# Any positive stories of induction with pitocin? ***UPDATE*** BABY HERE



## sdmoose (Feb 1, 2006)

I'm facing possible induction soon for high blood pressure. I'm currently 37 weeks. I had this in my last pregnancy and was induced at 37 weeks with cervadil. I had a very easy induction and didn't need pitocin, was able to move around, and was able to use the tub. I'm a bit worried this time that I'll be given pit instead of cervadil and be stuck with an IV hooked up and won't be able to get in the tub (I have an OB this time and not a midwife because of insurance issues). Can anyone give me suggestions of how to work through a pitocin labor? Anyone have a good experience with this? I'm just afraid with high blood pressure they will make me lie on my left side the whole time and I won't be able to handle pit contractions....


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## Talula Fairie (Jan 7, 2005)

Ok, I am probably going to lose like 1000 crunchy points for admitting this, but I didn't bother even trying to do a pit labor with no pain meds. I wanted a natural birth, but once I ended up with an induction, I figured it wasn't natural at that point anyway. I wouldn't get the endorphin rush becuase pitocin doesn't cross the blood brain barrier, so that was already screwed up.

There are of course drawbacks to getting narcotics and an epi like I did, we could go on and on about the risks to the baby, and of course there is a higher chance of c/s, but I got lucky and nothing bad happened. The baby appeared unaffected and breastfeeding went fine. I had a virtually painless 6 hour labor with 20 minutes of pushing.

I'm not really saying you should do that, becuase like I said it does make the birth a lot riskier. I have known women who got through a pit labor just fine, with no pain meds at all, I think a few of them did hypobirthing and said it didn't hurt more at all. Might just be an individual thing.


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## PoppyMama (Jul 1, 2004)

I've had 2 previous pit inductions (hoping for none of that this time) one with an epi and one with no pain meds. Honestly...I would not do the pit without an epi again. My pit + epi birth was pretty nice all considering and I would much rather a repeat of that birth than my 2nd. If it was medically necessary I would be happy to repeat my pit + epi birth.


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## Cheshire (Dec 14, 2004)

I had an induction with my second. I was on pit for 8 hours and dilated from 4cm to 5cm. That's it. The pit just didn't seem to get me going all that well. It was not incredible painful for me. I had my water broken and then my body got into gear. 3.5 hours or so after that I think I was going through transition (though I didn't think of it at the time and no one mentioned that might be what it was) not to mention a few other things that went wrong that had nothing to do with the pit. But, I got an epidural and right after I got it I was fully dilated and pushing so it was a waste to get it.

Tell your doc how successful your last induction was and that you want to try it that way first. I would think that with a good track record from your first induction they'd be willing to try it that way.

I will consider another induction this time because I do not want to go past due (another long story but I won't go into it). But, I do not want a pit induction - it just didn't really work for me. I also don't want my water broken so I'm not sure what to do. I'm going to play it by ear and pray that this little one wants to come between 39 and 40 weeks. A girl can dream, right?









Best wishes.


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## bemommy (Sep 21, 2003)

I've been induced with pitocin twice. If properly managed it can go fine. I did NOT use any pain medication or epidural. . either time. I do have a pretty amazing OB, who is quite willing to not quite play by the rules.

First birth was a little difficult. They didn't have monitors with telemetry (and they were pretty sucky monitors. . only able to pick things up when I was in one of 2 uncomfortable positions). My solution to that was to go to the bathroom. . frequently. And take my time walking there and back. The pitocin was raised very slowly and once labor had been established (5-6cm and the baby was engaged) pitoccin was turned off completely, my IV was heplocked and I walked away from the fetal monitors. AN hour and a half after getting my freedom by dd was born.

Second time there were better monitors I was given a lot of freedom. Whenever my bp got too high the nurse just asked me to lie down for a little bit. Took awhile for the pit to kick in, , and when it did it was intense. By the time I was ready for them to turn it off I was pushing. I wanted to get my shirt off so told the nurse I needed my IV out or heplocked. . she did it very rapidly.

I would discuss with your OB the protocol. . and what kind of leeway you might get.


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## sdmoose (Feb 1, 2006)

Thanks for sharing all your experiences. It is helpful to hear both sides, actually. I like the idea of having to use the bathroom frequently...actually in my labor with my son that is what I did just naturally. It is good to know they will turn off pit once labor gets going sometimes and that may be my saving grace. I am also hoping with my previous easy induction that it may influence management decisions. The problem with this OB practice I ended up in is that there are SIX OBs covering...so I really have only developed a slight relationship with maybe 2 of them. Ugh. I do have a birthplan written out and I know a nurse on the L&D floor and I'm a nurse myself, so I hope all that works in my favor.
Anyone else with a good pit story???


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## ohiomommy1122 (Jul 7, 2006)

I was induced with it for #2 and labor was intense and I wanted an epi but made it through w/o any drugs beside the pit my labor was 4 hours woot! my shortest abor ever! but it was very intense\\

my friend was pit induced and labored 12 hours w/o drugs before the ended up doing a c sec because baby juust wouldnt decend


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## THANKFULFORFIVE (Jan 8, 2009)

two of my post-dd deliveries were pitocin induced.(#1and #4) No epi. They took longer than the other two spontaneous labors but not really any more intense. Both excellent outcomes, but I never had the BP issue.


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## learnlovebe (Aug 21, 2006)

I had pit + epi w/ my first. I had *hoped* to go w/o meds, like so many first time moms do, but after 2.5 hours of regular pit contrations I was ready for that epi. I went from a 3 to a 6 in 2.5 hours. Then w/ the epi, I went from a 6 to a 10 in an hour. Yeah, things went pretty quickly. I do not regret getting the pit or the epi for one second. I still felt contractions, I was still able to push when I needed to, and I delivered a beautiful 9+ lbs baby boy.







:

Personally, I don't think the pit or the epi took anything away from my birth experience. The pit contractions were strong and regular from 15 minutes after it was started, but not to the point where I was screaming for the drugs.







After about 2.5 hours, the next time the nurse came in I was like...Hey, I think I'm ready for that epi now.

Afterwards, I felt overwhelmed w/ a huge sense of accomplishment- having a baby is an amazing experience w/ or w/o the drugs.


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## shakenbake (Nov 19, 2008)

well my first was on pit 9 hrs of PURE hell i had back labor and would fall asleep in between contractions bc they where so hard they exhausted me it was horrid no epi no drugs i wanted none or them with my 2nd the Crapy obgyn i had wanted to induce me because HE was going out of town i told him HELL NO went into labor my self 3 days later it was 12 hrs about 8 not bad at all the last 4 where hard but i still think my first was 10 times worse i refuse to be induced again unless its a MUST do just my 2 cents oh btw my 2nd was no pain meds or epi ether


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## Luv2bemommy (Oct 26, 2005)

I've had pitocin induced births three times due to the fact I went to 42 weeks and back then not knowing I had a choice..

That said, I didn't get epidurals with any of them and only had stadol with my first (never again).. It's totally different then natural labor for sure, but it's totally doable to go pain med free with pitocin.

As far as how to cope, moving was the key for me.. With my first, they wanted me in the bed the whole time. That is why I ended up getting Stadol. With my 2nd and 3rd labors, I was up walking, sitting on the ball, standing, etc. Those labors were so much better. Also ask them if they can ease the dosage up slowly to try to make it more like "natural labor" if they will.. I don't like how some OB's just pump you full right off and not giving your body a chance to cope with the pain, of course you are gonna want something!


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## fairymom (Sep 15, 2008)

All of my 5 previous pgs were pit labors. 2 were induced at 41+ wks, 2 were 38 wks where labor stalled after my water broke and wouldn't get going agian on their own and the last my water broke at 34 wks and labor did not set in even w/pit for 2 days-no CXs at all. Yes I had drugs w/all also, I had an intrafecal morphine shot- not a epi just one shot of morphine in the spine. It worked well for me had started to wear off by the time it came to push so I had the urge.

The births w/4 out fo 5 were very good and I don't regret any of them- I had a great MW of 3,4 and 5 who let me do everything (besides the drugs) in my own time (pushing,walking,etc).I think of them as positive births and was able to breast feed 3 out of 5 right away- the 2 I did not get to were my 2nd where I had no IV and was too weak to hold him and my 5th who was so early that he had to go to the NICU 30 mins after birth and didn't have the suck reflex for about a week after birth anyways because he was so young.

I'd give birth again w/ pit and meds- but am trying to do it this time w/o it!


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## nerin (Mar 14, 2007)

my ds was induced with only pit at 40w4d. it went AMAZINGLY well...5 hours start to finish and no pain meds. my hospital has special monitors to use while in the tub, although the nurses talked me out of trying them because "they are kind of hard to use..."







the rocking chair was my best friend and holding onto dh was a lifesaver as well. transition was a little tough, but i'm pretty sure that is always the case.









despite the pitocin, i had an AWESOME rush after he was born! i felt like i could do anything and was walking minutes after i pushed him out...probably a bit TOO soon since when i stood up, i accidentally dropped the towel i had down there and gushed blood all over the floor which *totally* freaked out my dds (ages 3 and 5)!







oops!

i'm not sure how high blood pressure would change things, but i'm guessing that it would make them less OK with trying the less is more approach. just stick to your guns and go with your gut! best luck to you!!!


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## bemommy (Sep 21, 2003)

Yes, I wanted to add that after both my pit births I had incredible endorphin/adrenaline rushes. Such that I wasn't able to sleep for like 2 days afterwards because the energy and glow were so intense.


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## fairymom (Sep 15, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bemommy* 
Yes, I wanted to add that after both my pit births I had incredible endorphin/adrenaline rushes. Such that I wasn't able to sleep for like 2 days afterwards because the energy and glow were so intense.

Wanted to add- Me Too! w/one exception w/#2.


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## Livviesmom0207 (Mar 21, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bemommy* 
Yes, I wanted to add that after both my pit births I had incredible endorphin/adrenaline rushes. Such that I wasn't able to sleep for like 2 days afterwards because the energy and glow were so intense.


Me too. I literally didn't sleep for 3 days afterward. My one and only labor was with pit (high blood pressure induction) and it was INTENSE. It gave me 3.5 minute long ctx that were 15 seconds apart...I did end up with an epi after 6 hours of those ctx (not because they hurt, because there was NO BREAK), but it was a walking epi. I wasn't stuck in bed.

Labor was about 13.5 hours.


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## j_p_i (Sep 9, 2008)

This is a bit dated, but my Mom was induced with pitocen for the births of me and my sister ('81 and '84) and went on to have very successful, otherwise intervention-free births. She said at the time when she had me, after 20 hours of labor she was told she would not progress any more and they gave her pitocen. I was born 1.5 hours later without pain meds. A few years later when she gave birth to my sister - same doctor assumed that she "couldn't" progress past a few centimeters naturally, so she was given pit again with the same outcome. She did go into labor naturally both times - and although some of the reasons why pit is given have changed (this was nearly 30 years ago, so the knowledge of her docs was sort of dated), she regards her births as both being very positive. The pitocen was just sort of an after-thought.

Best wishes!


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## HappyHappyMommy (Mar 9, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sdmoose* 
I'm facing possible induction soon for high blood pressure.

I'm a bit worried this time that I'll be given pit instead of cervadil and be stuck with an IV hooked up and won't be able to get in the tub (I have an OB this time and not a midwife because of insurance issues). Can anyone give me suggestions of how to work through a pitocin labor? Anyone have a good experience with this? I'm just afraid with high blood pressure they will make me lie on my left side the whole time and I won't be able to handle pit contractions....

Hi sdmoose,

I had preeclampsia and I had pitocin induction and a vaginal delivery. I had hoped for no induction, no medications of any kind, lots of movement, use of the tub, and more. As it turned out, not only did I have the pitocin induction (as my blood pressure was getting dangerously high), I was my side for the entire labor since my blood pressure increased every time I sat or stood up and none of us (me, my partner, or our awesome OB) wanted to increase the risk to either my baby or me). I used hypnobirthing techniques as well as other relaxation techniques and my partner was super helpful talking calmly and encouragingly during each contraction and I found focusing on his voice very helpful. I did choose to have an epidural about 14 hours into labor (total labor was about 18 hours). I still had a fairly significant amount of sensation with the epidural (which was what I hoped for) including feeling all of the contractions, etc. I didn't push (and wasn't encouraged to) until I felt the urge to push, which I was glad for.

Though it wasn't the birth that I thought I'd have when we wrote our birth plan, it was a great birth and my daughter was born happy and healthy and wonderful and I realized that I was the birth I wanted. I realized that, for me, all of the specifics I had hoped for weren't nearly as important as the health of my baby and myself and the powerful and moving connection between my partner and I as we brought this child from my body into the world. And we had all of that.

I hope you have a wonderful birth!


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## MamaMonica (Sep 22, 2002)

Since this is more about birth than pregnancyy, I'm moving it to Birth and Beyond


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## amandaleigh37 (Jul 13, 2006)

I was induced with pit for my son's birth. It was a very fast labor, only 2 hours, and I didn't have any pain medication. The contractions were so intense and no break inbetween - it was like 2 hours of one big contraction. I remember sitting in the bed saying "so when is this stuff going to kick in?" and then it did. Out of nowhere. And didn't stop.

And my experience wasn't very pleasant. I did have to stay in bed, with monitors (ugh) and all I wanted to do was MOVE around. Thankfully it wasn't very long, because I could not have handled it much longer without something for the pain.

Good luck!


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## spmamma (Sep 2, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bemommy* 
Yes, I wanted to add that after both my pit births I had incredible endorphin/adrenaline rushes. Such that I wasn't able to sleep for like 2 days afterwards because the energy and glow were so intense.

I was induced last time around and I felt like a super hero after giving birth!

My experience with pitocin was a good one. I didn't use any pain meds and opted out of an epidural. There was pain, make no mistake, but really the worst of it was transition. Pushing actually felt good after going through transition! In the end, I was so proud of myself for making it through without any pain meds. I still consider it to be a natural birth, even though I know not everyone considers it to be one.


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## monkaha (Jan 22, 2004)

I was induced or augmented each time with pit. I will say that having a doula the third time was what made it possible to labor and birth with no pain meds. Pit is intense, but with support is managable. Another thing that really helped was a concious effort on my part to not fear the pit. With DS1, I was very afraid to have the pit, in fact requested that the epidural be started before the pit. They wouldn't do that though, and the fear made the contractions more intense and unbearable. The fact that I was basically alone didn't help either.

You can do it! And you know, even if you need pain meds, you can still have a beautiful birth! Good luck, and happy birthing!


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## triscuitsmom (Jan 11, 2007)

I have had two labours where my contractions started by induction... The first was a cervadil induction which worked without any pitocin.

The second my water broke and I didn't start having contractions so I was not a candidate for cervadil because of ruptured membranes and went onto pitocin from the start. I started having contractions fairly soon after it was started and spent the next 18 hours in labour... the last 15 minutes I went from 4cm to baby in my arms (I caught him














No epidural, no narcotics, not even any laughing gas... the only thing that went into the two of us was the pitocin in my IV.

You can definitely do it. With my first I was in labour for 47 hours and after throwing up continuously for many hours and my labour stalling (but still having contraction, just no dilation) I got an epidural. This time I didn't even feel it was all that painful. Certainly nothing I couldn't handle with my labour support and with focusing on the work the baby and I were doing together. And I was definitely on a high afterwords too









Good luck Mama


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## sdmoose (Feb 1, 2006)

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement. It really helped knowing others did pit without pain meds.

He's here! I'm still processing the whole experience, but the quick story (can I make it quick?) is that by the time I was started for induction my labs showed that I was pre-eclamptic in addition to the high blood pressure. Not what I was prepared for! This meant I had to on magnesium sulfate (has some yucky side effects) for seizure prevention and not allowed to move around and use tub as I had hoped. That was a big shock to me and took some mental adjustment. I did cry a bit when I agreed to get the mag. The doc was very understanding, talked to me about the grief we all feel when plans change, etc. He did all this while respecting my need to have the lights off..which for some reason really touched me.

Fortunately the nurse I got in the afternoon was wonderful...calm, professional, supportive of my hopes to make this as "natural" as possible. Since I was hooked up to IVs, monitor, and mostly confined to bed except for bathroom breaks we had to be creative. I started pitocin in the early afternoon and it was very tolerable for me. It got me to 5cm. Then we decided to break my water and what a difference in contractions! Yikes! Much different than my experience with my older son where my water broke just before full dilation and while I was in the tub. We found a position where I could be on knees and hands with knees lower and basically smashing my face into the bed! I quickly realized I needed counter pressure on my back with every contraction and my husband was awesome. I have bruises to show it! This was the only way I got through the experience. I labored like that from 7:30-9pm and then felt like I had to push...sure enough I was fully dilated and with 15 minutes of pushing baby Max was born! He is perfect...weighing in at a whopping 6lbs 7 oz, a 1/2 lb bigger than his brother was! No narcotics...wow. That was intense.

I had to be on the mag sulfate for 24 hrs after that which was probably the hardest part of the experience as I couldn't sleep with it going and had some weird sensations with it and still mostly bedrest except for bathroom. They kept me a little longer because blood pressures were still quite high.

I hate the post-labor processing period...this time I'm second guessing a lot about the time of induction. Wishing I had gone in earlier for induction...even just 12 hours earlier and maybe I could have caught things before protein started spilling and I could have avoided magnesium drip.

In the end I am, of course, thankful that baby and I are ok and pleased that we had vaginal delivery, and I did it without narcotics. Glad to be home now.....


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## Veritaserum (Apr 24, 2004)

Congratulations! I'm glad your doc and nurse were sensitive to your feelings and needs.


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## kltroy (Sep 30, 2006)

Wow congratulations! It sounds like it ended up being a great birth and that the hospital staff was really respectful and that the decisions were YOURS. That make such a difference, doesn't it? I'm so glad everyone is healthy!


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## monkaha (Jan 22, 2004)

Congrats!!


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## Girlprof (Jun 11, 2007)

Congratulations!! That's wonderful news! I had my second with a pit induction w/o pain meds for similar reasons though I never ended up pre-eclamptic. Just very very high blood pressure that kept me from moving around during labor. I had some of your feelings of grief, etc. I cried when they put the IV in.

Most of this has faded with time. You are SUPER WOMAN to have done what you just did and you have a beautiful baby to enjoy.

Be gentle with yourself. You made excellent choices under difficult circumstances and you and baby are both safe and sound. Rather than chide yourself for not going in 12 hours earlier, how about crediting yourself for not going in 12 hours later? You did so very well to make these hard decisions before things got even harder than they were already.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Congrats!!


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## PoppyMama (Jul 1, 2004)

Congratulations! I'm glad it went so well for you







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## HappyHappyMommy (Mar 9, 2009)

Congratulations! I'm very happy to hear that you and your son are doing well!


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## TzippityDoulah (Jun 29, 2005)

SDmoose-

so happy for you and your baby! congratulations!

and please don't start beating yourself up thinking about the what ifs... there is NO way to possible know with the what ifs of situations. b/c that isn't what happened. it'll just drive you mad!


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