Hormone drip

I went into spontaneous labour with my first however my contractions stayed 5-6 mins apart for days so they put the hormone drip on. It was painful I won’t lie so I’d recommend if they were going to do it to get the epidural first. My epidural didn’t work unfortunately so just used gas and air but from the drip starting around 7am I had my daughter at 1:30pm. I think the drip was turned off or lowered after a few hours though x

@Louise thank you! I’m really in two minds, if it’s going to progress things but be painful im not as bothered but if it’s going to be even more painful and still be completely dragged on I just don’t see how it’s worth it! I had in my head to try no pain relief (bar gas and air) and now I’m thinking that will be completely off the cards 🤣 maybe I’m delusional hahah x

They won't start you off on pitocin unless your cervix is sufficiently favourable. So unless the sweeps kick things off, they'll probably start with a mechanical method, like a cook's baloon - I might be wrong but I think pessaries/gels are contraindicated in VBAC. Pitocin is an option once your cervix has ripened enough but it does increase the risk of uterine rupture. I'm in the same boat as you (never progressed past 2cm with my first, had a c-section) and from everything I've read (and I've read loads) your best bet is to (im)patiently wait for labour to start on its own, even if it means going over 41 weeks! My friend just had her 2nd, she attempted a VBAC (got to the pushing stage but didn't succeed for unrelated reasons) and only went into spontaneous labour at 41+5. Of course it's entirely up to you, but I'd consider deferring induction altogether unless there's a medical reason to get the baby out earlier

@Mia in my case it definitely helped progress! I went from 4cm to 10cm on it. I only wanted gas and air too but once the drip started I was like “bring me the anaesthetist noooow” 🤣 however as I say it didn’t work and I managed in the end with gas and air but it definitely makes it more intense x

I have done both and I don't think the drip is way worse than ‘natural’ labour in my opinion. I genuinely think you just need to stay as calm as possible and I wouldn’t go into it being anxious. Trust that everything is going to be absolutely fine x or just get an epidural and you can't feel it anyway!

Forgot to add. If they do put you on pitocin, then given your previous c-section they are likely to go with very small doses so as to minimise the risk of uterine rupture. Which should hopefully make it less painful/more bearable! X

@Paulina thanks so much, that’s really helpful ☺️ I guess I will see how the sweep goes tomorrow and go from there, I reallllly don’t want to go over too much but it seems that may be the better option! Thank you xx

@Maddie Stocker this is what I’m trying to tell myself and why I feel okay if its even really painful but for a shorter amount of time, I’d rather it wasn’t massively intense pain for like 12+ hours I’d rather just get it over and done with 😅 thank you! X

I was on hormone drip and yes it does intensify the contractions massively but after having an epidural I was loving life the pain was extremely manageable and I was able to sit and relax in labour eating my Percy pigs lol x If I didn’t have epidural though then the pain would definitely feel unbearable to endure for a long amount of time

I’m just home from my induction we went in Friday and left today but that was due to complications with me. I had balloon placed at 10am on sat morning and was taken to Labour ward at 11pm that evening as they had space, they broke my waters and popped me on hormone drip around midnight, my contractions did ramp up quickly but that was due to them putting the drip up to try see things progress a tad faster, I managed with gas and air for around 4 hours and was having around 6 contractions within 10 minutes and then opted for the epidural. My labour ended with an emergency c-section after baby getting stuck but again that was nothing to do with induction he just was facing wrong way and I had an infection in my blood so they needed him out x

If you have had a c section they won’t induce you with hormones straight away as there is risks I’m getting induced Thursday and they are using the balloon method and will only use hormones if absolutely necessary