March 2015 Moms

The truth about Pitocen?

I am in the process of being induced and am just wondering about the pain with pitocen. I can ask 1million questions here & will, but I am looking for opinions on how it changed your contactions. Thanks for your honesty in advance.

Re: The truth about Pitocen?

  • Everyone is different but I had pitocen for 12 hours the process can be long but it makes your contractions stronger and closer together every hour or so they come and up make the dosage stronger if the baby's heart rate slows or goes faster they stop it for a bit but I got full blown contractions after 5 hours and got the epidural
  • My first labor was induced with pitocin. For me, it made my contractions come one on top of the other at a very fast pace. The pain level was the same as the pain with my second labor which came on naturally. The pitocin labor was much more difficult for me to handle because everything came on hard and fast, I was not able to mantally prepare for the next contraction. I was also awake for about 12 hours before being induced (20 hours when things became unbearable for me). I know fatigue played a big role in my experience. I got epidurals with both my births. At 10cm with the first and at 8cm with the second. I wanted to be coherent and present during the pushing phase and I felt the epidural was a good way to go. Looking back, I would not change either of my birth experiences.

    Good luck to you and congratulations! Anything you choose to do for pain management is the right thing for you. Don't get hung up on other people's perceptions and expectations. This is all about you and baby!
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  • Piton makes contractions longer and stronger and closer together - Yes to the above, you may find it necessary to turn to pain management due to the increased intensity. Be aware that this may bring you relief; however, contractions do compromise blood and oxygen supply to the baby. Normally they are what the baby can withstand but a pitocin contraction may be beyond what some babies can handle. There is certainly a higher rate of C-section associated with pitocin intervention in the literature. 
  • I had pitocin and my contractions went from
    Zero to through the roof. It's turns out I was hyper sensitive to pitocin and it only took three hours from the 1/4 dose of pitocin for my baby girl to arrive. It's was super painful but it's worth it in the end! Just know that your body will adapt however it needs to for baby to come out. Good luck and congratulations!
  • Baby & I definitely ended up having a unique reaction. Baby's heart rate dropped dangerously low during our 3 attempts and I ended up having an emergency C-section. My experience was not ideal and placed a lot of stress on baby whom afterwards had a heart rate that was through the roof in the 300s. Happy to say Mommy, baby, & daddy are all doing well but induction and pitocen are no longer options
  • I am so glad you are ok. That's a scary situation but it sounds like your medical team was awesome and brought everbody through safely.

    Congratulations to you and your family!
  • I'm so glad you are all okay...congratulations!
  • I was induced with pitocin after being in labour for 8 hours and not dialating past 2cm. Baby was born 4 hours later so it was most certainly effective.

    It was suggested to me by my doctor that most women end up finding the contractions so intense that they will end up asking for an epidural 9 times out of 10. I swore blind I would not have an epidural but measured against the pain I'd already experienced being induced for 5 days previous and the pain level my contractions had reached even naturally, I changed my mind.

    I asked for the epidural before I was put on the pitocin drip. This was the best decision I made during my labour as it meant that I wasn't waiting around for an anesthetist whilst in unmanageable pain. My epidural left me with some sensation of the pain of the contractions and as they increased, I needed to use gas and air for them as well they were so intense. From what I could see looking at the graph of the monitor I was hooked up to, they made my pre-pitocin contractions look like hiccups.

    I think it is a completely personal choice and a lot depends on your body, your baby and your unique experience of the birth. I would recommend using the pain relief for pitocin as it is not by any means natural labour.

    Good luck to you. Whatever you decide, you will be fine :) it's all worth it when you hold your baby in your arms!
  • I was induced with it on March 4th around 6pm and had my little girl at 11pm, This is my first pregnancy so I'm not sure what natural labor feels like. BUT let me tell you- once I dilated to 4cm I was BEGGING for that epidural! It seriously was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life!
  • My induction is tomorrow. I wasn't nervous until right now. I feel like I have a million things to do but I just want to rest.
  • cbonin said:

    My induction is tomorrow. I wasn't nervous until right now. I feel like I have a million things to do but I just want to rest.

    Rest! Rest. Rest. :)
  • I had natural (no drugs) the first time and was induced two weeks ago for my second. I thought the pain was comparable. I did get the epidural for my induction. I had my son within four hours of starting the pitocen.
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