being induced with balloon method

Hi..i posted this question awhile back..and got practically no response..as to if anyones heard or had this type of induction...ok..so now its starting to worry me..my dr swears up and down that its a safe quick and simple induction process..but everytime i google it i cant find anything...basically all it is..is a foley cath with a balloon like device inserted into cervix...filled with water..and it dialates the cervix...dr breaks water...out comes baby...its suppose to be pain free with no contractions...sounds...too good to be true..and too simple...soo..if anyone at all has ever heard of this..had this..or can even find anything on it..but research studies...please help me...im being induced this way in three weeks..and im just terrified at this point..with my dr telling me its ok not to worry...but right now its all i have to do..any help would be wonderful thanks again!!  : )

[mommy2aj]

i found this info at:
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/pregnancy/induction.html


My induction was not really elective because my baby was two weeks past his due date but I wanted to let you know about the pros and cons of one method of induction called the Foley balloon. It's a water balloon passed through the cervix that then rests in your uterus on the cervix with two tubes hanging off of it and out of the vagina. One of the tubes is taped to the inner thigh to maintain pressure on the cervix. The other is a catheter to help drain the blood and amniotic fluid that the insertion of the Foley balloon results in. I was told that when my cervix was four centimeters dilated, the balloon would drop out of my body and I was sent home.
Well, it really got things going. I thought I was hemorraging. My mucous plug came out in two hours. And my water broke eight hours later. But I wasn't having strong regular contractions, so I went to the hospital the next day and they started pitocin. I declined to see how dilated my cervix was because everyone said with such certainty that the balloon would fall out when I was four centimeters. The pitocin got me into what felt to me like active labor, but the balloon still didn't drop out. I was feeling really discouraged and I just had a hunch that the balloon wasn't helping me any more. So I asked them to take it out. It turned out that I was four centimeters dilated but that the balloon hadn't come out because it was stuck up around the baby's head. Happily, my baby was born vaginally. I have subsequently heard from a few other people that my experience with the Foley balloon was not unusual. One woman was five centimeters dilated and it didn't fall out. So if you choose to be induced and choose the Foley balloon, don't take the assertion that it will drop out when you're four centimeters dilated as gospel. Had I known that I would have made different decisions as my labor progressed Lisa


****i also searched foley balloon and found stuff explaining procedure, also had diagram. ******

[nermineagain]

please listen to me, i just talked ot the doctor about the pain i have around my uterus, and asked him about being pregnant again right away, and about the uterus rupture, he told me that this could happen any time with anywomen with/out c-section, and there is no probleme to get pregnant right now, so plz stop let me worrying, if you love me hope that i get pregnant soon, my dh and i really wanted and need it, thanks for every one who wish me luck.

[nermineagain]

sorry it is not supposed to be posted here.

[peekawho]

This method of induction is occasionally used.  You have described it fairly accurately expect for the "pain free, quick and simple" part.

The cervix is typically not very dilated.  The methods can vary a little, but a slim catheter with a deflated balloon is forced into the cervix, and sterile saline is used to inflate the balloon to about the diameter of a golf ball.  Depending on how your doctor usually does this, this can be done in the office the day before.
Some places keep you and start pitocin at the same time the balloon is inserted.  Some hours later, if the cervix dilates to about 3 or 4 cm, the balloon comes out and labor starts.  The doctor may break your water when the balloon comes out, or sometimes the water breaks on its own.

It seems to cause most women a lot of cramping, although I've seen a couple ladies it doesn't seem to bother much.  It usually takes a few hours to get to the point the catheter falls out, and then you are usually about 3 or 4 cm and have to go through the rest of the labor, however long that takes.

Its a good method of induction, but I'd say most women find it pretty crampy, and it is not quick thing.  There is no pain free, quick and easy method of induction.  The balloon method is used more in some places than others.  One place I worked used it literally every day, the place I work now...I've seen it only one time in the last 7 months or so.  

The biggest drawback with this method is probably the cramping and sometimes difficult insertion.  But women overall seem to tolerate it very well.  I've seen some women not feel it at all, and others think its incredibly painful.

Hope that doesn't scare you too much. I wanted to be honest with what I've seen.  Its a good method of induction if you are a tiny bit dilated and your doctor doesn't want to use Cervidil or Cytotec.  

[maddysmommy]

thanks for the advice..i have like a list of questions i want to ask her...and am curious to why she told me it was quick and pain free..lol..i figured that was too good to be true..didnt think bringing a baby into the world was anything close to quick and pain free..thanks again..ill let ya know how it worked out after it happens good luck to all!!!