Talk to me about induction (UPDATED)

[justjen]

So this kid is now 9 days late. We have a 1:30 appointment with the OB, and I suspect they're going to want to schedule the induction.

I was really hoping to avoid this -- I'd so much rather spend early labor on my couch at home then hooked up to an IV in an uncomfortable hospital bed -- but I'd like to at least be informed...

So, if you were induced:
-What was your experience like?
-How long did it take, start to finish?
-Any tips? One of my friends recommended that I ask for the epidural before they break my water, but that seems kind of soon..

Any insight would be appreciated

UPDATE: The induction is scheduled for tomorrow... I have to call the hospital at 5am, and we'll see what happens from there... wish me luck!

[ohgillian]

I know people say that pitocin contractions are way so painful, but I didn't find them to be any more painful that I would have expected regular contrax to be. I mean, that was my only birth, so I don't have a comparison point, but I didn't find it to be the horror show that it is often made out to be.

I think I was induced around 4 pm and DS was born around 4 AM.

As for tips, the only thing I can suggest is to try all of the natural ways to stimulate labor. Castor oil, pressure points, etc. But maybe you've already done that.

Best of luck!

[benitabutrell]

My induction was a breeze. They started pitocin at 7:00 and I had her at 1:00. Only about 10 pushes maybe. I had uncomfortable cramps for about 2 hours and then after the Epi I didn't feel the cramps, but still felt all of the pressure still. It all happened so quickly and if I'm ever faced with another induction I won't stress over it at all. Good luck! I hope yours goes as smoothly as mine did.

[6fsn]

At almost 2 wks late (with gd) my induction went like this:
Monday am- I was 2 cm. They said to I go to the hospital Tuesday evening for cervadil then get induced the next morning.
Tuesday pm- I understood what cervadil did, but didn't comprehend that it was inserted and stayed in and I had to stay too. Unexpectedly got admitted send DH home to get bags then home to sleep.
Wednesday am- stop eating and start pit. See contractions on the screen, but don't feel them. No change in dilation by 5 pm so they stop the pit to try again the next day. Eat dinner. Send DH home.
Thursday am- start the pit. See the contractions, but still don't feel them. Before lunch the check and I'm 5 cm. so the doc breaks my water.

Thursday 7pm- Nothing has changed. We opt for a c/s. I didn't get any drugs until this time.

[sometimesrunner]

I didn't make it to my induction date, but I was going to go in late in the evening to begin cervadil (to ripen the cervix), and then I was going to start pitocin the next morning.

[Deleted]

I had bloody show & weak contrac the morning of my scheduled c section. Switched to induction. Cervadil at 9:00 am. Went from 0-4 by 1:00pm. Low dose of pit around 6:00pm. Epi at midnight. Baby at 9:30 am.

[dragonfly08]

I was induced with both of my kids, the first for medical reasons and the second by choice.

-What was your experience like? I have no complaints. Obviously the first one went well enough for me that I chose to have the second induction. I'm glad I did, too...the constant monitoring you get with an induction revealed early on that #2 had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. My OB was then able to control labor, get her out fast, and get the cord unwrapped without any unnecessary intervention (beyond the pitocin, of course) or complications for DD or myself.

-How long did it take, start to finish? With #1, it was about 10.5 hours from the start of the Pitocin until she was born. But the first part of that was a slow, controlled contraction stress test and not them trying to actively get the baby out. Things didn't really start moving until I did well on the test and my OB determined that DD could handle a vaginal delivery. #2 was born 5.5 hours from the time they started me on meds.

-Any tips? One of my friends recommended that I ask for the epidural before they break my water, but that seems kind of soon.. I made sure to eat beforehand. Something light, at least...it could be a while before you eat again. For my epidural, I waited until I really needed it because I didn't want to risk slowing down/stalling labor which can happen once you've had it. Other than that, I'd just say keep and open mind and be positive. An induction isn't everyone's first choice but, IMO, there's no reason to be disappointed. So you don't go into labor naturally. Yes, you risk a c/s (but you could have needed one without the induction, too). But the end result is the same and once you're holding that baby, you probably won't care all that much about anything else. Good luck!

[barefootcontessa]

I have never been induced, but you might be able to get your labor going with the breast pump. GL.

[mollybrown]

I've had 2 inductions, and they were both wonderful experiences. Yes I was stuck at the hospital, but I was watching movies, hanging out with DH, and playing on the internet.

For the first, it took 30 hours from start to finish. I wasn't having contractions for most of the time, so it wasn't as bad as it sounds (although I will always be able to hold that over DS' head). I have Cervadil overnight, and started Pitocin the next day. The nurses allowed me to eat the first night, so I didn't have to go hungry either.

The second time, it was probably about 10 hours start to finish. Both times, I got an epidural right before they started the Pitocin. I didn't have to endure many contractions. And I definitely wasn't hooked up to an IV the whole time with either delivery. I know different hospitals have different rules, so that's something to ask the doctor about.

[perhapsprincess]

Aug 13, 2012 9:57:38 GMT -5 justjen said:

So this kid is now 9 days late. We have a 1:30 appointment with the OB, and I suspect they're going to want to schedule the induction.

I was really hoping to avoid this -- I'd so much rather spend early labor on my couch at home then hooked up to an IV in an uncomfortable hospital bed -- but I'd like to at least be informed...

So, if you were induced:
-What was your experience like?
-How long did it take, start to finish?
-Any tips? One of my friends recommended that I ask for the epidural before they break my water, but that seems kind of soon..

Any insight would be appreciated

I've had two inductions so far. Neither was that bad. In both cases I didn't "feel" the contractions until my water broke. I waited to get an epidural until I couldn't manage without it (And was trying to get to a 5 on the "opening" scale whose name I can't remember). For my body, my experience, I'd absolutely go with an induction again. That baby just gets bigger as it bakes inside and my kids were 8lb 15 oz and 9lb 6oz. (second kid baked for 5 longer than first)

[GailGoldie]

i was induced b/c of issues i was having at 36w with DS1.

i got the pitocin at 7am.... the epidural around 7;30 am - bc i had kidney stones causing pain so they wanted me covered right away..... it was a long day - mostly sleeping... had one time where there was a "window" with the epi that they had to give an extra squirt for - so i had some pain for a while (not even sure if it was contrax or stones or both)....

was fully dilated at midnight- he was born at 1:40. I was EXHAUSTED b/c i had been throwing up the whole day before from the kidney stone pain... so i had no food in me for 2 days (just an IV)... i had been on bed rest for 6 weeks- so i had no muscle left... so pushing was really hard for me- but had nothing to do with the induction- that all went fine.

[Deleted]

I went to a full 2 weeks late and then was induced. They tried an inflatable catheter overnight to start labor which gave mild contractions that stopped by morning. I went in at 8pm Monday night and they sent me home after it was inserted. I came back in Tuesday morning around 9am.
At 10am they started pitocin. I could walk around, eat, get up, do whatever most of the day even though the contractions were insane. I was hoping to go w/o epidural and they allowed me to labor like that all day. The doctor broke my water around 5pm during an internal exam.
At 9pm, after 12 hours or so I begged for an epidural. It failed after an hour and never worked again even though they tried it 3 more times. DS was sunny side up, so I was having insane back labor.
At around 3am I finally dilated to 10cm and then I pushed unsuccesfully for 2 hours. At that point midwife told me I could push for 1 more hour if I wanted to. I said "F NO, get this kid out of me now." and opted at that point for a C/S. DS was born at 6:38am.
All in all the entire thing lasted about 34 hours. It was crazy, but I was glad that I had some ability to go through all the stages of labor and by the time I opted for the C/S it was basically a last resort - they told me later they'd been wanting me to have one since 5:00 the day before.
Not telling you this to scare you - but just be prepared that once the induction process starts the whole thing is mostly out of your hands. Try to remain calm, go with the flow, be educated about procedures and things before hand so you can participate in the choices and your own care, and also prepare to recover from a C/S just in case. I was not at all prepared for that outcome. In the end I think all these things contributed to me being ok with how everything went when all was said and done.

[vanillacourage]

I was a VBAC, 6 days post-due date. Could not get Cervadil due to VBAC so I reported at 5:30 to start Pitocin. Got hooked up to that, plus internal monitors due to the VBAC, and they broke my water. I could be on the bouncy ball, but couldn't walk the halls due to the internal monitor. I was having decent contractions but couldn't really feel much until I got to 4cm. Got almost to 5 and then just sort of stalled out.

Now, this entire time the baby was having heart decels - so they had me turn this way, turn that way, be on my stomach, etc. Nothing serious, but they said he wasn't tolerating labor very well. All of a sudden around 5pm the room flooded with nurses and they had me up on all 4's - his heart had had a big decel and had set off the monitors at the nurse's station. They were able to get it back but it was pretty scary. My OB came in shortly afterward and said that I'd given it my best shot but it was time for a RCS. He was born at 9.5 lbs and 23 inches long (huge) and with a pressure mark on his scalp that showed he was never lined up right anyway.

I had no issues with the actual induction and was never in any real pain - my OB says that knowing how big he was and how he was lined up, a vaginal birth was probably not in the cards for me no matter what happened. No regrets!

[justjen]

Thank you all so much for your stories. It really does help seeing how things really went with actual, real-life labors. I'm off to the doctor's now, so we'll see where we wind up!

[bananahannah]

Lurker here.

I was induced when I was 10 days overdue due to low fluid levels. They gave me Cervidil at 12:30 am thinking that it would take about 12 hours to ripen the cervix, but it actually was the only thing I needed to induce labor. Intense contractions began around 3:00 am. I was seriously thinking about an epidural by 5:30. They gave me a narcotic to buy a bit of time before giving the epi. Was begging for epi by 7:00. Once I was feeling better around 8:30 they checked me and I was ready to push. 2 hours of painless pushing later, baby was born!

Good luck, wishing you a smooth delivery!

[brit1017]

Aug 13, 2012 9:57:38 GMT -5 justjen said:

So this kid is now 9 days late. We have a 1:30 appointment with the OB, and I suspect they're going to want to schedule the induction.

I was really hoping to avoid this -- I'd so much rather spend early labor on my couch at home then hooked up to an IV in an uncomfortable hospital bed -- but I'd like to at least be informed...

So, if you were induced:
-What was your experience like?
-How long did it take, start to finish?
-Any tips? One of my friends recommended that I ask for the epidural before they break my water, but that seems kind of soon..

Any insight would be appreciated

Sorry, this might get long. I was induced twice, under different circumstances, so I'll try and give your the Cliff's Notes of both.

DS- was induced at 37 weeks for pre-e. I was not at all dilated or effaced, and his head was not engaged. Checked into the hospital about 7pm, they inserted Cervadil at 11pm to ripen the cervix. My water naturally broke at about midnight and light contractions started (enough that I couldn't sleep). They inserted a second dose of Cervadil at 8am. They checked at 12pm and I was 1cm and slightly effaced. They started pit and I asked for an epidural. At 6pm, I was fully dilated and started to push. DS was born at 7:45pm- took awhile b/c the cord was wrapped around his neck and he had shoulder dystocia, so he got stuck. About 21 hours start to finish, being as unfavorable as it gets for a successful induction.

DD- was induced at 39 weeks due to previous history of shoulder dystocia and estimates of her size. Went in at 7am, was 2cm dilated and about 20% effaced. They broke my water at 10am and started pit. At 2pm, I was 4cm and asked for an epidural. The epi was placed at 3pm, but wore off within an hour. Asked for another epi at 4pm, was fully dilated. Started to push at 4:20pm, DD was born at 4:40pm (she also had shoulder dystocia). About 6 hours start to finish.

My advice- try red raspberry leaf tea and evening primrose oil (after discussing with your OB of course) to ripen your cervix before the induction. I did that for 2 weeks leading up to DD's induction and it was much easier and faster to not have to do the cervadil first. Your hospital may not let you get an epidural when they break your water- some have policies that you need to be dilated to a certain number first.

[Saudade]

I was induced starting with Cervidil and then Pitocin. The Pitocin was the worst part. I got Stadol until I could have the epidural. Then from 5cm to 10cm I was laboring with the epidural. I honestly don't remember much because everything after was such an emergency. At 10cm my CNM checked me and found out DS had flipped and was presenting breech. An u/s, xray, and 10 mins later I was in the OR getting a c-section. It was an ordeal and full of post-op complications but I absolutely loved my experience and the people there with me.

[pierogigirl]

I was induced with DS1 at 38 weeks due to pre-e. I was obly a fingertip dilated and he was not engaged. I went in at 11 am Thursday to start Cervidil and Pitocin started at 8 am Friday. I cycled up to the highest level of Pit and then they started the cycle over. My water broke at 4 cm and that's when it became extremely painful - my contrax just piled on top of each other with no rest in between. I asked for an epidural and they lowered the pit so I could wait for the anesthesiologist (he was doing a surgery). After the epi it was much nicer. He was born after 2 hrs of pushing at 2 am Saturday morning.

With DS2 I went into labor on my own, the day before my scheduled induction. I never developed pre-e with him and the entire labor was faster and much less painful. I assume this was because my body was actually ready to have him. I had been at 3 cm for 3 weeks.

[fortmyersbride]

I was induced at 39 weeks, semi-electively, with my 2nd.

I showed up at my OB's office and was dilated 5cm. Was sent to the hospital and had my water broken then epidural placed. Low dose pit was then run until delivery. DD was born 2.5 hrs later, in 2 pushes. Honestly it was a great experience, but the fact that I started at 5cm was a large part of that.

[MamaMaui24]

Good luck!

[minzy]

Good luck!!

I was induced at 40 weeks for borderline low platelets and it took about 14 hours total. I think I got there around 6am, they broke my water around 7:30am, started Pitocin 45 minutes after that. I was ambivalent about an epidural ahead of time but requested one around noon. After hearing a horror story from a friend, I ramped up the epidural as I got close to fully dilated (around 6pm). I won't do that next time because I couldn't feel a thing and wound up pushing (much of it was ineffective) for over 2 hours. DD was born at 8:15pm. My goals of us both being alive after and the kid not having neurologic damage were met. Overall, I didn't think it was bad at all.

[ijack]

My induction was wonderful. Started the cervical ripener at 10 pm. Broke my water at 10am (I was about 3cm). Fully dilated by 1, pushing at 2, baby at 3:23. Once I had my epi (around 11:30 I think) it was a breeze
Good luck!

[Shreddingbetty]

I had an elective induction at 38.5 weeks. I went in at 7 pm and they started cytotec at 8 then again at 12 and the last dose at 4 am. At 515 my water broke on its own and by 6 my contractions started getting pretty strong. DD was born At 809 am after pushing like 3 times. It went really fast and smooth (other than the fact that I had HELLP that they discovered on the routine labs so it was good that I was induced actually) and I was a first time mom. I never needed pitocin. I did not get an epidural. I really did not want one. I almost broke down and got one because no one expected me to go for several more hours and the contractions were very strong and I figured another 8 hours of that might be a it much....but I went so fast it was too late to get one luckily (plus with the HELLP I couldn't get one anyway). I have nothing against epidurals if people want to use them I just wasn't looking forward to a gigantic needle in my spine and the dead legs. I was very happy with the way things turned out.

[hymen]

I was "induced" but not in the typical sense. I was a week overdue and while I was having contractions, but my cervix was closed up tight.. My induction was scheduled for Thursday and they had me come in Wednesday night for cervadil insertion to get my cervix dilated. I was supposed to have the cervadil in for 12 hours (inserted at 10 p.m.) but I only had it in for a few hours (taken out at 2 a.m.) and they ended up taking it out because I was dilating so much. I was supposed to have pitocin Thursday morning but since I was contracting on my own I never needed it. I got an epidural around 4 cm (3:30 a.m.), and started pushing around 10:00 a.m. Unfortunately, I ended up pushing for 3 hours (plus an hour "break" in between that was pure hell because all I wanted to do was push but I was getting really tired). I think I was only a few minutes from a c-section, but it wasn't induction related (he had the cord wrapped around his neck so every time I pushed he was essentially bungee-ing back in).

The nice thing about the induction is that it was super low key (for me anyway). There was no rush to the hospital or anything. We called the hospital after dinner on Wednesday night to see if they had a bed available and then casually made our way to the hospital. We got checked in, went back out to the car, came back in, chatted with the nurse for a while. It was actually kind of nice. I wouldn't be opposed to an induction for the next one.

ETA: I don't remember if they broke my water before or after I got the epidural. I think it was right before because I remember the contractions getting pretty intense then. I had thought my water broke earlier (had a little come out) but then when the MW did it it was VERY obvious.

[froggy76]

Good luck!!