenesday noonish placed ballon to help dilate (this made very painful contractions), water broken early evening, early Thursday morning started pushing, after 3.5 hours (!!!) baby wasn't coming out. Since there was no distress I had to wait about 2 hours to get into a surgical room to have a c/s. After that baby came within 15 minutes.
Overall process was 39 hours from check into hospital till baby was born. I hesitated to add my story since it is not one that I would wish on anyone and I would love to give positive vibes to everyone, but it is sadly a possible outcome of getting induced and everyone should have the full picture.
BFP: 8/11/18 Due: 4/26/18
I was induced with DS for high BP as well, but it was a little different...I was scheduled for another midnight induction but ended up going in a day early because he failed the NST. He was fine once I got to the hospital, but my OB said we could move up the timeline since I was already there.
I was already 4cm (according to my OB, 3 according to the L&D nurse) when I arrived at noon, so I was hopeful things would go quickly. They broke my water around 5 and my contractions got intense pretty quickly, so I had the epidural not long after...I was 5 at that point, so going slowly. But after the epidural, I felt NOTHING. I couldn't even lift my legs!
Until it was time to push, than I felt a LOT of pressure. I ended up being in labor for 17 hours, so I'm really hoping it goes faster this time.
Im definitely wondering what the timeline will be like since I won't go in until midnight. I'm guessing the doc won't be breaking my water until morning, so I expect it won't go super fast.
BFP - 01/04/2016; EDD - 09/15/2016 DS #1 - 07/2014
DD #1 3/26/13
Mo/Mo twins MMC 3/31/14
DD #2 3/31/15
DD #3 8/25/16
I have to go the night before and get a foley cathedar placed in my cervix to help me dilate, but will sleep at home that night. They said I might get cramping and be uncomfortable from that. Has anyone had one before?
The only part that worries me is the increased risk of c-section. The OB touched on this today but I wasn't sure whether it's because once they break your water they want baby delivered within 24 hours? Or is it because with each intervention the risk of c-section increases? Anyone know?
Super nervous as I've planned/prepared for a unmedicated birth (no pain medicine) and I've heard horror stories about Pitocin contractions. I'm planning on asking my doctor to sweep my membranes or break my water on Friday to see if we can at least try to go totally unmedicated. Fingers crossed!
I really don't want a C-section but hopefully we will both avoid it.
I think at my hospital it's like 30-48 hours that they will let you labor after your water breaks but they don't like to let it go past 24.
@bartonolivia I ended up having a similar experience to @seitzy3 and I, too, came in at a 4. They gave me pitocin for 2 hours and I was at a 5. Broke my water and 1hour 40 min later I was holding my baby. It could be longer or shorter for you, but 4 cm is a great start.
I asked about it because of the gestational diabetes, but the doctor said since my numbers have been perfect the entire time they aren't concerned about that at all. I never did get that last growth scan because my insurance never (still hasn't) approved it and at this point it's not really worth it. She said according to my fundal height baby was right on track and shouldn't be big, but it's all guesswork anyway, so we'll see.
The reason they don't want me to go past my due date is because of the increased nuchal fold from way back when and ambiguous ultrasound pictures of her aortic arch. She needs an EKG after birth and they're concerned letting me go past 40 weeks would be risky. The doctor said if I really wanted for whatever reason I could schedule an induction at 41 weeks, but I'm honestly about 2000% done and I don't want to risk anything. I'm still hoping she comes before the 20th, but it's nice having a day to count down to rather than waking up every morning wondering if today's the day.
I don't think the induction really necessitated the c section since it took very little med to jump start my labor and he didn't tolerate the contractions well from the very beginning, but is possible. It was definitely crazy going from no meds in my head to literally dozens of meds/interventions throughout the process yesterday.
I'm going in with an open mind and my fingers crossed!
So I could have this baby anytime now! I just hope everything goes well!