Induced

Hi Ladies

Yesterday i had a hospital appointment with my midwife as im now overdue, i went on the CTG monitor and even tho i couldnt feel them it showed i had 3 contractions 7 mins apart and also that my uterus was nigley. She did a stretch and sweep on me and im 1cm dialated. Later yesterday afternoon i started having contractions but they were all over the place, then they stopped last night around 5pm

Im having the same stuff done tomorrow as i did yesterday and she also has booked me in to get induced this Monday if he hasnt came by then. She explained the process to me of how they induce you with the gel first and it really creaped me out It sounded so painfull and now im quite worried about it, it dosnt help that the hospital i was planning on birthing at where i live cant induce people so i have to travel 45 mins to Invercargill Hospital to get induced, and the staff there arnt very nice apparently Im really stressing about this as it sounds like a very nasty process.

Can people please share their experiences with me so i know what to expect please ? It would make it abit easier i think

Hi, I just want to say I found it painless. I was induced at 38 weeks due to high BP, first they tried the tape insert which didn't work, so it was removed and I was rested for 12 hours. Next it was the gel and its inserted in via a syringe I didn't find it painful at all, I was wandering around not even realising things were happening until they came to do the 2nd insertion and I was dilated, so it was off to have my waters broken and an epi inserted (just in case I had to go for a C). Having my waters broken wasn't enjoyable but if you have had a sweep done its probably no worse than that and the worse part of the whole thing for me was having the lure thing in my hand and I'm a big scary cat! It really is the unknown I think that scares us more and you might still go into labour naturally yet. Try not to worry to much and goodluck. (Oh and some of the nurses and Queen Mary Dunedin are scary too).

Edited by hannibal

Bubie- have you been down to the rooms at all? Do you know anything about them?

They can't force you to have an epi. Just talk to your MW make sure she knows your fears. Make sure they are spelt out clearly in big words in your book, make sure your partner knows so he can stick up for you as well. I've not had an epi and I was induced with Jared at 22w, thats well before my body was ready. It was very painful but no epi.

Don't be scared of a syringe, its just a more accurate way of getting the gel where it needs to be. Its not a needle. Just think of it as a weird finger hehe

I'm not sure what the rooms are like in Gore (I've only been into the rooms on the right when you walk in from the main doors? That have the 2 beds in them for after baby is born?)

The birthing rooms all seem to be down on the right when you walk in, whereas the rooms for after you give birth are on the other side of the nurses station... I think its b1 and 3 have pools in them (our antenatal lady told us hehe)
These rooms have a big lazy boy in them aswell as the bed, they are HUGE rooms, the lights have a dimmer on them (its super bright with them turned all the way up, tell your DP about the dimmer so he remembers to use it!!!). They all have a private ensuite-but only 2 of the 4 have pools in them. They are quite nice, they have a wee stereo you can use for if you don't want it to be silent (so maybe cds etc if you wanna bring them down?). They seemed to have plenty of towels/blankets etc there in the cupboard and in the bathroom...

There is a wee kitchen just by the nurses station with a ice chip machine and a few other things in it, your DP can go in there. The door is meant to be open all the time, if they don't say anything to you about it make sure you ask so he knows where to go...

I'd imagine thats kinda generic info for what most rooms are like, but it might give you a bit of a better idea... They aren't scary rooms, I was quite suprised. Just make sure your DP knows what you want, and he can make sure you get it! Not sure what else I can think of, but hope that makes it seem a bit less scary for you

Bubie wrote: Also the gel getting insurted via a syringe scares the hell outta me, i thought it was insurted by a finger or something

Don't worry - its not a needle syringe!! Its just a tube they use to squirt it up there. Its not exactly fun and I found the gel a bit chilly (well its going a place thats not accustomed to the cold!! ) but it didn't hurt. I never got past the gel stage as we didn't dialate enough to have my waters broken (no matter how much of that stuff they shoved up there) and ended up with a C (so not part of my plan) but as it was 37 weeks so I doubt that will happen for you!

Thats good Bubie, I was only there on Wednesday night so its all pretty fresh

If you have any other questions about the rooms, I'm sure if you rung them they would be happy to help

And Bubie - the syringe they insert the prostiglandin gel in doesnt have a needle, you know that right? nothing to be frightened of! its almost the same process if you have ever used the thrush treatments where you have to put the thing up your vjj and have the tablet thing there, only with gel!
You dont have to have anything done that you dont want to - make sure you tell your MW that you're scared, she wont think any less of you :) It might be a bit sore after the first lot of gel if you need another lot - the wee cervix gets a bit tender, but it's only for a short time. Make sure you keep active - they'll want you on the CTG to keep an eye on bubs, but dont feel that you have to be strapped down all the time.
Also, if they have to put an IV line in, I promise you it doesnt hurt. They use a little tiny tiny needle to put a local anaesthetic in which feels less painful than getting your ears pierced, then they'll do the IV which you can turn away from. You wont even see it because they'll cover it with a wee bandage thing. I was scared of this when I had my induction with Thomas, but it was all good in the end!
Also with the epi - you dont HAVE to have one! they wont give you one if you need a c-section, you'll get a spinal for that and you cant even see them doing that, nothing to worry about :D
You'll be fine, you'll have your wee bubba soon and forget about all the processes leading up to the birth!
Big hugs to you - I know it's scary but you can do it!

hey Bubie, I was induced last Thursday (not yesterday lol) and the gel really isn't too bad. for me they did a CTG and blood pressure b4 they inserted the gel, then you have to stay lieing down for an hour. After that you are free to walk around (encouraged too even) I found when my legs got tired hopping on a swiss ball was good. In my case I needed a 2nd lot of gel and then all I had was niggles, which while damn uncomfortable don't really hurt. Cause nothing much was happening after 7 hours they gave me pethidine to sleep through the night and said they would be back in the morning to hopefully break my waters. Gave pethidine at almost 10pm, I woke up when it was wearing off at around 1am, got up went to loo got back on bed, waters broke on their own and I had fast natural labour of 2h 50m, 50m pushing inc, and out came bubs :D An example of a really encouraging induction :D Seeing as you are overdue and alrdy 1cm dialated its quite possible just the gel will start things off and you can labour naturally.

i was induced with my first at 8 days over, they squirted the gel up there in sat morning and again 12 hours later cos my cervix was still rock hard. if your cervix is soft they can go strait to the next stage and not have the gel at all. for some ppl the gel softens the cervix up and labour starts on its on with no extra help. i didnt have an epi until 15 hours after the first lot of gel cos they wanted me to sleep through the night and give me the drip in the morning when i was well rested. the gel thing isnt painful at all, the thing i found worse (obviuosly not including actual labour) was that they monitor you for an hour at a time and you have to lie on your pain which makes the virtually painless effacement contractions feel more painful, especially if your bladder fills up in that time. lol.

im getting induced on my due date this time unless baby comes out on his own before that. the actual induction process is unpainful and not scary at all :) hope that helps