Induction experiences

growbeangrow · November 2012

I am finally scheduled for an induction Thursday morning (yes, this week!). For those of you who were induced with multiples, can you please tell me about the experience? Details appreciated.

jenn_darrin1515 · November 2012

I was induced at 36 weeks exactly since I was developing pre-e. got admitted on a friday nite at 1 cm, got a foley bulb around 9-10pm and within 2 hours I was a 4cm (which is where I would stay for all eternity)...they started the pitocen the next morning at 8am and I did not progress all day. sunday was a full day of the same thing and I had a c-section that sunday nite...turned out that while the girls were both head down, they must have been fighting to get to the exit and managed to get wedged into a headlock of sorts...so neither of them was able to drop and I never progressed beyond 4 cm.

the only thing I would have changed was to go for the c-section right away sunday morning after not progressing for sh!t after 24 hours I should have been done....GL!!!

macchiatto · November 2012

I went in the night before to start IV antibiotics because I was GBS-positive. I asked the OB to give me Cervidil at the same time to help the induction go faster in the morning, and it did help--I was dilated to a 2.5 before Cervidil and a 4 the next morning.

They started the pitocin around 9 a.m. and I was tolerating the Pitocin contractions fine but not making much progress; by 1 p.m. I was dilated to a 5. So at that point the doctor broke Baby A's water and within 20 mins the contractions were totally overwhelming. So I asked for an epidural at 1:45 ... and didn't get it until 3:50. That was a miserable 2 hours, I'm not gonna lie. Once the epidural kicked in though, it definitely helped.

The pushing stage started at 5:45 p.m. and I wish I had asked them to turn down the epidural so I could've felt the urge to push. The nurse had to coach me through pushing, and she did a great job ... but it took 3 hours, and i wonder if it would have gone faster if I hadn't been so numb. (Well, I was mostly numb but I did feel a constant painful cramping-type sensation in my lower abdomen after a while.) Baby A finally came out at 8:43 and then the OB did an ultrasound, found out Baby B had flipped to breech yet again, and did a breech extraction of Baby B, so he was born at 8:50, so the whole thing took just under 12 hrs from the time they started the Pit.

Hope all goes smoothly for you!

Nmschultz · November 2012

I went to my OB appt at 35w6d, and was found to have a slow fluid leak. I had just spent 3 weeks on hospital bedrest for preterm labor, and was discharged 3 days prior to my OB appt. I was already at 5 cm. After the leak was discovered, I was transferred to the hospital around 10am. At 10:30 I was started on pitocin, and at 11 was given an epidural. Baby A was born at 12:47pm, and B was born at 1:01pm. Both were vertex. I didn't feel a single thing, not even the pushing, or babies coming out. A was out in 2 pushes, and B out in 3. They weighed 6.9 and 6.12. I was nervous about the pitocin, as I heard this makes contractions worse; however, things progressed very quickly bc I was already at 5cm. Hard to believe I went in for an OB appt at 9am, and four hours later, my babies we here. Good luck to you

mirnb · November 2012

I wasn't induced (i was going to be but my water broke 2 days before my induction) but my water broke at 7am and I wasn't contracting very regularly by 12 so they started pitocin...by 3pm I was in agony and at 5cm so I asked for an epi...(luckily the dr was nearby and I had it within 20 mins and was in bliss after that) I agree with pp that the epi made it somewhat hard to push but they did continue to turn my epi down and that made it easier...started pushing at 7:30pm and my boys were born at 8:51pm and 9:10pm!

MuseumMaven · November 2012

At 36 weeks my doctor told me we were inducing when I hit 37 - my twin B was small and not gaining as fast as his brother. I went in for the induction at 37 weeks exactly, at 7:00 in the evening.

At my initial exam they determined that I had not really started to dilate, so they gave me a dose of Misoprostil, which are tiny tablets that they insert and set near the cervix. The Miso made me really crampy, like bad period cramps. They told me they would check me again in four hours. This was probably around 8pm. I tried to get some sleep, but it was difficult with the cramps.

At midnight they checked me again, and I was 1 cm. I was pissed - four hours of cramps for one measly centimeter?!? They did a second dose of Miso.

At my next check a few hours later (maybe around 6am? I don't remember for sure) I was dilated to 4cm. At that point I was feeling real contractions. They offered me the epi at that point, which I took. About an hour later, once I was numb, the nurse put in my catheter. She told me that it would come out while I was pushing, so I would never feel it. She was right. They also began to talk about Pitocin at this time. The doctor was conflicted on what to do - my contractions weren't very strong, but they were coming about every minute. She was afraid that the Pitocin might cause me to just contract continuously. But she decided to go ahead and order the Pitocin.

My awesome L&D nurse (also a twin mama) told me that she had to attend the delivery of her other patient, but when she was done she would come back and start my Pitocin. While she was gone, I felt a pop and was suddenly wet. My first thought was that somehow a baby had kicked and my catheter had come out. Then I realized that my water had broken! I buzzed for a nurse, who confirmed that was the case. At that point they canceled the Pitocin order, since I had gone into active labor.

With the epi in I managed to get some sleep, and just relax. I was chatting with my husband and my mom when my doctor and nurse rushed into the room. She checked me, declared me ten centimeter, and all of a sudden it was craziness. Three more nurses showed up. Scrubs were tossed to my husband and my mom, and I was wheeled off to the OR (my hospital does all twin deliveries in the OR). My only clue that something was "up" was that a nurse stuck an oxygen mask over my face. But there was so much going on I barely noticed.

Once I got to the OR the cast of thousands arrived. My doctor (who was a resident), the attending OB, four L&D nurses. I started pushing with contractions and my doctor started stretching me in preparation for the babies. After a couple of pushes the room next door came to life - two NICU teams and an attending neonatologist showed up and started prepping for two babies.

Baby A was delivered after about eight pushes. He came out screaming and was whisked away to the NICU team. I watched the hand-off from the L&D nurse to the NICU nurse.

What I didn't know, and I am thankful they didn't tell me, is that Baby B was in distress. He was having decels with my contractions - thus the oxygen. The attending physician looked me right in the eye and said, "You need to have this baby RIGHT NOW." It was my first realization that something was wrong. He tried to come out hands first, so she assisted the delivery, pushing his arms back and pulling his head down. He was born in one push, so quickly that once he started out everyone in the room yelled for me to stop pushing. He also came out screaming and was handed off to the NICU team.

My mom went with Baby A as soon as he was born, and my DH went with Baby B. I, of course, had to deliver the placenta. The only negative was that no one told me how the babies were doing! My doctor and nurses were busy with me, and my mom and husband were awe-struck with the babies and off taking pictures. I noticed that the attending neonatologist was just standing around and checking his watch, so I figured the boys must be doing OK. I finally asked a nurse and she said, "Oh sweetie, they're perfect."

The boys were born at 5:15pm and 5:20pm. Baby A was 5 lb 9 oz and baby B was 4 lb 12 oz. No NICU, one extra night for Baby A due to jaundice (but we were all allowed to stay.)

I ended up with a 2nd degree tear, but that wasn't too big a deal - I healed up fine.

You said you wanted details - hope I didn't ramble on for too long!

Good luck, and I hope you have a great experience!

Breezy8407 · November 2012

I was induced at 37 weeks 0d for pre-e.

Short story: went in on a Friday evening after my urine tests came back postitive for pre-e. Started monitoring and had cervadil that evening. it was a long night with no sleep - I contracted a lot of the night. Next morning, we started pitocin around 9am. Progession was slow, so baby A's water was broken at 5pm. Labored and contracted hard for 2.5 hours, then got my epidural around 7:30pm. Started pushing around 9pm, and baby A was born at 9:44pm. Contractions slowed and we waited for baby B. Pitocin increased, and finally with some vacuum help baby B was born at 12:02am. (they have different birthdays)

The long version is on my blog if you want to read the whole thing:

https://www.beeskneeslife.com/2012/04/twins-birth-story.html

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