If you’re here, your OBGYN probably mentioned induction for whatever reason and you want to know more. I ended up needing to be induced with my second boy because I was six days overdue and had low fluids. There was no time to prepare my mind for an induction and what it all entails. I was so excited to meet my baby boy (beyond ready) but so incredibly nervous about how induction was going to go. I didn’t expect to have to be induced honestly as I went into labor naturally with my first boy.

I am not going to lie, I did not like the idea of induction. I am a firm believer that baby will come when baby wants to come. But for medical reasons, I had no choice but to send an eviction notice to my baby boy. I wanted to share some things I learned from my induced labor and some pros and cons to it as well. You hear a lot of negatives about induction but I have a positive experience that I wanted to share.

I hope this post can provide some insight and alleviate some nerves if you are planning to be induced. Keep in mind, every labor is different so my experience will not be your experience but hopefully my take a way from my induction experience can provide some help.

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PROS TO INDUCTION

I got to eat a great meal prior to labor

With my first pregnancy, my water broke in the middle of the night so I didn’t have anything to eat. I went on to have a 18 hour labor without food. Needless to say, there was a lot of vomiting during my labor. With being induced, I had a few hours from the end of my 41 week appointment until I had to check into the hospital to grab a bite to eat. And you bet, I took that to my full advantage. I ate a big, juicy burger and french fries.

My husband and I got to spend time with our first son

Instead of leaving in the middle of night or not having time to say goodbye to only having one child, my husband and I got to spend those last few hours as a family of three. We even got to keep the routine the same. We made dinner for our son and played with him. Then got him ready for bed. It helped make the transition better from one to two.

It gave us time for my In Laws to arrive to our house

My in laws stayed the night at our house to watch our first son so instead of them being on call for when I was going into labor. They were able to get dinner and come over without any rush. It was nice to have them here at our house so our son could have a good sleep before we rocked the boat completely for him when we bring baby brother home.

I got to take plenty of pictures

Pictures were minimal with my first boy as I was in active labor when we left our house. But with my second, we had time to take pictures. We got pictures as a family of three, pictures with my husband, pictures right before they started me on the pitocin. I even got pictures of my baby bump. It was so great. I am grateful that I have these pictures to look back at.

I got to do my hair and make up

I looked like poop with my first. I was literally a hot mess. Hair up in a messy bun, no make up, bags under my eyes and that is totally okay. I just had given birth for the first time. The only thing that mattered to me was getting through labor and having a healthy baby. With that being said, it was very nice to have time to get ready so I can look decent for pictures post delivery. Because you never know how you are going to look afterwords, lol.

I felt more present

Walking into the hospital pain free was weird but also really nice because I got to take it all in. I was able to be more focused and present in the beginning since I wasn’t in active labor. I got to take my time getting ready. And really got to feel ALL the emotions before starting labor. It was a really nice.

Nothing was forgotten

Of course I had my hospital bad all ready to go but other little things that we needed to grab prior to going to the hospital like pillows, blankets, etc. We actually had time to triple check that we had everything. It did also help that it was my second time around as well.

Related Posts: What To Pack In Your Hospital Bag

Cons About Induction

Contractions can be more intense & come on suddenly

This was very true for me. They didn’t start out super strong right away which I was surprised by. But as soon as my doctor broke my water, it was game on and the contractions came on strong and sudden. It was WAY more of an intense labor than my first but also WAY faster (4 hour labor from check in to delivery).

You may not have time for an epidural

I had an epidural with my first (even though I wanted to “try” and do natural). I was in labor for 8 hours and at about a 5 or 6 cm dilated when I asked for the epidural with my first. So I went with the same approach with my second. BAD IDEA.

If you want a epidural, schedule it before your contractions start getting intense. I waited for the pain to kick in and it was almost too late.

I ended up not getting a full epidural because I was dilated to an 8 when I finally asked for one and so the anesthesiologist gave me just enough to take the edge off. I felt everything. I had maybe 30 minutes of tolerable pain.

With that being said, as intense as it was and painful, I had a way easier time pushing. I never felt the intense urge to push with my first since I had the full epidural for hours in my system. I had the intense urge to push with my second because I got a low dose. I actually felt in sync with my body and only pushed for 13 minutes compared to my 45 minutes and 3 hours of “laboring down” with my first.

Your labor can be longer and result in a C-Section

Now this was not the case for me. I ended up having a really fast labor. But I have heard from some mama friends of mine that there labor ended up being really long because their body simply wasn’t ready to evict baby. Some of my mama friends still delivered naturally and some had to have a c-section.

You can have issues with breastfeeding (if that is your plan)

I didn’t have any issues with my colostrum milk coming in nor have any issues with my son latching. We were able to breastfeed just fine and I am so incredibly grateful for that. This one of my fears with having to be induced. But, it is important to know that for some women it can be an issue. Simply because your body wasn’t ready for baby to come.

There are resources that your hospital does offer for any issues with breastfeeding. I also used this website Kellymom.com as a reference for anything breastfeeding related. It is a great resource and support for breastfeeding mamas.

Related Posts:

What I Wished I Knew About Breastfeeding Before I Had Started,

Breastfeeding Essentials That Made Nursing Easier,

Breastfeeding Essentials That Made Nursing Easier,

My Take Away From My Induction

I had a very positive experience with my induction. Even though, it’s not my first choice and I’d rather go into labor naturally, it wasn’t as scary as I made it out to be. With that being said, how your body reacts to being induced is different for everyone and it’s important to be aware of that. But know that, there are benefits to being induced as mentioned above and I hope that can ease your nerves a bit.

My biggest tip for induction is to trust your doctors and know that you will be in good, capable hands. Do your best to focus on knowing that you will be meeting your baby soon and trust that everything will be just fine.

I approached my induction with going with the flow and just wanting my baby to make a safe entrance into the world. I prayed for a healthy baby and a healthy delivery no matter how hard the journey could be to get there.

Good luck mama, you got this. You’ll be holding your sweet baby soon. <3