Induction - any positive experiences?

I chose not to have an induction so when my medical team advised it was time to get baby out I had an elective c section. When you say you wanted a natural birth, do you mean vaginal? Because I'll be honest induction is not a natural process

I had a very positive experience! I was induced on my due date for the same reason, I was super worried because of all the bad I’d heard. I went in (11pm, they were limited on beds) and they observed me for an hour, and then they were super busy so wasn’t until 3:30am I’d had the pessary fitted. I was super deflated as I felt like nothing was happening and wasn’t dilating - looking back this was a bonus as I was able to sleep: At 2:30pm the following afternoon, I was only 3cm but then at 4:30pm I was 10cm and my baby was born at 5:09pm! My contractions only started to get a bit wild at about 3ish but was managed with pain meds -I only needed gas & air Based on my experience it was a breeze. I went home the next morning too. I have had both C section and Induction. My C-Section was an emergency and I was very surprised with how quickly I bounced back. In my experience neither were negative (with the exception of my second baby being an emergency) but I could well have been lucky x

I loved my c section! I was so calm and relaxing! I’d opt for the c section if I was you :) x

I was induced with both my pregnancies, both positive, and vaginal deliveries. The hormone drip is powerful so think about your pain relief before hand, however both my babies came before the chance for epidural so i only had gas and air and diamorphine xx

I had a positive induction experience. Had one pessary for 24h then my waters broken and finally hormone drip as I wasn’t dilating quickly enough. Managed with gas and air and baby arrived within 48h of the start of induction. We were discharged the same day Staff were incredible and I would definitely say yes to induction again if need be Every individual will respond to induction differently. Best thing is to stay mobile to speed the process along (walk, go down flights of stairs). Personally I wanted to experience a vaginal birth and to avoid long recovery time from c section. Hope this helps!

@Charley yeah I mean vaginal, and that's my concern is that induction everyone said is so so much different and painful and long and forced that it ruined it for them

I had a positive induction with my first, pessary at around 7:30/8pm, contractions started around 10:30pm, moved to labour ward and waters broken at 4am, baby born at 10:15am. I didn't need any further induction methods after the pessary. It was a painful labour, however I had nothing to compare it to at the time, and I wasn't induced with my twins and labour was equally as painful with them.

I had a positive experience. I had everything you can have and chose to have a epidural which made it a really relaxing amazing experience. I also had a natural birth for my other child. Very different experiences but both were positive x

I had a great experience with induction. Had two sweeps, two pessaries, waters broke, had an epidural and the drip and pushed her out. It was absolutely wonderful. The truth is that you have one go at it. You can not rewind and try again with a different method of induction, in a different position, with different pain relief. You have one experience and other people also have one experience. What is unbearable for one might be absolutely fine for another. If you try for vaginal and it doesn’t happen you can always have C Section, but not the other way around. And with a scar on your uterus you’ll always remain high risk in any of your future pregnancies. For me elective C Section never even crossed my mind

i had a great induction, pessary inserted at 10:30am, went home with cramps, contractions started around 4pm. got to hospital around 11:30pm and was 8cm dilated. had a vaginal birth with just gas and air, baby born at 2:57am!

I had a planned C section 3 weeks ago and it was brilliant, straight forward, no pain and really quick. My scar has healed well and is already barely visible as it’s right on my bikini line. I feel physically well and ready to start exercising soon.

I had an induction and ended up having a csection cus he got stuck and our heart rate kept dropping and my bp also. Even if u get induced theres a chance u can end up getting a csection. But sometimes it works for others! My friend got induced at 6 am and had her baby by 2pm naturally. Everyone has a diff experience for sure

Mine took a week (failed balloon, pessary, sweep etc) but ended with drip, epidural and vaginal birth, and once the drip started the whole thing was about 14 hrs start to finish. Overall it was really positive, I didn’t feel a thing once the epidural kicked in except a brief moment of intense pressure when the head came out. Gas and air did nothing for me. It’s so different for everyone but knowing what all the methods are, and what your pain relief options are is a great way to prepare yourself. I went into mine knowing that I would have preferred to avoid a c section but that I was open to anything that meant I had a healthy baby. The goal of a healthy baby was more important to me than the journey of how we got there.

Did you get to go home after pessary etc? A friend of mine was induced on Thursday and they've kept her in on a ward and 48hrs with no sleep she's still there waiting, which I would like to avoid! If it's a case of induce, go home, come back when you're ready it's not so bad I guess

@Emma i got to go home after the pessary. my consultant said if you're not super high risk you can go home!

I liked being induced, the thought of guessing when to go to hospital and then a potentially painful car journey really bothered me. I had pessary and gel. Had pessary Friday night, sweep Saturday night, gel Sunday morning, which is when it started to get painful, the rest of the time id been off for walks and watching tv on my ipad. Water broke Sunday lunch and he arrived 5pm Sunday with just gas and air (with help of vontouse but that was nothing to do with the induction). Recovery was a lot easier than c section.

I was induced due to reduced movement a day before my due date. Induction started with a pessary at 01:45 and I was already 2cm. I was told it would stay in for 24 hours. Cramps started within 15 mins. Proper contractions started by 07:30 and were coming really fast - only 30 seconds in between so they took the pessary out at 8am, gave me paracetamol and it calmed down. I was 4cm and my waters had gone too. My little boy was born at 15:54 with gas and air only. So pessary to birth was 14 hours. I was expecting a lot longer to be honest. I was also worried about the pain of induction after reading horror stories but I had nothing to compare it to and it was totally manageable with the gas and air. I had to have forceps because he was a bit stuck but I don't think that was down to having an induction. I'm actually glad I had an induction because it reduced my anxieties of being at home, not knowing when it would happen and knowing when to go to the hospital etc.

I was induced for both my pregnancies and never had a bad experience, the only thing I found with it is that the hormone drip can be a bit intense but I had an epidural for both and I don't have a high pain tolerance. Both babies came out absolutely fine 😊

Everyones experience is different and depends on the hospital. We asked our what the process was they do so could get a better understanding. Ours always did balloon first, and said at least 9/10 times did a drip if first baby so we could prep for that (ie epidural😂). Personally it was a nightmare of constant monitoring as ours didn't let you home like some have said, so 36 hours being heart rate checked every 2 hours, waiting constantly on the next stage or space to go to the next ward and ended up with c section as non of it worked! would 100 times over have a csection again it was so relaxed and strangly lovely experience, recovery so fast!

My induction was positive - it does take time and you feel like its taking forever but overall baby stayed calm and happy and my birth was very straightforward (I was a hot mess with nerves and worry though!). I did end up with an epidural as my contractions came thick and fast when they finally started and id lost all my energy to deal with them as a result of the induction process. Ive come to realise that its no good worrying about all the ‘negative’ induction stories as there is no knowing if those births would have been any better without the induction! But overall my birth experience with induction was positive. My advice would be to trust the process and keep thinking about the end and meeting your little one, it comes quicker than you think! Pessary insertion and cervix checks do hurt which I wasnt expecting- so be prepared for that! Xx

I was induced and chose the balloon method & honestly I would recommend to anyone interested in it. I didn’t want to take the medicine that induces you due to the fact it can get to be too much for you and the baby so they would give you something to take it down a notch if it was to but I didnt like the idea of playing back and fourth with medicines. With the balloon you can use the bathroom normal and I find it more of a natural way of inducing. I had a great experience with it!