Anyone labored drug free to the end with pitocin?

[BBMcGee]

I am having such a dilemma.

I am due in 2 days, and have been completely content with letting nature takes its course this entire time, and refusing induction, especially with pitocin. I plan to labor drug free, but actually have a low threshold for pain and do not think I could do it with the pit. But I don't want to hop on the pit/epi/pit/epi/cs train either. All I have ever heard about it is that pit labor is horrible. Anybody ever made it thru that kind of induction drug free? I would really like to try anything other than pitocin to get things going, and we will be trying things this weekend(walking, sex, etc), but I really want to have her by Sunday or Monday. The dilemma part is my dad being in town for the birth...he is a truck driver and on the road a week/home a week...he will be home Saturday thru Thursday and then back on the road to California (from MN) so basically once he is gone, he is gone. I will truly be devastated if he had to miss this. First grandbaby, I am his first (and only) daughter...it is just too special. And I totally hate myself and have been beating myself up the last few days considering 'evicting' her just for the sake of 'convenience' but I would honestly be so upset if he missed it.

Anyway, I am just rambling now and not even sure of the point of this. But I have an appt with my MW this afternoon. I am going to ask her opinion on all of this, I am wondering if she could strip my membranes today (no flames please) and then we will try everything this weekend, and if nothing happens by Monday, go to the hospital and be induced. Ugh, even writing that makes me want to cry, I so didn't want it to go this way, but I want her out so bad...anyway, I don't know if they will admit for induction with Pit as a last option...how well does Cerevidil(sp?) work? Breaking water? Then pit?

I have to end this now as I am not making any sense, it is ending up a million questions and I am just upset. Thanks for any tips/input/ideas/support.

[titania8]

you sound really saddened at the prospect of induction. do you think you would be more upset about the induction or your dad missing this first few days/weeks/months of your baby's life? i know its hard to communicate effectively over the internet, but when you were talking about him missing it, your words did not convey the level of sadness and disappointment that they did when talking about induction. perhaps you want to spend some time alone, meditating or checking in with your baby and see where your heart lies in this matter.

i hope that all sounds as gentle as i intend it to be. .

as for your question, my LLL leader did labor drug free during a pit induced labor. i don't know how common that is though. she is pretty stubborn!

best of luck to you.

[Sheryl1678]

I had a full on pitocin labor with no pain med and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It was hands down the worst experience of my life and changed me forever. (they wouldn't back off on the ever increasing pit and when I was begging for an epidural said it was too late). They blasted my dd out of me.

If you must get pit then get the epidural. To say it is torture is an understatement. it is very unnatural, wicked stuff.

[BBMcGee]

Originally Posted by titania8

you sound really saddened at the prospect of induction. do you think you would be more upset about the induction or your dad missing this first few days/weeks/months of your baby's life? i know its hard to communicate effectively over the internet, but when you were talking about him missing it, your words did not convey the level of sadness and disappointment that they did when talking about induction. perhaps you want to spend some time alone, meditating or checking in with your baby and see where your heart lies in this matter.

i hope that all sounds as gentle as i intend it to be. .

as for your question, my LLL leader did labor drug free during a pit induced labor. i don't know how common that is though. she is pretty stubborn!

best of luck to you.

I would be more upset about my dad missing it...induction is just not the way I intended to go, so I am having a hard time with it...but I am more than willing to do that versus my dad not being here. And that was very gentle, thank you.

[hislittlelambs]

be sure to check out your Bishops Score before you decide to induce. this is a great site, explains what it is, how it is calculated, how favourable you maybe for induction, and the cesarean rates for 1st time moms vrs veteran moms...etc.

My question to you is, instead of weighing this decision based on best case scenerios, weigh it with worst case....is it worth having a long labor and possibly either babe or your body not being ready, baby go into "fetal distress" and end in an emergency cesarean? if you weigh this out and it is still worth it to you, then you can go into the induction with peace that no matter how it turns out, best case or worst case, you have made the right decision. keep in mind, with first babies, labor tends to be naturally longer than veterans...not always, but generally.

i say this as a dear friend of mine, totally commited to drug free labors, went in to be induced with her first baby. a pit induction. it was 30 long hard hours with a 4th degree (remember, unmedicated) tear at the end. she did it, but it was hard. so yes, it is totally doable, just is it worth it? (which is a question that only YOU can answer.)

Good luck to you and I hope you have complete peace with whatever you decide.

[AugustineM]

The same situation happened to me with my dad visiting right around my due date and he was so anxious to meet the baby... i really wanted him to be there, too. As it turned out I went to 42 weeks and he did miss her birth, but he saw her 3 weeks later and it was fine. Ironically enough, I did end up being induced anyway, and the induction turned into a cesarean.

I'm sure you already know this, but induction increases your chances of having a cesarean by a great degree. I was induced by having my waters broken, then pitocin, and it was awful. It was almost 24 hours of a very painful labor (no pain meds) and then 3 hours of pushing, then another cesarean. It was devastating to me... much more devastating than my dad missing her birth. I can't explain how much it affected me to have my birth turn into surgery. It affected me deeply and terribly, and turned into postpartum depression. Birth is something that is so... so important and profound, and it is something that *can* affect one very positively or very negatively, depending on how it goes. I say this because I wish that I could go back and change my decision to be induced at 42 weeks. I wish I would have not done it, and waited.

I know you already know that induction is a decision that should not be taken lightly, because you already say that you are having a hard time with it.

I hope you go into labor before you have to decide.

[kay4]

this showed up in new posts for me, hope you don't mind me answering

I've had 4 dc and 3 of them were induced with pitocin (#4 my midwife tried more natural things first, my body didn't respond till she used pitocin) All of my briths were drug free. First labor, 48 hours...#2 was 4 c when induced, 4 hours of labor, 4th, 9 hours of labor.

[zinemama]

Not in your ddc, but yes, I went drug-free to the end with pitocin. And I regret it.

I was so against the idea of having any kind of pain med that frankly, it didn't even occur to me to ask for it. It just wasn't an option. But my labor was so long and so painful and so exhausting, and I was so wrung out by the end of it that I could hardly get excited about the baby when he was finally born. I wasn't really present the way I thought I would be - instead, I was just a wreck.

Now, I know that you can feel exhausted and a wreck at the end of a regular, natural birth. I felt that way after my second son. But it was very different. The labor was painful, but not anything like those pitocin contractions.

I know you want that baby out. But I would do anything - anything! - to avoid a pit induction. You do not want to go down that road. If anyone is pressuring you to do it, have them do a non-stress test first and if the baby is fine, tell them to back off.

However, my advice is, if you do end up with pitocin, there's nothing wrong with an epidural. Epidurals were made for unnatural labors and pit contractions are not natural.

[peacelovingmama]

Originally Posted by Sheryl1678

I had a full on pitocin labor with no pain med and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It was hands down the worst experience of my life and changed me forever. (they wouldn't back off on the ever increasing pit and when I was begging for an epidural said it was too late). They blasted my dd out of me.

If you must get pit then get the epidural. To say it is torture is an understatement. it is very unnatural, wicked stuff.

Popping in from another ddc but wanted to echo this post. Maybe it's different for different people but my pit experience (without epi) was horrendously painful and also changed me forever. Because of it, I won't consider a drug-free birth again. I don't care if people judge me but there is NO way I'm risking that sort of pain again.

[namistenicole]

Originally Posted by Sheryl1678

I had a full on pitocin labor with no pain med and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It was hands down the worst experience of my life and changed me forever. (they wouldn't back off on the ever increasing pit and when I was begging for an epidural said it was too late). They blasted my dd out of me.

Yes, this was my experience too. I did 15 hours of pit with no pain meds, and by the end I was in another universe altogether. I affected our initial bonding, breastfeeding, etc. because I was so tired.

I'm sure you've looked into natural induction techniques by now... acupressure? Prenatal massage + acupressure? I'd try any and all natural induction techniques before I took pitocin again. Good luck, I bet you go into labor any second!

[JeanineTheOT]

I had pitocin started this time on a very low dose, and slowly increased over the course of 9 hours. I dont know how it works, but they started me on a dose of 2/4 and ended me on a dose of 32/64. After 9 hours, I did not dilate or efface at all! (I had a high leak, and they would not let me go home, so they tried to induce labor with pitocin...it did not work, so they started cytotec. ) The pitocin was not bad, I slept through most of it, but I dont think they gave me a big dose, and I am good with pain.

I dont think my experience was typical, though.

[earthmama4]

At my baby shower a few weeks ago, a friend recounted her experience with two unmedicated births induced by pit. Her mom is a midwife and she delivered both of her babies at a birth center. She was induced with pit both times and she delivered without medication. She did not tear. She didn't advocate induction and recommended avoiding it if possible, but said it was very possible to have an unmedicated induced labor.

As for me, I had a VBAC with pit. I was induced and labored without medication for about 7 hours, then got an epidural. I wasn't trying for an unmedicated birth. BUT the epidural didn't really take and I had full sensation on one side, and was numb on the other. The one side really did hurt, and at certain times I thought I couldn't take it. But just as I was saying that they checked me and the baby's head was coming down the birth canal. After that it didn't hurt anymore. I think I was just so happy the baby was coming that I didn't feel the pain anymore!

Afterwards, I thought I probably could have gotten through it without the epidural. If I got through being stuck in bed and feeling everything on one side, I could probably get through full sensation with being able to move, use water, etc. I personally think it is doable to have an med-free induced labor.

The bishops score is also a great resource in helping you decide if an induction will work for you. Check out that link in the post above (thanks for that by the way!) You want to set yourself up for success. Look at all the pros and cons and make the decision that is best for you! Good luck whatever you decide!

[BBMcGee]

Thanks for all the support and info ladies, I really, really appreciate it. We are going to try alllll sorts of natural methods this weekend, so wish me luck. I am really, really anti pit so now that I have calmed down a bit, I do realize its not the way to go. Thanks for helping me to realize that is really not what I want. Going to check out my bishops score now, thanks for the link!!

[punkrawkmama27]

Originally Posted by Sheryl1678

I had a full on pitocin labor with no pain med and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It was hands down the worst experience of my life and changed me forever. (they wouldn't back off on the ever increasing pit and when I was begging for an epidural said it was too late). They blasted my dd out of me.

If you must get pit then get the epidural. To say it is torture is an understatement. it is very unnatural, wicked stuff.

Had the same exact experience with my 1st birth. I wasnt proggessing the gave me pit, then bam the contractions hit hard for almost 12 hours, I was begging for the epidural, but it was too late. When they came in to do the epi, I was ready to push. It was a very hard labor. I can remember using a birthing ball and just being so out of it that I just laid on it and cried and was dizzy.

[mochimama]

With dd 1, I lasted 5 hours on pit before finding out I was only 3 cm (I was 1 cm before starting it). I got the epi. Having just had a natural birth with dd 2, my last 5 or 6 contractions of her birth were like ALL of the pit ones with dd 1.
I hope the natural induction methods work this weekend--good luck!

[UnassistedMomma]

With my 2nd child, my water broke at 34 weeks and because I had no labor whatsoever, I was pit induced to get her out before worries of infection set in.

I am hugely opposed to needles in my spine, so I did not / would not consent to an epidural, but I did have a little demerol in my IV, and that made it very bearable, and took the edge off of the contractions.

So, I guess while I was not entirely meds free, at least it wasn't an epidural. I'm glad I was able to avoid that at least, and eventually labor started rolling on its own and she was born vaginally.

[TefferTWH]

I wasn't induced, but they did augment with pit again for this birth, and it was much different than the first time. My midwife started me at 1 and slowly increased the dose, while the first time they had me cranked as soon as I stalled out and kept it going until I was pleading for an epidural. This time I didn't need the pain relief because my body caught on with the low dose and they never needed to turn it up. If your dr is going to start slow and see how it affects you patiently, I think you might be fine. If they subscribe to the more is better theory, you might need an epidural.

[veronicalynne]

Not in your DDC (actually my August is gone) but I have a friend who was induced and gave birth (vbac) without any pain meds to twins.....

[lizzylou]

Not in your DDC... but I was induced with pitocin at 42 weeks. It was a "low and slow" induction, and we turned the pit off after 10 or so hours as my body took over. I don't think that pit contractions are that much worse that normal contractions. I still had a drug-free birth (a water birth, actually). Being induced wasn't in my original game plan and I was terrified that I wouldn't get the NCB that I wanted. But I was very stubborn and committed to doing it drug-free. In the end I still had a great experience, though I still wouldn't recommend an induction - some people find the pit terrible and there is always the fear of a cascade of interventions.

[fiveyearsapart]

I did. It hurt but it was my first and I had nothing to compare it to. I was committed to going natural so when I was induced 3 days overdue I refused to sign the epidural consent. Honestly, by the time I was screaming for relief it was too late, I was 9cm and he was born within a half an hour. I was so proud of myself when I was done! My next birth I got pit at the very end and it was a bad choice since I didn't need it, I just agreed because my ctx were 5-7 min apart but I was progressing well and already 9cm. This time I am refusing pit unless I'm two weeks over due.