Was you labor induced? Tell me about it.

[Beth76]

I just want to hear about real people's stories about being induced. My doctor suggested I may want to be induced at 37 or 38 weeks because she doesn't want me having another large baby. My first was 8lb 12oz which she feels is too big for my frame. She will only induce me, however, if I'm "inducible" (ie dilated, effaced some). She also said it is completely my decision. I'm hesitant to go as early as 37 weeks, but might consider it at 38-1/2 to 39 weeks.

So please share your experience with me. What was the reason for your induction? Did it go well? Was it horrible? Would you do it again if you had a good reason?

Thanks for sharing!

 

[BedKnobbery2]

Both of my children were born from induced pregancies. My first one, I had a sudden spike in my blood pressure at 5 days past my due date, and it was a medically necessary induction. It took 4 hours after breaking my water for labor to start, and labor lasted 8 hours. He was 9 lbs 4 oz.

For my second, I was 3 weeks overdue and, quite frankly, sick of being pregnant. Plus my doctor had baby size concerns as well, since I was so long overdue. After breaking my water, it took about 2 hours for labor to start, and lasted 4 hours. He was 8 lbs 15 oz.

 

[mickeyboat]

Had one induced, one not.

The one not induced was very painful but very quick (2 hours from start to finish).

The induced one started at 8:00AM, lasted until 11:40PM. It was much more painful. The contractions were one right after another. It seemed there was no time to rest in between. My labor stalled for hours at 3cm (I was induced at 34 weeks). When I hit 4cm, I had an epidural and they increased the dosage of pitocin. It still took 6 hours after that.

I much preferred the "natural" labor.

Good luck to you. P & PD on the way.

Denae

 

[Pete's Mom]

I was induced at 37 weeks because I had lost 4 pounds in the last month and was spotting. I was also in a lot of pain. Since I had not dilated anything nor had my cervix "effaced" any, the whole process took around 26 hours. He weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 22 inches long at birth. The doctor examined me after he was born and said I had two broken ribs and a cracked sternum bone!

Because of the Pitocin, my contractions came harder and faster than normal. Also, I was not allowed to walk and had to stay in bed the entire time. It was painful, even with the epidural but I would gladly do it again. If I had gone full term, he could have been a 10 pounder (like me at birth) and it would have been even harder to deliver him.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Both of my sons were induced. With my first son I had Pregnancy induced hypertension and I had to be induced immediately at 38 wks. I went in at 8:00 and had my son at 2:20 - I only pushed twice. With my second son I was dialated to 5cm at 37 wks. so my Dr. went ahead and induced me. I was in labor maybe three hours and only pushed twice once more! Both labors were smooth as butter with minimal pain.

 

[always quiet]

I was induced with my second. It wasn't bad at all. I was given Pitocin when labor stalled with my first and that was the worst thing I had ever been through. It was like hitting a brick wall going 60 mph! Instant slam! With my second, I remember the nurse coming in with the pitocin. I held onto the bed rails so tight that the nurse HAD to comment! I told her what I expected to happen and she smiled and said that IF it is done correctly (induction), it is not that bad and I shouldn't have that sudden instant horrible pain. I have to admit, this was the best labor I had. I was induced at 8 am and despite the hold up when they told me that the baby "didn't want to come out" when she wouldn't drop into the birth canal (they literally had a very large nurse squeeze me like a tube of toothpaste to make the baby come down!! ), my beautiful was born at 3:21 that afternoon. I had an epidural early and was quite comfortable the whole time.

 

[Boo'sMom]

All three of my kids were induced.
I've had very positive AND negative feelings about it...but in the end the result was my beautiful children....and it didn't matter that they needed some "help" getting here.

 

[poohandwendy]

2 of my children were induced. I had no problem with either. It DOES cause the contractions to be strong, but ask your doctor about controlling it after labor is underway. She may be able to stop the drip (or at least lower the dosage) once your labor is established and regular contractions are coming on their own. (I am not totally sure about this, though).

I was induced the first time because my water broke and nothing started on it's own and the second time because labor failed to progress after 4 cms (it sort of just stalled). IMO, it isn't all that bad, especially if you are going to get an epidural.

Good luck to you!!! Soiunds like you are going to have a new baby in the house very soon!!!! How wonderful!!!

 

[Microcell]

I don't know if it counts, but my water broke two weeks early and nothing happened, so they let me sleep through the night and gave me pitocin to get me going and the contractions were more intense than the first child who was natural. After the pitocin, though things went pretty fast. He was my second child, so I don't know if that played a role in the rapid progression or not. He was my little seven pounder! It is amazing what a woman can endure as far as pain goes, I only had my epidural for twenty minutes before he came!

 

[goofy4tink]

3 births...first one was 3 weeks late, delivered a nice big 10 1/2 pd. baby boy. Labor was start to finish about 10 hrs. second one was also natural with a labor of about 4 hrs. baby girl at about 7 1/2 pds. Now, fast forward about 15 years. I'm pregnant again, at 43. My normally low b/p has spiked for no apparent reason. They tell me to go to the hospital to be induced. What? I don't have my bag with me. (I know, should've known better). Get to the hospital about 3 pm. Start the pit drip at 4:30 pm. Minor contractions. (I was very nervous about induced labor, had heard horror stories). About 6 pm they checked me and I was dilating nicely. Told me that they would stop the drip at about 9 and let me sleep if things didn't pick up tho. They stepped up the amount of the pit drip at 7. At 7:30, a huge pop and rush of water. Yep. I waddle my way down to the delivery area. Beth Israel in Boston was starting what is called a 'walking epidural' at the time. So, as soon as I got to the delivery area, they started the epidural. Contractions go away. Have to say they were not nearly as bad as I thought they would be! One problem I had was that the anesthisiologist didn't get back in time to give me the rest of the epi. So, when it comes time to push, well...I just didn't deal well with the pain. But, 4 good pushes and out she came. All 8 1/2 pds of red-haired beauty. That was at 9 pm. So, start to finish....4 1/2 hrs. Not too bad. But, I've been told my body is made for birthing babies!! Would I do an induced labor again? I think so, but most likely not an issue at 54!!! I guess they knew what they were doing with the amounts of pitocin.

 

[Christine]

My second child was induced because my due date was December 24th. My doctor gave me the "induction option" so I could avoid being in the hospital over Christmas (I had a 3 year old at home). At first I was very put off by it, but as the months went along, I grew to like the idea.

I was induced on December 22nd (two days before my due date). I as 3 centimeters when I went in (not unusual for a 2nd pregnancy though). They started the Pitocin at 10:30 and I was done by 3:30. I didn't find it any worse than my first labor--in fact it was breeze. Communication with your doc is very important. I had heard the Pitocin horror stories. I told my doc that I wanted the epidural within 30 minutes of getting the Pitocin. They did exactly that and I had about 10 minutes of discomfort. Since it was so close to my due date, I'm sure this made the experience better.

My friend was induced for the same reason they suggested to you. Her first baby was 8 lbs 12 ounces and was born with a broken shoulder. They decided to induce her 2 weeks before her due date. She had a very easy time of it as opposed to her first delivery. FWIW, she and I used the same OB/GYN so maybe he is just good at inducing and keeping the mom comfy.

 

[missypie]

Agree to it only if you are already dialated 4-5cm (so they will give you the epidural right away). Pitocin contractions are very intense and the "discomfort" doesn't really stop between contractions...if just gets more intense with each contraction. The problem is that many of the "coping" techiniques involve moving around...walking, showering, warm baths, rocking in rocking chair...you can't do any of those with pitocin, so you're just left to deal with the "discomfort" psychologically...maybe it's just me, but pretending I was a rose about to bloom didn't do a lot for my EXTREME DISCOMFORT. I started the pitocin barely 2 cm dialated, so I had 4 hours of unmedicated pitocin contractions. After that I had the epidural, then 4 hours of bliss, then sweet baby arrived.

 

[Barb D]

I haven't read the rest of the responses...

My first was induced because he was late. Not a big deal. My third was induced about 3 weeks early because we were having some problems. I was told to come in Tuesday morning. They tried to induce her, but she was NOT ready to be born. I thankfully don't remember all the details, but the bottom line was that I was in mild labor all day and nothing happened. They sent me home and told me to come back Wednesday night. That time they tried a cervical gel, which got things started during the night. The next morning they started the pit, and she was born early afternoon. She had some "issues" when she was first born (the worst being that she was gray and not breathing and needed to be resuscitated), but is a healthy, happy 4yo now.

All of this not to scare you, but to let you know that those little ones sometimes have minds of their own when it comes to being born!

 

[HollyJoy]

Both of my children were induced. With my first child, my water actually broke at 37 weeks. I wasn't contracting, so the doctor put me on pitocin. NASTY stuff. I was lucky though, and didn't have any problems with it. I've heard that it can slow down your labor. I had my daughter 12 hours later. My second daughter was a planned induction at 39 weeks. I was just huge, and feeling miserable. Again, no problems with the induction, and she was born 6 hours later.

 

[Kallison]

It hurt -- got over it and had two more.

 

[gshoemate]

I think induced can mean 2 differant things. I was sent to the hospital with both of my children to be "induced". To start out they broke my water, and that was all it took. Both were born withing 4 hours of my water breaking. But then there is also the drug induced where they use pitocin. I am sure that if they broke my water and nothing happened, then pitocin would of been used. Did your doctor clarify how exactly they were going to induce?

 

[browneyes]

I was induced with my ds (w/pitocin). They did an ultrasound on me the day before they induced me to see how big he was. During the ultrasound, we saw meconium floating in there with him and the dr decided we needed to be induced to see if there was indeed a fetal distress situation going on. My ds's cord was wrapped around his neck a little bit, but not tightly. There wasn't much water in there with him either.

Induction wasn't as bad as I had heard it would be. I actually hurt worse when I had my dd than my ds (and she was smaller). My labor lasted longer with my induction, but that's because my body wouldn't dialate until I had pain meds. I had to wait on those because they had to get my platelet count up before they could administer the epidural.

 

[tinaluis]

I was induced with DD#1 because she was over two weeks late - went into the hospital on Monday morning and had her late Wednesday night. I wasn't in labor all that time and they weren't giving me ptocin all along. They started the ptocin at about 3:00 pm.. on Wednesday and she was born about 11:40 pm that night. Overall it was a good experience -- much preferred to the c-sections I had with DD#2 and DD#3. Good luck!

 

[SpecialK]

Two weeks late - not dilated - not effaced. Induced at 6:30 am. My body and pitocin do not mix. Contractions were almost immediate - strong and lasted a long time. Labored for 18 hours before I dilated to 4 when I could finally get an epidural. Ended up with a c-section. My second was a scheduled c-section.

I have friends who were induced who thought it was a breeze. Everyone's experience is different.

 

[Alice28]

I was induced at about 39 weeks ( I think it was 39 weeks 2 days) because my B/P was up and my son's fetal non-stress test was not great. I had been in either L and D or the clinic about every 3 days for over two weeks and the doctor just felt it was "time." I did too! I also thought I was having a big baby (see end of story) as the ultrasound determined he was 8# 4 oz around 37 weeks. I was "induced" at noon on a Wednesday- the first step was just softening my cervix with a pill (I can't remember what it was called) that the doctor inserted right behind my cervix. I basically just sat in my nice L and D room and relaxed for the whole day. Around 8:30 the next AM, I was checked and sure enough I had dialated to 2 1/2 and was over 90% effaced. So they started the pitocin right after that. (This was my second baby by the way---first one I was not induced). I dialated at a somewhat slow rate...needed the epidural around 3:00 or so and then that didn't take 100%- maybe 60-70%- could still feel STRONG contractions on my left side. Very different from the first time I had an epi with DS#1 (worked like a miracle the first time). Finally at 8:30 PM the midwife came in and started massaging my perineum, to reduce likelihood of tearing. At 9:18 I started pushing and I thought I was going to die- the epidural still wasn't working 100% and it was tough...At 9:42 Joshua was born and had juicy breathing so they took him to the nursery...DH went with him and came back 10 minutes later with a glazey look----he said, "Robin, you just delivered an 11# 2 1/2 ounce baby!" I think my labor was so lengthy because he was SO big, he wasn't descending into the birth canal to press on the cervix to dialate it quicker.

Yes, although it was a lengthy process, IF I have a third, I will not hesitate to be induced. I do NOT want another 11 pounder!! And no, I did not have gestational diabetes, and I only gained 24 pounds! I am tall and "big boned" as is DH, but geez louise! No woman should have to deliver that big of a baby!!!!!!!!!