Induced labour

How old are you? They’ve suggested it for me purely because I’m 44… but very healthy pregnancy so far!

I panicked a lot when I first heard about induction. One of the reasons was my doctor didn’t really introduce it or talk it through beforehand, she just said, “I will schedule your induction for next Tuesday.” In my head I was just going in for a regular follow-up at 39 weeks. I was like, whaaat, what’s that, have you asked if I want it or at least tell me what it is?
I ended up deciding to go for induction at 41 weeks. I did watch a couple of youtube videos to understand what it is and how it works.
Thankfully everything went smoothly. The nurses were super nice, I had a great doctor (I had never even seen her before), and everything felt very well taken care of. I arrived at the hospital at 8am and my baby was delivered the next day at 8:36pm. Both mommy and baby were healthy.
Honestly, at the time I didn’t want it and I panicked, but looking back it was a good experience and I understand now that if it’s being suggested, it’s worth taking seriously.

I would highly recommend you read Sara Wickham’s book In Your Own Time. If you don’t have time to read the book, she’s done this blog post too which might give you some talking points for your midwife/doctor. As far as I’m aware, IVF isn’t a risk factor for induction so might be worth talking to them about why they are suggesting this if you’re only 29 and your pregnancy has been going well (so presumably low risk)

https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/five-questions-to-ask-if-youre-offered-induction-of-labour/

Thank you this is so helpful! Will deffo have a read because I need to start be more assertive 👍

I was induced at 41+4, due to being overdue.
Had the gel placed Friday afternoon and my LG arrived Monday morning at 42 weeks.
I didn't dilate on the Friday or Saturday but was 2cm 2am Sunday, 6cm by Sunday evening. I did do some walks on the Saturday and Sunday e evenings which I think helped.
If you do get induced, I'd recommend being as mobile as you can as it helps get things progressing and don't be afraid to ask for pain relief if you need it.

If you’re in the U.K. inducing IVF pregnancies is based on a study (from Denmark) I believe. It is a very old study, but I think it’s the only one of its kind. It’s worth reading it so you can understand why induction is being suggested and how to push back against it (if you aren’t wanting induction that is).

My pregnancy was IVF (I was 36/37 so a bit older) and the first conversation I had with my consultant included him saying they would want to induce me, I can’t remember at what gestation though. I pushed back and he said the latest they would want to go would be 40+5. I never agreed, but did point out that as you have growth scans at the end and regular appointments and know how things are going, surely there wasn’t a need to induce if everything looks good.

The gel was placed vaginally as a form of induction (from what I remember, it helps soften the cervix and induce labour).
My NHS trust used it as first stage of induction when no dilation and waters haven't broken. They can do up to 3 gels if needed (I only had 1 as i started contractions not long after).
If the gel didn't work, that particular trust would then break waters and give a certain time frame for contractions to start ( I was told 1hr for first time mum) then if that didn't work, the pitocin iv as final step.

I'd ask your midwife what their policy is for inductions as I know it varies from trust to trust.

As a first time mum, I asked my midwife & my friend whose a midwife at the same hospital lots of questions about induction so I could try and mentally prepare for it, which helped as I then knew what to expect and what the process was.
You can also look it up on the hospital's website as they should have leaflets on induction for patients

My waters broke naturally at 38+5, contractions hadn’t started so the hospital got me to go in to check it was my waters. While there I had a stretch and sweep to see if I could avoid further induction. Thankfully my contractions started an hour later and baby arrived without further prompting at 38+6.

I had agreed to stretch and sweeps from 39 weeks to try and avoid full induction.

I was 35 weeks pregnant and given Pitocin IV to induce labor. Wasn’t really given a choice due to my water breaking early, but I didn’t have any contractions. The doctor said the effects could happen immediately or take several hours depending on the person. I was induced around 3pm and had our son around 9pm same day. It was fairly fast. Overall experience though I think it went smooth. Our nurses were super helpful and kind.

Ok that’s understandable. It’s reassuring to hear how smooth the process went. Thanks for sharing ☺️

I initially really wanted to progress naturally but after 3 sweeps I hadn't progressed any further so went for induction. I had 2 pessarys and then had my waters broken for me. After my waters were broken I progressed very quickly and got to full dilation and ready to push, however I had an emergency caesarean as my baby was breach and diagonal