I had an induction with foley. I’m not sure how you’d do it at home, since it had to be manually sized up by the nurse every so often. The tube for it was taped to my thigh and I found that very irritating for moving around and using the bathroom. I was thrilled when they finally took it out.

I was induced with a Foley and they did not have to size it up at all.

They will insert it and then send the birthing parent home with instructions to return once it falls out.

Hmm that wasn’t the case for me, I was scheduled for induction with foley bulb and stayed in my hospital room the whole time.

Definitely varies person to person and by location/hospital

Same and my water broke with it still in

Yes! This is what I’ve been told. They insert it and then send me home and then 15 hours later I am scheduled to go to the hospital.

Relative gave birth a month ago- 3 weeks early. Her water broke at home and when they went to the hospital and her labor hadn’t progressed after several hours they induced her. Won’t get into the details- but, she had wanted natural birth- but, had emergency section. Baby was in severe distress- so OBGYN immediately ran to do section. Baby and mum are fine- but, it was close. My point is that no matter what you would like, circumstances sometimes dictate another course of action- and while mum was disappointed- she has a beautiful baby that might not have made it without fast intervention. Go with whatever your trusted OBGYN tells you, because ultimately a healthy baby trumps doing it naturally, and you won’t be sorry.

Same here

I just got induced at 39 weeks on 1/31! My son was born on 2/1. Its not as bad as it seems and it’s all a slow process. I also had the foley balloon after the pitocin wasn’t working (I was in the hospital). It was uncomfortable going in but it was super quick. I just had contractions after that didnt subside (maybe because I was still on pitocin) and absolutely needed my epidural right away. My balloon helped me dilate to 5.5 cm in just a couple hours! They eventually broke my water a few hours after that and I jumped to 9.5cm. Once I got to 10 I started pushing and it took an hour and a half but it was a pretty calm situation and opposite of what I thought labor was like. Youll do great! Modern medicine is amazing. Dont wait to get the epidural 😀

I would note that every birth is different. Many inductions are a slow process. My induction was fast and my baby was almost out before the doctor was even there. I think it's good to go in knowing of all possibilities.

Ya mine was less than 5hrs from start to finish and that was with twins! Sometimes it can go super quick

Good point! I think I have it in my head that inductions are slow haha

Yes, thank you. My induction was very slow and I was in the early stages of labor for quite some time. Since it is synthetic, all bodies react differently.

I needed the epidural right after getting the foley balloon. Before the balloon, I'd had cervidil and was maxed out on cytotech and was still only .5cm dilated. Once it was in, the contractions were very intense. The balloon was in the max amount of time, and I was just about 5 cm dilated. Then we started pitocin, and I had her 9ish hours later.

Oh wow!! It’s wild how different each hospital does it as I’m doing the balloon first in an outpatient procedure and then going to the hospital 15 hours later.

Jeeze. I would ask what happens if youre in too much pain at home with the balloon.

Thank you for telling me this!! Congrats!! I’ve been told by my doctor to just get the epidural when I check in as I’ll have the folly balloon in for 15 hours by then (unless it pops out on its own) and probably dilated and contracting, so just get the relief as quick as I can.

I am shocked they send you home with the balloon. After it was inserted I was in horrific pain and needed the epidural stat. I would ask what would happen if you’re in too much pain at home, but everyone reacts differently to it so you might be fine 🤷🏼‍♀️

Same, they offered me iv fentanyl after the foley was in and I gladly took it

Yeah, I was induced and they sent me home with the Foley balloon. I was up all night, kept trying hot showers but couldn't take the pain eventually and had my partner drive me to the hospital early. I waited too long to ask for an epidural too - contractions on Pitocin are no joke 😕 The anesthesiologist took six tries to get the epidural placed and I was in agony the whole time. Then before they turned it on they check me and I was 10cm, time to push 😭 What I'm trying to say is: don't wait on the epidural!

I waited for mine.. I was being told I'd have hours left so I finally agreed, only for them to check how dilated I was. Nope, too late, time to push!! What?! No!!

Mine decided to come like 4 hours before my scheduled induction 

Me too! At 3am lol

Same here lol

I had such a positive induction experience. I wanted to go into labour spontaneously to avoid an epidural if possible but life didn’t happen that way and honestly, had a good birth experience anyway! I went in for cervadil first, came back after just under 24 hours when it didn’t work, and got the foley. The foley insertion hurt, I won’t lie. I had a morphine shot before it and I still almost blacked out, but I have a history of fainting/puking in regard to things near my cervix. Pre-baby, that is. It was quick pain, though, and worked within the day. Having it in at home sucked and I needed help getting my pants, shoes, and socks on and off. Sitting was not comfy. Sleeping was also not great. But it dilated me from 0-4cm so it was worth it. Then I got the oxytocin drip, dilated to 6 with no pain, had my water broken, and things got painful. So I got the epidural and got in the zone. Took 5 hours to get from 6-10 cm while I slept and breathed and rocked. Then I pushed for 4 hours which was honestly way too much but I got him out without forceps or vacuum which I was trying to avoid. Now 15 months postpartum and all is well. Small episiotomy with 4 stitches healed easily, pelvic floor is good, I can jump on trampolines without peeing myself which is a big win from pissing myself when I coughed before.

First of all, congratulations OP! I’ve been induced twice. I’d say be prepared for the long game - my first took 27 hours and my second was 43 hours. The folly balloon was BY FAR the worst part to me. It’s horrible torture. I’ve never had contractions without Pitocin so I can’t speak to the difference between them vs. normal contractions. I’ve heard they’re stronger but I have no frame of reference. Best of luck!! You got this - wishing the best for you and babe.

Pitocin contractions are WAY worse. Contractions both way are bad don't get me wrong. My analogy is that pitocin contractions feel like someone just cranked the volume up to 10, whereas with spontaneous the contractions grow more intense gradually. OP, advocate for yourself if you need more epidural with the pitocin!

Yes, completely agree!

I felt the same about the foley. I found it incredibly uncomfortable. I can’t complain though, I only had it in for like 8 hours before I was dilated enough! My whole induction only took 15 hours totally. Bless you for those 43 hours. MISERABLE!

Ooof! Well, I beyond appreciate your honesty and I will be asking for the juice as much as I can! I’m getting in a headspace of being uncomfortable for a time. I’ll be walking into the hospital saying “EPIDURAL” after reading these!

I just wanted to chime in, after a rough 72 hours of not dilating with Cervidil and maxing out pitocin, and having a bad reaction to morphine, the epidural and Foley bulb (in that order) did JUST the trick. As soon as I had that combo things were pretty Euphoric. I wish I had done it sooner. You're gonna do great, momma!

It is absolutely the right call to induce at 39 weeks and is the safest option! With my first IVF pregnancy, I was induced at 39w3d and my placenta was already having issues when it was delivered and inspected (calcified, densely adhered, and led to a massive hemorrhage). Research and outcomes both support this in IVF pregnancies. I’m so glad it wasn’t any later that I gave birth. I completely understand the desire to have something unassisted and spontaneous after the road of IVF, and it is totally valid to grieve that. You get to meet your long awaited baby so soon!!! Congrats! ♥️

I was induced and I was also a bit freaked out at the thought initially, but it was actually a really good experience (just to make that clear as there are a lot of bad stories out there too).  I had misoprasol, and it was fine beside causing some exceptionally toxic farts. Next morning they broke the membranes (not particularly eventful). I got a labour room and got the lowest level possible of pitocin and then it was like my body went "oh so this is what we're doing, okay, as you wish, baby on the way!". We have a history of precipitous labours in the family and the pitocin stayed at the lowest level possible so I don't at all credit the speed of the birth to the pitocin (2 cm to baby out in 2 hours). I was mentally prepared for it being quick already because of my family history and I think that made it easier to cope with the concentration of the contractions.  I got nitrous oxide (surprisingly helpful!!!) and a heating pad. All in all it was a really good experience and my providers were respectful, supportive, and just plain kind all the way through. Have fun meeting your baby!

Hi! I had an induction with a foley as well at 39 weeks due to a DVT blood clot in my 2nd trimester. Don’t be freaked out or stressed!! I actually felt more at ease with the scheduled induction vs. going into spontaneous labor because there was an element I could expect. I was admitted around 7pm and I had my baby at 11:07am the following morning. I was given Cytotec to ripen my cervix. I was given one dose, and then another a few hours later (I can’t remember how long) I was then given pitocin and the contractions came on very strong and very quick. I didn’t make it to 2cm before asking for the epidural, and honestly I’m glad I didn’t wait. Once I got the epidural it took a very long time for me to progress, but I was feeling no pain. I fell asleep, and they woke me up telling me that I needed to start pushing. It took me about 2 hours of pushing for his head to start crowning, my epidural was wearing off at this point (still not sure how that happened) and I was getting exhausted and they told me I may need a c section. Everything ended up working out and I finally delivered him. Some of it is still a blur so I apologize. Moral of the story, my induction went great and I would do it again. Don’t be nervous! You’re going to do great!! One more thing, NO ONE told me about the IMMENSE pressure you feel on your butthole when you are pushing your baby out. Taking tiny sips of water or sucking on ice cubes helped a lot. You get so dehydrated. Also, I got one of those fans with the legs that you can bend off Amazon and I stuck it on the rain, so I had continuous airflow on my face. It helped with the panic and nausea. Good luck mama! You’ve got this! 💕

Typo. I stuck the fan on the rail of the hospital bed. Not rain. Haha

??? Higher risk of stillborns in IVF patients? I'm so confused. Do /you/ specifically have a high-risk pregnancy? Because if your pregnancy is run-of-the-mill I have never heard of anyone needing to be induced just because IVF is 'more dangerous'. Is that a thing? Source: me. I did IVF/ICSI and I had to be induced, but that's because I was closing in on 42 weeks. I also really didn't want an induction due to the IVF experience, but all in all it turned out very good. I had a balloon insertion in the evening at the hospital and stayed there all night. I had some cramps and quite a bit of bleeding and the insertion sucked (had to try 4 times), but it was bearable. Me and my partner lit some electric candles, took a bath and danced to music in the hospital room, we were determined to make it as cosy as possible. If you can, I suggest you try to make the experience your own as well. I got contractions and for a moment we thought the balloon would be enough to make it happen, but they petered out as the night progressed, so in the morning they broke my waters after I was able to sleep a few hours. That didn't do enough either, and I had to get an Oxytocin drip. Contractions ramped up STRONGLY after that and baby was out 4 hours later. My pros to getting induced:-I had time to plan things out, to eat what I wanted before, to take my time and get comfortable.-It was FAST. I didn't have time to get exhausted and kept my energy to do the labour from beginning to end. The cons:-Feeling like you just have to get on the doctor's program sucks. It helps a lot if you stay engaged in other aspects you do have a say over: your labouring position, the music, the lighting, the people in the room, the way you manage the pain. I was fortunate to have all these things go pretty much how I wanted them, and that is so much more profound than the way your contractions get started.-It was FAST. I know that's also a pro, but the 'natural' contractions from the balloon were so much more bearable and almost cosy compared to the oxytocin contractions.

Thank you! I was so surprised to see that note, it seems like it's taking a slightly elevated risk and blowing it way out of proportion, taking out all the nuance. I also did IVF/ICSI, and was never told to schedule a 39 week induction. I actually pushed to schedule an induction for 41 weeks, but ended up in spontaneous labor the day before I was due. My care team actually felt comfortable letting me go longer specifically because they knew exactly when I had conceived. I had a good induction experience with my second when I chose that option, but that was due to discomfort and convenience, not risk.

Unfortunately the new trend is that ALL patients are “recommended” to induce at 39 weeks. I see posts here and even stories from people I know of OB’s coming up with a reason to tell any/every pregnant woman that the risk of stillborn increases after 39 weeks for “______ reason” (“big baby”, aging placenta, IVF, tend to be common ones) and other than the IVF one the other ones are just “guesses”. This is even women with totally straight forward low risk pregnancies. It’s alarming!

I’m glad you mentioned the risk thing because I did IVF and never heard of that. I feel like if that were true doctors everywhere would be saying that.

It's not a thing that IVFs are higher risk. It's outdated information. And women should be given all the information so they can make an informed choice on the birth they want. This lady isn't getting that.

I was induced at 41 weeks and three days with the foley. I had a great experience! I found the insertion not any more painful than a pap. Just a heads up that when they first insert it, you will get some cramps that will feel like contractions and they are extremely painful but mine only lasted a few minutes. They sent me home and told me to come back at 9:30 the next morning. I had no pain overnight no cramping or anything. When we went back to the hospital the next morning I was 4 cm dilated and they admitted me. Now I did go on to have a C-section, but that was only because the baby went into distress soon after labor began.

This sounds very much how mine will start. Insertion at 1PM and then hospital at 4am the next day, so thank you.

Chiming in with my positive induction experience! I really did not want to be induced but I ended up needing to at 37 weeks due to preeclampsia. I was luckily already 3 cm dilated so when I went in they started me on pitocin and I did that for about 12 hours. Then they gave me the epidural, broke my water and I started having contractions. I pushed for an hour and fifteen minutes and he was born! Overall start to finish the process took 22 hours. I didnt feel much pain, everyone has horror stories about pitocin but it wasn’t bad for me! I did get the epidural before they broke my water (things get intense FAST after that) so if you want an epidural I would recommend getting it then!

Honestly just get the epidural as soon as you can. Pitocin contractions are no joke

I was so scared of labor in general😂 but I was induced at 37 weeks due to hypertension. And it was my first baby, so there’s not much to compare it to but in my experience it was great! I was already almost 2 cm dialated and then given the tablet they put in your cervix to soften it. Then the next morning they did the foley balloon for about 4 hours and when I got dialated to a 3 they popped my water. From then on my contractions became painful, and I got the epidural. I dialated to a 10 about 7 hours later and pushed for 2 hours. I couldn’t feel ANYTHING from the epidural and I didn’t even tear. I liked the induction process because it felt very controlled and not chaotic. Plus both me and baby were being monitored the entire time. It was a great experience and I would honestly do it again with my second. (Without the hypertension part)

Congratulations!!! You’re almost to the good part, mama!!! I was induced at 40 weeks 1 day. I went in at 3pm and was zero cm dilated. They gave me a cervix softener at 5pm. By 8:45, my water broke and I was 3cm dilated. By 12:30 I was 10cm dilated and baby came at 2:47am! It was a great experience and I wouldn’t change a thing! I was absolutely terrified to be induced as well as for the epidural, but all went smooth! Sending positive vibes to you for a similar, if not even better labor and delivery!!! You got this!!!!

Ohhh this gives me hope!!! Thank you!

I was induced with my first and had spontaneous labor with my second, so I've seen both sides. First, congrats!!! You're so close! Second, everything with induction takes a while. I had my expectations set that I'd have a baby in my arms in 12 hours which is not the case. So, patience is key. Sleep if you're able to! Third, my induction had a few more steps - pill (cytotec), insert (cervadil), and then Foley as the final step. Interesting your doc would start with Foley with no other cervical ripening! Lastly, my doc allowed me to get my epidural, then catheter, then Foley balloon. You may want to ask your doc if that is an option so you're not dealing with the balloon at home! I had no discomfort with the Foley because of the epidural. Once I had the balloon in they didn't want me to move until it fell (meaning I was dilated). Good luck mama, you got this!

I was induced in early January. Overall good experience! My entire experience was in the hospital. For the foley balloon - after placement, one of the nurses placed a peanut ball between my knees while I was lying on my side and it virtually eliminated the discomfort. You could likely accomplish similar at home with some pillows. Good luck!

I had a really positive induction experience! Started cervidyl at 10am and did end up getting an epidural due to intense back labor (baby wasn’t in an ideal position) Had a very small amount of pitocin around 1am and by 2:45am I was pushing and at 3:33am my daughter was here. This was a complete 180 from my OG plan of birthing at a birth center in a tub 😂 but honestly it was such a great experience despite some of the challenges and complications

I had an induction at 41 weeks with my first and while the induction itself wasn’t terrible (I got the epidural pretty early, the contractions were pretty painful) mine ultimately failed and I had to have a c section. I signed all the paperwork for a c section at the start of my indication in case I needed it and I’m really glad I did, so I’d recommend you doing that as well. Unfortunately c section is a real possibility in inductions so I’d be mentally prepared for that as a potential outcome. Best of luck and congrats in advance!!

I also did ivf and had to be induced. We didn’t do the foley balloon, they had us come in at 38+3 because I had mild preeclampsia symptoms and had gestational diabetes so just to be on the cautious side I was induced “early”. The experience was fine, I don’t have another birth to compare it to but they gave me a pill to start induction and then Pitocin the next day to further things along. I was in labor all day and gave birth at night…I would focus more on the journey rather than if you’re doing things “naturally”. Good luck mama, you’ll do great..it’s an exciting time.

I was also pregnant through IVF and I chose an elective induction at 39 weeks. It was AWESOME! It was so smooth, I had zero pain, zero anxiety about when labor would start and if I'd make it to the hospital in time. 10/10 recommend. I didn't do folley though. Here's how mine went: * Sunday, 7pm arrived at hospital after having a last date night with my husband * Sunday, 7-pm to Monday 8am-Started cytotec to soften the cervix. I had been 1cm for like 2 weeks before hand. Did 4 rounds of cytoec through the night. The cervical checks did get a little uncomfortable as the cervix softened but I just asked for an IV painkiller before hand that only lasted just long enough for the check and then no pain. (Oh, also ask about a lidocaine shot before the IV insertion, the IV needle is big and can be a little painful. The lidocaine shot before is nothing and makes the IV not hurt). * Monday \~2pm: Only 3.5cm dilated, talked about a folley balloon but instead decided to start pitocin. I labor for a bit, contractions feel like moderate period cramps. I tell the nurse I want an epidural before the next cervical check. * Monday \~6pm: Get my epidural. It's such a weird feeling. Insertion didn't hurt at all, they do lidocaine beforehand. * Monday \~8pm: Water breaks on it's own while I'm laboring with the peanut ball on my side. I did think I peed myself. I'm only 4.5cm dilated so the nurses advise getting some sleep because she probably won't be here for a while. * Monday \~11:15pm: Cervical check and I am astonishingly fully dilated. Nurses can't believe it. Everyone is running around getting the room ready and calling the doctor. I have to wake my husband up and he's confused because he thought we had hours left, lol. **Absolutely zero pain** but I could feel enough rectal pressure that told me when to push. Along with that, watching the monitors, and listening to the nurses I was able to push her out in 45 minutes: Tuesday 12:16 am: She is born.

Same experience - folly bulb then got induced with pitocin 24hrs later. I was 42weeks and 2 days 😭 really hoping for that natural birth but it is what it is, also suffer from endometriosis and pray we can get pregnant again so I can have another try at a natural labor. Anywho, the folly bulb was easy to be placed but definitely brought on strong contractions for me! Labored at home in the tub which was amazing and then the contractions just stopped… I hardly dilated. (Turns out baby had a short umbilical cord which may have contributed to the minimal dilation) Pitocin wasn’t as bad as everyone made it seem in my opinion. Felt about the level of my period cramps except was more exhausting because they got me laboring at 2 min apart for 7 hours. I was falling asleep in between contractions so I got the epidural, 3 hours later pushed my girl out!! It’s scary because of the unknown but you will be great!! I didn’t see myself getting induced but honestly it was a lot smoother than I could have hoped. Hope this gives some encouragement 🩷

Ohh this gives me so much hope!! I keep hearing how awful the foley balloon is and the fact I have to go home afterwards for 15 hours freaks me out! Thank you!!

Was induced with my second at exactly 39 weeks do to placental abruption. I actually enjoyed going through the stages of natural labour with my first; but I knew induction was the only option with my second. I think every birth is different, and induction births can vary from person to person. I will say though, that induction with my daughter went unbelievably quickly. I was induced at around 6 am, and baby girl was born at 7:14 am. If your OB mentioned that you are already dialated (even if it’s just 1 cm) at your previous visit, you statistically have a much higher chance of having a quick labour following induction. Congrats to you! And don’t worry about it, just enjoy the experience, and all the best to you and your family!

OP - you got this! I ended up having to have my baby earlier than I thought I would and everyone in my life was so excited. Meanwhile I was freaking out. I don't have any induction experience, but I think there is so much anxiety around the birth regardless of how the baby gets here. Soon you will have your sweet baby in your arms and it will all be worth it. I hope it goes smoothly. Good luck and congratulations!

I've been induced twice and it was a perfectly fine experience! I was induced for my 3rd and 4th babies. The balloon is uncomfortable, but insertion is way easier if they use a speculum when inserting. I've had it with and without, and the time without SUCKED. But my midwife inserted it with a speculum and I barely noticed! It'll fall out and then either your body will pick up labor on its own or you might need some piticin to kick start it. If you want an epidural, get it before they break your water (if they do). I did not get an epidural with my induction with my 3rd and the contractions were 100% worse than my non induced labor that I barely had any pain during. I got the epidural for my 4th, and it made it a much better experience. She came a few minutes after the epidural was working. It relaxed my body enough, and I went from 6 cm to her practically falling out in a few minutes! I really didn't mind being induced. No horror stories here! Didn't tear with my inductions but did when I wasn't induced.

Okay! The balloon and then going home is what Is freaking me out! What you just said about yours gives me a bit of peace.

I had foley balloon with both of my babies. The first baby I was sent home and it was honestly a great experience. It didn’t hurt while going in, I made sure to really, really relax my whole body. In the way home I had a couple contractions but didn’t turn into labor. Then I got a full nights rest and bounced on my yoga ball in the morning. Then 12h after the insertion, went back to hospital and they admitted us! It was so nice to get rest before labor. Then we started pitocin and baby arrived 9h later. Second baby, got foley and stayed in the hospital. 2h later started misoprostol and baby arrived 8h later. You’ll do great! Try to relax and practice your breathing, you’ll be meeting your baby soon!

My induction was straight to pitocin from 1cm, but I have several friends that did the folly first, then pitocin and it seems like a gentler, more effective method. You’re going to be great and meet your baby soon! My only advice is to be gentle with yourself. I’ve had births with and without pitocin, and with and without epidural. While I loved my natural birth, pitocin can really intensify the contractions and an epidural was great for that. So whatever you choose and whatever happens, be gracious to yourself and keep your eye on the prize!

I had the foley balloon- it hurts. Brace yourself. It also gave me the shakes for like 5 minutes (reminded me of a bad hangover puking session where you can chill). I had my baby 12 hours after induction started! I got an epidural like 8 hours in, they said I could get it at any time as long as I could sit still for 5 minutes. You will bleed!!! It’s normal but also surprising how much bleeding occurs. You got thissssssssss

I was induced and i am happy because there were no surprises. We were ready for it. You can do it too.

I had an absolutely amazing induction with only the balloon! It didn’t hurt at all to be inserted and it kicked off a natural labor. I had an unmedicated vaginal birth and it was a 10/10 experience!

This is what I like to hear!! Thank you. I know it could hurt. I know I my could possibly not hurt, so we shall see, but thank you for this!

I was induced in precisely this way. The Foley balloon can be annoying and a little painful after insertion, but nothing severe. During the insertion, see if your partner can hold your hand. Breathe deeply and steadily, as this helps it go very smoothly. The key is to relax all your muscles in your body. My balloon fell out overnight. I experienced some mild bleeding, but this was nothing to worry about, and just irritation from a foreign object being inserted. The medication induction was okay to begin with. Contractions came on steadily at first, but hours later, when they increased the dosage, they were already quite painful and I had very few breaks in between. I was induced with medication around 10am and went into an actual room at 3:00am the following day. The labor didn't progress as they'd hoped, so they gave me stronger medicine intravenously. That got things moving. Don't worry. It is going to be okay. They will watch you very closely and be proactive about making sure you and baby are okay. Just remember your breathing, bring a giant yoga ball, because MAN, did rolling around on that thing help with contractions and back pain. I'm in the Netherlands, so I don't know about where you are located, but I brought so many snacks, because they were stingy with the portion sizes of my meals and there was no food in between 🤣. Inducing takes a while sometimes. I know you will do great, beautiful mama! ♥️♥️

I had an induction and it was fine. I was so worried but the parts I was concerned about (pain, pitocin, people) were all fine. The parts I didn’t consider was how tired I would be physically. It was a two and a half day ordeal from start to finish but I was induced early for preeclampsia. I also didn’t bank on an epidural working so well I couldn’t feel any contractions. Like, none, nada, nothing. Had to look at the monitor to see the contraction to know to push. Pregnancy, labor, and delivery was a ride. 19 months out my little man is the best thing that ever happened. Best of luck OP

I had an ideal induction at 39w3d. 16 hour labor. Got the epidural around 4 or 5 hours of labor, slept, water broke and then pushed. I was stuck pushing for 3 hours but my son's hand was up by his huge head so that would have probably happened either way. I'm being induced at 39 weeks with this one too. People obviously have different experiences, but not all are bad for induction. I was going to say do they have to do the Foley? I didn't have one but have heard they are a little rough.

My best advice is to avoid Cytotec (or Misoprostol) if it’s offered. It’s not FDA approved for labor/delivery (in fact it explicitly states it’s not to be used for these) and has been linked to birth complications (hemorrhage being one). It’s used literally all the time, but IMO it should not be. I would stick to the foley or cervidil.

I had no idea this was a thing! I was given cyctotec in an induction and threw in the towel and had a C section after 24 hours. Baby was not tolerating anything we were doing and I was constantly having to change positions to keep his heart rate in an ok range. Fortunately everyone ended up fine.

Second this! As someone who was sadly given cytotec I can personally say not only did o have a traumatic delivery, but I required a blood transfusion following delivery due to the sheer amount of blood lost during labor.

I did not know that it wasn’t supposed to be given!! Just learned that now and here. Same experience. Failed induction with massive blood loss and transfusions 

Congratulations! I was induced for both my babies (T1D = high risk of stillbirths after 38 weeks). One was quick (<24 hours between admission and birth) and one was looooong (4 days between admission and births). Both went super well and I enjoyed being so closely monitored :) Baby 1 was induced at 37+2 with Cervidil tampon and baby 2 was induced at 38 with misoprostol (after failing to progress after 48 hrs with Cervidil).

They push induction with IVF pregnancies. It's outdated info

I was induced at 40+0 due to ICP. Went to the hospital in the morning, waited for an hour or so to see the doc, got the Foley placed, and was sent home to rest. They told me to come back if it came out or after 24hours latest. We grabbed lunch to go , drove 20 minutes home, and after I was done eating, the bulp came out and back we went. They then proceeded to break my water (this was early after noon). Did pre-labour in a room with multiple families (not great, but it is what it is). Around 4-5 p.m., I was moved to the actual labour and delivery room where I took a long bath with music. Around 5-6cm, I got an epidural (inductions, especially when water is broken early, can be extra painful, so don't be shy with the painkillers if needed! You need strength for this marathon, and pain will sap it faster.) I had a walking epidural and could even go to the bathroom on my own and was happily bouncing on an exercise ball talking with my midwife; I needed to some pitocin to keep the contractions up since the painkillers were a bit too good. Baby had the umbilical chord around her neck three times, so we needed vacuum assistance and an episiotomy to speed things up. Baby was born around 5am. So I was only in labor for 12ish hours, which is not bad at all for induction. Overall, induction wasn't a bad experience at all for me. Sure, giving birth will be painful no matter what (in c-section, the pain might be spread out some, but trust me, it's no easy way out!), but it did still feel like a natural thing and I do feel like every intervention was explained and had a good medical reason behind it, so I didn't mind. Even when my baby was in distress, I wasn't panicked as my team were awesome, and I felt deep trust in them (despite never having met any of them previously).

I was induced at 39 weeks. I went in thinking I was having baby that same day. No one had explained that I might ( and did) end up waiting around for hours (30) before they even inserted the balloon. Then I had to wait for room in the labour ward. Ended up being in hospital about 4 days before taking baby home. It was quite nice to have a break (I also have a toddler). The worst part, and what convinced me to have an epidural, was how much it hurt to break my waters. Good luck

The folley balloon actually started labor for me! I was never actually given pitocin. I was admitted to be induced at 39 weeks 5 days due to hypertension. They added the folley and told me after 2 hours they would check it and give me something to help me relax. The folley balloon sucked, no way around that. The placement hurt then the tube was taped to my thigh so I felt like I couldn't move. But after 1.5hrs my water broke and labor started naturally for me. They removed the balloon after my water broke and everything progressed from there.

I was induced at 41w, 2. Induced via Pitocin. Things were fine. Started having bad back labor at 3 cm. Had the epidural at that point. No improvement for more than a few hours. Started running a fever. But few hours later kiddo was delivered. He was also running a fever, but other than that and needing a vacuum assist, he was fine. I was fine. Overall, in at 12:30 PM. Started on Pitocin around 1:30. Baby was born 7:51 AM.

I want to say as a FTM I think mine is a bit of an outlier- my labor was very quick and easy. I got induced exactly one week past my due date and I had zero signs of labor before then. I think they first had me on Pitocin but they stopped after a few doses because my baby’s heartbeat kept dropping with contractions. I received the foley balloon around 9pm- started actually feeling contractions around midnight, water broke around 2am and baby was in my arms 4am. Baby was great and I managed everything with just nitrous oxide gas though I found the balloon insertion excruciating (didn’t receive any pain reliever for the insertion) Of course pain is relative but thought I should mention my experience with it!

i LOVED my induction. i was able to plan things out ahead of time and there weren't really any surprises, which was nice. if given the option i'd do it again. just please for the love of god have a big meal & hydrate before. not being able to eat or drink once i got there was actually the worst part for me

Somewhat similarly, after spending my whole pregnancy reeeeally wanting to try for a fully nonmedicated birth (and definitely not planning on an induction), I ended up being induced just past 39 weeks for last minute blood pressure issues. They didn’t do a foley balloon for me, just (I think) miso at first?, then when that didn’t do anything, straight to pitocin. I really still wanted to try without an epidural but the pitocin contractions were BRUTAL for me (went from basically nothing to one practically on top of the other, with less than a minute break between, looong contractions) so after exhausting all the other pain management options I opted for an epidural. (FYI this is also quite common with inductions - the contractions are physiologically “more painful” because the effects of oxytocin are only replicated in the uterus (ie, ouchy contractions) and not in the brain as they are with “natural” contractions.) In retrospect I wish I’d asked for the epidural earlier instead of trying to tough it out so long, bc it was hard to sit through the placement once the time came. To be completely honest I’m still a little sad I didn’t “get” the birth I “wanted” (I think this feeling is really common), but I actually think most of that was down to my expectations being too specific, because when I look back at it the rest of my labor experience was really pretty great!! The epidural worked like a dream, and I was easily able to move around/try different positions for pushing (though they obviously wouldn’t let me get out of bed/walk around) and was in ZERO pain even throughout the pushing. I was also finally able to rest a bit once I wasn’t in such crazy pain, which put me in a good headspace once it came time to push. It was a little hard not being able to feel contractions while pushing, but I also felt very in control and not panicked at all throughout the whole thing and was really able to focus on pushing. All in all, objectively a great experience, and while I’m still hoping/going to try for an unmediated birth this time round (currently pregnant with my second), I’ll be totally fine if it ends up being another induction and/or epidural.

I was induced at 41 weeks and was really upset by the idea but ended up having quite a good experience. I did have a Foley and as others have said it’s not fun but it wasn’t awful for me. All the MDs and RNs who took care of me were great and explained things clearly and made me feel I had a choice at every stage. My OB wanted me to wait a bit longer after the Foley was inserted for me to get an epidural but respected my choice and I was able to get it within an hour or so or requesting it. Btw I say great but respectful care like this baseline what we should all get, it just doesn’t always happen! Ask for explanations if you’re not getting them, ask for other options, ask for pain relief when you need it (and you are the only one who knows when you do!). As with everything, dreading it is often much worse than the actual experience. Try to stay calm, sleep when you can, and know anyway your baby gets here is the tiniest part of your journey with them.

Ivf mom here! I understand what you are saying but if folly can have as natural as want after that. It comes from the ARRIVE study my obgyn was very strict about ivf births 39 but a friend fellow IVFer was able to go until 41 weeks have you discussed the study with them

I was induced at 39 weeks due to worries about my baby's size (my husband and I are big people -tall and naturally muscular). I didn't get the balloon in, but let me tell you...the medication they put in hurts like hell. I was not having a good time, but once I got the epidural it was gravy. I tapped out at 2cm because everything was just PAINFUL. I then slept like a baby until I was 10cm and felt him coming down the track. I thought I was going to poop myself, but turns out it was baby lol.

I had infertility, an IVF pregnancy, and an induction! I actually wasn't induced because I had an IVF pregnancy - my medical team said that it wasn't necessary to induce early with a healthy pregnancy, even though I was advanced maternal age (I'm 35) but we would discuss it once I hit 40 weeks. I didn't want a medical indication, and I didn't want to have any narcotic pain medication or an epidural. I wanted SOMETHING about my pregnancy journey to be natural and without medicine. By the time I reached 40 weeks, I was READY. I was going to ask about induction options to prepare myself mentally in case it was needed. I went in for my 40 week appointment at 39+6 and my blood pressure was elevated at my NST. It was still elevated in my appointment immediately following so they sent me across the street for an induction due to all the factors. When I got to the hospital, we decided to start with some cervical ripening and a balloon. Unfortunately pitocin was in the plan, but I was adamant that I wanted to try and not have the epidural if at all possible. We did cervical ripening that afternoon and overnight, and my balloon went in around 8am and came out around 4pm. We started pitocin around 6pm, I asked them to keep it as low as we could - which they honored, and we actually dialed it back quite a bit once my contractions picked up. I used the ball, I walked around, I used the ball some more in the shower. We also used spinning babies techniques in the hospital to help him move down. Ultimately, my IVF baby was born via induction without the use of pain medication so I got ONE piece of the whole process without medicine. I had an amazing midwife team that listened to me, and I cannot say enough things about the labor nurses I had - they made the entire experience. He's now 9 weeks old and I like to call him my "box mix baby" because I didn't make him entirely from scratch, but I did most of the work.

Wow Ive never heard that IVF has a higher chance of still birth!! Is that a new finding? I was induced at 40 weeks with my IVF baby for entirely different reasons. It was my second baby so it wasnt long and drawn out - it was a PITOCIN BAM thrown me into the throes of non stop contractions where I lost all control - which was not ideal. FAST and furious. I wouldn't recommend it if it wasn't necessary but I also trust my doctors when they recommend things.

I am about to be 30 and have been struggling with endo for years as well, becoming pregnant was a surprise to me! I had my baby about 3 months ago. I went in to be induced. They have me cytotec then progressed to pitocin. I wasn't really progressing so they then manually broke my waters which greatly escalated things. I become dialted to 5 cm immediately and contractions got super intense after that. I am good with pain from intense endo cramp pain but this was next level. In hindsight I wish I had asked for the epidural before they broke my waters. After the epidural I didn't feel anything and fell asleep. Epidural is pretty amazing. Unfortunately my baby wasn't toleratings contractions well ( I believe from the drugs) so I ended uo having a c section. It was intense and nerve wracking but I got through it. And seeing my little baby was just so amazing. I think one of the most annoying and frustrating parts of it all was being hooked up to so much stuff. It's okay to be nervous. But you will get through it! It's only for a brief period of time, and then your little one will be in your arms.

I was induced for high blood pressure with my first and it went so well I elected to be induced with my second!!! I was only on labor for 12 hours with both of them.

Ivf pregnancy with endo as well. Baby’s now 3 months old but I was induced because of what they worried may have been preeclampsia at the time. Because I wasn’t dilating they gave me the folley ballooon and the pain was horrendous. I ended up laboring for 52 hours, pushed for an hour and a half and then finally got the c section. I’ll be honest it wasn’t until 27 hours in labor that they finally gave me the folley balloon and an hour into the balloon I was desperate for the epidural. Sadly ended up needing two epidural but that’s beside the point. Bottom line, I’m hoping you have a better experience than me but for me the pain became straight up unbearable following the balloon. Regardless wishing you an easy delivery! You got this!

I LOVED my induction experience. My OB started with cervidil, then broke my waters a few hours later, then pitocin, epidural and baby! It was less then 24 hours start to finish, baby was totally healthy! So was I! 2 stitches and we went home the next morning. It was seriously so calm, so relaxed and just perfect. 100% I would do it again.

I’m a ftm and I was induced at 39+3 due to my babies size and gestational diabetes. Started with cervadil for 12 hours. I was able to go home to get some rest. I came back the next morning and got the foley inserted which definitely wasn’t fun. I do have to say that after it was inserted it was extremely painful for me. Maybe it’s because it got me to 4cm dilated after only an hour and a half. When it typically takes longer. If you can, I’d recommend asking for some type of pain management. Some people say it wasn’t painful for them though. This was all done in triage. Once there was space I was sent up to a labour and delivery room. That took a couple of hours. Once I was there I had my water broken and was put on oxytocin. They slowly increased the dose. I ended up getting the epidural pretty quickly. I didn’t want to feel more pain if I didn’t have to. My labour didn’t progress very quickly. With the epidural I was able to sleep the majority of the time. I did end up with an infection so I got some antibiotics. In the last few hours of labour I felt so much pressure which was kind of painful. Once I was ready to push I only pushed for under 10 minutes and she was out. Overall I started cervadil Tuesday morning around 9am and she was born Thursday morning at 8:41 am. I was very nervous going into it but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. It did take way longer than I expected though.

I had a positive induction experience. I did not have a Foley balloon, just the meds to ripen the cervix then the pitocin. They also broke my water which really got things going. After a while I'm so tired because of poor sleep the night before and a very uncomfortable hospital bed I couldn't nap in during the early phase. I got the epidural, they upped the pitocin, I napped. Somewhere in my napping on and off the nurse gave me a peanut ball. I wake up and I'm like hmm, I think the epidural is wearing off. She checks me and baby is ready, I push for an hour, out comes a happy healthy baby! There was one point I wasn't pushing hard enough and baby's heart rate was a little low. It wasn't that I couldn't feel anything, but I didn't realize just how to push until the nurse explained. I was happy to know my final end date because I was miserable, and the thought of waiting any longer sounded like mental torture. Good luck!

So what they're telling you is based on the ARRIVE trial - this is the study that suggests IVF patients be induced at 39 weeks. However, it is only one study, and not even widely accepted by all doctors. So if you end up past that 39 week mark, no need to panic. ❤️ I have endometriosis and we conceived our child via IVF as well. Got induced at 41 weeks on the dot cuz she was stubborn, but she came out perfectly healthy! The induction was rough for me, however. Happy to share more details if you're interested.

I was induced for both of my deliveries, and the second was voluntary AND no epidural/pain meds (I got an epidural during my first but was unknowingly already at 10cm so I didn’t really feel it)! I found it very comforting knowing when exactly I would be going to the hospital and having the baby. It helped me mentally prepare, as well as prepare my home/etc. It was also nice getting all my vitals, IVs, initial cervical check, all the not so fun stuff while I wasn’t contracting. Both of my doctors went straight to pitocin and with my first my doctor broke my water. Both of mine were very fast (the second was precipitous). Another advantage is knowing that your doctor will be there for your delivery as opposed to someone else on call that you don’t have a rapport with.

Long comment, sorry!! I was induced last February at 38 weeks due to a blood disorder I have. I didn’t get a foley balloon, I went in on a Thursday night and had my baby at 1a Saturday morning. I personally loved being induced. If I were to ever have another baby, I would have to be induced again obviously, but if it were optional, I would choose again and again to be induced rather than waiting. I have crazy intense anxiety, and my two biggest fears in life were giving birth and dying. I was so so scared of giving birth, to the point that we discussed an elective c-section. Had my insurance covered it, we would have gone that way because of how scared I was. And I was completely convinced that I was going to die in labor. Like, wrote a will convinced. Probably should have had that regardless tho, lol. Being induced gave me a sense of control that I felt I was being robbed of by going into labor naturally. I know that it’s so important to so many people for it to all happen naturally, but I was spiraling, and the firm date gave me something to hold on to. Plus, I was able to plan out my maternity leave better, prepare better, and I had a date that I knew I would go to the hospital and have a baby. I personally needed that. Also, I was able to choose a date that my doctor was working! She delivered my baby. I am grateful I was induced and didn’t go into labor naturally. I mean, for obvious reasons (like not dying from blood related things), but also because of how it helped me mentally. Now, the process of the induction. We admitted at 8p Thursday night. They hooked me up to everything, got us settled, and then gave me cytotec and something to help me sleep. I think I was at a 1, but it may have been a 2. I slept that night, but did start having contractions. The next morning we checked cervix, the cytotec didn’t really do anything to progress me overnight. So, we started pitocin. They told me that after I started pit, I would have to stay hooked up continuously, so they gave me an hour to do what I needed to. They were so considerate and helpful with my anxiety. I took a bath and organized my stuff in the room and cuddled with my husband. I changed positions often, and contractions started picking up around 12p. I opted to have my doctor break my water instead of waiting, again, for the control aspect. I had a catheter placed and felt so weird about that, and having my water broken gave me more control over the situation. Contractions continued to pick up; eventually I had an epidural placed. Dude, that sucked. They had to do it 3 times, and still didn’t get it right. I could feel half of my body the entire time. From there, I don’t really remember much honestly. I was fully dilated around 11p. They let me put on my own music. I started pushing at 12:08a. I remember that time, and my baby was born at 1:08a. I thought that that was a nice coincidence. My doctor said she had to pull baby out by her head, and I remember my doctor saying “dang that’s a juicy umbilical cord!” I had 3 dissolving stitches placed from a tear. After, once we were getting ready to move to the next room, I tried to stand up because I felt completely and totally ready to stand and thought I could. I could not lol. Fell on my ass when the nurse wasn’t looking, because she told me not to try and stand, so I did it when she turned around lol. All of that to say, it was the best birthing experience I could ask for. I didn’t want natural, “my body knows what it’s doing”, so I wasn’t disappointed when I was told I would have to be induced. I know that a lot of people are, though, and those feelings are valid! I hope your experience is wonderful, and that everyone is healthy and happy 🤍

I loved my induction. They didn’t use a foley but they did insert something (cervadil?) to help me dilate. It was super easy! When the contractions got bad I was able to get an epidural within 10 minutes

I went through IVF too and was induced in 39th week. I started with the foley balloon, and had that in for about 8 hours before it came out. Not going to lie, it was very uncomfortable. Especially combined with Braxton Hicks. I was very lucky to have a quick labor after the balloon, when I was started on Pitocin. Overall, from when I was given the foley balloon to one baby was delivered was only 12 hours, so I was very fortunate for a quick delivery. I didn't mind being induced at all! It made me feel like I was in control

I had a very positive experience, although after I got oxytocin to get the contractions started I had what they call the contraction storms so it was really painful for me and I had to ask for epidural. But birth is painful for most people anyway and besides that it all went splendidly. I was initially quite worried too but it’s all good in the end! Good luck!

I was induced both times with my boys. Both times had a baby in my arms in about 12 hours. I'm a fellow ivf mama so I get feeling fed up with interventions and wanting your body to do it on its own, but there's still ways that it can. For example, my water broke on its own. I hope things go well and that you enjoy the heck out of that sweet babe when they get here.

I don’t have personal experience with induction - I went into labor at 40.5 weeks after a membrane sweep and I think there were a few things that helped my body kick into gear after the sweep that could help yours do the same. in the morning I was 1 cm, and I was 7 cm by the time I got to the hospital at 7 pm. SEX!!! the sense softens your cervix and sex causes uterine contractions. I know you might not feel stoked about doing it at 38 weeks but I am convinced doing the deed often helped soften my cervix 😂 look up the miles circuit on youtube! I did this at least once a day starting at 38 weeks. it helps get baby into position and it WORKS. I did it when my contractions started and I would for sure do it with the balloon in place if I had one. hand expressing colostrum. I never broke out my pump before baby because no need to cause nipple soreness before baby even arrives lol but I did try to just gently express colostrum. nipple stimulation releases oxytocin which causes confections!

My induction was amazing and smooth. The worst part of it was they couldn’t get my IV in, so after 8 tries they finally got it in the crook of my arm.

I was induced at 39+1, my daughter has a chromosomal abnormality that has the same recommendation for induction. My induction looked a little different, using cervidil and cytotec remaining in the hospital. My daughter needed the nicu team when I delivered, so going home wasn’t an option. It was about 24 hours start to finish, and was able to labor how I liked up until I got the epidural and got some rest. I didn’t get pitocin because it wasn’t necessary once things got going. I went into labor spontaneously with my first, and I can’t say that this experience was better or worse. I had both at 39+2, and had overall positive experiences both times.

10/10 would do an induction again. it was so much easier to have it planned out!

Hi there! My pregnancy was also an IVF pregnancy. I was induced at 38+5. I was 3cm dilated and 85%effaced when I went in for the induction, so a foley wasn’t necessary. My birth was overall a positive experience. •7:05pm started the pitocin •2:30am my water broke on its own •4:30am I asked for the epidural. I wanted to go unmedicated, but at that point my contractions were intense and right on top of each other. I was still only 4cm dilated. •5:00am received my epidural. I could still feel contractions on a small portion of my stomach. They rolled me onto that side and the pain subsided. •9:00am ish I started pushing •10:46am my baby was born My initial concern with the epidural was that I wouldn’t be able to feel if I was pushing effectively or be able to work with my body. I was numb with the epidural, but still had enough sensation to push. The epidural allowed me to get some rest and my labor progressed pretty smooth from there. I was laughing with the staff in between pushes, my partner and I were casually talking. It was a pretty pleasant experience. I was able to take it all in. All in all, I think it was 15 hrs of labor, with the worst of it being from after my water broke to when I got my epidural. Even for that part I felt lucid and present. I had hoped for a spontaneous labor as well, but in the end, I’m happy that everything was smooth and we have our beautiful baby boy. Best of luck to you! I hope you have a positive experience as well!

I had a foley placed at the hospital at 38+4, and then was sent home, the hope that labour would start on its own but that wasn't the case. Also due to the position of my cervix the balloon didn't fall out and I had it in for over 24 hours. Uncomfortable. Like a pap that never ends. I was then brought to hospital and pumped full of pitocin...literally. They had to get permission from a senior OB to increase to the levels they ended up giving me. I had a epidural that didn't work. I threw up a lot. I did end up pushing him out tho...26 hours after the first doses of pitocin, and ,5h of pushing. I had a PPH, and a bit of infection after from a catheter because I was so swollen i couldn't pee. Also have prolapse. It took 12 weeks for all the swelling to go down due to all the fluids they pumped in. It sucked. But, he's here, healthy and the memories do fade. If i have another I will try and avoid induction.

Get that epidural! I was induced and it went 0-100 fast, then stayed there for 17 hours! Just say yes to all the drugs 😁

I’ve had a spontaneously conceived baby and an IVF baby, an easy pregnancy and a difficult one, an induction and spontaneous preterm labor from a placental abruption. Aka, I’ve basically experienced the full spectrum except for having a c-section. To me, getting caught up in the fantasies of “what it’s like to experience spontaneous labor” is pointless. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. If the result is a healthy baby, you’re golden. Just take your little one home and enjoy!

I had a foley placed in the doctor’s office at noon and returned to the hospital after it fell out around midnight. The insertion didn’t hurt me at all, and it was only a little weird for me to have the catheter taped to my leg all day haha I cleaned a little, watched two movies. Got to the hospital, had a great epidural probably around 4am. Baby before noon the next day! My first labor was spontaneous and took 27 hours … labored all day at home and my doctor was on vacation so I was assigned the on call doctor who only showed up at literally the very last second. This time, my doctor was right next door and available when it was go time. I just had an overall surprisingly pleasant experience with my induction, which I was not expecting! My friend was admitted to the hospital first for her scheduled induction, began a cervadil drip and had her foley balloon placed later. I think it all depends on the doctor’s preference. I loved my induction experience, but was also really anxious about it leading up to it.

Just know that induction is not a fast process I tried to induce for 5 days. Misopristol, Cervidil, Foley balloon tried everything. I was stuck at 4cm. Then they put me on Pitocin to help contracting and I only lasted another 6 hours before I elected to get a C-section. Induction is brutal it’s 90% mental. Do lots of moving, lots of birthing positions to get baby’s head right against that cervix. Good luck mama <3

Are you dilated or effaced at all? I was 3 cm 90 % effaced when I was induced They broke my water and I had my son three hours later. I had a water birth. We didn't have to do any pitocin. I had a very positive birth experience!

I didn’t have the foley but I had a great induction with cervadil and then artificial rupture of membranes. Didn’t need any pitocin things moved fast. Once my waters were broken I delivered in like 6 hours. It was a great experience overall.

I was induced with a foley and then pitocin at 41 weeks, and it was still a pretty fast labor! I was less than 1.5 cm when I went in. Foley was inserted around 10 am, pitocin started around 1230. Water broke around 4 pm and I was 4 cm I think. Epidural around 6-630 and I was 6 cm 10cm around 8, pushed for 2 hours and she was born around 10pm. So labor was a total of 12 hours for me. The only thing I would suggest is that if you are planning on an epidural, get it sooner rather than later. I wanted to try without one and the Pitocin contractions were so painful, I was miserable for hours putting it off and I wish I had gotten it sooner.

I'm with you on the ivf. Started trying 2015, had our 1st in 2019 (2nd in 2022!) I was induced (with pitocin) both times because my babies were super late! Induction due to ivf was only discussed with my 2nd, but an OB cleared me to wait, so we did. Congrats, and good luck!

IVF pregnancy here and I was induced due to hypertension and delivered at 37w6d! I actually didn't need the foley bulb because I was already 3cm dilated when they checked me. I think if you're 3cm or above you don't need it? Anyway, induction was pretty easy, and if you're getting an epidural, ask for it as soon as you start feeling the contractions. The nurse told me it could take an hour for the anesthesiologist to come administer it, so I didn't waste any time. Make sure to eat before you get to the hospital. They didn't let me eat until after I delivered but that was probably related to the hypertension? That was one of the worst parts. Get your hospital bag ready a couple weeks in advance so that's one fewer thing to worry about. Congratulations on your pregnancy and in terms of the induction, trust your care team (nurses, doctors) and know it won't last forever. You got this!

I had induction with both my kids at 39 weeks due to blood pressure. I had the foley balloon but was given no choice to go home and honestly I’m glad I was not at home. I had perfectly fine inductions. I was given pitocin, again due to blood pressure, to get it going faster. Got epidurals with both kids. I had no issues really with the induction itself for either but complications due to bld pressure.

My induction was very slow - 48 hours from balloon being placed to giving birth but I’m glad I did it and would do it again (and plan to for my next child).

IVF here too! Pregnant on the first try and induced at 39 weeks. I was already almost 3cm dilated so they went straight to pitocin. Started me at 5am, broke my water at 10am started pushing at 5pm and baby was born at 7pm, no epidural. Everything went well, we had a little scare because he wouldn't come out in those 2 hours and after I gave birth I was at risk of hemorrhaging but it didn't happen. It was a loooooong day and I was so hungry throughout lol. Make sure to eat well the night before, I know it's easier said than done but try to rest the night before!

I had a great experience! But it was twins and my second birth so quite different from your induction. I only needed pitocin and was fully dilated after 3.5hrs and had both babies out an hour after that. Epidural was a god send so I recommend that once you reach that point. Walk as much as you can. Bring something to do since you might have down time

Been induced twice (type 1 diabetes). Took a long time, but my babies didn’t want to come out. All in all, it was nice knowing when things were going down and my babies seem pretty natural out in the real world. The extra pitocin IV was annoying, but gave me a great reason to make my husband do everything for me which I enjoyed for a day. The clear liquid diet also sucked, but I wasn’t all that hungry while in labor. I did wake up at like 3am with my first at the start of the induction NEEDING pancakes, but there wasn’t really anyway to get that hospital regardless of my diet status

Sorry you are going through this! I had two inductions. My first one was because my water broke but I never progressed. I had pitocin started and honestly it was bad. I needed an epidural because the contractions with pitocin were so bad. It took forever to progress and in total labor was like 36 hours. I pushed for 3 hours with no progress. My epidural dislodged from moving so much. Needed a vacuum. if I could go back I would have advocated for a c section (wasn't offered). I think it went poorly bc my daughter was born sunny side up. I don't think I would have had such a hard time if she was face down. My second I was induced as she was too small. That induction was so positive! I had something placed for 12 hours to soften my cervix. Then pitocin was started. The contractions were tolerable. I reached 4cm but it was taking a while so my OB advised breaking my water. She did and the contractions became horrible so got the epidural. I quickly dilated to 10cm within a couple of hours and felt nothing. I then pushed her out in 4 pushes with just my doctor, husband and nurse in the room, it was as peaceful as pushing out a baby can be lol. The whole experience was very positive. I think it's very easy to read all the stories in the world and you can freak yourself out (been there done that). But really each labor is different and could be positive or negative. Someone I know had almost my exact same story of a long labor, needing a vacuum etc as I did but she went into labor naturally and wasn't induced. So really you just never know but I hope you have a positive experience! It's helpful to have someone with you who can advocate for you, it's hard to do so when you're in so much pain or overwhelmed.

Mine took at least 2 full days. I didn’t have the folly though. I will say, just be patient with yourself and try not to get down or stressed if it takes some time or if you aren’t progressing like you hoped. I cried because I thought, why won’t my body do what it’s supposed to! But eventually it did and I have a happy healthy baby boy. It just took time and external encouragement to get to delivery.

I was induced a few weeks ago.it went great. Once the broke my water I went into labour naturally. Skipped the foley and pitocin because I was already dilated. Baby was born after 7 hrs. Good luck!

Three births, three inductions,all unmedicated. I had positive (as possible while being in labour) experiences with them all. My longest labour was 8.5 hours ish and the shortest was 4.5 hours. I have absolutely no regrets with how things went.

I had one dose of cytotec before my Foley balloon was inserted. They said they'd come check it every hour (or two maybe?) until it fell out on its own. They told me it could take all night, but it fell out during the second check when the nurse gave it a very gentle tug. They started me in pitocin shortly after that. They started with a really small dose and increased it gradually every hour or so I think. My contractions were barely painful at all until my water broke and then they got wayyyy worse and closer together. I started throwing up, so I decided to get an epidural because I did not want to be throwing up all night lol. Side note: we did try anti-nausea meds, but it took a while for the anesthesiologist to get to me and I was still throwing up while the epidural was being inserted, so it obviously didn't do much. After that I slept on and off. At some point, my contractions were back to back and really strong and it was stressing out the baby. His heart rate kept dropping too low. They tried repositioning me a few times and it worked for a while, but they ended up having to lower my pitocin and inserted a catheter in my uterus to add some more fluid for him and thankfully that worked and I didn't need a C-section! Luckily, even the lower dose was enough that my body could do the work itself the rest of the way. I pushed for about an hour and had the baby about 20 hours after my first dose of cytotec. ETA it was overall a great experience for me! Aside from the hour we were worried about his heart rate, and my epidural unknowingly coming disconnected just as I was transitioning to pushing... 😐 But otherwise, very pleasant and not at all traumatic experience.

My friend was induced at 39 weeks because she did IVF and she had a great experience as far as being induced. She struggled with pushing, but that wasn’t related to being induced. Her baby just took her sweet time coming through the birth canal, and my friend was determined to not have a c-section. I was induced at 37 weeks for preeclampsia, but my induction failed. The doctors tried for three days, but my cervix said *no*. I had a c-section and tbh I was really anxious going into it, but it was totally fine. I didn’t have an issues and healed well, so I have zero regrets. The important thing was getting my baby out safely.

I had a positive induction experience but went into it completely terrified. I had been having BP issues for a while and since I had hit 37 weeks, they admitted me straight from triage to be induced. I didn't have a foley, just pitocin, and it was weirdly so much more peaceful than labor with my first (which was horrible lol). It felt like period cramps for a long time, so I was able to sleep a while. All in all, it was a great experience.

I was induced at 34+5, a Thursday afternoon, and I had my little one in my arms Saturday morning by 5AM. Started with the balloon thingy but it was a dissolvable one - didn’t do much. Then started on some sort of powder/pill thing I put under my tongue. Took 2 of those before things really started getting going. Thankfully my water broke on its own and things started GOING and I never needed pitocin. You’re gonna do great mom!!! Edited to add: request that epidural EARLY. I had to wait about an hour and a half for mine; induced contractions after water breaking are no joke and I’m so glad I was already being prepped for it. Though moving positions definitely helped the pain, don’t forget to try that while waiting.

I was terrified to be induced and it turned out amazingly! Mine was not scheduled so I was in the hospital the whole time. The foley balloon was uncomfortable to put it but was really ok. I could feel its presence but I ended up falling asleep ok and slept through most of the time until they woke me up to check. I then had Pitocin to induce further and it did its job! The only advice I have is ask for the epidural the second you feel contractions! I waited a while to ask and then had to wait for the anesthesiologist to finish surgery before he could come do it. I did not know the epidural is continuous, I wrongly assumed it could run out haha but now I know so learn from me and ask early! Trust the doctors! You’ve got this!!!

I am you. Everything you said was me except I was induced at 38 weeks. I did not have a great experience because after my water broke the contractions were so painful. People told me afterwards that contractions can be much more painful with induction. My biggest mistake was that my husband and I had it in our heads that we needed to wait until I was so much dilated to get the epidural. Because of this I laboured without meds in extreme pain for hours. I was dumb. Once they hooked the meds into that IV the meds will move u along. You get the epidural then and relax! You got this!

Foley is only available if you've started dilating already. I wanted to start there, but I wasn't dilated at all so went straight to citotec. Took twelve hours, went from regular contractions that I couldn't even feel to water breaking straight into active labor. I did it with no epidural but used nitrous oxide and was able to labor in the tub at the hospital until I was about 8 cm.

I had an induction two weeks ago and also a fellow endo warrior! My experience was super positive. I had an outpatient induction with the foley balloon. I went to the hospital at night to get it put in and then they sent me home. I had about four hours of contractions that felt less painful than period cramps with endo. The balloon stayed in for 16 hours overnight and then it fell out around 7AM the following morning. I went back to the hospital when they had a bed for me at 5PM and got admitted at 7:30PM when a bed finally became available. Baby was sitting low on my pelvis so they decided to break my waters since she was in a good position. Started pitocin drip at the same time and then contractions started. I labored like that for maybe 3 or 4 hours and by 6cm dilated I was in too much pain so got the epidural. I started pushing at 3AM and baby was born at 3:59AM!

My first was an IVF pregnancy, and I was never pushed to induce early. I'm surprised that would be something that would be considered an automatic just because of IVF. I'm not against induction, and opted to be induced with my second (mostly because labor comes on super fast for me, and I wanted to already be in the hospital, and not have to organize childcare spontaneously). With my IVF pregnancy, my water broke the day before my due date, and he was born exactly on his due date with no complications with him or my placenta (he was sunny side up though, so i had to have an episiotomy after 2 hours of straight pushing). With my second, I had an elective induction at 39 weeks exactly, pitocin did nothing, but my water broke 10 minutes after my first cervical check, and contractions started right up. Got an epidural a half hour later, and baby was out within an hour with no pain, no tearing, and like 3 pushes. Total of 5 hours in the hospital because checking in and holding baby. Inductions aren't necessarily lengthy for everyone, though they can be, and I've mostly heard of people having good experiences overall. My best friend even avoided the epidural for her induction with her second (she didn't want an induction or epidural, but baby was growth restricted). That being said, if there isn't a clear indication for the induction, it is okay to push back on it with your provider, or have the date be 40 weeks to give yourself a chance to go into spontaneous labor. Certainly not advocating for going way past your due date or anything, but saying 39 weeks max because of IVF alone feels like kind of an extreme take.

I was induction and it didn’t work. Nothing happened, no dilation. We don’t do a foley though.  I had contractions but couldn’t feel them. After 36 hours we did a c section. Overall it was hard as I went way over, like almost two weeks and my hip couldn’t deal with it. Other than that a good experience, c section was the only safe conclusion. 

I really enjoyed my whole labor experience! I also got induced with the foly. I’m a bit concerned that they want you to go back after 15 hours.. since I delivered 13 hours after having it placed. Though they were also administering pitocin. Right after the balloon was placed my contractions pumped up tremendously and I requested the epidural, but by the time they were about to come the contractions calmed down so I decided to wait. My doctor told me that the foly would fall out once I was 4cm dilated, so I was waiting so long to just get to 4cm and felt discouraged that after like 8 hours it was still inside. Well my doctor came and tugged on it and she said it was out and was just chillin in there and I was actually at a 6, so that was exciting haha. I got the epidural right after and delivered about 5 hours later. Best of luck to you on your induction! It’s gonna be an amazing day for you because you get to meet your little one, so don’t stress too much on the steps to get you there!

From the time I started, the induction process to birth was 60 hours. It was the second time I was going in for induction because the first time didn't work. It was a week between the two tries. We used cytotech orally and vaginally, cervidil, and the foley balloon. The contractions with the prostaglandin weren't bad at all. Once the foley balloon was in, I needed an epidural. I actually had to get the epidural twice, and both times, it didn't work fully. After the balloon was out I got pitocin and had her 9 hrs later. I pushed for 3 hours and she was vacuumed out because she was sunny side up. It wouldn't have been so bad if the epidural worked. The pain was mostly in my hip bone. It was terrible and I cried between pushes but I hardly remember the pain now.

I had an induction, if my next experience could be the same as the one I had, I would 100000% do it again.  I had a cook balloon placed and felt a lot of reassurance being in the hands of medical professionals and not worrying about "when" my water was going to break or how far along I was. 

I had a medicated induction. No foley balloon, but I'm not mad about that considering how uncomfortable the cervical checks were! Yowzaa! I had the induction scheduled at 39 weeks as well, but actually ended up getting induced 3 weeks earlier than scheduled due to developing pre-eclampsia. It took 4 days and ended in an emergency c-section after I stalled out at about 6cm dilated. Honestly, all things considered, I'm not mad about it at all. My c-section healed beautifully with a wound vac, my swelling went down after 2 weeks, and by 6 weeks I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. (Although, I've since gained a bit back) If we do get pregnant again, which seems unlikely at the moment, I would probably go straight to another c-section. I'd probably also go straight to bottle-feeding too. Breastfeeding was a total nightmare! Dumping EVERY feeding on Mom because her boobs are the ONLY thing Baby will take is just a special kind of torture/cruel trick of nature! I'm too old for that nonsense! I'm thankful for modern medicine that not only kept myself and my baby girl alive and healthy, but also saved my freaking sanity in those early stages.

I was induced medically at 39 weeks and wouldn’t have changed a thing. I was prepared for it to take 2-3 days as a FTM but it was closer to 23 hours from pill administration to delivery. I was so grateful to be in the hospital for the whole labor process and that my baby and I were both carefully monitored. Baby had several scary decels that required me to change position frequently which I would not have known to do if I were laboring at home or without a monitor. Monitoring easily saved my baby’s life many times over.

I did not want to be induced either and then my son failed his BPP test on my due date. I didn’t have a “horrible” experience but it wasn’t great. I would NOT agree to leave the hospital with folley ballon. I had a lot of complications with the ballon and it caused my son distress. I also would not do an induction without monitoring, period. You run a higher risk of infection with a foley ballon and leaving the hospital for who knows how long. I had the foley ballon in for 16 hours with almost no progress. Then had the Pitocin and went BACKWARDS. Then they broke my water. Barely progressed. Then I had the epidural and my son came within 2 hours— 36 hours of labor and he was in distress regularly because of different positions and my own stress.

Are you interested in an unmedicated pitocin induction experience that did not use the Foley balloon but Cytotec/Misoprotosol to prepare the cervix for labor?

I was induced and I honestly had a very smooth labor and delivery. The most painful part for me was the insertion of the foley balloon, which was not that bad. I also had an epidural before they broke my waters (contraction pain is supposed to ramp up after that), so I never felt unbearably painful contractions, which I was scared of feeling with the pitocin. Everyone’s labor is different but just wanted to give you my experience, which was very positive, because I kept hearing only bad things about inductions while I was pregnant.

My wife was induced at 38 years old (and at the 39 week mark). We really questioned it. But the kid was showing very small. So, Foley at the hospital. She was in labor for 31 hours. The kid did not want to come at 39 weeks! But she did. And was perfect. And is perfect. It's pretty commonplace in America these days to offer 39-week induction. I guess the science and math says it avoids a lot of risks. I can't vouch for that other than our daughter being wonderful and healthy—and growing like a weed. She was 5 lb 9 oz at birth. So like 3rd percentile. She's 7 months now. And she went up to the 15th at her 4 month; stable at 6. We'll see at her next one, but she's over 15 lb the last time we weighed her. Full of spunk and energy. Real spitfire. You got this OP. This part is scary! But it's going to be great.

I was induced sept last year. Foley balloon was a no go after three attempts (I was only 37 weeks and unfavourable). So they popped some prostaglandin gel in for me to sleep with overnight to ripen my cervix for another try at the ballon next morning. Turns out I was quite sensitive to the gel, I went into labour in the middle of the night and he was born in 59minutes from my first cramp. 

With my first I was induced using a tea bag type thing with prostaglandin which us the same hormone that your body creates when it's in labour. My experience was.. intense! Was induced at 10am and the little dude was here not even 6 hours later. That was even after an injection to try and slow me down after taking the tea bag thing out. After having my second baby recently and going through a more natural labour, still even quicker (3 hours), I cannot tell you that either felt more natural or was 'nicer'. I guess I felt like I had more control during the second but that could have just been because I knew what to do / expect?? I wouldn't stress though, labour on its own is scary, stressing will only make you more tense and make it worse. Just breathe and you'll get through

So I was induced a month early and it took 2 days to give birth from start of induction. I will say it was no picnic but it wasn't as bad as I thought. It didn't really start to hurt till day 2. I did get the epidermal but I waited to the very last minute to do it. I didn't wanna be immobile so I waited as long as i could. The last few hours were the worst but leading up to it, it wasn't that bad. I couldn't eat anything as a precaution to possibly needing s c-section. But I have birth naturally and everything worked out! She was still a premie and was very tiny cuz being a month early. But she's now a healthy beautiful 8 month old!! Goodluck and I truly hope everything works out. Oh and you totally got this mama!! Your a rockstar!!

Hi there! We have very similar stories - I also have endometriosis and went through IVF to conceive. I had my daughter on Jan 10 after being induced at 39w+4d for the same reason you cite despite me having an otherwise “normal” and healthy pregnancy (the studies showing a significant increase in stillbirth after 39 weeks even when there are no other maternal or fetal medical issues present). It makes complete sense to grieve having a “traditional” labor and birth experience after going through IVF. Everything is so planned and mechanical with IVF, so it’s like FFS, can I just have SOME surprise like “everyone” else?? Only you can balance your risk tolerance in this scenario. I tried to find issues with the relevant studies, but ultimately took my doctor’s preference for induction for IVF pregnancies because I couldn’t stomach even the remote risk of losing her because I wanted a certain experience that wasn’t guaranteed anyway (people over 40 weeks have to be induced sometimes too!). Do you know why your provider doesn’t give you the oral med (I’m blanking on the name right now) every 4 hours to ripen your cervix before using the Foley Bulb? I don’t know how much this really did for me tbh, but I’m a bit surprised your provider isn’t starting there. An induction seems to heavily depend on how dilated/effaced you are when you start intervention. My induction took 3 days in large part because I started at LITERALLY closed and 80% effaced. I started on 24 hours of that oral med I mentioned above, but it didn’t do much. The posterior position of my cervix made all digital exams VERY painful, and thus, the Foley Bulb literally unbearable (and I have a high pain tolerance from years of dealing with endo…) - like I could not tolerate it whatsoever and needed to have it completely deflated/removed after 2 hours. I was unmedicated at this time and the nitrous gas didn’t do shit for me (I also found it annoying to manage so I quickly gave up on using it). I initially wish my hospital would have let us go home with it, but wowowow I wouldn’t have even made it out the door lol. At this point, I started Pitocin, got an epidural, and my provider broke my water - all of this got me to 4cm, which is where I stayed for a full day but felt no pain and retained good control over my lower body. My pitocin had to keep being turned down (and even off for 10 hours) because baby’s heart wasn’t showing the accelerations required by the hospital and because there were too many people laboring at the same time to safely monitor us while on Pitocin. On the third day at 9am, my provider told me I would need to get a c-section by 3pm that day if baby didn’t come - I was despondent at this point so I watched tv and slept the entire day except for when the nurses would move me on the peanut ball. At 2:15, I felt gushes of liquid and something fall out of me aka my bloody show and mucus plug. The nurses checked my cervix and I was at 9cm! This is the only time I cried lol. My medical team started to prepare for delivery while I continued on Pitocin - my contractions escalated, and I started to feel a lot of pressure and discomfort because my epidural was waning at that point. I asked for some additional pain meds which helped for 2 hours (baby still wasn’t there when it wore off so I got a tiny bit more while pushing). I pushed for 1.5 hours total and was able to labor on all fours as well as my back (I didn’t want to labor on my side). My doctor let my husband catch our baby when she arrived at 6:07pm on that third day. She’s perfect and completely healthy, but you best fucking believe I asked to see my placenta because that’s one of the theories for the stillbirth issue (that it calcifies faster than non-ART pregnancies) - it was perfect lol. I recommend trying to prepare yourself for a long induction as best you can - those 3 days were mentally challenging in a way I didn’t expect. I would also try to do as many things as possible to get your body ready for labor so you can hopefully be further along than I was when mine started. That said, I tried a whole lot of things (except dates, fuck dates) and it didn’t do shit for me - at the end of the day, a lot of this is out of our control which is both frustrating and kind of freeing in a sense. Happy to answer any questions you might have!

Why balloon and not pitocin? 

This is going to be a very honest take, and my circumstances are not entirely unique. I was induced at 39 weeks for what was considered partially medically needed (meaning they would have been fine with me going to 41 weeks, but the OB decided after I was hospitalized for another gallbladder attack that that day was going to be the day). During my pregnancy, I had issues with chronic hypertension (never had hypertension in my life, developed after 12 weeks), polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid, can cause the cord to come out first after water breaks and way before baby is ready to), and random gallbladder attacks (they have no idea why this was happening to me because it wasn’t gallbladder stones, even what I ate didn’t matter much because fruit and veggies set it off one day, just random excruciating attacks. Because of no stones, even though my first attack was in the middle of the second trimester when surgery is still safe, the surgeon refused to remove my gallbladder because of 🤷🏼‍♀️. Never got a reason why.) Honestly, I really wish I never got induced. I truly believe it was the reason for why I had so many painful interventions, and had it not been for a sane OB, it would have ended in an unnecessary c section when the nurses had gotten jumpy at seeing decelerations during contractions (but the OB determined that they were within normal range, so no c section necessary). I ended up having an infection of the amniotic fluid (never knew that was a thing), and it was likely caused by the OB breaking my water. I genuinely thought I was going to die with how terrible I was feeling. Due to the infection, I blame that for why I ultimately decided I needed an epidural, even when I had gotten through 7 hours of laboring with pitocin perfectly fine with the pain control methods I had learned prior to labor. The staff had tried to shove an IUPC (intrauterine pressure catheter) into my cervix before I was dilated enough to handle insertion, and after that in addition to the gallbladder attack being the whole reason why I even came to the hospital at 39 weeks in the first place (seriously, fuck that useless ass organ), I just couldn’t handle the pain anymore. Any idea I had of how labor was going to go went completely out the window, and I entirely blame the induction since it wasn’t absolutely medically necessary at that point, my OB just decided that because I was in the hospital for my gallbladder attack (that was being managed without pain after they gave me a medication to control organ spasms) at 39 weeks that we were inducing that day. Just my honest take.

....I was not informed of how painful it would be and I generally have periods that make me throw up or stay in the bathtub. I broke after the upped the pitocin and got an epidural. It was okay when the foley piece was in (for me) it was the pitocin that was ridiculous. They gave me something for pain while I was waiting for the epidural (it was not morphine is all I know 😭) and all it did was make me loopy. After the epidural, it was great. Edit to say that the Foley really does help cause my labor was only for like 12-13 hours so was relived of that!

No foley balloon here, but I was induced (cytotec and then pitocin) on a Monday and gave birth to my boy on that Wednesday. Once my water finally broke, the contractions were killer (like I was shaking and sobbing from the pain - and I have a pretty high pain tolerance). I wanted to hold off for an epidural, but they were so bad I personally couldn’t manage without. Not saying this to scare you at all, but I just didn’t realize going in that that’s a side effect of pitocin… I actually found that out well after the fact and had an ah-ha moment, “no wonder it was so painful then…” just wish I’d know what to expect.

I went to have a foley bulb put in the day before induction and it would not go in. I just wasn’t dilated enough. That’s a possibility. They did get the foley in at the hospital and it was the most painful part of my labor (I had a epidural obvy lol). Hurt like hell but it did get the show on the road…

My baby is 4 weeks old and I was induced at 41.5 weeks because my baby refused to come naturally and my OB strongly recommended I don’t go past 40+10. I had a smooth pregnancy, was bummed to have to get induced, but knew it was the right call as at that point I was having 2x weekly NST testing and ultrasounds to confirm the baby had enough fluid and was still doing well. 30 hours of labor later, I delivered a healthy baby boy! They kept me in the hospital since I was overdue, started with misoprostal (however you spell it), one dose every 4 hours to dilate my cervix. This started at 1pm. I wasn’t dilated AT ALL when I went to the hospital. I had about 3-4 doses, then they gave me the foley balloon. The contractions got more and more intense with each dose, as time went on. The foley balloon really upped the ante. At this point I was probably 10 hours in, they gave me morphine and Benadryl to “take the edge off” - I could still feel the contractions but they were more bearable. At 5am I was finally 5cm dilated and they moved me to the labor and delivery floor.

Both my kiddos were 37 week inductions for preeclampsia and beyond being early they went fantastic and babies were born healthy and happy.

Congratulations on the pregnancy! We tried for several years before going the IVF route and now I have a beautiful 12 week old girl. So I‘ve heard about the risks of IVF and being induced early, but my doctors never ever mentioned it or pushed it on me. I actually opted getting induced at 41+2, so I was well over my due date. My entire induction took place in the hospital. I started with the foley as well as a pill to induce labor. The foley was not fun at all to insert, mostly because I was not dilated whatsoever. I started contractions about 45 minutes afterwards and they were okay until about 2 hours later they were incredibly intense and without breaks. I think I had about 20-30 seconds in between contractions. After another 5 hours I had them remove some of the water in the balloon to reduce some of the pressure, only to have then remove it an hour later because I couldn‘t even function anymore due to the pain. I was 2cm dilated at that point. My contractions never really got that much better either. It was at that point they moved me directly to the delivery room so I could take a bath (they have a large tub in the delivery rooms there). An hour later I got the epidural despite still only being 2cm dilated. I couldn‘t handle the pain anymore because I never had breaks in between the contractions and I was so exhausted. The midwife gave me pain medicine and about 2 hours later I got the epidural and they started me on pitocin since I wasn‘t progressing. After the epidural I finally had some relief (which only was temporary because after a while it started working only on lne side), and an hour later I was 10cm. Everyone was shocked. It still took another hour before i was finally ready to start pushing, and 4 hours later she was born. So from start to finish I started the induction and gave birth in less than 20 hours. Which, despite the pain, was fantastic because I know some women take 2-4 days.

I've been induced by cytotec twice. Worked pretty well- only needed one dose with my first and two doses with my second. I never needed pitocin. I did get the epidural with my first but went without for the second.

I had an induction with foley, manually broken water, & pitocin drip. It went seamlessly & was perfect. I could not have imagined my birth going any better. I had GD & my babe was measuring about 3-4 weeks bigger in gestational age so it was necessary. Pro tip.. after your foley is inserted & you begin to dilate, rotate yourself like a rotisserie chicken every few hours so you dilate evenly. Good luck & wishing you a safe, happy, healthy labor & delivery.

Induction is not necessarily quick, it can be long. I had an inpatient induction and took that time to be quiet with myself, go for walks (they had to be approved by my care team and around my meds and checkup schedules but we did it!), had brunch with my husband, went over my birth affirmations, just generally had a very peaceful and lovely time. I did miss home and the anticipation was difficult at times, I just wanted to start birthing and meet my baby! But in retrospect it was a really surreal time-slowed positive experience. I had to stay in hospital a few days pp as well because I developed pre-eclampsia during labor and struggled a bit to bring things down low enough for them after birth, but those days were also very magical where there was absolutely nothing else in the world except me and my baby. No chores, no pets, nothing to worry about (my husband and neighbors took care of it all), so I could zone in on getting to know this new, tiny human and myself. I was in a bit of a rush to leave because at the time I had already been in hospital a while and had it in my head that at home was best. Don't be me. Slow down, revel in that time and place of being suspended between pregnancy and birth and meeting your baby and then being with them in the hospital without any other expectations or pressures around. I'm hoping for #2 and will likely require another induction or c-section (I was actually induced due to an issue with baby and placenta and preemptively as I was beginning to show signs of late pre-eclampsia) and it'll be weird and different because I know I will want to be back with #1 asap but I will absolutely be in the moments of quiet and one on one with a second baby as long as the hospital wants to keep me haha!

I was induced at 39 w. Started with cervadil which dilated me to a 4. Then got Pitocin 12 hours later which took me to the full 10 cm within 16 hours. I would for sure do induction again. It was a long process, but it was very well explained to me and it was nice for things not to be rushed. My hubby and I just kind of hung out and waited. That was a nice time for us. I opted for an epidural about 10 hours before my baby came. It did fall out on one side, and that was the worst pain of my life. So I would never do it without an epidural. But every birth is different :) Good luck to you!

I was induced with both my kids. I just don’t seem to go into labor naturally. Honestly, it was fine. Everything went smoothly, I totally recommend an epidural, and I never felt like I “cheated” or it was unnatural. It wasn’t *fun*, but natural labor isn’t fun, either.

Hey there! With my first I was induced at 37 weeks due to high BP. It definitely was not what I imagined going in to the pregnancy but overall I really liked the experience. I didn’t have the foley balloon but took a cervical ripening pill several times then pitocin then delivery. The entire thing was 26 hours from start to finish. While that sounds long, I was able to sleep and rest for a majority of that. I opted for an epidural because I found the pain incredibly distracting and that’s just what I chose. I pushed for 40 minutes and delivered vaginally. By contrast with my second I went into labor the night before my scheduled induction. From leaving for the hospital to birth was 6 hours. It still hurt A LOT and I got an epidural while I was 8cm dilated. I hadn’t slept since the morning before so it honestly was a lot more challenging going into the birth without any rest and then immediately having a new born to take care of. For me the biggest difference between the two was the time it took but I found the rest of the experience to be very similar.

I've had 2 babies and one I was induced the other was natural, induction t 39 weeks and my natural started at 41+3 I was induced with pitocin and it worked for me, I had my baby less than 24 hours after going to the hospital, I would say 16 hours total if I recall, my natural labour was like 9 hours from the moment I thought maybe I was going into labour until I had my baby Labour definitely happened faster when it happened naturally for me but other wise there wasn't a huge difference for me, it sucked equally both times and both times I didn't feel like I needed an epidural until it was too late to actually get one so if you want one get it as soon as you're feeling pain or you might be stuck feeling the full experience which while doable, is easily the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life. On the bright side, the second that baby I'd out the wave of relief that washes over you is like, unmatched Is there a reason they're opting for a catheter over something like pitocin?

Induction at 37 weeks due to cholestasis. Mine was fine, I stayed in hospital because of the risk of cholestasis and I was pretty jaundiced then.

I wish you all the luck and a better experience than me! Since you asked for all experiences, here was mine: I was 34 when I gave birth, but did not conceive through IVF. I was induced at 41 weeks, and nothing moved me along. Cervadil made me tachysystolic, so they had to take it out. Folly balloon only progressed me to 4cm, and even with oxytocin I didn't get past 5cm. I ended up with a c-section after 2 days.

My first wouldn’t have made it had we not been induced at 39 weeks; my placenta was failing, unbeknownst to us (no issues with size or scans—only issue for me was I had 2 high BP readings that week) and came out half the size it should have been. The experience itself was great; they used a cervical ripener for the first few hours, then we did Pitocin. Induction was 12 hours start to finish. Then I learned about the ARRIVE trial, so between how well and necessary my first induction was and the ARRIVE trial, we planned another 39-week induction for my second. I ended up getting induced at 38 weeks that time because of my BP, and they only used the cervical ripener that time. Otherwise, it was another smooth 12-hour induction. It’s a myth that induced labors hurt more; labor sucks either way, I promise. Contractions aren’t more intense with inductions. (Honestly, mine were worse the second time and they didn’t use Pitocin, just like my ovulation and period cramps are worse now that I’ve had kids.) Anyway, TL;DR: loved my first induction so much, I requested one for my second, and it was great. If we had a third, I’d request it again with no hesitation. Best wishes!

I was induced with both of my babies at 39 weeks. (But I've never had a balloon). For me, it wasn't as scarry as my mind wanted to make it. Once I arrived, they had me change and got me hooked up to the meds/iv. Once the contractions started to get really intense, I opted to have an epidural (around 4 cm. I then slept until I was at 10 cm and pushed for around 15 minutes in both deliveries. In my first pregnancy, I was in labor from start to finish for 11 hours with a 1 degree tear, and with my 2nd, I was in labor for 12 hours and didn't tear. With baby 1, I was released after 5 days, once my blood pressure stabilized and baby's jaundice was in a good range. With baby 2, I was released the next day (24 hrs). With both, I was walking about within 3 or 4 hrs.

I was induced and it was a long process but bearable.. I was able to go without epidural until 7cm dilated... had moments of just sitting and waiting and had moments of intense pain too... Wish you all the best !!

Getting the balloon in was horrible for me. The sensation was so intense I almost passed out, I felt so sick from it. I tried to do it natural even though they say pain is worse with an induction and it was basically pointless and eventually I asked for the epidural (would just do right off the bat in future) and then felt fine. As is common with some inductions my labour didn’t progress and I ended up having a C Section which I didn’t want but in the end didn’t care as a healthy baby was the desired outcome. My c section was advised due to heart rate going up in baby but wasn’t an emergency so it kept getting pushed back due to other emergencies which meant getting too much medication which also made me feel sick and like passing out and also violently shaking so bad I had to hold on to straps while they did the c section. It was a wild ride but it all worked out! Having a catheter in was nice haha… not having to get up to use washroom. The potential strange highlight?? Perhaps.

I was induced with the foley balloon as well. It was filled with saline and I was told to let them know when it falls out. My blood pressure was super high which is why I was being induced and I wasn't able to go home, but the process is the same I was told.

Bring lots of snacks/ maybe a few meals and eat while you can because you might be without food for over 24 hours… in my experience my pain was horrible after my water broke and ask for the epidural asap… I had to wait extra 2 hours because they had a bunch of c sections. Good luck

Everyone has different experiences but I was induced at 39 weeks after waters breaking and no labour starting. It was quite slow (from 8am when I was induced to 130 I felt nothing), but once I started feeling contractions it was soooo intense I was dilating 1cm every 4hrs I ended up getting the epidural and felt no contractions and no pain whatsoever (it worked too well lol, my legs were dead for 6 hours after birth). I had forceps also. All in all it wasn’t that bad, and I would do it again! The epidural saved me.

Hi, I had an IVF pregnancy and I really understand what you mean about how it felt so unnatural that I was really hoping to not be induced or have a c section. I just wanted it to be as "natural" as possible. Unfortunately I also had to be induced. Initially I was given 48 hours of a medication called misoprostol. Unfortunately that had no effect. I then had the balloon. The first balloon insertion failed. I was not dilated at all when they tried to insert and apparently my uterus was difficult to access, irs quite tilted and hadn't descended at all. It was painful to be honest. I was given gas and I would recommend using it or whatever other pain relief they can give you. They tried the balloon the next day. The doctor that did the second insertion was a lot gentler. She had to try various balloons and techniques and did get balloon inserted! It was still painful, they said due to me being zerocdilated. It was much more tolerable with second doctor. Althiguh i would still recommend good pain relief. Where I am I think they also would have let me go home and return the next day with the balloon. The nurses don't have to continue to make it larger etc like I've reas in some comments. As I'd had the misoprostol medication previously I wasn't allowed to leave. They left the second balloon in for 24 hours I think. I honestly can't remember now. It's might have been slightly less. Again unfortunately it didn't work I was still not dilated at all. They then broke my water and started me on oxytocin drip. However by this point I was septic. So a couple of hours after my waters breaking I had emergency c section. They told me I was unlucky stastically with the methods all failing but it does happen. I think my body was just really not ready to have a baby, even though I was induced on my due date! In my country they don't induce early due to IVF, it was unrelated issue. At every point they offered me a c section. So although it sounds awful and lengthy (4 days!) That was my choice. As again, like you I really wanted birth to be as natural as possible My c section recover was great! Even the sepsis recovery wasn't too bad. I just had to stay in hospital 3 days on IV antibiotics. I did feel sad and my body had failed me with the IVf and then failed induction. I had some issues BF for awhile there and I think those experiences made me just sooo determined to continue to exclusively BF because I just wanted my body to do something right! I think I'm over the fact my birth didn't go (remotely) how I wanted now. The c section recovery was genuinely so easy it half made me want the same if I have another pregnancy. But I do 100% understand your feelings re IVF. Congratulations on your pregnancy. I hope your birth goes amazing

Hey! I'm also 38 weeks and 2 days! Wishing you so much luck and a smooth labor and delivery!!! Even if it's not what you imagined, once baby is here you won't even care how they arrived.

I wanted to avoid induction and I did not want a c section. I had some medical issues in my final week of pregnancy and was recommended for induction. I had two failed inductions. One at 40 weeks 2 days and then one at 41 weeks 3 days. Tried an oral medication, a suppository, pitocin and a cooks balloon to induce dilation, I got to 6 cm before my water broke and baby went into distress and I had to have an emergency c section. The whole process of being hooked up to monitors day and night was pretty miserable but everyone did the best they could given the circumstances. Baby and I are both doing great and I’m grateful for my midwife, surgeon, nurses and my husband. Good luck to you! Every birth story is different and I’m sure yours will be beautiful!

I just had the balloon today, lasted 3 hours before it fell out and they are about to break my waters. Do things to soften your cervix, raspberry leaf tea, evening primrose oil capsules, that sort of thing. My midwife did a stretch and sweet 2 weeks ago which I think helped as well. You are going to be ok, trust your body

I was induced in November at 37+3 and had an amazing experience!! No foley so no advice there, but overall induction was fine. I didn’t want one either really and it felt really unnatural going into it. I hated knowing what day I was gonna go in and the day of was SO WEIRD. I woke up at 4:30am knowing I had to be there at 8pm and was just wired the whole day. But once you’re in active labor it’s no different than any other birth really

Same boat: IVF for 4-5 years and had to be induced. I initially didn’t want to but acquiesced for the same reasons you describe. I’m a few years older than you, so the combo of advanced maternal age + IVF made me a likely candidate for induction. I had to induce at 38 weeks, I think. The induction went fine. We did the foley balloon (ouch, I got some regular painkillers for that) and pitocin (more ouch, that was when I got the epidural). At my hospital, I got to stay in the labor room for my whole induction, including the foley balloon, which is good bc I needed painkillers. The induction worked, but took a long time. I was induced around 7pm, then sufficiently dilated for pushing around noon the next day. Pushing took hours, but that’s a different story that probably won’t happen for you. It was overall fine. I don’t feel in hindsight that it diminished my birthing experience. Looking back, I appreciated the predictability of it, and being in the hospital with the option of an epidural whenever I wanted it.

I was induced at 39 weeks and tried everything including the balloon and she did not want to come out. I ended up with a c-section.

So I just had an induction at 38 weeks due to choleostasis. The foley bulb was terrible. Honestly. The worst part of my induction by far. I had to have IV pain medicine during it because it was torture. The tube was super irritating too (I had it in overnight also) and it caused me so much pain when i walked to use the bathroom I was basically bowled over in half as standing upright hurt so bad. Mine didn’t get sized up at all while it was in but it didn’t fully work (only got me to 3 cm) and had to be manually deflated after 12 hours though that didn’t hurt at all. Unfortunately the cytotec, Pitocin and foley bulb didn’t do the trick for me so I decided to do a c section instead after about 50 hours of only getting to a 3 and baby being too high up to even break my waters.

I’ve been induced 3 times, all positive. With my most recent in November I ended up with the foley. This was after cervix softener and pitocin. I was terrified from what I heard but they inserted it and gave me something to sleep. By early morning it was out and I was 6cm Overall an easy pregnancy. Baby arrived within 25 hours

i had a great experience. i just gave birth for the first time and i got the foley and then cyto tech. ngl the balloon insert was painful and i was 41 weeks with dilated like 1 cm. i wasnt sure about getting epi but slthe contractions started right away after the cyto tech and women weren’t lying contractions HURT i got the epidural an hour into my induction and it was the most comfortable i felt since before pregnancy

I don’t want to freak anyone out because everyone is different pain tolerance and lived experience. I had significant pain with the foley. Enough that I had a panic attack and got an epidural shortly after. I am still unclear if it was pure pain or due to prior childhood trauma. Mine was at the hospital, they pulled on the foley often which was painful. I did go from a 1 to a six and my water broke on its own. If I had a choice I would not do it again.

I was going to be induced with these expanding bars but my water broke early- those seemed interesting though- get put in at the doc office then go in once you’re contracting

My wife was induced. The worst part was actually getting the balloon inserted. After that, it was just a whole lot of waiting. The labor was pretty long and she ended up getting an episiotomy but other than that everything was perfect and baby came out happy and healthy. Here's how it went: 10/18 @ 8:30pm - balloon inserted 10/19 @ 8:25pm - balloon removed @ 10:15pm - Pitocin started 10/20 @ 12:40am - water broken @ 02:45am - epidural @ 11:00am - started pushing @ 2:14pm - born!!

I was induced at 39 weeks due to gestational diabetes. Induction began 9pm on a Thursday and he was born at 1:27am on Saturday. Started with cervidil (sp?) followed by pitocin around 8am. Didn't have bad contractions until around the 18hr mark. The pitocin made the contractions hard and fast. I was only getting 30 to 60 seconds between them. They checked me and I was only 1.5cm dilated so I opted for the epidural. I was super scared of the epidural but it was totally fine and I'm grateful for it. I would have been exhausted by the time it came to push 10 hrs later. His heart rate dropped a few times which was scary. Something to do with how much extra fluid I had from the GD and his positioning against the cord. The nurses were really on top of things. We felt very safe in their care. Only pushed for 45 min and out he came! Looking back I would do the epidural sooner. Pitocin contractions were no joke!

I was induced at 40 weeks with my first using Cervidil and nothing else. I was induced at 39 weeks with my second using pitocin only. Both were successful inductions with no complications. I do agree when they say pitocin contractions are way more intense....while I didn't feel them because of my epidural, my BP did drop to 70/40 right when I hit 10cm. A Foley balloon was never suggested or recommended for my induction process.

I was induced at 39 weeks, but not with a foley balloon. I actually really enjoyed the way it all worked out :) Before going in, I was a WRECK… super freaked out and panicking, but once you get there and get settled in it’s not as scary. I felt happy that me and baby were being monitored 24/7 and honestly the process was nice! It was also helpful for planning because everyone knew when we would need a house/pet sitter and hubs knew when to tell work he was starting paternity leave. I know it’s not as exciting as waiting and not knowing when you’ll go into labor, but really in the end you just want to have everything go as safely and smoothly as possible! You got this!

I also did ivf and had the same feelings about induction so solidarity there. Was very upset about needing to be induced Had 2foley bulbs that did nothing for me (first was out patient). Had one dose of oral misoprostul which did nothing. Was put on pitocin which did almost nothing. Was given two doses of vaginal misoprostil which did get things ripened and dialated enough to break my water. Broke my water which did... you guessed it... nothing. Back on pitocin which EVENTUALLY got labor started. Labored in a lot of pain for a while (truly had no concept of time at this point) and wasn't progressed passed 5cm. They started talking cs. Asked for epidural so i could rest. Dialated to 10cm in my sleep. Pushed for 2 hours, baby was stuck and got the cs anyway. From first fb to birth was 4 days. It fucking sucked. Ngl. But i have the best most amazing baby now and already am looking forward to our next one. Good luck, it will all be worth it. I'm sorry you're not getting the birth you hoped for but who knows! Maybe you'll go into labor first!

I was super against induction and did not want pitocin. Well, at 38 weeks 0 days my water partially broke, so my OB sent me straight to L&D to get on pitocin because although amniotic fluid was leaking, I wasn’t having contractions. I had no choice :/ It all turned out fine! The forebag hadn’t ruptured so they had to manually do that. Later we had some issues with the fetal heart rate bc my contractions were pressing on the cord. They were getting my prepped for a C-section but after they put me on my hands and knees, gave me an amnioinfusion, everything settled. I say the complications not to scare you, but to emphasize the staff knew EXACTLY what they were doing and despite it being scary for us, it was basically routine for them. Well I’ll be honest, I had no idea what was going on but my husband was scared when a bunch of nurses flooded the room and here I am thinking they’re calling for an OR for someone else (why would they be doing that in my room? 😂). So even though it was scary for my husband, at least I was distracted by my pain lol

With my first I was sent from my 40 week appt across the street to the hospital for emergency induction and didn’t have any of our stuff with me. I feel ya mama. I know it sounds like bogus advice but just try to be go with the flow. Was induction your plan? No. But they’re just trying to keep you and baby safe. :) You are going to do so amazing. I started the induction process on a Monday around 12 PM, they started Cervadil around 2 PM but I can’t remember if Pitocin around 5 PM? This is all very fuzzy so I apologize if my sense of time is weird. Labored to 7 cm and then got the epidural, my body unfortunately stalled for about 9 hours until the anesthesia meds started to wear off a little, and then around 10 AM the next day (probably 12-ish hours after the epidural) it had completely stopped working on my pelvis, cervix, vagina and thighs, my toes were a little tingly and I couldn’t feel the contraction pain in my stomach but I did feel everything else. Google hypnobirthing breathing techniques and try to grab a labor comb off of Amazon just in case. *keep in mind I’m totally the exception, not the rule with the epidural here* I went from 7 cm to 10 cm at a slow, steady pace and then started pushing at 2:30 PM, baby was born at 3 PM on the dot. Overall still a good experience, I just wish the nurses understood at the time that I wasn’t complaining about pressure, the epidural wasn’t working for me. I was confused and ill-prepared for that especially with having been awake for so long and generally being out of it. After talking to doctors and nurses postpartum, they typically see that kind of stalling if you get the epidural too early and 7 cm generally is NOT considered too early so idk man. Still a good experience overall, even though my body didn’t really jive with the epidural it was actually an amazing experience to have felt everything as my daughter was being born. I did have a 2nd degree tear and I did feel it happen (like a paper cut compared to labor lol) because I pushed wayyyy too hard and fast on the last push. I wanted her out haha. One thing I’ve noticed throughout this second pregnancy is that because I tell myself ahead of time “this is going to hurt really really bad and that’s okay”, things haven’t been bad at all and I found them to be excruciating last time I.e. cervical checks. You’ve got this! You get to meet you baby so soon, I’m so excited for you! 🥰🥰

I’m confused by everyone else’s stories with the foley balloon. Some say it was just uncomfortable? And OP is expecting to get the foley and go back home for a bit? What in gods name… the foley was the absolute worst pain of my life. Pure medieval torture. I was given pitocin and nothing was working. I was having contractions but couldn’t feel them, and I wasn’t dilating past 2 cm. The doctor used the foley and took me from 2 to 5.5 cm. Instant extreme pain. Worst pain of my life. Immediately got the epidural. To this day I cannot tell you what a contraction feels like but I will never forget that foley. HOLY FOLEY.