My induction story

It was a sunny Saturday morning in May 2018. I was 35 weeks pregnant, about to head to my first National Childbirth Trust (NCT) class, when I felt a huge gush of fluid. I thought, I’ve finally wet myself. But no, my waters had broken prematurely – a situation called PPROM (preterm pre-labour rupture of membranes). I hadn’t even read much about this possibility before, and honestly, I wasn’t quite prepared.

We went straight to the hospital where a doctor confirmed my waters were broken, but the baby seemed fine. The plan was expectant management for 12 hours, waiting to see if labour would start naturally. If not, I’d be induced.

The most intense part for me was the pessary – a small hormone-releasing device inserted vaginally to kick-start contractions. For me – and please read here that many women I speak to do not have this experience – it was painful and invasive, and no one had prepared me for how it would feel. Maybe I was just unlucky on that one. 

My husband, advised to go home and rest, wasn’t there for the induction. Looking back, this is one thing I’d absolutely change (although I know a lot of the time you’re in a shifting queue for induction, so maybe best to have your partner asleep, but nearby!)

For me, contractions started about 45 minutes after insertion and quickly intensified. 

From the point of induction, my labour lasted 14.5 hours. Despite the premature start, the labour went smoothly, and though I had an episiotomy in the final pushing stage, I was able to deliver vaginally, using gas and air but no epidural. My midwives at The Whittington Hospital, London, were incredible throughout.

I did feel, almost constantly throughout that first birth, that my body was trying to catch up with the 0-100 rocketing of absolutely nothing to active labour. And, that the induction had sort of rushed me forward, right up to the pushing stage. That episiotomy almost felt inevitable, to me – I might have been fully dilated, but my body simply wasn’t open and ready enough to push my baby out. 

That’s my feeling, anyway – and I’ve learned from pregnancy, birth  and parenting to trust those instincts. So there you go. 

Two years later, I had my second baby at term – a water birth with no induction, lasting 3.5 hours. Both births were intense and hard, but very different. On paper, the induction birth was actually ‘better’ – despite my second birth being super fast, a water birth and all the things. 

I think it just felt calmer, and everyone communicated with me really brilliantly. That’s another top tip – ask all your questions and ensure you feel informed every step of the way. Confusion leads to fear, and fear is stressful. And stress, in labour, can be a real road block.