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September 2017 Moms
JNR6510
member
Inductions
JNR6510
member
I know several of our bumpies will be getting induced here shortly and many STMs have already experienced inductions. Are there any tips or reccommendations you have for being induced? Did you / do you plan to wait to get an epidural if you went that route? Did you try to go med free? Did you have the pitocin drip?
I really wanted to go med free, but I am very nervous about being able to handle the horrible pitocin contractions without some pain relief. And I am quite certain that bouncing on a birthing ball just isn't going to cut it. Once you start the pitocin drip at our hospital you are confined to your delivery room and no longer have access to the communal showers for their other alternative pain relief methods.
I really wanted to go med free, but I am very nervous about being able to handle the horrible pitocin contractions without some pain relief. And I am quite certain that bouncing on a birthing ball just isn't going to cut it. Once you start the pitocin drip at our hospital you are confined to your delivery room and no longer have access to the communal showers for their other alternative pain relief methods.
Re: Inductions
I have an appointment with my OB the afternoon before and she'll check my cervix then and based on how things look, we'll have a better idea of how things will go with the induction the next day. Generally my hospital starts you off with cytotec to soften the cervix and start dilation. Once you've progressed to a certain point then they'll start the pitocin. My OB said they try to give you as little pitocin as possible and then turn it off if your body takes over and you don't need it anymore. Here's hoping I don't need a lot of it...
Type 1 Diabetes since 2001, MTHFR hetero A1298T
Dogs: Raider 4 yrs, Dex 4 yrs
BFP #2 7/6/16 SCH, D&C 8/4/16
BFP #3 12/26/16 EDD: 9/6/17
My Chart / My Diabetes/Pregnancy Blog
My Type 1/TTC/Pregnancy Podcast:
Juicebox Podcast Episode 118
A1Cs:
1/12/16 6.7%
5/25/16 6.0%
11/2/16 6.1%
3/22/16 5.8%
4/27/17 5.4%
6/13/17 5.3%
"Sugar Fancy Tutu"
I started with misoprostal and then moved onto pitiocin. Contractions weren't bad at first but started getting very painful as they upped the dosage. The midwife checked me and I was only at 3 cm. I was super discouraged and asked for (and got) the epidural. An hour later, DD was out with 2 pushes. If I had known it would be so fast, I could have held out for an hour!
edited for spelling
@JNR6510, don't be scared of the medication. Talk it through with your doctor and SO and make the choice that is right for you based on the advice of people with education, experience and facts.
Also about the epidural, my personal experience was really awesome. I was still able to move around on my own and feel enough. They still didn't let me walk around or anything though.
Ultimately you have to go with your gut and do what is best for you.
TW in spoiler:
I guess I am just trying to get an idea of what has worked for people in their experience. I would love to go pain med free. But I also don't want to stall labor or make the birth experience a nightmare when something as simple as an epidural could improve things.
I don't like Cytotec either due to its off label use for miscarriage, and the pain associated with it. It has poor connotations to many of us. But, I've never heard of it being a "bad" choice for induction.
Type 1 Diabetes since 2001, MTHFR hetero A1298T
Dogs: Raider 4 yrs, Dex 4 yrs
BFP #2 7/6/16 SCH, D&C 8/4/16
BFP #3 12/26/16 EDD: 9/6/17
My Chart / My Diabetes/Pregnancy Blog
My Type 1/TTC/Pregnancy Podcast:
Juicebox Podcast Episode 118
A1Cs:
1/12/16 6.7%
5/25/16 6.0%
11/2/16 6.1%
3/22/16 5.8%
4/27/17 5.4%
6/13/17 5.3%
"Sugar Fancy Tutu"
@JNR6510
cytotec was the one hard no for me in the whole labor situation, i was open to every thing else if medically necessary. The reason why I chose to draw the line at cytotec is for a couple reasons.
1. Cytotec as a cervix softener is being used as an off lable method of action, which means the drug was not intended for this use, it has never been tested for this use. Doctors happen to notice what it can do and often use it for miscarriages, and then translated that use to labor, but because it's off label use there isn't the same testing and trials done for the cervix ripening action of this drug as there is for the intended use (prevent stomach ulcers when using nsaids)
2. Once cytotec is inserted there is no going back. Pitocin can be turned off if mom/baby don't do well with it. Cytotec dissolves completely and then you can't undo it if you have a negative reaction.
3. There's alternatives to using cytotec. Cervidil is a drug that was created FOR the intended use of softening the cervix, and it can be removed if a woman has a reaction to it. A foley bulb can also be used to open the cervix.
4. Women have died from cytotec. Here is a link to one woman's story in a official study on cytotec. It concluded that cytotec was too risky to use in labor. It is rare but it has happened. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684033/#!po=17.3077
I'm sure many doctors have successfully used cytotec, but in the rare chance that I would be the one to have a reaction to it I decided that under no circumstances would I allow cytotec to be used in me. I would choose cervidil instead if I needed it.
I hope you can talk with your doctor about any concerns you have and that you can come up with a plan you feel comfortable with. Good luck!!
days late and I had a dose of cytotec and it kick started my labor. I never needed pitocin, but the contractions were intense and didn't let up at all. They were one on top of each other. I couldn't really move either due to IVs, monitoring, group B strep antibiotics, etc. I asked for an epidural after 4 hours. From the time of the cytotec to delivery was 10 hours for me. I'm going for an unmedicated birth this time with a doula at my hospital.
Labor and delivery isn't without any risk even if your med free! Amniotic embolisms are also a real risk and they are almost always fatal (my biggest fear). So there isn't a need to produce a bunch of fear into inductions.
Type 1 Diabetes since 2001, MTHFR hetero A1298T
Dogs: Raider 4 yrs, Dex 4 yrs
BFP #2 7/6/16 SCH, D&C 8/4/16
BFP #3 12/26/16 EDD: 9/6/17
My Chart / My Diabetes/Pregnancy Blog
My Type 1/TTC/Pregnancy Podcast:
Juicebox Podcast Episode 118
A1Cs:
1/12/16 6.7%
5/25/16 6.0%
11/2/16 6.1%
3/22/16 5.8%
4/27/17 5.4%
6/13/17 5.3%
"Sugar Fancy Tutu"
So... it sounds like I'm doing Cytotec because I don't want cervical ripening to fail. /shrug
Type 1 Diabetes since 2001, MTHFR hetero A1298T
Dogs: Raider 4 yrs, Dex 4 yrs
BFP #2 7/6/16 SCH, D&C 8/4/16
BFP #3 12/26/16 EDD: 9/6/17
My Chart / My Diabetes/Pregnancy Blog
My Type 1/TTC/Pregnancy Podcast:
Juicebox Podcast Episode 118
A1Cs:
1/12/16 6.7%
5/25/16 6.0%
11/2/16 6.1%
3/22/16 5.8%
4/27/17 5.4%
6/13/17 5.3%
"Sugar Fancy Tutu"
Maybe if you're lucky your cervix will ripen enough on its own before you get to your induction date and you can go straight to pitocin!
@jessieR358
Type 1 Diabetes since 2001, MTHFR hetero A1298T
Dogs: Raider 4 yrs, Dex 4 yrs
BFP #2 7/6/16 SCH, D&C 8/4/16
BFP #3 12/26/16 EDD: 9/6/17
My Chart / My Diabetes/Pregnancy Blog
My Type 1/TTC/Pregnancy Podcast:
Juicebox Podcast Episode 118
A1Cs:
1/12/16 6.7%
5/25/16 6.0%
11/2/16 6.1%
3/22/16 5.8%
4/27/17 5.4%
6/13/17 5.3%
"Sugar Fancy Tutu"
i was given a double dose since my hospital took 3 hours to admit me and i think that's why my contractions were so intense and worked so fast. If I had to take it again I would, but I would request one dose!
Prostaglandins, like oxytocin, are naturally released during labor. Synthetic versions are unlikely to harm mother or baby during induction, if given in proper dosages. There may be some endocrine issues immediately following, because hormones all do a million things and trigger feedback loops that affect many bodily functions, but one goal is for things to return to normal homeostasis, so this will happen in most cases.
If you have certain endocrine, blood, or inflammatory conditions, you may want to ask your doctor about side effects of prostaglandins since they affect more bodily systems than oxytocin/pitocin does, but for most people, there shouldn't be a problem either way, aside from some relatively mild side effects.
Anyway, as a neuroendocrinologist (research, not medical practice, so this isn't medical advice) I suggest looking into any drug you take. But there is a lot of fear mongering online and many of the counterindications of hormone based drugs are situation dependent.
Good luck, everyone!
We also had our second childbirth class last night and the instructor went over labor interventions. They were all very real/scary since I am thinking they're likely to happen for me. So now I am wondering whether I should try to have my membranes swept in the days leading up to the induction in the hope that it will help with cervical ripening and potentially make the induction go more smoothly (less need for cytotec, fewer hours of waiting for contractions). Did anyone else have this done, or is anyone planning to?
Married 2013
Kiddo #1: Sept 2015
BFP: 1/19, EDD: 9/30
"I'm having fruit salad for dinner. Well, it's mostly just grapes, actually. Ok all grapes. Fermented grapes. Fine, I'm having wine for dinner."
I also have friends who had it done twice, and it never did anything. It was uncomfortable, but quick, and I'd much rather try that first before inducing with medications.
DS2: EDD- 09.08.17