Getting Induced on Friday

pink26

Hi Everyone! I haven't really posted on this board before (actually didn't know it existed until recently) but I thought I'd reach out to you all to either get some advice (if you have any) or just vent.  

I am getting induced on Friday at 39 weeks due to PIH.  Up until two weeks ago I have been lucky enough to have a pretty uneventful/low risk pregnancy.  My husband and I studied the bradley method and planned on going med-free/natural.  I always knew there was a chance things wouldn't go as planned and in the end a healthy baby is all that matters, but it is still disappointing nonetheless, I can't help but be upset about it.  I've been doing everything I can to have this baby girl arrive before induction (from bouncing on a ball to EPO). Hey, I'll try anything at this point! My MW wanted to strip my membranes at my last appointment but I was completely closed/unripe. 

Anyways, if she doesn't make an appearance by Thursday, I will be admitted at 830 at night.  MW said she would try the balloon cath and cervidil  thursday night and Pitocin on friday morning.  She said I will have to be constantly monitored but I guess I could get hooked up to the telemetry?  Are there other things I should advocate for? Like a hep lock? I just don't want to be stuck in bed for hours.

Any experience going pain med free with pitocin? Any other advice or experiences you can share that may help? I felt so prepared for a med free birth now I feel helpless and don't know what to expect with all these changes! 

Thanks if you made it this far, sorry so long! 

stella_blu

I was induced using pitocin with DS. I did a home study of hypnobirthing and was able to use that method to go drug free. I did ask for an epi but started pushing about 2 minutes later lol. I think a big part of my success was being comfortable with my surroundings and knowing I would be ok no matter what. 

With my DD, I tried to go drug free and resisted the pitocin and epidural so much that my body tensed up and I was unable to progress. My advice I guess would be to relax and go in with as of an open mind as possible.

Good luck!! Can't wait to hear your birth story! 

amandaleigh1

In short: get a hep lock, get telemetry CFM. Insist on no time limits if membranes are intact. And on that note, don't let them break your water to speed things up. Negotiate for stopping pitocin once labor is established.

I never wrote my med free induced birth up properly, but I posted a lot about it here:

https://m.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/69626321.aspx

Good luck! It is doable to be induced and go med free.

thetwistedwillow

My sister was induced with one of her four kiddos. All of her births were drug-free except she did get a narcotic that made her feel weird and loopy but didn't take the pain away during her Pitocin birth. Just made her feel trapped in her own body. Despite that it was epidural-free. To get through the pain she vocalized and had her husband there to support her.

Honestly I don't understand how induction and Cervidil and all of these interventions are going to help when you already have high blood pressure. It seems like it would exacerbate it. Perhaps they can break your water first and not introduce Pitocin for several hours and just let you be to labor.

I wish I had more information and insight but I don't.

mAnYaSha

Some people have success with accupuncture .

If you read some posts down there are several about pitocin and no pain meds. That was my story with DS #1 and I was able to work through everything without pain meds, just rocking and breathing.

The best thing you can do is try relaxing and keep in mind that in the end you will have a very special unique birth story. Gl !

shutupanddance07

My stepmother was really afraid of the epidural with all 4 of hers. She had stadol instead, and said that that did just fine. She could feel everything, she just didn't really care as much. I hear it's kind of like being a little drunk. If you have issues with the pitocin and are really anti epidural, you could try that. I know it's not med free, but it does offer you another option...

Mrs E in Oregon

My sister in law just had this done. She was admitted at midnight, spent 3 hours FLAT on her back while the capsule rested on her cervix. No moving because if it slides to one side you won't rippen well or at all. Then she spent the next 16 hours slowly getting to 4 cms. She was able to unhook from pit and iv to pee. She was in teh bathroom when the fetal monitor made a huge popping noise. She then called out to Mom saying her water broke. She went from 4 to 9.5 cms in 2.5 hrs. She had to have an epidural quickly after hitting active labor for this reason. She ended up delivering vaginally at 12:52pm, almost exactly 24hrs after she got her first meds.

She was on pit from hr. 3 to the end and she didn't have the drugs until about 5cms, it sounds like most are able to manage the pressure (pain) of the contractions, for her it was the bordom of sitting/lying there waiting. You are anxious to meet your baby but stuck in a hospital. She was not on a heplock but I would ask for that. Once you're on meds they won't let you walk the halls or anything at the hospital she was at. Her IV made it so she couldn't be on her hands and knees so watch the placement of that too.