No induction!!
- 35 years ago I had pitocin for my first baby. It didn't work as he was large and hadn't dropped. Wish I would have waited for nature to take its course. Post-surgery was hell.
- —Guest k
two stories two outcomes
- With my first child my water broke on it's own at 37 wks. I did what I had been taught in class, waited for labor to start. After waiting 11 hrs my doc's office called and told us that we needed to get to the hospital either for antibiotics or for labor assistance. When we got there the nurse didn't believe that my water had broken because I was barely leaking anything anymore. I was put on heavy Pit which my body couldn't progress with and ended up throwing up a couple of times. My doc actually called me and gently encouraged me to get an epidural. That did it the Epi got rid of the pain and five hours later beautiful baby boy. My third labor was fully induced. I was suffering prenatal depression and by my due date wanted my baby. This time I had a nurse who stayed by my side started the Pit at the lowest setting and gradually raised it until things began moving. The care made the difference. The Pit was kept low and with an Epidural at 6 cm I smiled through the whole thing.
- —mamuir11
impatient doctors
- Induction is painful and in my case it was not necessary at all. My labor started ok and after 4 hours it stopped. I asked to be given time and the docs insisted that it was in the interest of the baby. I was induced and that made the contractions so painful and unbearable. To make matters worse I didn't have a partner or anyone else for that matter to support me. It was me, my room and the doctor. It was really scary. I'll never forget it. The beautiful part of it is that that I was not given any pain relief. I pushed for approximately 10 min and in the process got an episiotomy without even being asked. They did a good job though at stitching me back because at 6 weeks I was healed and would pee with no problem. All in all, I wouldn't opt for an induction. God intended for labor to be natural and that's the way to go. Let nature take its course.
- —Guest carol
Good Induction
- Ok, after reading all of these negative stories I decided I should put my positive one. I was 1 week overdue and was tired of being pregnant so I went to the hospital and well, they asked me "Do you want to be induced since you're already here?" I said "OK". They did it and I watched Dr. Phil and whatever else was on t.v. while they induced me through I.V. The doctor came in a little while later and broke my amniotic sac. I started to have more painful contractions and so I asked for the epidural. They did it within minutes with no problems. I was pain free for 6.5 hours and then when the nurse said I could begin to push, I did. When the baby was ready to come out, the doctor came in and made a small episiotomy and used forceps to pull out my healthy baby girl. I felt great afterwards and healed within a week. I am pregnant now and if I get induced again, I hope it goes well also.
- —Guest positive
In my case it was OK
- I was induced during my first pregnancy. I was 10-days past my due date and had been 3 cm dialated for a while. The contractions were strong, but overall the process went very smoothly. I'm of moderate size, but my baby was over 9 lbs. For me, induction was a very positive experience.
- —Guest Julie
One thing led to another...
- With my first, I went to the hospital too early. Instead of sending me home, they broke my water to get things moving. I dialated to 6 and got "stuck" for hours. They decided to start pitocin. The long labor, no nourishment, and dreaded pitocin contractions led to an epidural and catheter. My blood pressure dropped dangerously low, my daughter's heartbeat dropped, I developed a fever. I was given oxygen and internal fetal monitoring was used. Eventually my daughter was delivered in a vacuum assisted delivery weighing 7 lbs 11 oz. My second birth was natural. I made it very clear to my doctor that absent an emergency I would not be induced. I waited until labor truly began and labored at home as long as possible with my husband and doula. I arrived at the hospital 9+ cm dialated and began pushing a short while later. My 9 lbs 2 oz son was born without complication. No machines or drugs. Immediately following his birth we both felt great.
- —aloren
2 complicated labours
- With my first child I went 10 days over and being very young and quite naive, believed this was in my best interests. After 8 hours of excrutiating labour, constantly strapped to a moniter, my 9 lb 2 oz baby got stuck and was diagnosed with shoulder dystocia, which meant his shoulders got stuck, he nearly died and so did I. My second 9 lb 10 oz boy went two weeks over and they said I had to be induced. They ended up breaking my waters, and the labour went much too quickly with uninterupted contractions. Whilst I was screaming like an animal, they told me I would have to have a c-section. Really, what was the point of it all? I had no say, no control, and both labours ended in near disaster!
- —Guest shelleybelly78
Never Again
- My experience was not horrible, but I never wanted to be induced or have a C-section again. I was supposedly 2wks over due & lived an hour out of town, so agreed to the procedure. The Pitocin made me sleepy & I never experienced painful contractions. By the evening, I was not dilated, FHR was up, & I had a low grade temp. When the baby was delivered by C/S, the Ped was recorded to say, "She looks early." My baby girl did end up in NICU due to low lab values & for evaluation. I did not enjoy my recovery at all (gas) & promised myself never again. Our next 3 babies were born @ home on their God ordained birthdays...& were WONDERFUL experiences!
- —MGholson
3 Days of Induction
- I was induced because I was 2 wks overdue. They did 3 days of Cervidil, they put me on pitocin, gave me an epidural and broke my water. They ended up overlapping my contractions and I only got to 5cm dilated. They ended up doing a c-section with complications. Because they overlapped my contractions my uterus wouldn't contract on it's own, so they had to manually contract it. I ended up losing a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. It was horrible, but yet I'm having baby number two.
- —Guest Melissa
Not what I bargained for
- After my water broke, I was given a couple of hours to get going with labor on my own, then I was induced. There was no rest "between" contractions, the contractions were so much more intense than non-induced, the baby did not tolerate the contractions well, and one thing led to another before I had an unplanned (but possibly unnecessary) C-section. My next baby was a home birth without all that--and so much better for it!
- —Guest Meg
Almost Lost Me!
- I went 2 weeks over due so my doctor induced. At the time I was fine with that I wanted my over 9 lbs baby out! But I had a horrible experience. I had 18hrs of nonstop contractions. No rest at all. And my blood pressure was non existent at a point they had to pump saline through my veins to keep me alive. I'll never do it again. I rather be uncomfortable till the baby came on its own.
- —Guest Jeanie
The never-ending contraction
- My induction was ostensibly medically necessary (my water had been broken for 50 hours) but it was a horrendous experience. I fought through for over 12 hours with no pain medication and the contractions were unbearable and unfruitful. After finally agreeing to an epidural, but before receiving it, I experienced a severe contraction lasting over 20 minutes. I was terrified and in extreme pain. Eventually I received a shot of terbutaline to stop my contractions completely (it didn't). Luckily my baby handled the situation quite well as his heart rate never even dipped. But to this day I wonder if I had been allowed to go into labor naturally how much different my experience might have been.
- —Guest Mandie
Complication from labor induction
- During my first two births, labor was induced against my wishes at a hospital. The pitocin caused several complications including severe drops in maternal and neonatal blood pressure and heartbeat. The pitocin also made uterine contractions intense and unmanageable without pain medication. Additional medicines were administered for the blood pressure and pain management. Both of these medications caused further complications. Both of my inductions were not medically necessary, but were only for the convenience of the doctor. My third birth I chose to use a midwife at a birthing center. It was a wonderful birth, free of unnecessary and dangerous medications. My third baby was born safely, and she was able to nurse more readily since she wasn't drugged. She also experienced fewer problems nursing for months after birth than did the first two children.
- —Guest Campjen
Neonatal complications from misoprostol
- My CNMs encouraged me to induce my labor with misoprostol/Cytotec due to slightly increased bp and a baby who "felt" to be full term during palpation. I had concerns about the Cytotec usage but was assured that complications were rare, and that it was better to use Cytotec to induce now than to risk toxemia. I had a fast, intense labor as is often seen on misoprostol, 5 hrs from start to finish, with fetal decelerations during the transition phase. Had active management during my 15 minute pushing phase, baby was born not breathing but was revived fairly quickly and was thought to be okay. A few hours later he started to have retractions when breathing and was transferred to the NICU where he also developed bradycardia, a registered side effect of misoprostol. His gestational age was estimated by hospital staff to be 35w5d, not full term as my midwives had thought him to be. He spent 9 days in the NICU (total cost $15,000) and left with sensory issues that persist at 6 y.o.
- —Guest Jennifer Berry
Unnecessary Induction
- My early labor stage with my first daughter was full of spurts and stops. Instead of hospital staff sending me home and returning once active labor was naturally established, I was impatiently and rudely pushed a number of potentially risky drugs and procedures. First I took Cytogel. Then CytoTek, which I learned was no longer recommended by the FDA unless for an abortion. Then my water was broken artificially, which prevented my baby from being able to roll out of the painful posterior position. After hours of very painful back labor (posterior) contractions but slow "progress", and I was I was now on a "serious time schedule" since there was no more fluid and that I "needed" Pitocin. It all went downhill from there - extremely painful back-to-back contractions that I could not breathe through and constantly very aching painful back. My back even hurt between the contractions. I ended up getting an epidural and subsequent pushing on my back, with severe vaginal tearing.
- —Guest Angie
