Know Your Due Date. Often, the closer you are to your due date, the easier it is to get labor going. This is because your body and your baby are closer to being ready for spontaneous labor. Sometimes a woman will show up for induction of labor and already be in the early stages of labor.
Listen to the hypnobirthing tracks before induction and during the early stages in the hospital to tap into your state of deep relaxation. Headphones and an eye mask can help you block out the hospital environment and travel inwards. Use slow breathing to relax whenever needed.
Induction Massage - This is one of the least invasive methods of stimulating labor and yet one of the most effective things you can do! Many women will find that their labor starts within 24-48 hours of an induction massage when they get the massage at 40 weeks or later.
The provider might: Ripen the cervix. Sometimes prostaglandins, versions of chemicals the body naturally produces, are placed inside the vagina or taken by mouth to thin or soften (ripen) the cervix. After prostaglandin use, the contractions and the baby's heart rate are monitored.
Induction with a drip tends to be more intense and painful than a labour induced only with prostaglandin or having your waters broken. If you're offered syntocinon, your midwife should also offer you pain relief, including the option to have an epidural, at the same time.
Traditionally, in most hospitals, induction of labour starts early in the morning, with the start of the working day. In human and animal studies however, spontaneous onset of labour is proven to have a circadian rhythm with preference for start in the evening.
Our general rule is to sleep as long as possible if you're starting to feel contractions at night. Most of the time you can lay down and rest during early labor. If you wake up in the middle of the night and notice contractions, get up and use the bathroom, drink some water, and GO BACK TO BED.
Inducing labor involves intervening in the body's natural processes by breaking the amniotic sac, using medication, or both. However it's done, it can lead to fetal distress (such as abnormal heart rate).
Contractions help push your baby out of your uterus. Your provider may recommend inducing labor if your health or your baby's health is at risk or if you're 2 weeks or more past your due date. For some women, inducing labor is the best way to keep mom and baby healthy. Inducing labor should be for medical reasons only.
Induction is not a quick process. Once it has started, it may take more than 24 hours until your baby is born. If your cervix needs to be primed, it may take two days or more.
What induced labour feels like. Induced labour is usually more painful than labour that starts on its own, and you may want to ask for an epidural. Your pain relief options during labour are not restricted by being induced. You should have access to all the pain relief options usually available in the maternity unit.
When induction fails, it is most often because your baby wasn't ready to be born and your body hadn't had the signal it was expecting to get ready. Induction interferes with the normal process your body is expecting and either doesn't respond well or refuses to cooperate.
Getting up and moving around may help speed dilation by increasing blood flow. Walking around the room, doing simple movements in bed or chair, or even changing positions may encourage dilation.
Prostaglandins gel is often the preferred method of inducing labour since it is the closest to natural labour.
Moderate amounts of liquid usually are fine, such as water, tea, black coffee, juice, carbonated beverages, or clear broths. We don't want you to have a huge meal when you're going into labor, but Jell-O, applesauce, Popsicles, or toast may be OK during early labor, while you're still at home.
The cervix should be 2-3 cm dilated, and mostly thinned out, to use pitocin for induction. If the cervix is not ready, not dilated or thinned enough, we can use a different medicine to start the induction.
When a woman and her fetus are healthy, induction should not be done before 39 weeks. Babies born at or after 39 weeks have the best chance at healthy outcomes compared with babies born before 39 weeks. When the health of a woman or her fetus is at risk, induction before 39 weeks may be recommended.
Risks of Induction
The cervix often needs to be softened before pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) will be effective. Pitocin causes contractions that both peak and become stronger more quickly than naturally occurring contractions. The result is a labor that is more difficult to manage.
If you're induced, 3 in 10 are, it can take a while before you go into labour, so don't worry if it takes 2 or 3 days. Some women say an induced labour can also hurt more than a natural labour, so make sure you're prepared and have thought about pain relief.
As oxytocin levels increase, more endorphins are released. When labour is induced, the artificial oxytocin used to stimulate contractions does not cross the blood-brain barrier. Your body doesn't receive signals to release the endorphins and you experience more intense pain.