Medical Induction

I was induced with my son (the doctor feared he would be too large for me to deliver if we waitied until the due date, he was right & I had to have a c-section anyway). If I had to choose again I would not have been induced. I feel that I missed out on something special & the petocin jumps starts the contractions big time & did not give me a chance to get used to them so I ended up begging for an epideral, which I wnted to avoid. I went from mild cramping to full out hard contractions in 10 minutes and was not ready for that at all.

Baby knows best when he/she is ready to be born. Not the doctors.

J.,

I see you have lots of responses, but I wanted to weigh in too :)

I have had one baby induced with (cervadil (sp?) and pitocin because I was having contractions regularly but was not progressing while I was 1 week over due. The labor was long (36 hours) and exhausting. I had the epidural, and nearly ended up with a C-Section. Thank goodness for a good LD nurse and my husband. I suspect that had they let me go home (yes they told me I'd be leaving against medical advice if I opted to leave) that my labor may have stopped, then started again later when I was really ready to have the baby.

My second was natural... two weeks over due, but SO MUCH BETTER. Better for recovery. Better for breast-feeding. Better for pushing. Just better. I highly recommend waiting for at least a week after your due date before even considering an induction.

Good luck to you!
J.

Please rent the newly released documentary "The Business of Being Born" it is SO interesting. Women are so misinformed about birth it is scarey!!! Trust your body and your baby to know when it is time. I wish you the best of luck!

J.,

Unless the baby or you are in harms way, I don't understand why your doctor would induce you.

I had my first naturally, however #2 & #3 were induced 3 days early. #2 was severe swelling and #3 was severe swelling and discomfort. I just had #3 in October and my doctor wasn't even sure if I could be induced as the rules are more strict now than they were 4yrs ago when I had my son. The hospital had to make sure that there was actual cause to induce and not just because I wanted to be induced.

I would suggest waiting and not being induced. They say you can go 10-14 days over your due date and than they worry about it. The baby will come when its ready, don't force it.

Good Luck and Congrats!!!

Hello,

Congrats on your new family-to-be! I was only 4 days past due date when I was induced with my first child and I regrettably was just not informed on the potential consequences. I was induced with Pitocin, had an epidural, needed Benadryl because of a reaction to the epidural, contracted a fever, son was born with a fever, I only got to hold him for two minutes before they took him away. He was in NICU for 2 extra days for a full septic work up. The medical interventions just snowballed. Thankfully he was fine, but it was not the delivery I envisioned. This past September I gave birth to our second child, another boy! I did a lot of research on a natural birth and went with a midwife this time. It was everything beautiful and empowering. I didn't need to be separated from our baby, we had instant bonding and breastfeeding. It was one of the greatest days of my life. I'm not saying that you have to go natural, but if you can avoid the induction, your baby may have a smoother delivery. The pitocin really contracts your baby's descent and actually distresses your baby. You won't feel the contractions with an epidural, but your baby will feel these really, super strong,tight contractions. It helped me to keep in mind that the due dates can be off by about 2 weeks, so I wouldn't worry too much if you go a few days or even a week overdue. Good luck with your decision and many blessings for your new family. I just watched a movie called The Business of Being Born. I recommend it, it's great.

I was induced with my first 2 kids. The potocin only makes the contractions start and continue till the baby is born. They will put a fetal monitor on so they can monitor the babies heartbeat to make sure it is okay. I liked it better being induced because once the contractions started the epederal was put in and I didn't feel anything. You miss out on the hard labor. I was to be induced with my last one but went into labor two days early.

J.,
By inducing your labor you are forcing your body to go into labor which will make the contractions much stronger and longer; than normal labor. With having an epidural; your labor is prolonged. By that I mean you sometimes are unable to feel when you are contracting therefore the labor is longer and drug out because you don't know when to push. Not trying to scare you only giving you good information so you can decide which way to go. If I were you, and already having the induction myself; I would go into labor on my own and not induce. Things move much faster when your body is ready! Good luck, you'll do great!

Do NOT induce unless absolutely medically necessary.

Hi J.!
I had my first child naturally and then my second I had induced. Oh how much easier can it get! I would do it again if I had the chance. You are already there no rushing to the hospital. My first child I rushed to the hospital and I went so fast that I did not get a chance to get my epidural.
Having an induced labor to me with help of epidural was such a way to go!

Good Luck with the new baby!!!!

L.
A Proud Member of The MOM Team
www.themomteam.com/busymommy

I am a mother of two, my first I naturally went into labor and it was miserable. My second was started by induction with pitocin for medical reasons and was my best delivery. I had no complications, contractions were where they were supposed to be, I had no back labor no pains in my butt or anywhere else. It was a very easy delivery with the help of an epidural, and that baby was ten pounds. I am now pregnant with number three and would rather be induced. I tend to have Pregnancy Induced Hypertension with all my pregnancies so medically by the end of my pregnancy my skin is about to tear because it is so tight and I have retained so much water. I do have to say that being induced when you have other children at home helps to plan for a babysitter or realitive to watch the other ones.
I think all women are different and all labors are different. I think you should go with what you feel is right for you and your body. Every persons body will react differently to different drugs, so basing your decision on other peoples negative experiences probably isnt a good idea. You should really go with what works for you and your husband and your family. Good luck with baby number two!!

J.,
Congrats on your little one to come! Wow will things change with two around!
I think that induction can go two ways- as the other posts have shown- so let me give you some basic info.
There is a direct correlation between pitocin and epidurals slowing down labor. In fact, all 3 of mine were that way. I asked after the first and was told they like to wait on the epidural until the last minute because it has a strong influence on the pitocin- it delays everything. When my epidural wore off during my labor with the second twin, that is when my pitocin started to really work- and freaked the OB out because she knew there was no epidural in me sufficient that if he went into distress she could not just cut- she would have to knock me out. The down side of pitocin is: it hurts like nothing else!!!! I joke somewhat seriously- only a man could have made something to punish a woman that much! lol Seriously though, it makes your contractions much harder and a large majority of women end up with back labor because it is a forced contraction, rather than a natural one.
If there are ways to do this without pitocin I would encourage it. Oh- and if they want to break your water to "speed" things along- it doesnt work that great. Instead you have no cushioning when you contract and it hurst worse when the baby moves. That is of course if you are not under epidural yet.
I wish you the best of births and pray your decision will be one you are at peace with.

I realize this may be to late but thought I would write anyways. With my first we wanted to go all natural. I started contractions at home and we went to the hospital (an hour away) 3 times and was sent home. Well we were exhausted and Finally my water broke at home. I was Majorly stressed that I was gonna have my son in the car. Got to the hospital and went about 5 hours without any intervention and was not dialating any further than 3. Well we decided to go with the Epidural as my back was killing me and I just couldn't stand it anymore. So they gave me that at about 3 AM and then my contractions stopped so I had to have Pitocin to start the labor back up. My son was finally born after about 37 hours of total labor and was rushed off to be suctioned out as he had had his first bowel movement inside. He was also 2 weeks early.
My daughter I was overdue. I was miserable and had had pains down my legs for a month before she was born. I was scheduled for an induction on a Tuesday. But woke up on Friday and my water was leaking. Went in and they confirmed that it was amniotic fluid and started to get me settled in. it was so relaxing and not so rush rush. I was not stressed out of my mind. They started the epidural first and then the pitocin. 5 hours later my little girl was on my chest and I was very happy. I barely felt anything and it was very relaxing. I am due in July with the third and I am already talking over with the doctor to have me induced as I have a friend who really wants to be there to watch and I really want her to be there. So we are already discussing what we can do. I have to wait and see when my due date actually is as I am not measuring out right and they don't think my due date is the 25th anymore. They are thinking sooner. I hope to find out this month if they can induce me in July but will probably have to wait to see how the baby grows. Then go from there. I deffinately don't want the rush rush to the hospital again. That was Way too stressful for me.

I was induced at 41 1/2 weeks, and I think I'm one of the few who regrets it. At the time, all tests showed that the baby was healthy and fine (still enough fluid, etc.), but we were planning on going naturally so I was worried about the baby getting too big. They started with Cytotec, which did nothing. Then the pitocin, which started labor, but it was SLOW. (Plus back labor, which was excruciating and blew my "natural" delivery out of the water...ended up with an epidural which further dragged things out.) Labor was 24 hours, pushing was 2, and when the baby was in distress they did a vacuum extraction--4 pulls. I hermorrhaged, had level 4 lacerations, and my son was luckily spared from more than superficial injuries from the vacuum. I promise I'm not telling you this to scare you. :) I just feel in my heart that my son was not ready to come out, and had I waited even a day or two, it might have been easier. One thing that made things so difficult is that my son was "sunny side up" and waiting might have allowed him to flip on his own. I would also take into consideration your first labor; if you had a quick delivery with #1, an induced delivery with #2 might be easy-breezy. Good luck!!!

My personal opinion is that you should not induce unless it is medically necessary for your health or the baby's. My unscientific observation- based solely on what I've noticed with the women in my office- the children who's births were induced seem to get sicker more frequently than those who weren't induced. Obviously other factors play into that- but it's just what it seems like. I agree to with the RN who posted, induction is easier for the doctor's schedule and I don't think that is a good enough reason to induce.

I was induced with my first and made it to 6 centimeters before the epidural. It was nice to not have to feel the hard contractions at the end. I too am due soon and am going to choose the induction only because I know I am getting an epidural so I don't want to wait to go naturally. Also I have other problems that could get worse if I went naturally. I really think there is no right answer to this one. It really will just come down to what you decide. Complications can happen either way. And there will always be bad stories about either way. I would maybe just talk to your doctor more about it.

I'd have to say that I'm actually a fan of the pitocin/epidural combo. I was going to try to go naturally with my first but 17 hours after my water broke and was still only dilated to a 2, it was medically necessary to get things going to avoid infection with the bag of waters no longer intact. Once I got the pitocin and epidural, I relaxed enough so that the baby could move down the canal and dilate me more. I was ready to push about 1 hour after receiving the pitocin and epidural. I noticed no ill effects from either drug. I nursed just fine and the baby got 9's on the APGAR. I would have no problem opting for induction for #2 (due this Friday). If I don't have him/her soon, I might ask for it myself!!

With my first my water broke but no labor after 6 hours so they had to induce. Got the epidural before the pitocin and everything went very easy.

With the second I was induced actually 1 week before my due date! I was having contractions for over 1 week before they induced but not close enough to warrant me going to the hospital plus I wasn't dilating. Also was in a lot of pain because the baby had moved lower and I was getting urinary tract infections so I jumped at the chance to be induced. It was nice also because we could plan having my sister watch my first little one while we were at the hospital. With the second one I also had the epidural shortly after induction.

Neither delivery was very long and the epidural was wonderful! But every delivery is different.

I agree that a lot of doctors prefer to induce so their schedule doesn't get messed with, but if you and your baby are ready, why not? If you don't feel like your body is ready, hold off. If you're due this week, the baby should be fine.

I was induced with pitocin 3 weeks early for medical reasons with my first and it was AWFUL!!!! Neither of us were ready so the labor was long and hard.

With my second, I was a day overdue and completely miserable but the contractions would be steady for 2 hours and then stop for an hour. After an evening and most of the next day of this starting and stopping, I went in to the hospital, they checked me in, hooked up the epidural, started the pitocin, and he practically delivered himself! It was the fastest, easiest delivery I can imagine.

I had a very similar experience to Simone's, but will still consider induction for my next delivery. My feeling is that staying in the oven for another day or so probably wouldn't have benefitted my DS as he was born with torticollis due to not having enough room in the belly. I also had 2 hours of hard labor and he came out facing the wrong direction. A c-section was a narrow miss, but I don't think it had anything to do with being induced. My feeling is that it could have been even worse in a few days. The reason I chose to have an induction was that I was experiencing severe pain from an aggravated injury. Whatever you decide will be the right choice for your family.

I was induced with my first child because he one week overdue. He was more that ready to be born! The labor was not too bad (compared to other stories I had heard). With my second child, the doctor asked if I would want to be induced one week early, as he was going to be out of town, and I really wanted him to deliver my baby. Again, she was ready. No complications, and this delivery was even quicker! I didn't have an epidural, but had an ISN, instead. Since both of my children were induced, I don't know any other way. The only downside, in my eyes, was that I was tied to the fetal monitor the entire labor, so had no opportunity to get out of the delivery room, had I wanted to "walk the halls".

Good luck!

I wouldn't worry about being induced, with my first son my water broke and then labor didn't progress fast enough - 6 hours later and so I was going to have an epidural anyway (my mom said don't be brave - it's not worth it, she had both ways)so I had an epidural before I got pitocin - and my son was born just fine! He was 2 weeks early and weighed 8lbs 2oz. Now I am pregnant with my second child and I asked my doctor the other day when I could be induced, I am 6 months now - but I am in my sister's wedding 10 days after my due date - so I want to be sure to not be in labor at the wedding, and she said I could be induced one week before my due date, so unless he comes early - I am planning on being induced early. I think there is nothing wrong with that - it helps to get a sitter for my son and if people have a c-section - they get to pick out the date, and people don't have a problem with that!
My doctor said something great the other day - we were talking about epidural's (she just had a baby early) and she said it's not like you get a t-shirt saying I did it natural!! It's hard enough - let them make something easy on you - even if it's chosing to be induced.
Good Luck!

Hi J.,
I also had an experience similar to Simones but we almost lost our baby. Thank God he is a healthy 4 year old!
I didn't have any pitocin with my daughter and had 12 hours of labor and pushed one hour as opposed to 72 hours of labor and 5 hours of pushing with my son.
I would not every be induced again and I would never let meds such as Cytotec (sp?) be used on me as it is NOT approved for an induction drug by the FDA. It is for stomach ulcers and has caused uterine rupture. I know you didn't mention it in your post but it's so important to be informed.
I agree that babies come when they are ready. If you want you could try having a pedicure. There is a pressure point in your toes that jump starts labor.
Good for you on the epidural! I hate pain:)
Congratulations on your growing family!

I briefly read through the postings and saw MANY negative responses about petocine and being induced. I was not induced (although we had a plan for the following week) -- but I was about a week overdue.

I had decided to have an epidural to help with the nausia and they first started me with petocine. Now, I don't know if it is because I have a high tollerance for pain -- but the petocine wasn't bad and I moved along VERY quickly. By the time they gave me the epidural I was ready to push 30 mins. later. I made sure to ask for the epidural to be turned down a little so that I could still feel to push.

All total (including the 3 hours before I got to the hospital) I was in labor for 9 hours. And I did not have any problems after giving birth because of either drug and neither did my son.

Good Luck.

I have been induced twice, with Cytotec - with #1 6 yrs ago (1/4 of the pill, then a couple hrs later another 1/4-that was all it took, 15hrs later I had a healthy baby boy) & with #3 6mos ago-1/2 the pill I think. They were going to use pitocin a few hrs later, but I took a walk & when they monitored me again I was contracting strong enough-2 hrs later they broke my water & 2 hrs after that I was hold by precious, healthy daughter. I went into labor on my own for ds#2. I was a little easier labor than #1 & was certainly easier than #3. But that may have had something to do with #3 labor being so much faster. #1 17 1/2 hrs from Cytotec to baby, #2 11hrs from entering hospital at 2cm to baby, & #3 7hrs from Cytotec to baby, quite intense. Since they had the pitocin mixed to give me before, they gave it after I delivered because I tend to bleed & they wanted to make sure my uterus contracted quickly - I had more cramping with that then after other deliveries, but I guess that was the point.

I only had Demerol for pain with each baby & about 1/2 to 2/3 the normal dose each time - I am a major light weight when it comes to those types of drugs (I could be out cold for hours with a local), so I wanted to take the edge off, but still remember the births & be able to nurse right after, and as I told hubby, be able to know my baby before it was 2 days old :)

Good Luck & enjoy these last days of pregnancy & your new baby.

Jess

I wasn induced with my first and after that experience, I swore I would never be induced again. Never again. I had contractions everywhere...pitocin doesn't just make your uterus contract and your baby comes out and all is great.... it makes EVERYTHING contract.. your back, your shoulders, your legs, your butt muscles... its not an area specific drug.

IMO, when your baby is ready, they are ready. Why rush it? With my son, they told me is was huge, etc etc and since it was our first, we believed what the doctor and u/s guy were telling us. We were so naive. I wish I would have listened to my gut instead of the doctors. He was a whole 7 lbs 4 oz. Not huge like they said he was. I was furious after that. I had 2 doctors at a well respected hospital telling me he was at least 9 pounds and there he was, a tiny little thing.
My daughter came natural and it was SOOO much better. She was 7 lbs 15 oz. and it was actually easier and faster to have her w/o anything.
Ultimately its your decision, but why rush it?