Being induced....What to expect?

AlissaT1997 · November 2014

I am 40 weeks and 3 days as of today. I will be going to L&D on Tuesday at 7 pm and will be induced that next morning. I am not exactly sure what to expect or what I need to take up there. Any information and feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Loopyseven · November 2014

They will probably give you something overnight (either vaginally or an oral pill) to soften the cervix and try to get things started that way. Some people go into labor just based on that, but if not, they will probably start pitocin in the morning. You shouldn't need to take anything extra that you wouldn't have taken to the hospital if you were going into labor naturally, except maybe a longer book or your laptop or something if you weren't planning on it. The time between getting admitted in the evening and when the pitocin starts working (if you go that route) is kind of boring. You can do some walking, but I definitely checked email, read some blogs, and looked at FB while I was waiting for things to really get started.

Finduilas · November 2014

I'm going in to get induced the same day as you. Tomorrow I'm 39 weeks. Honestly I'm nervous as all get out lol, but also excited cause it's almost time to meet munchkin.

They haven't told me anything about what they are planning to do, I just know I am scheduled for Tuesday at 6pm. I think they're going to go over everything whenever they admit me.

rox825 · November 2014

Just a few lessons learned from my induction: 1- ask about your bishop score and how likely it is that the induction will work, and 2- what will they do if it doesn't seem to work, stop and let you go home for a few days then try again, get more aggressive, push a c-section, etc. Good luck!

belmont1785 · November 2014

Number one thing I used that will be in my labor bag next time as well is my electric heating pad. Obviously this isn't exclusive to an induction but it helped me immensely since they don't let you move around as much with an induction (at least they didn't me.) It made a HUGE help in my comfort level.

jackie&sam12 · November 2014

I haven't posted much on here before, but I was induced two weeks ago with my first. It was unexpected because I was sent from my OB's office with hypertension. I was admitted by 11am, they broke my water at 12:44. I was given pitocin after they broke my water and by 4 pm I was 10 cm dilated and ready to push. They started the pitocin drip slowly, but my body reacted quickly and my contractions came on very strong. I went about an hour and half before getting an epidural because they were so strong. The epidural allowed me to relax for a bit before it was time to push. My experience with being induced was not bad, but I'm also not sure how typical it is to only be in labor for 4 hours with your first child..... Hope this helps!