The possibility of being induced is just one of the many things that can happen to a pregnant mom. But most expecting moms don’t have any idea what being induced really means or what it’s like.
I was definitely one of those moms when I was pregnant with my first child.
*I am not a doctor or a medical professional but this was my experience of being induced with my first pregnancy. This page may contain affiliate links, however, I will never recommend anything that I do not believe in and use myself. You can read more about my disclosure policy here.
What Does It Mean to Be Induced?
Being induced just means that your doctor is trying to start your labor. While a pregnant woman’s body is supposed to start labor on its own when it’s time to have the baby, sometimes unexpected things happen and labor has to be induced medically.
Why Would My Doctor Induce My Labor?
There are tons of different reasons that a doctor may induce labor including:
- When the mother develops a complication such as – hypertension, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, bleeding during pregnancy, heart disease.
- The amniotic sac has ruptured but labor hasn’t started within 24-48 hours.
- The pregnancy has gone past 42 weeks and the supply of nutrients from the placenta are decreasing.
- There is an infection in the uterus.
- The baby is not getting enough oxygen.
- There’s not enough amniotic fluid surrounding the baby.
- The placenta is peeling away from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery.
1. Your Birth Plan Will Likely Be Changed
Unfortunately, not all birth plans are able to be followed – especially when you are being induced.
I had dreams of having a completely natural birth with my first child, but when I went past my due date, my doctor decided to induce my labor. It was heartbreaking because I started to see my imaginary birth story slowly unraveling in front of me.
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2. There is More Than One Way to Be Induced
Before being induced, I had no idea that you could be induced in more than one way. But in fact, there are actually 2 methods for inducing labor.
- Oxytocin – The body naturally produces oxytocin to stimulate contractions on its own. But Pitocin and Syntocinon are medication forms that can be given through an IV to stimulate contractions and start labor.
- Foley bulb – A Foley bulb induction is when a doctor inserts a small balloon into the cervix to help it dilate faster.
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3. You Can’t Eat
Telling a pregnant lady that she can’t eat is simply cruel, but that’s what happens when you are being induced.
I was told that I had to stop eating at 7 PM the night before I was scheduled to be induced. It was simply miserable. The main thing I missed was being able to gulp down a glass of water.
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4. Your Doctor Will Likely Break Your Water
Doctors will often break your water to help your labor move along when you are being induced. For most women, this helps with starting labor.
Having your water broken certainly feels weird since it’s being done for you but it wasn’t at all painful.
5. You Cannot Get Out of Bed
When you are being induced you cannot get out of bed at all.
This really angered me when I had my first child and was induced. I honestly felt like I was not informed about this. After taking birthing classes and being taught how to have a natural labor and delivery and planning on moving around to help with labor pains, being told that I had to stay in bed was so hurtful.
The reason that they said I could not get out of bed was that they needed to monitor me and they had a few different machines hooked up to me and had some type of monitor inside my cervix.
I honestly wish they had told me this before because it was very difficult to just lay there.
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6. It Can Make Contractions Worse
Contractions are painful already but when you are being induced, the medications can make the contractions much more intense and painful.
Many women that have had both natural contractions and been induced have said that the contractions caused by the induced labor are more painful.
7. You’ll Probably Need An Epidural
Of course, there is nothing wrong with having an epidural, but for the expecting moms who want to try to have a natural birth, being induced minimizes those chances due to the increased pain.
I was sure that I would not need an epidural. I wanted to do it all-natural, but then when the contractions got more intense, I just had to have help with the pain.
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8. Many Women Feel Guilty About Being Induced
Since most moms have an idea of what their childbirth experience will be like, having it changed in any way can cause some feelings of guilt.
Even though I knew it wasn’t my fault, I felt so guilty when having my daughter because I felt like my body had failed me.
9. C-Sections Are A Common Outcome
Doctors don’t often say this to their patients but it really is a risk when you are induced. C-sections are known to occur more often when you have induced labor.
That’s what happened to me. I went through hours of painful contractions after being induced and then got the news that I wasn’t dilating at all. So since it had been so long and I was under so much stress, the doctor decided to perform a c-section.
Unfortunately, it is a reality for many other moms as well. And I wish I had known before being induced.
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What Do You Wish You’d Known Before Having Your Labor Induced?
I am being induced tomorrow
Now I know what questions to ask my Dr before I go to the hospital.
(I thought I would go into labor last minute before tomorrow so I have no idea what I’m signing up for).
I definitely don’t want to be confined to the bed and if its going to end in a c section, how soon will we be able to determine this?!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I was induced but still able to move around while attached to a drip and with a wireless monitor on Bubs head (not sure exactly what it was but it was able to be done). At one point I was even in the shower so I’m sorry you were forced to lay there in pain. I couldn’t imagine that.
I was induced. At 6:30 I was induced with – I don’t remember what it was called but it was a tiny piece of paper type thing, ha ha – and within 30 minutes I was having INSANELY INTENSE contractions. I remember after 5 minutes I could feel things, and my husband was like DONT BE A HERO – ask for an epidural… Yet, I was like, NO I AM COOL, I can handle this. WELLLLL I should have listened to him because the contractions then came on SO STRONG, it was horrific! And of course, the epidural came 8 hours later!!!!!!! I remember telling him to kill me, ha!!
I was encouraged to eat and be out of bed when I was induced 3 months ago