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Have any of you been induced ?
Has any of you that have previously had kids ever set up a day to be induced when it was time for baby to come ? This is a long story kind of, but my husband works crazy 12 hour shifts. And the shift he works changes every month. One month he works 6pm to 6a.m and the next month its 6a.m to 6pm. Well, since he has not been at his job for a year, they won't let him take leave of abscence for when LO arrives. So, all he has is 2 call ins that count against him, and one vacation day... And, if I go into labor while hes at work and it's NOT overtime, it will count as one of the call-ins for him.. So I'm wondering about getting induced ? I'm going to talk to my doctor about it, but I'm just wondering if any of you have any information on it either !
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Re: Have any of you been induced ?
I had my son when I was 17 and in high school. I was terrified of going into labor at school, so I took maternity leave starting Feb 10, I was due Feb 22. My life is kinda confusing, let me just explain that my senior year I moved across the country to live with my mom's parents and get out of a bad situation - found out after I made this decision that I was pregnant for my boyfriend of two years... I moved anyway. My mom's a nurse, and she scheduled her vacation starting Feb 20. I was thrilled that my mom was able to be there for the birth. (My boyfriend came too, but at that point I was so mad that he hadn't moved with me that I didn't really want to see him)
I was induced on my due date, Feb 22 - we went into the hospital at midnight, it took an hour or so to get me set up with the pitocin drip, around 10 am still no regular contractions so they broke my water. I was having contractions and also having really bad back labor, DS was "sunny-side-up" and almost 8 lbs. they had baby hooked up to a fetal heart monitor, and were talking about doing a c-section because the baby's heart rate was changing with my contractions. I decided to try an epidural first to see if it would help me dilate and continue through labor... after the epidural I actually fell asleep for a few hours! around 4 pm they woke me up, checked my cervix, I was 10 cm dilated so they brought me into the delivery room. Pushed for over two hours, at 6:33 PM on Feb 22 my little man was born!! Worth every minute of labor. But I talked to my mom afterwards, and she said that labor is usually longer and harder when it's induced...
This time around, I am still going to schedule a day to be induced, but it's going to be AFTER my due date. A lot of doctors will schedule inductions at 38 or 39 weeks... well I was 24 weeks when I had my first ultrasound, and they told me I was measuring at 22 weeks - while I'm sticking with my original due date, I know it's possible I might have ovulated two weeks late, and I wouldn't want to take the chance of being induced before baby is 37 weeks.
I hope this helped. I was just thinking about when I want to be induced, that's what brought me over to the birth stories board...
I am just lurking, but I am considering an elective induction after 39 weeks for personal reasons that I won't go into. What you are talking about would also be an elective induction.
First-time moms have a pretty high risk of failed induction and c-section, although of course many will deliver vaginally. FWIW, first-time moms, in general, have a higher rate of c-section than second time moms. Second time+ moms who have previously delivered vaginally have basically the same success rate as if they went into labor spontaneously, provided the cervix is favorable when induction starts. Typically, elective induction is not offered before 39 weeks.
Pay no attention to the women who regale you with tales of this friend or that whose induction was a disaster. Get the facts from your doctor and discuss with him/her and your DH how they apply in your situation. Good luck!
I was induced at 39 weeks because I am a rather small person and DS was measuring 1wk big with his head measuring 2wks big. I was already about 2-3cm and my cervix was already ripe, and I probably would have gone into labor on my own within a week or so, but I just didn't want to have the 9-10lb baby that my dr. was projecting me to have. As it turned out, there was already meconium in my water, so it was good that we got him out when we did.
My labor lasted about 12 hours from the time they hooked me up to the final push. I planned to have an epidural because of the fact that i was bedridden with all the monitors. My epidural was amazing, and I would totally recommend it for induction.
I loved the fact that we were able to schedule our baby's birthday. My husband worked all the time, so it was nice that we could plan around his schedule. Also, my mom lived about 3 hours away and it was nice that she was able to come the night before and help get things ready. Even my in-laws drove 12hrs for the big event. This time around I want it to be more natural, but I also know what to expect and DH has a very flexible schedule now. All in all, I had a great experience with induction.
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My understanding of inductions is you have to be a good candidate in order to not experience the higher risks (c-sections, other interventions, etc). So, if at 39 or 40w, your cervix isn't favorable (i.e. dialating on it's own, thinning, etc), most Dr's woulnd't recommend it. I hope everything works out for you.