What I've Learned From My Induced Births:

If you are induced there are a few things you should be aware of that they may, or may not, tell you at the hospital!

First, you can control how often they increase the Pitocin! Hospital’s general procedure for induction is to increase the Pitocin two points of ‘3 ml’ every 15-20 min. At that rate the contractions will quickly get too strong to handle and you will probably need an epidural, or other pain medication, to survive. These extreme contractions can also put the baby into stress over a long period of time, creating the possibility of a c-section, and can even cause a uterine rupture.

I have been induced with all four of my children and the last three, I simply told them that I want to have as natural a birth as possible, and thus we need to keep the Pitocin as low as possible! Each time they have told me that as long as the contractions stay consistent and get stronger/longer over time that keeping the Pitocin low is fine.

If you go this route, it is very important to know that the monitors tell the nurses how close together the pressure waves are, but will NOT indicate how strong they are - only YOU will know how strong, and so YOU must tell them if they are getting stronger so they will not increase the Pitocin.

Secondly, Pitocin doesn’t HAVE to increase by two ‘3 ml’ each time. You can request that they only turn it up one ‘3 ml’ each time. It’s also good to note that they CAN turn the Pitocin down, or even off, if you feel they have it too high. They will probably monitor to see if your body has naturally taken over the birthing process and that the contractions stay steady. I’ve been able to keep it low enough each time that I haven’t needed to ask to turn it down or off.

Third, if you have a Pitocin induced birth you CAN request they wait to break your water for a while. Many times they want to break the water almost as soon the Pitocin is started. This will cause dry labor which is much more intense. You can progress fine with the water in tact for quite a while. However, there WILL come a point when breaking the water is better than increasing the Pictocin. Eventually your water WILL have to break, and the higher dose of Pictocin you have the less manageable the contractions will be. Breaking the water is a way to keep the Pitocin low. For me this is after they’ve increased the Pictocin about 2-3 times, (6-12 ml.) Once my water breaks my body naturally takes over and the pressure waves get stronger and longer on their own. Although, I DID need to let them know that they WERE stronger and that I did NOT want a Pitocin increase at that point.

They will tell you not to eat if you are induced. However, for my last two births they clarified that you CAN have clear liquids at the beginning, including chicken broths, Jello, and juices! (So make sure you DO eat some of those to keep up your energy!) Once you are in “active labor”, where you have to concentrate more through the contractions, you naturally don’t feel inclined to eat anyway!
I highly suggest using “Hypnobabies Home Study Course” the last 7 weeks of your pregnancy! It is empowering and very thought provoking, while at the same time helps you create a wonderful tool to get you through the birthing time. There is a lot of information in it, and you get to decide what is important to you for your birthing experience.

http://hypnobabies.com/
http://hypnobabies.com/mylink.php?id=3812

And lastly, here is: My accumulated birthing experience:

Baby #1 - Induced two weeks early in case my body delivered babies like my mom...and for convenience of her being there. Got epidural early on that only took on half my body, with pitoicin cranked to it's highest. Miserable. Also used pain drugs at the end that had a bad effect on me, and made so loopy that I did not even CARE that my baby was born! Very frustrating. Baby 7 lb. 8 oz - had an episiotomy.

Baby #2 - Induced 5 days past due date. Did NOT want an epideral again no matter what! Mom asked if they could keep the pitocin low...is that an option??? YES! Still, LOTS of pain, exhaustion from not eating for almost 24 hours by the time baby came, used breathing techniques from hospital and lamaze, 1 dose of Demerol near the end to help me sleep but was fully awake when baby was born. Baby 8 lb. 5 oz - tore quite a bit.

Baby #3 - Induced 2 weeks past due date. Had an anxious third trimester remembering all the pain from the last delivery. Worried that I would panic and want an epideral again and, wonder of wonder, I did! However, the epideral was light, took off the edge, and helped me relax. Baby 9 lb. 5 oz - tore a little.

Baby #4 - Induced 2 days over. Used Hypnobabies!!! Felt empowered and calm throughout the third trimester. Savored the daily excuse to relax in hypnosis. My doctor said he would not let me go over my due date more than 1 week, and since the last 2 weren't even close to coming at that point, I decided to go with convenience of when my mom was here to help, and when it worked with our schedule. (Basically, I didn't want to miss church because I'm the Primary Chorister and our program was in a few weeks! So I figured if she was born Monday I could be back to church the next Sunday :-)

I know I broke quite a few hypnobabies rules and suggestions for "pain free childbirth" and even so, it was fantastic! It kept me calm and collective throughout the entire day - from IV to birthing - and when I really used it, and concentrated, it truly did remove what my brain would have perceived as "pain" and inserted "pressure."

One of the rules I broke that I later wish I hadn't was finding out my dilation. Just after 5:20 pm I felt I was nearing the end and was worried that if it was NOT the end I might need an epidural because it was SO intense - so I had the nurse check me, expecting to be at LEAST a 7! I was only a 5. Worried, I got up to go to the bathroom before I decided on an epidural, and when I came back I felt a LOT of pressure and had her check me again - I was now at an 8! I laid on my side concentrating on my hypnosis and when I thought it was time to push they had me roll over and I told Cliff I needed "Pushing Baby Out!" (I'm sure they all thought I was crazy :-)

All the sudden I realized everything was broken down, the bright light was shining, there were lots of people, and the nurse was asking me if I wanted stirrups for pushing - what??? I was trying to concentrate on PUSHING her out right then, not about whether or not I wanted stirrups! So, she threw the stirrups up. The stirrups were too high and very painful on my legs, so in turn I had to grip the bed to hold myself higher, which, as hypnobabies students know, the hands and face should always be RELAXED, and that in turn made it MUCH harder to concentrate on the hypnosis. However, 2 pushes later baby was born! (But next time those stirrups will NOT appear!) I used the "breathing baby out" method and I feel it worked very well. Baby was born at 5:49pm. She was 8 lb. 13 oz. I did NOT tear!

So, would I use Hypnobabies again? YES! No hesitations at all.