Scheduled induction, any advice?

Bridgetalyse20 · March 2016

I'm having a scheduled induction on the morning of 4/19 with pitocin and I'll be having an epidural at some point as well. Any advice?

rlbrooks84 · March 2016

Hold off on the epideral as long as you can, it completely stopped labor with my first and then they had to give me pitocin to get things going again. With my second I waited as long as I could and then the got the epidural and had no issues. I was overly zealous to get the epidural with my first, I don't do well with pain. I hope this helps.

KateLouise · March 2016

How does pitocin work? Are you able to get up and move around. I was induced with cervadil, and the nurse told me to either get up and walk around or sleep, but not to just lie in my bed doing nothing. The idea being that the walking can help get things going, but you need rest because it can be a long process.

As it was the cervadil was placed at 730pm and baby was born at 11pm. I didn't need an epidural.

Best wishes to you, I hope it all goes smoothly.

taysun · March 2016

If you can't hold off on the epidural, don't worry about it. Yes for pp it stalled labor but it made mine speed up. And if you're having pitocin anyway I don't think it really matters.
Honestly I'd get the epi sooner rather than later with pitocin. Mine took too long because the anesthesiologist had to come in (it was the middle of the night) and by the time he got there my contractions were so bad I couldn't stay still and it took him four+ jabs to get it in correctly.
Eat a good meal beforehand because it could take a long time, mine took around 48 hours although they started me off with cytotec before the broke my water and then added pitocin.
Make sure they turn off the epidural ASAP afterwards-- mine was left on for an hour and my bladder was so full when I finally was able to get out of bed I needed a cathater to pee. Which comes to my next point, I would pee as soon as you can after delivery. It was not fun being in pain and not able to pee on my own. Luckily it had nothing to do with having the catheter in from the epidural, just that I pushed for three hours with no cathater all while drinking copious amounts of fluids and havind IV fluids.
If you are having the epidural then the pitocin isn't that bad. I didn't even notice it.

Latina211508 · March 2016

Just relax. I asked to be induced twice and was given pitocin both times. I chose not to get an epi but labor was only 2 hours both times. I was able to get up and walk around but you are hooked up. But if you get a catheter you have to stay in bed. Good luck

Alygohome · March 2016

I was induced with cervidal and the Pitocin. My induction was very long, I held off an epi but after being stuck at 4 cm for almost 2 days I decided to get an epi (so they could turn the pit up) in 45 min I went from 4-10 and pushed twice for dd to be born. So, in my case the epi actually sped up my labor. However, I was 35 weeks so my cervix was pretty thick and firm still when I was induced.

gemini2005 · March 2016

I had two easy inductions with the epidural. I just did what the nurses told me and I had no problems at all. They tell you not to eat a lot beforehand (just toast and tea) so you don't have a full stomach in case you get sick. I was never hungry during that time anyway but I was incredibly thirsty (they wouldn't let me have any liquids but I got some ice chips to suck on). They hook you up to fluids and pitocin so it's a real pain to get out of bed to use the bathroom or walk around to ease the pain. Once you get the epi, they give you a catheter so it's a relief not to have to get out of bed to pee. I think they turn down the epi when it's time to push so you can feel the contractions a bit. I remember the pressure feeling was intense but it helped to push efficiently. I hope your induction goes smoothly- GL!

oneblessedmess · March 2016

In case your doctor didn't mention this, call the hospital an hour before you go to make sure they have a spot ready for you. My OB instructed us to do this, and sure enough, when I called I was told they would have to push my time back because I was non-emergent and they were very busy that evening. That was at 7 PM, I was scheduled to be induced at 8. They told me to call back at 10. The next time I called, the nurse told me she would confirm they were ready for me and call me back. Luckily they had space for me at that point. I ended up getting to the hospital at about midnight.

As far as once you're actually admitted, the other ladies have given great advice I think! Good luck!

Ready4theParty · March 2016

Like the other ladies have said hold off on the epi as long as possible. I was able to get up and walk around while I had been given the pitocin but after a while it became too much. I was allowed a clear liquid diet as well. I was over due bit from the international they administered it to the time she got here was 8 hours total.

snowhite12 · March 2016

KateLouise said:

How does pitocin work? Are you able to get up and move around. I was induced with cervadil, and the nurse told me to either get up and walk around or sleep, but not to just lie in my bed doing nothing. The idea being that the walking can help get things going, but you need rest because it can be a long process.

As it was the cervadil was placed at 730pm and baby was born at 11pm. I didn't need an epidural.

Best wishes to you, I hope it all goes smoothly.

I was induced with Pitocin with my first. They already had an iv in my hand and just added the Pitocin (I'm guessing) to the bag of fluids. I was able to walk around. Once I did start walking around, my labor really picked up.
PPs talking about the epidural...I received an epidural when my contractions were about 2.5 min apart and I believe I was 5-6cm dilated. I do not think it slowed down labor for me, as I went from 6-10cm in about 2 hours.
My best advice would be, if you can, walk or even sit up when they start you on Pitocin, walking around and sitting in a chair really sped up labor for me.

I was in labor a total of 12 hours (1 hour of which was pushing).

little_bren · April 2016

The pill they give you the night before did nothing for me and it sucked to try to sleep there. If you live close to the hospital, see if you can just come in early the day of? Idk what they will say but I didn't sleep the night before bc I was so uncomfortable. If I am to be induced with this one, I will be asking.

sorarose · April 2016

I received my epidural almost immediately upon arriving at the hospital. Fortunately, the epi agreed with me. I went in only 1cm dilated because I started bleeding and they worried about my placenta, but I quickly went to 4-5 on my own within a few hours. I was given the pitocin through my IV, and it still took awhile to be fully dilated. I had pizza before I went to the hospital, and I'm personally happy I did because I felt hungry during much of my labor. Definitely try to pee as soon as you finish labor and they remove the catheter.

pinottoparenthood · April 2016

Good luck! I am due tomorrow but have an induction scheduled for the evening of the 19th as well if I go that overdue. Here is my experience being induced at 41 weeks with my first baby:

Checked into the hospital on a Tuesday night and was given Cervidil. They will generally give you something in advance or at the beginning to help dilate/soften your Cervix and make it more favorable for induction... cervidil or cyotec, which are hormonal, or maybe a balloon to manually dilate your cervix. I had cervidil. Insertion was very uncomfortable (almost like she was shoving a tampon way in there or something)... I had to stay in bed for two hours, then get up and pee, and then they gave me Ambien to help me get some sleep. Were supposed to start pitocin the next morning, but I woke up in the early hours to contractions and my water broke when I got up.

I couldn't get the epidural for a few hours because I wasn't progressed enough, and the pain was WAY worse than I had anticipated. I did end up getting morphine through an IV, which didn't help much with the pain but did help me to get a little sleep here and there. I got the epidural several hours later.

I progressed quickly but did stall out at 9.5 cm. I had to get pitocin at the very end, but it wasn't a big deal because I had the epidural and couldn't feel anything. I also got really nauseated at the end and they gave me Zofran in my IV which helped so much, so don't be afraid to ask for what you need!

I pushed for 30 minutes and he was out. Did have an episiotomy. Total labor time was only 8.5 hours, and although it was definitely painful I had a great induction experience! It's different for every person, but at the end, all that matters is that you and baby are safe. good luck!

adiaz132003 · April 2016

I lot of it may have to due with the reason for the induction. If you are being induced early for medical reasons I've heard labor can be long and very intense because your body was not naturally ready so the contractions can be hard and frequent so have them ready with the epi cause you may not be able to sit still. If you are being induced because you are "late" or "overdue" have a discussion of timing first. If this is your first, statistics show that almost 50% of ftm go into labor at 10 days past your due date and if you still have no signs then you can opt to be induced at 42 weeks. If you are induced after you due date then labor may happen more quickly since your body was probably getting ready for labor anyway. Labor at say 36 weeks can be very different than at 42.

Scheduled induction, any advice?

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