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Please don't judge but I chose an elective induction

3K views 24 replies 22 participants last post by  PiesandAbrosmama 
#1 ·
The last time I was pregnant my water broke and I was given Pitocin. That was 13 years ago. The pain was horrible, with no break in between and I had no pushing urges. But my daughter came fast and once it was over, I was really happy to have my baby girl.
I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant now with my second. By the way " Is a BOY" his name is Michael. I wanted a boy so bad I had to share that. So I been feeling so uncomfortable and so tired of being pregnant. I just can't see how much bigger I'm can get. I'm just so ready to have my baby boy. I decided to speak to the doc last week. I told her I didn't want to go over my due date which is June 9th. She said she can induce me at 39 weeks but only if my cervix was favorable. She checked my cervix and to my surprise is 1 Centimeter dilated so she went ahead and schedule me for JUne 2nd. June 2nd was my official due date but at 6 weeks ultrasound the baby was measuring 5 weeks so my due date was changed to June 9th. I got excited and I'm getting everything ready for the baby but at the same time I'm nervous and hoping I can go natural anytime after next week. Is anyone getting induced for non medical reason? or have a good experience with inducement? I know natural is the best way to go but I like planning things ahead. Please don't call me selfish or leave any negative comments that will make me feel like a bad person.

Thanks
 
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#2 ·
I understand the feeling of being done, and just wanting your baby out, but I really really suggest in the kindest way possible that you look up the risks of induction. You are increasing your risk of getting a c-section, and your baby's risk of distress during labor. I'm very glad that these drugs have been found to help mothers and babies who NEED to be induced for life threatening conditions like pre-E, but those drugs are NOT without risks of their own.
I'm sorry if that wasn't what you're looking for, but I just don't think this is a website you're going to get a lot of support on for a decision like that.
 
#3 ·
No experience or advice here--just crossing my fingers for you to go early!!!
The thought of inducing scares me! (I hope someone else has a good experience to share)

I'm also feeling the hugeness of this pregnancy. At my last app't I was measuring 40 weeks....hmmmm, I'm only 34 weeks now. I know it's rough being so----pregnant! LOL
 
#4 ·
I did an elective induction with my 4th child (my first son as well). It was intense as the pitocin contractions hurt way worse than natural ones. I got to the hospital at 7:00 am and he was born before 3:00 pm. Everything went smoothly, but I did get an epidural at about 7 cms because the nurse scared me into thinking it was my last opportunity to get one and that labor was going to get way worse. I pushed a bit to hard and quickly and tore my cervix.

And as a side note my very next baby was a completely natural homebirth. I wanted the most opposite that I could get from my previous hosptial births.

I will be going in for an induction next week with this baby, but it is for medical reasons and I knew going in that this was how it was going to be. I have made my peace with it and I am looking forward to meeting my new daughter.
 
#5 ·
A good friend of mine (and our former sitter) talked and talked about having an elective induction for her second baby, born in December. Her doc also agreed to do it after 39 weeks for her. Anyway, she went in for her checkup a few days before the induction was scheduled and had a membrane sweep. 8 hours later, her baby was born!

I guess my point is that if your body is getting ready anyway, you may be able to encourage it to go into labor without resorting to the pitocin, which can be hard on you and your baby. Try frequent sex, accupuncture, membrane sweep, herbs etc first. I understand being sick of being pregnant, but I'd see if I could get my body to go into labor naturally first - it's easier on everyone. Whatever you decide, good luck and keep us posted!!
 
#6 ·
I've been induced 4 times, and this will be the 5th. The first 3, my cervix was hard, long, and closed tightly. 1st was 46 hours (I was 38 weeks, pre-e), 2nd was 24 hours (I was 37 weeks, pre-e), 3rd was 12 hours (I was 42 weeks). No C-section needed, but I did get an epi all 3 times by choice. 4th induction was 38 weeks, labor was 19 hours, but our DD passed away just before this and that was the reason for induction, I was however 2cm, 60%, and very soft. This time I have elected the early induction because I can't bare the thought of getting to that dreaded mark when Kamryn passed away. I'm ok with it, and don't regret any of it. Do what feels right to you. BTW, I can't believe they changed your due date based on your 6 week U/S. My 6 week u/s showed baby to be smaller than he should, then at 20 weeks he was RIGHT ON, and now he's ahead. I was on clomid so we know exactly when we conceived.

Hope this helps your case a bit, and I wish you the best of luck...June 2nd is right around the corner!!!
 
#7 ·
This is my third pregnancy and I always feel like I'm coming out of my skin towards the end... I think pregnancy sucks, and this one is no exception...I have some really bad days but I've done enough research, but more importantly soul searching to know I wont be asking for any type of interventions to kick start labor.

I have a firm belief in my body, and more so God.

My first two births could I guess be considered induced bc I was medicated with pit... Looking back I wish I had been more aware, if I could do my births over and have the same children I would.

I will never forget the feeling of being powerless and at the mercy of the nurses and tubes...

This time its my call, of course unless the baby needs some intervention.

Even at my very worst, I wont be asking for an induction...
 
#8 ·
We're "sort of" doing an elective induction. My water broke a week ago (33 wks) and the hospital wanted to induce the day we got to 34 wks. We declined, signed out AMA, and came home. It's pretty likely that we won't get an infection here at home (taking all precautions), and it's possible that the sac could reseal but I really doubt it at this point. We could simply wait it out and see when baby comes, but both hubby and I feel a sense of urgency about it. (We could also, of course, go back to the hospital and let them do the induction.) What we're doing is having a midwife come stay with us for a while (week or 10 days - we'll see) and we're going to try home induction methods and try to bring this baby sometime between 35 and 36 wks. I know that's a little early still, but we've been over everything a million times and this is what we feel peace with. SO, we'll be reporting throughout the rest of the week on our inductino progress, LOL!

Hang in there, and make the decisions that are best for you and your family. I'm no fan of hospitals, nor pitocin, nor inductions, etc., but things come up, circumstances change, and you need to do what your heart tells you to do. I think we should all be able to support you in that!

Tracey Mouse
 
#9 ·
First of all.....

I agree with mama moose, you may not get a lot of support for your desicion here, but I hope to heavens you aren't flamed. Only you can make the right desicision for your body. If you are at peace with your desicion (and have really looked at all the possible side effects) then no one else's opinion matters.

I would have to be half dead or baby in distress to consider another induction. I had 3 days of holy hell with my last birth. That is just my experience. A lot of women are induced and their births go very well.

Good luck!
 
#10 ·
Have you ever looked into what puts a woman into labor?

It's seriously SO cool...
As your baby's lungs and body matures they let off a hormone that crosses into Mom's bloodstream and gets stored in her brain. When that level in Mom's brain gets to be high enough (in that enough has accumulated) her body goes "ding" and starts contractions. It's like the turkey timer, but in "natures's version". So cool...

The amazing thing with contractions that start on their own is that your brain produces a pain-relief hormone to balance them. But since nature is so complex and awesome, the fake stuff (pitocin or any other medical version) doesn't get taken up into your brain and so your body never produces the pain-relief hormone like it normally would. That is why induced labors hurt like the dickens. Unaturally strong, unaturally long contractions and a brain that isn't producing pain-relief b/c to itself, it doesn't know you are in labor.


Some people don't know the reason behind those two things and I think they are incredible and worth the quick (simplified of course) read.

I'm measuring 5w ahead (so at this point I'm measuring 39w, by the end, I could very well be 45w+), but I'll leave it up to baby to say when... I've experienced a somewhat-induced-labor and natural labors, I will take the natural labor 10 x over the one induced-one. There's a big difference I think.

Good luck!
 
#12 ·
This is not a judgment on you at all - just a statement on the safety of inductions from a purely medical standpoint - but inductions really aren't very safe.

My in-laws were not onboard with the idea of HB in our last child so we didn't tell them. After the baby was born we told them, and to their credit, they were surprised but not mad. Well, they called back a few days after the birth to thank us for having a HB because they had just seen a story on Dateline NBC profiling a mother who had died at the hospital resulting from complications due to her induction.

If you haven't seen Dr. Marsden Wagner's book, "Born In America" maybe you should read it and it would give you the fortitude to hang in there until you spontaneously go into labor, even though you're tired right now. The book is about the dangers of induction, and the high risks of bad outcome for mom and baby. Whatever you do, if you induce DON'T let them use cytotec on you.

Good luck.
 
#13 ·
To answer your ?'s - I don't have personal experience with inducement and, yeah, there are some women who have a very positive experience from it. I hear more stories to the contrary but I also hear about women who went to the hospital, got induced, had the baby, spent the night and went home in the a.m. But looking at the research I don't like the odds of having complications.

It is my understanding that pitocin contractions are far more difficult to handle (and more difficult for the baby to handle which could lead to respiratory distress) than nature's contractions. If having a pain-med free birth is your goal, you are much less likely to get it w/pitocin. In fact, I'm not sure I wouldn't give in to an epi and I've had 3 kids naturally at home.

I am glad your dr. is waiting until 39 wks. I used to live in Dallas and it was very common for drs. to induce at 36 wks. for no medical reason. That's horrifying.

Regardless, I hope you have a good, safe, uncomplicated birth. I wish that for every woman.
 
#14 ·
I've got a GD diagnosis, so induction is a possibility if I go past due. I've pretty much made peace with it, and if you've made peace with it then do what you need to. A midwife student in my birth group recommended a gradual increase in the pit levels (make sure there are at least 30 mins between doses, 45 is better). It might reduce the "hit by a Mack truck" effect. Whatever happens, I hope it goes well.
 
#15 ·
I really hope I didn't come across as judge-y, but I also want to throw out there that I was totally duped into a non-medically necessary induction at 39 weeks with DD1 and it REALLY sucked, I regret it a lot. THATS where I'm coming from.
My blood pressure was rising a little at the end of my pregnancy, and instead of suggestions to reduce it, I was met with "well your cervix is looking favorable, so why don't we just induce you next week (39 weeks)". And for some reason I decided to just go for it. I was feeling tired, swollen, hot (we had a record heat wave in 2006 and I was due in August!), and I was a nervous first time mom who was really scared of what high blood pressure could mean. So with all of that, induction just sounded good and easy. But it really really really was a mistake. Yeah, my cervix was 2cm dialated or whatever, but my DD was NOT ready to be born yet. I went through 18 hours of torture, they kept uping the pitocin and the contractions were one on top of another, at 12 hours and only 4cm, they basically gave me the choice to try out an epi or prepare for a c-section for "failure to progress". So I got the epi, and then spiked a really high fever as a reaction to it. I also got the shakes really bad. Even my poor DH was scared. Then I got to push for 3 hours, probably because I couldn't feel enough to be effective at it and was forced to lay flat on my back because of all the stuff I was hooked up to. Luckily, my DD was still born vaginally, granted with help of vac extraction. She was a very colicky, unhappy, and high needs baby and I would be willing to bet money that some of her upset is from birth trauma. She was just not ready to be forced out, especially in the way she was.
I don't mean to lay out my horror story for you, and I'm sure you might be thinking "well that won't happen to me", but thats exactly what I was thinking when I consented, you know? That it won't go bad for me.
I'm not trying to guilt you, and whatever decision you make is yours and yours alone, but after going through what I went through with DD1, I really just feel the need to tell moms, to warn them I guess, that induction is NOT without risk. I wouldn't wish what I went through on my worst enemy. And if I needed to be induced with this pregnancy for an unavoidable medical reason, I would do it all again for my baby, but its just not something to be considered lightly IMO.
 
#16 ·
I was induced at 37 weeks with DS. I don't wish pitocin contractions on anyone. I just think it would be really hard to go naturally with an induction. Possible? Sure, but much harder. I am really looking forward to going into labor on my own and letting babe decide when it is ready to come.

I am sorry you are so uncomfortable, I hope that it gets better for you.
 
#17 ·
Sounds like tact to me. She wanted to hear what we thought or knew about it; it could have been put much more harshly. This is a natural parenting website - one cannot expect blanket acceptance of an elective intervention. Support and encouragement for her feelings - most definitely.

I would gently suggest that although you may feel at your wit's end, your baby might need a bit more time yet. They truly come when they are ready. Hopefully you'll have it sooner rather than later, though!

Inductions go well sometimes; sometimes they don't. It's just the risk you're taking. If you are really having a hard time coping than you need to do what you need to do...but it might help to just take some time to yourself and enjoy having your baby still inside!
 
#18 ·
Here's an older Mothering article that explains medically-necessary reasons for induction as well as dangers associated with them. Hope it's helpful


Part of what MDC is about is sharing information, personal experiences and encouraging parents in their Natural Family Living journey. We trust and support parents and children. I think it's important to remember that no one can make us feel badly about something. If we make an informed decision that's right for our own unique circumstances, it's really no one else's business anyway!

I can certainly relate to being tired of being pregnant--I went 42 weeks with my last baby, and looking back, it seems like everything went by in a heartbeat. Sigh. Best wishes to the OP and all the June mamas
 
#19 ·
Thanks MamaJava

I know OP didn't want anything negative, but the fact of the matter is that we are on MDC, a website from a magazine that has published articles and books detailing the risks of medical induction. I don't think its surprising that people will post encouraging research into the decision.
I also posted after my first post in more detail as to WHY I even felt the need to post. I WISH someone encouraged me to look into the risks I was taking with my first pregnancy. I'm honestly truely not trying to come across as mean or "better than". I don't pretend to know what anyone elses pregnancy is like. All I can do is offer advice based on what is plainly typed out in the OP, and on my own experiences.
Maybe I'm just hormonal, but I feel a little singled out being quoted like that. I don't feel like I've ever been mean or snarky on here.
 
#20 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by georgia View Post
Here's an older Mothering article that explains medically-necessary reasons for induction as well as dangers associated with them. Hope it's helpful

That is a super awesome article. I think all OBs should have to read it!
 
#21 ·
Hugs to the OP. Last night, I was having PLENTY of thoughts that I was ready to have my membranes ruptured, epidural, pit, and the whole nine yards. I was sick of being miserable.

I'm glad I was able to go home, and hopefully have a second try at this, naturally.

I think you have to do what works for you.

Do you have a doula?? DH's neice was induced with Pitocin, and had her baby with no /meds/epidural. She credits her doula with helping her through that.

Good luck!!
 
#22 ·
hi...i am not in your ddc, but i lurk here because bean'smama is my best friend irl...to the OP, i so remember how difficult the last month or so of my pregnancy was. i turned off my phone, sat on my couch, and cried, a lot, and i vividly remember being certain that this baby was never ever ever coming out.
you askedif we had any experience with induction...here is mine:i unfortunately had to be induced, because at 39 weeks i became preeclamptic. my first induction, which was on x-mas , didn't take. i went into very painful labor for about 5 hours, at which point i went to the bathroom to pee, and suddenly my labor completely stopped, and i was sent home (luckily my doc wasn't a crazed surgeon who just insist i have a section...even though i was crying and begging her to just "get him out" anyway she could). i was on a even more depressing bedrest for the next 2 weeks, before i had to be induced again when my symptoms skyrocketed and it became unnacceptable for me to remain pregnant. being induced really sucked. it made labor really painful and crazy and i felt out of control.
in your OP you mentioned that your first labor, your water broke and then you were given pitocin, and that your labor became horrifying. most likely this was because of the induction. so if it were me (which of course, it is not, and you will know the right thing for you and your baby) i would do anything in my power to NEVER be induced again. i look forward to laboring naturally next time, and i pray that i am healthy enough to do so, and that i can find care providers who will allow me to, because my induction led to a c-section (which is pretty common).
anyway...i wish you the best of luck in your labor. i hope that your labor is better than your last.
although i disagree with the reasoning behind your choice, please don't think i am judging you for this, if that makes sense. i don't think it makes you a bad person, or a bad mom. i just think that it sounds like induction was the reason for your traumatic experience, so i can't imagine why you would do it again,yk?

good luck and congratulations on your baby boy. i have one too, and they are AWESOME!
 
#23 ·
I hope, along with a lot of other posters, that things start early (before June 2nd) for you naturally. With my first, my water broke, and after only 8 hours of no contractions, was put on Pitocin. I did end up going with the epidural, because I just couldn't get a handle on things. I really wish I would've declined the pitocin for a while, and maybe things would've been different. This time I'm going the HB route, so I won't really have that to worry about.

It's a tough decision to make. Like other ladies said, just make sure you know the facts about it before you go for it. I don't want you to feel like a bad person or like you're being selfish.... but PLEASE do think about the baby. Pick a time to think about it when you're feeling pretty good physically. Take a nice bath, or if walking helps, do that. THEN think about it. It's easy to want to get it done when you're feeling miserable. But maybe you'll rethink it for the sake of your baby when you're feeling a little better. Best wishes either way!
 
#24 ·
Although ultimately I agree with those who have said to give it a little more thought, I am not going to go there because several of you have done it really well already.


In the end, it is up to you, so instead I will share with you my induction story, because it really wasn't that bad. On the other hand, I was talking to somebody who said I probably would have ended up with a csection in today's world. (This was 19 years ago).

It is funny that I kindof consider it a negative experience compared to the birth I had with my son, but it was a successful, healthy vaginal birth. Back then, I wasn't very informed about choices. I had heard about waterbirth and asked my doctor about it, and his exact reply was, "Would you want to deliver a baby in a pool full of blood and sh*t?" I kid you not. We were friendly enough he would talk to be that way. I should have done more research, but I dropped it. I ended up with an OB I really liked from Canada who said she really tried not to do episiotomies and just seemed more liberal overall. I didn't have any friends who were mothers at the time, but I did know I wanted to try for natural, and that I wanted to breastfeed.

Well, I went to 42 weeks, and it was pretty much the standard there to induce. So I started on pitocin, and I have to say, the one place my story seems to differ from others is that it really wasn't that painful. So I guess that depends on the person. I would describe it like bad cramps, but nothing horrible. I was on all day and nothing happened, so they took me off and said I should try to sleep. Next day, same thing. All day and nothing. At this point, they were saying we would probably have to do a csection the following day, but I think these days they might have already done it!

They decided to leave me on that night and put some hormones directly inside me. I can't remember if that was more pitocin or something else, but that is what worked! My water broke and then things started cooking. The one thing I regretted was finally asking for an epidural. By the time the anesthesiologist got there, I was feeling pushy, and I wish someone had told me I was almost done. It was my first time and I was scared about how much longer I had and if it would get much worse. But by the time he got the thing in, they told me I could go to delivery and push! And of course my doctor took one look at the head crowning and said she would have to cut me.
So much for her big speech.

Anyway, out she came and everything was fine. However, for the record, I did fail at breastfeeding a couple weeks in, and this has definitely been related to interventions in studies. I also had never heard of La Leche League and got some really bad advice, so maybe I could have done it with the right support, but just thought I would throw that in.

Good luck with your decision.
 
#25 ·
I know we can all relate about wanting our bodies back and holding our babies
but I just want to point out what is the big change in 7 days from June 2nd to June 9th? Are you really going to get that much bigger, worse, ect in 7 days?! I truelly can understand what you feel like this pregnancy for me has been taking FOREVER but I just choose to remind myself my body andn baby know just when the time is right. I support a woman making an informed choice about her body. Just make sure your ready for what might happen because of the choice of elective induction. O and could you possiablly look into natural forms of induction-chrio, massage, acupunture, sex, ect?
Also just a little side note- my 3 kiddos all came different.
First was 41 weeks
Second was 39 weeks
Third on her due date
Just goes to show you babies really come when they are ready
Good luck mama
 
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