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3rd Trimester
tigerlove85
member
Induced labor question?
tigerlove85
member
Hi Ladies, My due date is 4/30 & my doctor said that if I don't go into labor by next appt, which is 4/26, she will set up a date for me to be induced that weekend. A couple of people have said to me that induced labor is way more painful, then when you go naturally. I don't understand why people make such comments to a pregnant person, but does anyone have any experience with this? TIA!
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Re: Induced labor question?
I get the same comments - or people say "your doctor doesn't know what they are talking about, you should just wait till you go naturally" REALLY... so after busting his a** through medical school and his 20+ years of expereince how do you know better then him? Is what I want my response to be.. but it's usually something way to nice....
So just venting..... but i am a FTM so can't answer your question just share your frustration!
Good luck with everything
I had my 1st med free and my 2nd was induced (due to bleeding) and I can say 110% honestly that in my experience the induction was more painful. I did ask for stadol during my induction because the pain was far worse than my med free delivery. However, I did have substantial scar tissue which could have added to the pain.
Was my induction successful? Yes, I went from 1cm to 10cm in 5 hours and delivered after 2 pushes.
Was induction more painful? Yes....way more painful.
Would I sign on to an induction again? only if medically needed (not because I am close to EDD)
I am not sure why your OB wants to induce you before you are even past your EDD.
IMO I would wait to be induced...if your body is not ready then the induction will be harder and could lead to c/s
I would at least ask your OB to give you your bishop score before doing an induction...I was told you want a score of 6 or higher to indicate an induction would likely be successful.
I agree you want to make sure your body is ready, aka favorable cervix and high score, and the reason behind the induction. My doctor induced me at 41weeks and 1 day. She did this because I was not progressing at all I was at 0 and my cervix was not effaced, the hospital does not want patients going past 42 weeks, and DD was born in the middle of two blizzards in a week she was concerned about more snow coming and me not being able to get to the hospital. She did a folly bulb induction on me hoping that would get me to a three and I would keep going on my own but I needed up needing a medical induction and it was painful, although I had nothing to compare it too. I did not need a c-section but my doctor is very anti-C-section and told me another may have done one but she felt comfortable holding off. I have scare tissue issues from another surgery and it was important that I not be cut again. This time we are both hoping I go into labor on my own
Bishop score for 1st time moms for elective induction should be 8 or higher. 2nd time vaginal delivery 6 or higher is ok.
My OB was strict about waiting until 41 weeks or later for 1st time moms. I do know of some OBs who will schedule elective inductions right around the due date. Bear in mind that 1st time moms have higher risk of c-section due to failed induction, but also have higher risk of c-section, in general.
Induction are usually longer, more painful and more likely to result in a c-section. Without a medical reason, I would tell your doctor you'd like to wait until you are overdue to be induced.
I am also due 4/30 and will be scheduling an induciton for the week of May 7th if I don't have her before. Most doctors will not electively induce before 40 weeks as due dates can be off and something like 40% of first time mom's won't naturally have their baby before their due date.
It is a personal choice. Being induced before you're body is ready increases your chances of having a c-section by a lot. Plus, pitocin can be very painful as it doesn't give your body a chance to rest between contractions.
Many doctors (even after busting their a$$ through med school, like one of our bumps mentioned) will induce women out of convenience, or to get labor going faster so they can free up hospital beds... It's true.
Please be informed. Watching this documentary opened my eyes to a lot of that. I highly recommend it to anywone having a baby https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995061/ - The Business of Being Born.
5 DIUI - BFN
IVF#1 - BFP - AJ 7/12
FET#1 - BFP Due 7/24/14
Pitocin is artificial oxytocin so it will make you contract, however, where oxytocin release is monitored by your body and comes in waves, pitocin is constant at whatever dosage the dr decides on (could make them stronger). if you are contracting a bit on your own due to oxytocin, the pitocin has a tendency to create contractions that are slightly offset from your natural contractions giving you more frequent or double peaked pain (contraction starts, then seems to get better, but before it does, gets worse again). These are the reasons she said it can be more painful.
Not to mention, if your body is not ready labor will be longer or not work with pitocin and from what I've read, the more "interventions" you have the more likely you are to end up with a c-section.
Unless there is a medial reason to induce around your actual due date most doctors wait until at least 41weeks...remember a due date is an estimate, not a deadline!
*lurking*
I had 2 somewhat spontaneous labors (membrane stripping the second time that was very successful) before having to be induced 13 days overdue with my third. I can definitely tell you that those contractions are different, and not in a good way. Many women make it through med-free on pitocin, but I was not one of them (2 med-free births before this). The contractions were stronger and much sharper. I honestly just couldn't get my body to relax during them, they were that intense. I ended up getting an epidural when I was about 6cm and dilated to 10cm in 30 minutes (the epidural was able to get my body to relax enough to dilate).
Also, really look into an induction and teh statistics that go along with them. Most dr.s will wait till you are closer to 41w before inducing, especially with first time moms who typically go late. Inductions when your body is not ready can lead to a lot of interventions.
Pretty much all of the literature out there says that you should not be induced before 41 weeks unless medically necessary. Speaking from someone that delivered at 41 weeks with all 3 of mine, I completely understand how wonderful it would be to have an end date in sight and not have to be so overdue. However, I would really think about discussing it more with your doc. Most babies are born at or after their due date anyways. What would you gain by being induced a few days early? I know with my first I was begging for an induction at 40 weeks because it seemed like everyone I knew was being induced. They reluctantly agreed to schedule it for 41 weeks, but luckily baby came first. Looking back at that, I think it was a poor, uninformed decision on my part probably due to everything I had read on these forums about how everyone was being induced. I ended up being induced with my 3rd at 41 weeks, 1 day due to them thinking there was meconium (which was actually an incorrect u/s reading). I reluctantly agreed, but I was also 4cm at that point and having tons of contractions, so all they needed to do was break my water. This time around I am being induced due to low PAPPa. They wanted me to do it tomorrow, just before I am 39 weeks. Their reasoning for doing it before 39 weeks was because "we like to do our inductions on the weekends so that we don't interupt office hours." After getting home I realized that was utterly ridiculous and not worth the possibility of complications for me or baby considering all of my others needed the full 41 weeks and came out perfectly cooked, nursing great and with fast, easy deliveries. This one would have been nearly 3 weeks earlier than the others. Plus, my cervix is barely dilated at this point. I brought up my concerns with them and they had no issue pushing it back a week. I'm still incredibly nervous though because I still don't feel as "ready" as I did with the others. If this wasn't for medical necessity, I would DEFINITELY be waiting it out. No interest whatsoever at risking complications when my body has proven over and over that it knows what it is doing without medical intervention.
Regardless, discuss it fully with your doctor. If there is any inclination that he/she is doing this out of convenience, I would recommend pushing the date back. I would like to agree that all docs know best, but sometimes they are still wrong and we need to trust in Mother Nature.
My Ob wants to induce me in 2 weeks Apprx 37-38 weeks. She and my asthma specialist worry about me going any longer and him getting any bigger. I am already having trouble breathing. I have read a lot on induction and I am tempted to just ask for a c section seeing how it will more than likely end up in that anyway.
I was induced (for non-emergent medical concerns) with DD, and had a fine experience, but I have nothing to compare it to. My bishop score was 0. My body was the farthest thing from ready. Start to finish my L&D was 9 hours. I had an epidural placed when I was about 2 cm, contracting every 3 minutes and didn't feel a thing after that.
I agree with PP, not sure why OB would induce berfore EDD....
My first baby came on her own a few days past my due date and it was a horrible labor. DH and I vowed never to have another baby.
With DS, I was induced a week early and it was by far a more pleasurable and shorter experience. I said if all pregnancies and labors were like his, I'd have a bunch more kids.
So for me, the opposite was true, the induced labor was so much better. In fact, I'm hoping for a repeat this time around.
I think it's worth adding that inductions take many shapes - anything from sweeping membranes, from cervical ripeners, from breaking water to pitocin. Inductions can be staged so that they proceed slowly, allowing your body time to adjust and sometimes the nudges are all you need. Pitocin can also be gradually introduced and increased, and in some cases later shut off - some women will continue to contract on their own and things progress.
Talk to your doctor about how the induction would proceed, and what would happen in various scenarios (are you dilated/effaced? at what point do they use cervical ripeners and what sort? when would they start pit and how would it be increased? will you be allowed time in between interventions to move around? does your hospital have telemetry so you can walk or change positions to help encourage labor/cope with pain or are you tied to the bed? will you be allowed food at all - even if the induction takes time?).
I think people are wise to be cautious of inductions, but I also lose some patience reading some of these threads, because I'm pretty likely to be induced at this point and I just wish my docs would let me do it next week rather than waiting until the week after (for a variety of reasons). They currently follow the recent recommendations and fortunately baby seems to be doing well and my b/p is holding steady so we'll go a bit longer and induce between 39 and 40 weeks (they will not allow me past my due date because of medical concerns).
You need to get details from your doctor about why they wish to induce and your readiness, and how it will work and then work with your doctor to determine the best course. Some women have great inductions - several of my friends have.
Gabriel Ross - August 24, 2009 * Vivienne Rose - May 1, 2012
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