Induction Date .....

[Marianne]

We went up and had the extra scan today (tuesday) and everything was fine with the baby and everthing around it apart from the measurements are bringing baby in at 4lb 8oz at nearly 39 weeks gestation, which is quite a bit on the small side I guess. After the scan they put me onto a monitor for 45 minutes, the monitor monitors babies heartbeat and any pressure and I had to press a button when I felt baby moving ( I dont think it liked the machine as it just went crazy from the minute the straps were around my tummy untill they came off lol ), anyway, babies heartbeat was perfect,etc and they took me off the machine and asked me to wait and the doctor would be in for further discussion,etc. The doctor then came in with a shaperone and what I thought was a speculim being done again turned out to be a sweep lol !! I turned to face my OH when the doctor was doing it and I had my face screwed right up, i've not felt discomfort like it !! Afterwards, she said to me to get dressed and she was going to speak to someone else to see what they will decide to do next. When she left the room I was telling my partner how different it was to the speculim I had done before and how uncomfortable it was and he burst out laughing and he then decided to set me right and tell me that's because it wasnt a speculim this time, the docor had given me a sweep and it was her hand up there ( I was so embarrassed lol )!!
Anyway, put my bottom half on and went back through to waiting room while they were away deciding what was to happen next. The doctor and the midwife who shaperoned the procedure came back to me and told me i'm to go back to the maternity unit on Thursday and be put back on the monitor so they can make sure heartbeat and movement,etc are all still fine and then they will tell me a time for saturday to come in, i'm thinking "a time for saturday..what ??" ..... So I am to go in on Saturday and have something done to see if it set's labour off, if it doesnt work, on sunday they will induce me !! .... I burst out crying, think it was mostly fear tbh, as you get it set in your head that you arent going to see your baby untill 40+ weeks at least and building yourself up for your labour starting out the blue at home and then your getting told you are going in to be started, earlier than you thought !!!

I am absolutely terrified (happy but ... terrified at the same time). I'm not sure exactly what it all entails and will my partner be with me for all of this or will he have to go home at a certain point if nothing happens,etc

Anyone else had to go through this ???

 

[don-don]

hey hun, ive got exactly the same question, haven't got a clue about induction. Sorry i cant help you but im sure someone has been through it!!!xx Good luck chickxxx

 

[JJ Mum]

Can't help with induction sorry, but if your baby is a little smaller than expected, for whatever unknown reason, it will help him/her to be delivered earlier, he/she can get the extra nutrition they need , and get nice and tubby .

You will be able to pla better around this date too, so don't worry and good luck, you will have your baby soon X

 

[Emmamb]

I've never had an induction but I know ppl that have-basically they put a pessary inside u to help soften the cervix and stimulate contractions which theyl repeat if nothin happens,some hospitals also put u on a drip but I think the contractions can b quite strong,quite quick with that. Sorry I can't help much more xx

 

[Marianne]

Are you still able to be mobile with an induction or are you stuck to a bed due to them monitoring baby ? xx I know my birthing pool is out the question now as i'm at the medical side of things now xx

 

[ShadowWolf]

I had an induction with my Lilly and here's how (part of) it went....

I got into the hospital and they put me on the monitor for 30 mins to check bab was ok and fit for induction. Once that had been done the MW came in and put the prostaglandin tablet up and behind my cervix... bit painful but i think it varies. Now you probably wont go through this bit so don't get to worried..... I had a very strong reaction to the protaglandin and started having very painful contractions right away. They leave you for 6 hours and put another tablet in if you are making progress but they come back and examine you every hour or so through the day. Unfortunately at the end of the 6 hours I hadn't dialated any more than 1cm so I had to stay overnight in the ward and start again the next day (they wont let you go home once and induction has begun and for some reason they wouldn't give me the second tablet). They gave me a drug to stop the contractions overnight (can't remember the chemical name for it but it was basicaly heroin.... great stuff but made me ill).

Went back next morning and got the 2nd tabet put in (apparently they have to try with the tablet twice) and nothing happened for about 6 hours and then all of a sudden i got walloped with contractions. The lovely MW gave me gas and air at this point (i wasnt offered anything the previous day) which was great. It got to the point where they could break my waters (i'd still only dialated 2 cms by this point) and within an hour i was 10cm and began the big push.

I had a very uncomfortable labour personally and i would never ever be induced again if i had a choice in it but i think that was only because of the rare reaction i had to the drug. I hope i didn't scare you too much but I want you to know that it may not be easy, even though most people go through it without the problems i had. If you can stomach it, look up my full labour story in the new arrivals section (baby's name is Lilly Anne Judson).

I hope this helps you know what to expect. Goin in for an induction is a long process as you wont be at home for the early part of your labour so go prepared with food and lucozade and a good book for if you are comfortable enough to read.

All I will say is, OMG it is so worth it all.

xxxxx

 

[ShadowWolf]

And as long as there are no problems, you are mobile and the encourage you to do as much activity as you can handle. They may even let you have a bath, they did me

xxx

 

[PinkPunch]

I had the drip and was mobile so you won't be stuck on the bed once things get moving

 

[titch]

hiya, i was induced as i had preecampsia. i was the same as you expecting to go into labour at home so i found it a bit sad but you'll be just fine. they put a gel onto my cervix with a syringe (no needle!) and then you have to stay on the monitor for about 20 mins then you go off it. you have to go o a few times a day from what i remember. youre encouraged to walk around hte hospital so take day clothes, and warm gloves etc.. and take lots of walks outside, being on the ward thinking about every contraction will drive you stir crazy!

i started contracting half an hour after the first gel and with induction they come very quickly, i was counting the minutes apart all morning until they told me not to bother cos with induction close contractions dont mean a thing it can be very tiring cos its hard to sleep and i really really wish i'd demanded my own room for the process as i mightve had more sleep. If I had my time again I would pay on my credit card for a private room if I had to. Its too hard doing it in a ward with other women watching you. Take your own pillows in and anything else that will make you comfy to help you get as much sleep as possible. eye mask and ear plugs spring to mind too!

That said the woman oposite me had the gel the same morning and loads of doses after that and she never had 1 contraction, so I guess for some people it doesnt work.

Ive read a variety of birth stories about induction ranging from someone beig induced going into labour that day and having their baby no complication that afternoon, to some very very long labours.

Good luck!!

P.S. take in your own food, theres nothing worse than waiting til 9am for your breakfast and being given 2 cold pieces of toast, our hospital was by a tesco so OH used to bring me croissants & fruit in the evening so I could eat my breakfast at 7 as usual

 

[titch]

The lovely MW gave me gas and air at this point (i wasnt offered anything the previous day) which was great.

I wasnt allowed gas and air!! rubbish, I was on the ward the whole time and I kept going to the nurses station cos I could barely walk for the ocntractions and got offered paracetamol. I was ready to murder at that stage! Out of interest were you induced on the antenatal ward or on the labour ward? I noticed on 1 born every minute they go straight to the labour ward which is much better. I was on the antenatal ward and only allowed to see OH during visiting hours which was jut cruel, I ended up screaming when they said he had to go one evening and they let him stay, he got into the bed with me to give me a cuddle cos I just missed him and I saw the midwife was about to say something and I just glared at her and she said "I didnt see this" and walked off

 

[ShadowWolf]

I was in a labour suite, my own room too

As for pain killers, i only got paracetamol on the 1st day too I think they took pity on me because of the reaction i had to the drug....

xxx

 

[Marianne]

All I know is, i'm to go in on saturday and that's me in for the duration of whatever is all going to happen, i'm not allowed home once I go in. It was a foreign doctor who was explaining everything so myself,my mother and my OH couldnt really understand everything she was saying tbh ... we cant even read her writing in my notes !!

I deffinately picked up on when the doctor said to my oh that on saturday if nothing is happening he has to go home and come back in the morning but if anything happens they will phone him.

I'm not too happy about that tbh, if they are starting me, why cant he stay with me through it all ?

 

[ShadowWolf]

Mine had to go home overnight too But i was so exausted, i didnt care, lol.

xxx

 

[titch]

All I know is, i'm to go in on saturday and that's me in for the duration of whatever is all going to happen, i'm not allowed home once I go in. It was a foreign doctor who was explaining everything so myself,my mother and my OH couldnt really understand everything she was saying tbh ... we cant even read her writing in my notes !!

I deffinately picked up on when the doctor said to my oh that on saturday if nothing is happening he has to go home and come back in the morning but if anything happens they will phone him.

I'm not too happy about that tbh, if they are starting me, why cant he stay with me through it all ?

for me it took 3 days and there was no bed for OH. but as i was on a ward it wasnt really fair on the other women him being there so he had to go

 

[Marianne]

k, I think i'm just panicing now lol. It's fear of the labour and the fact of my OH doesnt drive and my mum lives 6 miles away from us, I know it's only 15/20min drive to pick him up but then it's another 15min to the hospital, so guess i'm just scared he wont make it in time if anything happens through the night after he's been sent home. Does that make sense?

 

[titch]

I know what you mean but induction is more of a marathon TBH nothing seems to happen that quickly. could you afford to pay for a private room? then youre OH would be able to stay whenever.

 

[Marianne]

Didnt know you could pay for a private room tbh lol, how much do they cost :-s ?

 

[titch]

yup you can, but you get bumped out if theres anyone needs it. kind of hotel rates i think your best bet is to ring the ward and ask if they do it first. explain that youre feeling really anxious about your OH having to leave you as he doesnt drive, and perhaps a white liethat it would be completely impossible for him to get there in the night if he needed to they might give you one free then. you didnt hear it from me....

 

[Marianne]

ok , i'll speak to my oh when he get's home from college shortly and see how he feel's about it lol

 

[titch]

http://www.babyworld.co.uk/features/birth/payingforbabysbirth.asp#Private%20room%20in%20an%20NHS%20hospital

here it just mentions it on postnatal wards...