Induction without epi?

marshmallows · February 2013

Anyone have experience being induced and not getting an epidural? I will be 42 weeks this weekend so if he doesn't come by then, I'm looking at an induction on Monday.
I had a med free birth in the hospital with my first and I'd like to do it again. But truthfully I cannot imagine anything more painful and I know the contractions are supposed to be harder without breaks. That scares me just as much as epidurals do!
I know I still have some time left...

Sea Conquest · February 2013

I have read about many women who have used Cervadil to ripen their cervix and that was enough to put them into spontaneous labor. They went on to have med-free births beyond that point. If you go that route, I would try to avoid Pit because that is usually where the epis start to come in. Good luck! Sending baby come out vibes!

marshmallows · February 2013

Interesting, thanks! That is good to know.

breathlessbride · February 2013

Ditto pp. There are other induction methods. I've heard good things on this board about the Foley bulb. Hopefully ladies with more experience can chime in! Best of luck!

amandaleigh1 · February 2013

I was induced first with cytotec as my cervix was no way near open or thin enough for the foley. The foley would have been my first choice.

After the cyctec, I was fully effaced but not having regular contractions. We did low dose Pitocin for 2 hours and then a trial of turing it off. After it was turned off, I continued to have regular contractions-- so if you are having to do Pit, this is an option that not many people try. It worked for me.

I was pain med free pretty much till the end. Not ideal, but not really that bad either.

Fionnadean1017 · February 2013

I was induced at 40w due to high blood pressure. It was long and hard 34 hours and it was my second baby! but we did it medfree! I started with cervidil and then ended up needing pit too. Really practice and USE your breathing techniques! Also, the shower and a birthing ball helped tremendously. In the end, that 9lb 4oz baby boy made an appearance and was so alert! We also declined the erythromycin and it made a huge difference in immediate bonding!

A37licia · February 2013

You are probably (hopefully!) bound to be at least somewhat favorable for an induction since you'll be 42 (and I am confident you will go before then!). Are you already taking evening primrose oil? Have you assessed the baby's position? (not vertex vs breech but anterior vs posterior). If I were facing induction and didn't wish to have an epi, I would have:

cervidil to ripen my cervix

foley catheter if not already dilated past 3cm

breaking water

I'd prefer all of that before pitocin, and if I had pitocin, I would make sure and insist that it be turned off once I was laboring on my own. But it'd be tied down by that point. I haven't done that so I don't know whether I could even get up once pitocin is turned off.

Hang in there!! What weeks were you with your first? An advantage for you is that this is not your first, and your body will labor more quickly this time and hopefully the least invasive induction methods will do the trick.

lindslalala · February 2013

I wasn't induced, but did end up having Pitocin. DS's head was facing sideways and my contractions needed to be stronger to help him turn. The contractions before Pitocin sucked, but I hadn't felt the need to ask for pain meds/epi. After Pitocin, things got much more intense. I literally screamed "I need drugs" at the top of my lungs and my midwife just laughed at me and told me to push. 15 minutes later I had my son

If you have access to a shower or a tub I would utilize those as much as you're able to.

funsies · February 2013

I went into labor on my own 4 days shy of 42 weeks after my water broke. However, the contractions were not strong or regular enough after several hours and my OB ended up putting me on Pit for the last 12 hours of my 18 hour labor. Yes, the contractions were intense but I never felt they were more than I could handle. Also, I never had the "one right on top of another" contractions until transition which I hear is normal anyway.

I do wish that I had 1. asked for the Pit to be turned off after labor really got started, and 2. asked that they tell me every time they upped the dosage because I'm pretty sure they increased it several times without my knowledge.

Even if you have to get Pit, don't feel like you automatically will need an epi!

elle_bee · February 2013

It might be too late for you to find someone who can do this but I had a Mayan abdominal massage (induction massage) with DD2 at almost 40 weeks and she was born the next morning. I highly recommend it if you can find someone in your area who can do it.

A friend of mine recently did acupuncture to avoid being induced with meds and she also gave birth within 24 hours.

alanap · February 2013

Hi there! I was in a similar boat. I had a medfree birth with LO1 and it was a great experience; intense of course but doable and I was a really looking forward to doing it again.

Unfortunately at 41w5d I still hadn't gone into labor so I agreed to induce but wanted to avoid pit. I planned to do AROM since my labor with LO1 had started with water breaking SROM, but my cervix wasn't favorable enough.

So we started pit with the agreement to be very low and slow with it. The midwives kept commenting that they didn't want to be too low and slow because it needed to progress. I let them know that as a STM I knew what real contractions felt like and would them know if I wasn't feeling progression.

After 2 hours I still wasn't feeling much and hadn't had much progression and told them to kick it up 1 more notch. Then it got intense and it felt like transition even though I was only 4cm. It continued like this till the end. It was a total of 9 hours. It was difficult; more so than the first but I did it with the support of my husband and sister and lots of focus and breathing.

Good luck with whatever you decide; you can do it!!!!

marshmallows · February 2013

Thank you SO much for all the encouragement and great tips!
My first was a week late so while I didn't expect to be on time, I wasn't expecting to be this late!
I don't know what position this would be but my ob said he was facing one way but seemed to be low.

pamiva1 · February 2013

Sea Conquest:
I have read about many women who have used Cervadil to ripen their cervix and that was enough to put them into spontaneous labor. They went on to have med-free births beyond that point. If you go that route, I would try to avoid Pit because that is usually where the epis start to come in. Good luck! Sending baby come out vibes!

i agree with this. I was induced with pitocin with my first two due to stalled labor and the contractions were so intense that I got an epidural with both. With my third, I was induced with cervadil and went on to have a very fast and med-free delivery. Completely different experience and pain level than using pitocin. Good luck!

BriDaily · February 2013

Get yourself to a chiropractor as much as possible between now and Monday. Also, see if you can squeeze in a prenatal massage. Spend some time really thinking about the impending birth and overcome any fears you may be having. And ditto to Evening Primrose Oil.

If you do have to be induced, opt for a very slow induction. Don't feel like you have to go in and get pumped full of Pitocin right off the bat! As we all know, the consequences of something that extreme are not pretty. Make sure the doctor is open to a minimal induction... they should opt for the least amount necessary and give your body time to respond before increasing a dosage.

georgi611 · February 2013

I was induced due to slight preeclampsia. I was 39 weeks.

They inserted cervidil at 6pm on June 10th, and my daughter was born 2:36am on June 11th, not even 9 hours later.

My original "plan" was to be induced, they'd do pitocin in the morning, and I wanted an epidural.

How it happened was, the cervidil worked quicker than expected, crazy contractions started and my water broke (and I didn't really know it), and I progressed VERY quickly and had no time for an epidural, and boom...there she was!

My next child will be planned med-free from the start. I am SO glad that I didn't get the epidural even though I had wanted it!

footnotegirl · February 2013

I had an induction without epidural. I was, in fact, induced three different ways!

I was a week and a half late, and a high risk pregnancy (40 y.o., clotting factors, auto immune issues) so they had me go in for a scheduled induction. I went in on a Saturday afternoon and they started me with cytotec and then cervidil. Contractions started, and I dilated to 5 cm, but then after I fell asleep contractions slowed by morning to almost nothing.

Sunday morning, they took me off the IV (saline, hooked up at all times when I was actually on any medication) and broke my water. I started having much harder contractions and labored through the day, but did not progress much and again, by tthe next morning, contractions had slowed to nothing.

Monday morning at 9 they told me to order and eat breakfast, and then at 10:30 they hooked me back up to the IV (rolling stand so that I could remain fully mobile) and started the pitocin at an extremely low level. The pitocin ramped up slowly through the day (at its highest dosage, it was still only about 10% of what they would have started a woman on just a decade ago). I went into active labor by noon and then transition at about 3 p.m. which I did in a warm bath tub to help keep the pain at bay. By 4:30 I was out of the tub and transition eased off, and by 5:30 I gave birth to my litte girl.

Yes, transition sucked. It was awful. Psychologically it broke me. BUT. It was never ever so awful that I could have been convinced to put a needle in my spine. I never asked for an epi, I certainly didn't scream for one. The actual pushing and giving birth was nothing after transition, and to be honest, by the time I was holding my litte girl in my arms the memory of the pain of transition was already fading.

genmccarley · February 2013

Sea Conquest:
I have read about many women who have used Cervadil to ripen their cervix and that was enough to put them into spontaneous labor. They went on to have med-free births beyond that point. If you go that route, I would try to avoid Pit because that is usually where the epis start to come in. Good luck! Sending baby come out vibes!

Yup this was exactly how it went for me.

Want a personalized experience?

Induction without epi?

Re: Induction without epi?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards