Induction

[Crystal125]

My friend is almost 40 weeks and she's being induced Thursday or Friday. She was asking me about what to expect (how long it'll take before something happens/what they do when they induce you/What she should bring/ect.). This is her first baby, so I think she's just really worried and she wants to know what's going to happen and how long she should expect it to take, and more importantly HOW they induce you. Since I've never been induced, I figured I'd ask what to expect for her, from you ladies.

[JoyRenee]

To induce, they will strip her membranes (if she's dilated). If she's not dilated, they will dilate her with a topical ointment or these funny little sponge things that slowly grow (to open the cervix).

If she's dilated to 3 cm or more they will probably break her water. They will start an IV of Pitocin (this is to cause contractions and begin labor). Pitocin can make contractions incredibly painful so if she wants an epidural, she needs to let them know when she gets there so they can get it ready at the appropriate time.

And then she's going to wait! Wait for labor and then wait for delivery. It is said that induction usually means a longer labor, but I've heard women who've had average or less than average time. There's honestly no way to know when her body will fully dilate for delivery because every body reacts differently. Besides, she shouldn't worry about that part. She should just enjoy the time (yes ENJOY!) because labor and delivery is so awesome and beautiful.

She needs to bring her hospital bag. It should include:
-Underwear and nursing bra and socks (the room will be freezing)
-Pajamas if she doesn't want the hospital gown later
-Pair of clothes (for going home)
-Baby's clothes
-Toiletries

Really that's all she'll need. Some people bring books and games and all sorts of goodies but she may not even touch that stuff. When I was in labor I was either in pain or sleeping. And when the baby came, I was too busy with baby to read a book or anything like that.

Phew, long-winded message, but I hope it helps! I probably missed a few things so anyone else can fill in those parts.

[spade22]

It depends on how "ripe" her cervix is and how her doctor likes to perform inductions - it tends to differ from doctor to doctor.

If her cervix isnt ripe (meaning she isnt effaced to a great extent and/or isnt dilated) the doctor can insert a pill into her cervix to start the process OR the doctor can start a pitocin drop.  Pitocin is the synthetic version of oxytocin which is the "labor hormone" so to speak.  I was induced on Tuesday and was 80% effaced and 0cm dilated and the doctor thought pitocin was the best was to induce labor.

If she is already dilated a little the doctors will likely break her water to move things along.  Many doctors will also do this when pitocin is used to speed things up a little.

The time it takes really depends on the individual!  It can take anywhere from a few hours to 2 days.  If the water is broken, labor will likely not be allowed to continue for more than 24 h due to risk of infection.

[spade22]

ohhh, and with the pitocin the contractions can never get more painful than the full force of a natural contraction BUT they contractions are stronger from the get go and tend to be more frequent than those one would experience w/ natural labor.  I had contractions that were 1.5 mins apart and lasted about 1 min each once the pitocin took effect.  I was in labor for 18h but didnt actually feel pain from the contractions until almost 12h into the labor (and then they were INTENSE and I needed the epidural).

As a side note - make sure your friend is aware of the different pain medications out there and as Joy said,  let them know if an epidural is something she is considering because the pain from the contractions can come on quite suddenly as I found out (and I was NOT planning on getting an epidural).  Also, I would not recommend stadol for pain relief.  Every case is different but for me it did nothing for the pain essentially made me feel so out of it I was incapacitated and could not do anything other than breathe.

[Crystal125]

Well she's been about 1cm and I can't remember how much effaced, for the past 2 weeks. She hasn't really changed any. She's been having a problem with swelling for the past month and the doctors found protein in her urine at her last appointment on friday so they decided to induce her, just incase she might be developing pre-eclampsia. (She has all the signs just doesn't have the high blood pressure yet). Plus she's worried about her small pelvis bones. Told her that she wouldn't be surprised if they did induce her and she still required a c-section. But she is going to give her a chance of having the baby vaginally, but I'm not sure if that will happen sadly =/. She is planning on having an epidural tho, I already know that much. She had been asking me about the epidural for the past month and said she decided to get one.

[loismwallace]

I was induced twice with my 12 and 3 yr old. Both labors were under 6 hours. Where my 14 yr old took me 16 hours with spontaneous labor. My newborn, I went into spontaneous labor, but they broke my water and also gave me pictocin since I was scheduled to induce the next day. Once they administered the pictocin, everything started hapening quicker....I went to hospital around 10pm and delivered her by 4:13 am. About 6 hours later....I delivered in 3 pushes and 5 minutes after starting to push.

But do keep in mind it is different for everyone......But I have always heard that inductions go faster...