inductions and sweeps

[Ginnymarie]

Hi guys

I don't normally post in here but seeing as I will soon be a mum thought I would pop in and say hi and pick your brains.

Yesterday, I had my last growth scan then saw the consultant.

We discussed induction methods. We also discussed dates as my date going by when we TTC is:

3rd May - this would make me not even 39 weeks yet.

they put me originally at 23rd April 10 days further forward at my scan, this would mean i conceived on my period which is impossible ?

So, bearing this in mind he said it would be unwise to induce me before I was ready and baby was ready as it can cause more intervention if the body is not ready, I knew this but at the same time I don't want to risk going over my original due date in case that one is correct and the placenta stops working. He wanted to book me in 10 days from the 3rd may !!!! this would make like 3/4 weeks over my original date !

Therefore, we came to a comprimise and booked my induction for the 7th May, this is exactly 2 weeks after my orginial due date and 4 days after my own due estimated due date. I will be 40 weeks plus 4 days according to the later date.

I feel this is probably a good time as not sure how much more I can take.

I hope I have made a good decision for me and baby.

Oh and he also 'tried' to give me a sweep, my cervix was shut and high but quite soft but because my body is probably not ready it was quite sore and he only managed to do 1/2 the sweep, he said I can ask my midwife in a few days if I would like it done again. I don't think sweeps are meant to be sore it was just because my body is not ready for it yet as if my dates are correct I am not overdue.

Sorry this is such a long post, just wanted to see if anyone else had been in such an iffy position re dates and if they wanted to be induced or were happy to be left for quite a while.....does it really get risky ? I dare not look on the internet.

Quite fed up but trying to stay positive.... you never know, I might pop before the 7th may but i have had no show, no discharge, cervix is shut and high and only a few days on off of braxtons so i don't feel like she is coming anytime soon plus I have tried walking and curries but really not liking the idea of s*x at the moment but will give it a go nearer to my induction date.

oh, are you more likely to get an epidural earlier if you get induced, would you say induction really is more painful than natural..im quite scared but trying to be positive.

x

 

[Mrs_Jay]

i dont really know much about inductions, but i had a sweep on the day b4 my due date because my waters had already gone but i wasnt getting contractions. and apparently i was already 1cm dialated so my body was ready for it but it was still reallly painful. so to round off i do think sweeps hurt

 

[purple13]

i'll be honest (so stop reading now if you only want rose-tinted responses ) - i had 5 sweeps altogether and they eff-ing hurt!! i was commended for my high pain threshold by 3 separate midwives, and although i didn't complain at the time, each sweep had me mentally screaming.

my induction was started on my due date; i had 3 lots of prostin which also made me very sore. my waters were broken on my final sweep - 2 days after my first lot of prostin - and i was put onto syntocinon an hour later. i'd really wanted to labour without pain relief, and lasted 6 hours on gas & air. at this point i was only 3 cm dilated and i ended up with both pethidine and an epidural - i desperately hadn't wanted either of these, but the intensity of the contractions right from the start meant that i just couldn't take any more. if i was going to be induced for future babies, i'd have an epidural as soon as i started to really hurt, rather than be brave again. and i wouldn't touch pethidine with a bargepole.

for all that it hurt, the epi was great, and i'd go through it all a million times again for my little boy

good luck

 

[daftscotslass]

oh, are you more likely to get an epidural earlier if you get induced, would you say induction really is more painful than natural..im quite scared but trying to be positive.

x

I have to echo purple's post and have to be honest about it too. This wasn't the case in my hospital at all. When I had to have the syntocinon drip I told them straight out (this was about 4am) that I wanted an epidural as I was in a lot of pain already. I had mentioned my worries about it long before they even put me on the drip as one of my best friends had warned me about it beforehand. There was no build up at all but then I don't have a basis for comparison.

It took me another 5 hours of begging to actually get it (or rather get the anaesthetist to attempt it) - I really felt like they were pushing the diamorphine (instead of peth in my hospital) as it was easier to administer (midwife could do it rather than an anaesthesiologist) and recovery slightly less complicated. I had categorically said I didn't want it because of the potential side effects on me and the baby. See my birth story for the rest of the details - I ended up doing the lot on gas and air.

If I had to be induced again I would grin and bear it without the epidural. In the end I had my beautiful girl in my arms and that was what mattered.

 

[Gruntie2]

i was induced on my due date. it took 16 hrs togetany pain reliefas they had to make sure i wasin labour....it bloody hurt...i was screamingforhrsonthe maternity ward..all they would giveme wasparacetamol. finally iwentinto fulllabour...andthey gaveme gas and air which made me throw up...idemanded an epidural butittook an hr to get as the lady whodid it wasin emergency theatre...after thateverything was hunky dory until porscia was in distres so at 24hrs after my induction i had an emergency c sectionandwas awakeforit... ifi had not demanded the epidural iwould not have heardmy littlegirls1st cry. one thing is..i would say no ifthey wantedto induce me again...it washorrible

 

[clairescunny55]

i was induced with my 2nd and it was MUCH more painful than going into labour naturally(that could've been because he was nearly 3lb bigger than my 1st!). However, i had sweeps with both pregnancies and they didnt hurt, just felt uncomfortable

 

[flowergirl]

I was induced at term +2 and just had the pessary administered. It took 8 hours before I felt any symptoms of labour and then I had a fairly easy labour which was 6 hours 51 mins in total. I only needed gas and air towards the end once i was pushing baby out. Stay relaxed- I really think that's the key whether you are induced or go naturally.

 

[Full of hope!]

According to my scan I conceived before my period They put my due date a week forward! The MW went by my scan date and I was booked in for an induction at term + 13. I had a sweep at 41 weeks, the MW couldn't reach my cervix but she said baby's head was very low down. Anyway less than 17 hours after my sweep and I was in labour

I was really scared too but when it started I just went with the flow and got on with it (not much else you can do really!)

Oh and I had no signs that I was going into labour really, I had my 'clear out' and my show just before I left for hospital! I was only in labour for 6.5 hours and it was nowhere near as bad as I expected so try not to worry too much hun, it's the unknown that is the scariest bit I think!

Good luck, hope it happens soon for you xxx

 

[Bagpuss17]

Don't have any experience of a sweep but I was induced as my waters broke early and my contractions were moderate on the day they broke but then eased off.

I was 3cm dilated when they took me to be induced so they put me straight onto the drip rather than give me a pessary.

It still took 12 hours and lots of upping of the drip before I started to experience any painful contractions and even then it was only like very bad period pains. The pain was managed really well with pethidine and the tens machine. The last 5 hours of labour I was allowed to use gas and air and I had another pethidine injection. It worked a treat for me.

I didn't experience any severe pain at all, even though generally they say it's more painful when you're induced.

I didn't have an epidural either.

The pethidine didn't have any negative affects on my baby at all, I was very sleepy but that was also largely due to the fact that I'd been in labour for 24 hours and I lost a lot of blood as I had a retained placenta.

Hope everything goes well with the birth and that things happen naturally for you. Remember that everybodys experience is different.

 

[leckershell]

I had a sweep at 40+9 and he was born the next day, so arrived 2 days before my booked induction. At the sweep my midwife said I was 1-2cm already. My sweep was uncomfortable but not painful and she said she'd stretched it quite a lot for me... x