[bellarox]

Ok so if baby doesn't come in the next few days, the hospital have booked me in to be induced early Tuesday morning.

They won't need gel, just breaking my waters and getting the drip set up.

So my questions are -

Will they usually give a few hours for my body to get things going once waters are broken before starting the drip or do they start the drip straight away?

Do you have to be hooked up to monitors etc once the drip is started and be in bed to labour or can you still labour in different positions?

[j-gray]

I can't really say what they'll do in your situation ... but for me I went in 7:30am in the morning and had my waters broken, then they put the drip in with the hormones straight after. You can still walk around you just wheel the drip with you.

At some point though they put the thing on my belly which monitors the baby's heart rate and at that point you're confined to bed so as not to lose the monitor.

Good luck !!

[AnnBB]

I can only respond from the perspective of my induction.

I requested that i be given some time to allow my body the opportunity to go into labour on its own after my waters were broken. I managed to get 30 minutes before the senior midwife (who was a bit of a cow) basically insisted that they start the drip. I probably could have got longer if i had been a bit more forceful with my wishes.


Once the drip was started and they hooked me up the monitor i was allowed to stand next to the bed but they kepy loosing the trace on the monitor. It was really awkward and the senior midwife wanted me to be in bed to try to get a trace but i basically refused and they allowed me to stand and just do intermittent monitoring as my baby was doing great. If my baby had started to show any signs of struggling then having the monitoring would have been necessary and i would have no doubt ended back in bed to try to get the trace. I am pretty sure though that if you have the drip that it is 'standard procedure' that you have the monitoring.

Best of luck - i hope he/she decides to come before tuesday!

[MARsmum]

I have been induced twice and the length of time before starting the drip was up to me!

With my DD2, I had an ARM then labour started about 30 minutes later. She was then born 1 hour and 45 minutes after that. I was already 3cm dilated - so very favourable for induction.

With DS, I had an ARM at 7.30am and I had contractions start and stop then everything fizzled out. I was asked if I would like the drip around 2pm and I was happy to have it then as I had been patiently waiting for 4.5 hours and thought that it wasn't going to occur naturally. I then had my DS in my arms shortly after 3.30 pm so it all happened pretty quickly once the drip was on. Again, I was 3cm dilated and very favourable for induction.

I think that you just need to make your wishes clear. They can not do anything without your consent so just let them know if you would like to give you body a while to get things going. I was very active after my ARMs. I went walking the streets around the hospital to get things going - with lots of hills! I think that helped a lot! Stairwells are also good!

Good luck and I hope everything goes the way that you would like!

[PinkSurvivor]

I requested that i be given some time to allow my body the opportunity to go into labour on its own after my waters were broken.

With my inductions (I've had two and they were both the same) I was scared of the drip so requested gels and ARM only unless I never progressed then I would try the drip.

The gels started labour I had my waters broken and I never needed the drip at all. After my waters were broken it took me on average an hour to finish having the baby. Besides the gel and ARM, I never had any other intervention. I even had a very UNFAVOURABLE cervix and they told me not to get my hopes up both times.

I hope things start for you before tuesday I swear by clary sage oil you rub it (when mixed with carrier oil) on legs, tummy, lower back and keep rubbing. Every time I've tried my contractions went from irregular and basically pre-labour to full on labour.

Good luck

[MickeyBoo]

Really depends on your individual situation and what requests you make. I am high risk and need to be induced at 38 weeks, and for my last two labours I had the cervadil tape in overnight and my waters broken the next morning. I asked the midwives if I could please have some time after they broke my waters before starting the drip, they were fine with me getting up and using the shower and they left me alone for an hour before asking me to come out to start the drip up. My contractions were very irregular with the first one and I was fine with them putting the drip on at that stage, and with the second one my contractions hadn't started at all so I was fine to go ahead with the drip. I imagine if I was low risk then they may have let me wait a little longer.

[Chedasha]

They pretty much started the drip straight away for mine. They were fanatical about the monitor and they kept losing the HB with it so I got confined to the bed. Couldn't use the shower or anything. After about 5 hours they decided it needed to be a caeserean.

[meggs1]

I was given most of the day to see if labour would start after ARM. I tried all kinds of bouncing, walking etc, but it didn't. After the drip was started i had the monitor on, they were ok with any position where they could still get the readings, but as a practical matter that meant lying in bed. I really wanted to be on my knees leaning forward over something, but they kept losing the HB and coming in.

After about 8 hours of agony I had dilated 1cm and bub was not happy so I had a cs.

[~nikki~]

I will be induced due to bejng high risk at 38 weeks or earlier. This will be my second baby And second induction. the first induction u had 2 lots of gel over night and waters broken the next morning then they put the drip up.

I asked my doctor last week what would happen and she saud they would use the balloon / catheter as the gel didn't work last time then in the morning break the waters and go on the drip. I asked if this time I could wait for the drip and she saud she would give me until lunch time as it's my second baby.

Doesn't hurt to ask :-)

[Chelara]

Depends on what type of monitor they have I think. I had the drip I could shower. Walk to some extent and was certainly not made to stay on the bed.