Going into this week I had so many questions surrounding what to expect being medically induced at the hospital with cervidil and pitocin (better known as the drip)… More questions I had were: What is the labour process when induced in the hospital? What is the effectiveness of cervidil? What are the labor risks of being induced with cervidil? How to prepare to be induced by cervidil? What if cervidil doesn’t work? How long will it take to give birth after being induced?
I had so many questions about being induced in the hospital!
Even though I did my research into other’s cervidil induction stories, I did not expect to be induced for 3 days at the hospital (going in and out daily to get 3 doses of cervidil) but finally on the third day I reached the 3cm and was admitted to give birth!
If you too have these questions around being induced with cervidil, I didn’t get them all answered before I went into the hospital but I surrendered my situation to God and felt an overwhelming peace about being induced at the hospital.
If you have been following my Instastories this past week you are up to date on the events leading up to Adeline’s birth, but for those who do not, this is what my experience being induced in labour was:
Wednesday: I had my appointment with my temporary doctor (while mine was away on holiday for the week) and they were concerned that I was measuring for 41 weeks pregnant while I was only 39 weeks pregnant. They suspected that my baby was quite large already – that combined with I have a tendency to give birth past my due date lead us to book an ultrasound for fetal growth for the next day. But I wasn’t overly concerned considering my first baby was 9 lbs 1 oz and my second was 8 lbs 6 oz – I tend to create big babies!
Thursday: The ultrasound went smoothly and it was confirmed my baby was definitely a girl (the first ultrasound technician at 20 weeks was only 80% positive my baby was a girl). The results would be given to my temp doctor and they would call me later.
Friday: I received the call from my temp doctor saying nothing on the ultrasound was bad but I needed to come into their office to discuss options. When I arrived the estimated weight of my baby was 9 lbs 4 oz. Woah, that’s a big baby!
They did not need to twist my arm to consent to coming into the hospital Monday to be induced. The hospital would call me on Monday to let me know when to come in. All very exciting!
Sunday: After feeling very nervous and excited all weekend, the hospital called! I was to come in first thing in the morning and they would check if I had dilated and progress from there.
Monday: Today’s the day! Except I was only 1cm dilated… which meant I needed Cervidil to “ripen” my cervix (SORRY FOR TMI). Cervidil is like a very tiny tampon placed on your cervix with medicine on the end to cause your cervix to thin and stretch.
They needed to watch my baby and I at the hospital for 2 hours after I was given the Cervidil and if nothing happened in those 2 hours then I would be sent home to try to get labour going. I needed to call into the assessment wing every 4 hours to check with my nurse on my progress. If nothing happened all day I needed to come back to the hospital the next morning for another dose of Cervidil. I could have up to 3 doses of Cervidil.
All day nothing happened.
Tuesday: We arrived bright and early to the hospital, wondering if today was the day, but when they checked I was 2cm dilated. Ugh! In order to progress to the next step of inducing labour I needed to be 3cm. I was so close!
So, they gave me my second dose of Cervidil, and during my 2 hours where they monitored us I got a tiny taste of labour. The contractions were intense and slightly painful, and made me feel nauseous. Right away, I asked for something for the nausea and pain – the nurse ordered me a shot of morphine and that helped right away. I was able to take a nap and endure the hard hospital bed for the remaining 2 hours.
Then we were sent home. And nothing happened (contraction and labour wise) for the rest of the day.
Wednesday (her due date): Today HAD to be the day. I could only have 3 doses of Cervidil and today would be the third one if I wasn’t already 3cm dilated. But guess what?! I was 3cm! YAY!
They whisked me away to the labour and delivery wing where I was given an IV (the nurses trying to find a vein may have been the worse part of it all, I have tiny veins) and started me on the drip to get the contractions going! After a couple hours I decided to use the anesthesiologist before she was called into a c-section surgery because my contractions were becoming intense and painful (did you know c-sections take 45 minutes to 1 hour to perform? I thought that was interesting!)
I delivered my first baby without an epidural (it was a hard, stressful 24 hour labour), and I laboured for 12 hours before I got an epidural with my second baby – so by now, I knew my body dilates VERY slowly and opted for the epidural as soon as possible into labour. And I’m glad I did! When it was 3 hours into labouring with the epidural I was only 5cm. 5cm dilated! I know my body labours slower with the epidural but DANG!
And to be honest, getting my IV in my arm hurt more than having the epidural inserted. Matt watched this time when they put it in (he held my hands last time so he couldn’t see) and he was surprised how far the needle goes into your back.
After my epidural Matt and I watched movies on our tablet, my mom and sister visited for a bit and brought Matt food, I checked emails – it was a very relaxing labour experience in the hospital.
I started to feel pressure but didn’t need to push, so we let her be pushed by the contractions and gravity until her head was showing (again modern medicine is a beautiful thing because it was truly painless, also sorry for TMI), then within 7 minutes and 5 pushes she was born!
I had small 2nd degree tears, though I had the same with both my first and secod babies so I’m used to it. The doctor gives you a couple shots to numb the area and then sews you up right after you’ve delivered your placenta.
Adeline weighed 9 lbs exactly and was 21 1/2 inches long, and apparently my placenta was pristine looking according to the cord blood people. I’ll take that as a compliment!
Although the whole experience was long and drawn out over a few days, labour was my quickest (total 10 hours from when I was given my IV) and most relaxing. I relied on God for strength, courage, and peace – we always pick a bible verse to dedicate each of our girls to and this is the one I kept reading while preparing for labour:
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8
I am so blessed to finally have my little Adeline join our family!
Are you expecting to have your labor induced at the hospital? Have you been induced with Cervidil? Let me know below!
If you like this post, check out my Experience Giving Birth To My Fourth Baby rant/post before you go!
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