My first boy was born 9lb 4oz and 10 days overdue. I know that’s not huge but was enough to cause a midwife to say ‘Well you’re going to be sore after giving birth to a toddler.’ So when my second bub was measuring even larger my OB suggested we induce it on my due date.

It seemed all very civilized; rocking up to the hospital with a booking as such; no racing around screaming in agony as water trickled down my leg, or bolting down the hospital corridor to reception gagging for someone to get you a bed and some privacy to scream within.  Just waddling along calmly to my pre-prepared room with time to spare. ‘Yes this is the way to do it’ I thought.

I thought wrong.

Two and a half days later I delivered a second big boy.  Two and a half days!!!!!

So I am writing to give you some insight into what an, albeit difficult, induction can entail, because nobody told me, well not in human speak anyway and I wish they had.

Day 1:

The day began with a not unpleasant procedure where Prostaglandin was applied. The subsequent ‘ripening’ took us to the next day.

Day 1: Still happily ignorant of the ‘fun’ to come, I’ll spare you the photos of Day 2-4. 

Day 2.

This is when things started to deviate from my pleasant vision of the plan. I hadn’t dilated enough for my OB to break my waters so a second method of ‘ripening’ was decided upon. Now I have no issue with this method per se and I’m not a doctor so I can’t say if what happened to me was normal but the procedure to insert a catheter to help dilate my cervix was definitely on a pain par with my first birth. The young doctor was very apologetic about the fact that he couldn’t get it in (!) The fourth ‘successful’ attempt had me almost upside down, legs in stirrups and him up to his elbows, well that’s how it felt anyway. Gritting my teeth no longer worked and I started sobbing uncontrollably. The pain was excruciating and I was shaking so badly after the ordeal I couldn’t walk.

Day 3.

Without so much as a ‘ready’ my OB quite painlessly (everything was relatively painless after the catheter incident) ruptured my membranes. From then on in, it was very civilized and quite surreal as I had the recommended epidural. Even when my posterior bub needed two types of forceps to be turned and delivered I was not fazed. Why would I be I couldn’t feel a thing until…

Day 4.

The epidural wore off.

The good news was my baby was happy and healthy, the bad news was I was not. I was physically a train wreck but nothing time and my husband bringing me condom ice packs couldn’t solve. Of course the induction was not wholly to blame but nevertheless if, god forbid, I happen to fall pregnant a third time, I’ll be waiting for my waters to break naturally, it could have a head the size of a pumpkin, I don’t care, inductions are not for me!

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Have you ever had an induced labour?  Was your experience similar to, or very different from this?