Foley Balloon Experience

Same here because I’m having this exact same thing done on Wednesday

I had an emergency induction and did Cytotec, balloon, and then Pitocin.

I think getting it in was the most uncomfortable part. But it wasn't bad once in. They should tape the strings to your legs. My doctor forgot and got pulled into a C-section, so mine dangled and that was kinda odd (but absolutely not the standard). I definitely recommend laying down for 20 minutes after they put it in due to mild cramping. But after that you get used to it. For me, it worked in about 6 hours. And they moved me onto pitocin. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about the induction process.

The insertion is definitely the worst part. Once it's in, honestly I don't remember feeling it (it was over a year ago though, as I had it with my first). The rough part for me was the waiting afterwards. The balloon manually dilates you to a certain level, so it takes your body a decent amount of time to play catch up. For instance, I was at 1cm when they inserted the balloon Saturday night at around 10pm. The balloon dilated me to 4cm and I didn't start pushing until Monday around 11am because my body was dilating very slowly

does it feel more like pressure going in or like actually painful? 🥲 my doctor told me today it’ll take about 10 mins or so to insert and thats the worst of it

definitely more pressure. I had a first year resident trying to do mine so he couldn't find it initially, and my nurse had to take over, which caused some extra discomfort

gotcha! That makes sense.

Same concerns as well as I'm set to be induced and they told me they place it the night before then send me home? I'm nervous about this experience as well.

Insertion is te worst part, I'd say it was worse than I expected but then pumping it up was jut incredibly uncomfortable but if you ask they can give you some pain meds that help you fall asleep after a nice lil high and it was less noticeable when I woke up but you can definitely feel it the whole time if you don't medicate. Mine stayed in only for 12 hours but they can go longer I've heard. I went from 2cm to 4.5 cm in 12 hrs.

I did the balloon first from 1-4 cm. Took less than 1 hour. Blowing it up was slightly painful but once it was blown, it just felt like mid-level cramps for maybe 5 minutes. After that, it just felt funny if I moved a certain way. I felt it slide out of my cervix somewhat slowly over the next 45 minutes which was very strange feeling but not necessarily uncomfy or painful.

However, I will add I requested morphine prior to it so I was a bit more calm.

I just got mine put in 3 hours ago, I found getting it put in wasn’t bad at all, just relax and breathe. I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure and a bit of pain since getting it put in but got the partner to massage my lower back which helps a lot, I’ll probably ask for a heat pack soon. Otherwise I’m laying in bed currently, might have a nap to relax