Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related FFQ: Inducing labor

Hey, I need an answer for a story I'm working on. I want to have someone have a scheduled, induced delivery of their baby. So I have a few questions, for those of you In The Know...

1. When are these things usually scheduled? Would it be unusual to have someone's inducement (sorry I don't know what to call it) scheduled for 6pm?

2. If you're scheduled to be induced at 6pm, let's say, then when would you need to be at the hospital? Or... would that mean you arrived at the hospital AT 6pm? How does that work?

I'm not having an actual labor/delivery scene in the story. I'm just having it being casually mentioned. The pregnant woman is telling a friend when it's going to happen (a few days from now, well of course assuming she hasn't gone into labor before then.) But I want to get the wording right.

So if anyone could offer some advice, I'd be grateful, thanks!

It's called an induction, and I had one not-quite-emergency one (my doctor said, "Tonight!" but let me go home for a few hours first) and two that were scheduled but pre-empted by actual labor. (One by only about 12 hours.)

They can be scheduled anytime, I think. However, non-urgent procedures will be scheduled preferentially during daylight hours at most hospitals. I'd expect anytime between about 7/8 am and 4/5 pm would be a likely slot.

When an induction is scheduled, that means that's when you're supposed to show up, bet admitted, and hooked up to the monitors and pitocin and all that fun stuff. But it's not like if you're late they start without you . . .

Inductions are generally scheduled only if there is (potential) danger to the mother or baby. Going past two weeks overdue (one week, with some practitioners), or low fluid, or certain other complications.

It is considered highly unethical to schedule an unnecessary induction, simply for convenience's sake. There are certain risks that rise with induction. Well worth the risk if the induction is needed; not so much if it's not.

That said, there are doctors who will schedule inductions (and/or c-sections) to suit their schedule or that of the patient.

I had an induction with my first delivery, and I don't recommend it, if anyone's interested - ended up with a c-section.

Anyway, I arrived at 7 a.m. and by 8:00, things were in motion. My admittance time was scheduled for 7 but I was not told how long it would take for the actual induction to take place.

Also, there are a couple of different methods for induction. One is to immediately hook the woman to a pitocin drip, but that can be quite harsh. The woman is almost immediately in hard labour with no gradual buildup to it.

The other, which is what I had, is to insert a hormone tablet inside the birth canal, which kicks off very mild contractions. There's more than that, but since you're not going into a lot of details, I won't either unless you wish me to.

Irene

Thank you so much for the information! It is really helpful.

*going back to writing, and trying to untwist this plot twist I got myself into*

One thing to add ... if it's a scheduled inducement (or scheduled c-section), they will schedule it for first thing in the morning. Like 6 to 8 am early. They don't know how long it will take or if there will be complications, so they always schedule it first thing in the morning. They would never schedule one for 6 pm unless it was an emergency.

Oh, and you need to get there an hour or so before the scheduled time. So, for example, a friend of mine just had a schedule c-section last month -- it was for 7 am, so she had to get there by 6 am, and with her hour drive to the hospital, she had to leave at 5 am, which means she had to set her alarm clock for 4 am! Crazy when you are 9 months preg, LOL.

HTH.

Kathy

Thanks! I wrote this scene on a whim without knowing the facts, so I figured I really ought to get them straight before I go any further.

Okay, so no evening inducement.

Say I go for 7am ... would it be likely that this could happen on a Saturday? Or are weekdays more normal for this?

Thinking I might just skip the inducement and have the woman just go into labor on her own. It's my story after all, guess I can tweak that if I need to.

Definitely weekdays, not weekends. You have to remember - the doctor has a personal life, too! Obstetricians spend enough time running into the hospital at all hours at inconvenient times, they're not going to intentionally add to the problem!

Irene

Most insurance companies won't pay for an elective procedure done on a weekend.

With my second child, my doctor induced labor by breaking the amniotic sac. I was already completely effaced and 5 centimeters dilated, yet having no contractions. I had a 10:00 AM appointment with him for my weekly checkup, I checked into the hospital at 11:00AM, he came over at noon and broke my water, I started having contractions at 1:00PM and my son was born at about 5:30PM.

Now I know why I live in a small town. My first child was 2 weeks overdue, and after my afternoon appointment with my doctor (a GP in this small community), he told me to head over to the hospital after 5 (since he was still in the clinic until 5 pm). I did so, and by 6 pm, I was on a drip of either oxytocin or pitocin. I was contracting, but not much happening, so the doctor broke the amniotic sac about 10 pm. I slammed into full labor and my son was born 4 1/2 hours later. That wasn't really a scheduled induction, nor was it an emergency one, as the doctor said we could conceivably have held off for another day or two. He probably firgured with a first baby that I'd be there 12 hours or more, so he could take the night off and pop in just before rounds, deliver the baby, and still make it to the clinic on time.

For me, like most of you have said before, I was 11 days overdue. My doctor said "it was better to wait a little longer," though I felt as if I was going to explode.

I went for my check-up at 9:00 in the morning and he scheduled my induction for the following day at 7:00 am. I too was told to be there 45 minutes to an hour before hand, so they could do all the paper work and get me set in a room.

They began by breaking my water, then I was give potocin to start my contractions. My daughter was born vagionally by 7:39 that evening. (This was a Friday by the way.) I also know that doctor's do not schedule inductions on weekends, though if they are on call, and have to go they will. (OF course only for non-inductions).

ok, I wasn't going to say anything but I just can't read this thread without putting my two cents in...

With our first one, she was due the day before Thanksgiving 1999. By December 13, a Monday, we were getting more than a little concerned.

We didn't want to have a hospital birth and we definitely didn't want to be induced after the terrible trials that her sister had gone through with her first child, so we asked the doctor if there was a more natural way to speed things along.

He recommended Black Cohosh tincture.

We went to our favorite health food/nutrition outlet and asked them where to find Black cohosh.

The look on the two shopkeepers became very serious. "How far along are you?" they asked Elisabeth.

"We were due the day before Thanksgiving." which was 19 days earlier.

"It's right over here." was their immediate response.

Elisabeth took one dose that evening and one the following morning. By 2 something Wednesday morning, a gentle contraction cycle started that culminated in RoseMary Grace being born by 4:44pm that afternoon.

It took a little longer, but we think it was well worth it.

So, if you want a different kind of induction story, there you go.

James

Ok, being pregnant with my first child and only 3 wks away from my due date, this whole topic is making me fear having to be induced. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed to go into labour on my own.

Tell me about it!!

For what it's worth (not much), I'll chime in. For my first baby, my water broke long before contractions started, so I ended up on a pitocin drip. I don't think it was fun, but honestly I was *so* knocked out I'd only wake up to say "ow." I had to get the story about it later. With my second baby, I was a few days overdue, and saw my doctor on a Tuesday -- she said, well, I wasn't a week over yet, but she could try something called "stripping the membranes" -- I don't really know what that was but I think it involved her poking around at my cervix. Later that night, contractions started (although I didn't trust them as I'd been having false labor on and off for weeks, so I just went to bed, and every so often during the night, I'd wake up to say "ow" -- apparently it's a theme with me), and early next morning, the baby was born

Almost *too* early in the morning, actually -- it turned out that by the time I got to the hospital, I'd already gone all the way through transition -- barely got in the door before feeling ye old "urge to push." I have to say, I hadn't really planned on natural childbirth or given a whole lot of time to childbirth classes, but the breathing/relaxing thing really did work.

And congrats, Kaylee! You'll do fine, I'm sure. It's a lot noisier once the kid's born but at least then you can put the bundle of joy *down* somewhere to grab a break.

PJ

Congrats Kaylee!!

And, if I haven't mentioned it already(I think I have but I can't remember so if I have please forgive me...) we are due for our third arrival on July 9th! (we are wanting to be surprised so we are not finding out.)

James

Thanks Pam & James. I am very excited but a little nervous too. Congrats to you also James.

My mother was admitted to the hospital for induction with me. (Back when they keep mothers and babies several days). Anyway they did all the prep (they shaved the pubic area back then - they don't now do they), gave her a sleeping pill and said they would see her in the morning. She went into labor that night. I'm one of 5. I was the shortest and easiest labor she had. Swears it was because she was all ready in the hospital and relaxed.

I had a friend that had to have an emergency induction. Her baby was about 2 weeks over due. She went in for her check up and they found that the placenta had started breaking down. She had never had a contraction. So she did have a late day induction to save the baby. The doctor wasn't sure if she had come in 24 hours later that the baby would have survived.

Now that sounds more like it! If being knocked out were an option I would take it.

Quote:

Gave her a sleeping pill.

They hadn't started induction yet that was to be in the morning. What the sleeping pill did for her was relax her enough so that she could go into labor the doctor said. I'm the 4th child. My sister was 5 1/2 yrs, brothers were 3 yrs 2 months and 22 months to the day older than me. Plus they were probably about an hour from the hospital. He figures she went into labor on her own because being in the hospital, the sleeping pill and all ready being prep for birth (they use to shave you down there - they don't now do they) she finally relaxed and nature took its course. She went into labor around 9 pm and I was born at 1:10 am. She was so relaxed I was the fast labor and easiest she ever had. Maybe that should tell the doctors something. If they could find a way to really help their patients to relax then maybe their labor would be easier.

Thanks again for all the info. & helpful stories. I've decided that instead of having my character say she's going to be induced (which I now realize is unrealistic) she's just going to go to an appointment.

So um what's the name you say? Obstetrician? Gynecologist? Who would you go to if you needed an checkup and (hopefully) at the same time, would get to have an ultrasound done.

And do they still do ultrasounds or do they have new technology now?

See how clueless I am?!

I always said "Ob/Gyn" (pronounced obb-gin). Last I heard, they were using ultrasound. You can see quite a lot on those *if* you get a good ultrasound tech. And when you're pregnant, they have you coming in to visit pretty frequently -- every month at first, then every other week, then every week as you get close to your due date.

When I was pregnant in 1997, I only had one ultrasound scan, at around six months. When I was pregnant again in 1999, I think I had three. It wasn't a routine visit thing.

They're doing some pretty incredible things with 3-D ultrasounds these days, but they're pretty new -- don't know the timeframe of what you're working on.

Everybody's different, mileage may vary, etc, etc

PJ