Did anyone have a Foley induction (foley catheter induction)?

courtney.allis · April 2010

If my baby boy does not arrive by Monday, I will be induced Monday morning. My doctor mentioned I will have a foley catheter and pitocin. How was your experience with a Foley Catheter (that will be inflated with saline to help me dilate)?

I think all of the responses so far are about a catheter in general. I was told it there would be a balloon on the end of the catheter that would be filled with a saline solution. It will keep pressure on my cervix to make it dilate. Once I reach 4cm the catheter will pop out.

wildfloweragain · April 2010

1st experience: horrible. The recovery from that was as bad as the pain from stitches/pushing. I'm convinced they inserted it incorrectly.

This time: totally fine. I was really worried because of the previous experience. I think it's just like how some people can't stick an arm for blood and others can do it no problem.

hokiefan04 · April 2010

Yep. If you have an epidural, you won't feel the catheter. However, I had to be cathed after I had LO b/c I couldn't urinate on my own for a couple hours. Not fun! But, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Don't worry!

S2BMrsO · April 2010

I had one with my epidural. I couldn't feel it at all.

Mrs. GEK · April 2010

I didn't feel it at all because of the epidural. I didn't have any pain from it afterward either.

araevg · April 2010

I had no problems at all! They put it in after I was numb, and taking it out didn't hurt a bit.

RadicalDreamer143 · April 2010

I had an unplanned c/s, and they put the cath in before i had my epi. It stung like hell, but wasn't too bad after a few hours.

aocain02@yahoo.com · April 2010

I think the foley cath she's talking about is used to induce labor and put above your cervix, not the one to collect urine.

NJBride4-8-05 · April 2010

First birth it was horrible. It didnt go in right on the first try so the person laid it on the bed and touched it then tried again. I got a UTI from hell!! Second time it went in great came out quick after c/s and got a mild UTI.

jess28 · April 2010

Had one before any pain med. Felt uncomfortable for about 30 minutes then I could not feel it anymore.

courtney.allis · April 2010

I was told it there would be a balloon on the end of the catheter that would be filled with a saline solution. It will keep pressure on my cervix to make it dilate. Once I reach 4cm the catheter will pop out.

D.Smith · April 2010

JamieS2006:
I had an unplanned c/s, and they put the cath in before i had my epi. It stung like hell, but wasn't too bad after a few hours.

This

snicksnack · April 2010

courtneyallis:
I was told it there would be a balloon on the end of the catheter that would be filled with a saline solution. It will keep pressure on my cervix to make it dilate. Once I reach 4cm the catheter will pop out.

I had this. It does not really hurt when they put it in just feels like a harsh pap. It went in at 3 pm I went home to have dinner and went back at 9. Started having contractions almost right away but not bad ones. It feel out at 11 but at 5 am I did not have any progress so they had to give me some drugs to get things moving. Went all day long and did not have her till 7:59 thursday night. I did not need a C, which was good. If I had to do it over again I would do the foley. You may get a better response if you post again with the title Foley induction.

PreggoMeg31 · April 2010

I had one to induce my labor also because I was not dialated at all. As long as the doctor can get it in the right position quickly it is not so bad; However, my doctor took 25 minutes to insert it correctly and I was in a lot of pain and bleeding a lot but he was also like way up in my cervix for a long time. But once he got it in and I was able to recover for about a 1/2 hour I was okay. I was given mine the night before pitocin started and they gave me a sleeping and pain pill that night so it really didn't bother me! Sorry I don't have a more pleasant experience!

sturgeje · April 2010

i had a foley catheter and was on pitocin (my LO was asynclitic-- cocked to the right side-- so they were trying to speed up the contractions/make them stronger to help move him through the birth canal) and i truly hated it. i think it was worse than my contractions. it didn't really help me to dilate (i only got to a 5 after 28 hours of labor) at all. not to worry you, that was just my experience with it. i hope your experience is better than mine!

Lola B 33 · April 2010

I had a foley bulb induction w/o pitocin and it was great! I had cytotec that eve, then they but in the foley bulb and I went to bed. I was about 2cm dialated to begin with. The insertion was pretty uncomfortable but not painful, and I was able to rest. When I got up in the am, I went to the bathroom and it fell out. I was 5-6cm at that point and they broke my water and I started having contrx. The foley was the easiest part of my labor! GL!

Armynancy · April 2010

courtneyallis:
I was told it there would be a balloon on the end of the catheter that would be filled with a saline solution. It will keep pressure on my cervix to make it dilate. Once I reach 4cm the catheter will pop out.

I had this type of induction at 39 weeks. Going in I was 1 1/2 cm dilated...at 6:00pm I got the foley catheter put in place. For me it was quite painful, but looking back I'd do it all over again. I contracted on and off throughout the evening and at 3:00am the bulb fell out. I was 4-5 cm and they started me on pitocin 3 hours later at 6:00am. At 9:00am I was 6 cm and decided to ask for my epidural. We welcomed our DD into the world at 4:39pm.

I had a wonderful experience with this type of induction! My body responded just like it should have and I wouldn't have done it any other way. Good luck!

melissamaloo · April 2010

I had the Foley catheter a couple weeks ago. It ended up popping out about 1/2 hour after they put it in because my cervix was so soft....so it didn't end up working for me. I did go into labor 2 days later and my midwife says that the catheter might have helped my body start the process.

It's not painful and I was told by my midwife that pitocin isn't always necessary. Good luck!

mrs.oz · April 2010

Sorry, but mine hurt like hell. My water broke and after about 4-5 hours I was still at 1cm. The doctor put that thing in and it Fing hurt. The nurse came in and saw me and said she was so sorry that the doctor put it in without giving me pain meds. She quickly got me something for my IV and I felt much better. don't let them do it without pain meds.

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