Comments on: What to Expect When You Get Induced

By: Chelsea Johnson

Chelsea Johnson — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 04:01:08 +0000

In reply to R. All inductions definitely aren't the same. I haven't heard of anyone being able to eat when they're induced though, so that's lucky for you! Thanks for sharing!

By: R

Mon, 11 Mar 2019 17:29:57 +0000

Also wanted to add there are more options for induction as well. Mine wasn’t mentioned here and I took mine orally, not vaginally. I was practically closed both times. Pitocin and epidural actually sped up my inductions both times, although they took me off of pitocin with my 2nd because baby was not reacting well to it. Both of my inductions were scheduled in the morning and they didn’t start right away both times so really it didn’t matter to me when I was induced. And it’s not really complicated to go to the bathroom during inductions if you aren’t hooked up to an IV right away. It depends on if they have you hooked up or not. With my first, they taught me how to unhook myself and with my 2nd, I wasn’t even on an IV. But in the end, baby came healthy and that’s all that matters. 🙂 I didn’t mind getting induced the 2ns time because I like knowing when I’m having a baby instead of the surprise!!

By: R

Mon, 11 Mar 2019 17:19:49 +0000

This was great and I’ve been induced 2 times as well because both of my babies were late but I wanted to add a few things. They may let you eat during the induction. I was able to eat both times. They put the IV in other places besides the hand. And youy don’t have to get the epidural right away. I did with my first because I was scared to feel contractions and I didn’t with my 2nd because I didn’t want to be stuck to my bed for a long time. Fortunately both times I dilated to 10 cm fast from barely being dilated in the first place so I wasn’t in labor long both times. Just wanted to throw that out there since all inductions aren’t the same.

By: Chelsea Johnson

Chelsea Johnson — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 19:23:36 +0000

In reply to Nelya. That's so good! I'm glad you had such a positive experience getting induced, even though it wasn't what you had hoped for! Thank you for sharing, Nelya!

By: Nelya

Nelya — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 06:43:10 +0000

I was induced a week early with my second. I was so nervous about being induced, especially because of hearing about pitocin and how it hurts more. (How I prayed that I’d go into labor earlier on my own! But that didn’t happen…) I really wanted to go the natural route again (without epidural), and thought induction would ruin it for me. Plus, the doctors had told me that it could take DAYS for labor to even BEGIN. But my second birth was just as smooth, and even slightly faster than my first! The doctor had chosen Cervadil (it ripens the cervix) and when labor started 2 hours later, it felt pretty much the same as labor with my first. Very thankful to God for such an awesome and smooth experience! And maybe not all cases are like that, but I know if I ever need to be induced again I’m asking for Cervadil! And I told my friends about it in case they ever need to be induced.

By: Chelsea Johnson

Chelsea Johnson — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 19:39:58 +0000

In reply to Christine. Oh man, yeah that would be hard! Especially when it's your first and you don't really know what to expect anyway! Good thing they're always worth it :)

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 04:19:14 +0000

I was induced with my first (I was 1 1/2 weeks overdue) and they had me go in, in the evening. Talk about a long night of no sleep and then another day following with no sleep! But she was worth it!

By: Chelsea Johnson

Chelsea Johnson — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 19:36:00 +0000

In reply to Jenn. Yes! Inductions can take a long time depending on how ready your body is at the start. And I'm glad that you had that in mind! Despite all our crazy preparations and birth plans, a healthy baby is always the most important thing! Thanks for sharing, Jenn!!

By: Jenn

Jenn — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 04:10:21 +0000

Fantastic post, Chelsea! I think it’s also really important that people know that it is normal for an induction to take 24-72 hours, depending on dilation and effacement (as you mention). When I had my daughter at over 41 weeks, the induction took 63 hours. I was induced on the 24th and she was born on the 27th. Despite doing quite a bit of research, I hadn’t really understood that it was quite normal for the process to take DAYS. I wish I had known more about the length of time, just how painful a foley bulb could be (especially if your water breaks while it is in), the fact that different providers would measure my progress very differently, and the movement restrictions I would experience because of the IV (I couldn’t even put my hair in a ponytail by the time it came time to push because of all the wires, etc). My birth plan was always simple: “a healthy baby on the outside of my body”. Yet, it was still hard knowing that any plans I did have were derailed by the length of the induction and the pain experienced during the process. Or course, my daughter was well worth every second of it!!