Anyone get induced with Cervidil?

[L'sMommy]

I'm 39 weeks and my doctor wants to start an induction on Sunday night (2 days before my due date). I'm supposed to go in Sunday night to get cervidil and then they will start pitocin on Monday morning. They want the baby out by his due date because I have a blood clotting condition they have been monitoring (although it wasn't exactly explained to me exactly why my condition calls for him to be out by his due date). If you have experience with cervidil, can you tell me what to expect in the hospital? The doctor said they will let me eat because it can make you nauseous. Will they let me drink water, will I have an IV, and also do they use a catheter because I go to the bathroom all the time now? Any advice/feedback will be appreciated. I'm having second thoughts about this whole induction.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I haven't btdt. But, when I hosted a labor board i got people to share their experiences and I had a few L&D nurses chime in on what to expect so I have a bit of second hand info to share. I have the cervidl through pitocin/ arom:
Once the Cervidil is placed then they will require external fetal monitoring for 1-2 continuous hours. This may or may not require you staying in bed.

After this initial monitoring they may let you go home is all is well. If baby or mom to have a bad reaction to the prostaglandin gel then it usually happens in the first 1-2 hours. It is generally considered safe to go off of the monitor and go home to await labor (assuming mom and baby are healthy). I would say that about 50% of moms are given the opportunity to go home.

Less than 20-40% of the time Cervidil alone is enough to push mom into labor. It may cause cramping but not active labor. Some women complain that the waiting is the hardest part. The drug is usually kept in place for 8-12 hours. If the cervidil alone starts labor it can be a very fast and intense experience.

Once the first dose of Cervidil is done then things are reassessed. If things have become more favorable then they will start Pitocin in the morning. You may be given a "break" following the Cervidil in which to walk around and eat. If the initial dose of Cervidil wasn't enough then they may apply another course of it. You can request repeated applications if you would rather avoid Pitocin.

If they start the Pitocin then they usually start it at the lowest possible dose. It will be increased preferably every 30 minutes until a good labor pattern is established. You will most likely be required to have continuous external monitoring but you should not be restricted to the bed. Move within the confines of the tethers or ask for a telemetry monitor (some hospitals have them).

Once labor is active and established you can request that the Pitocin be turned off so as to allow your body to labor under its own oxytocin. If labor stalls then you can try nipple stimulation, walking, relaxing in a tub, or position change before having the Pitocin turned back on.

Many Dr.s will want to break your water at some point. They either do this at a predetermined time (right before their lunch hour) or when you hit a certain dilation. Read over the risks of AROM. It may very well not be in your best interest to have this done as a matter of routine.

No IV should be required for this type of induction but they will most likely want to do one anyway (as a matter of routine and/ or because of your condition).

Of the induction methods Cervidil is one of the best, imo. It can be pulled out if you or baby starts to have a bad reaction. If it does start labor then you can skip over the pitocin.

I think if you have lingering concerns over the induction- like why it needs to be done now- you should call and ask. have all the facts on hand so you can make an informed decision that you feel comfortable with. Personally. I would call and ask anyway just because I would want to know exactly what is being done to my body and what the options were.

Best of luck!! I hope you get some good first hand experiences!
Beth

[elliput]

Starting with Cervidil is pretty standard. It is basically a pill that is inserted close or on your cervix and accelerates the ripening process. You should be allowed to get up and move around unless you need to be constantly monitored for some reason. An IV is pretty standard, and I was allowed water and ice during the time Cervidil was being tried (and probably food too, I can't remember now it was 4 years ago). I did not have a catheter inserted until after the pitocin was started and the monitors were changed from external to internal.

My experience with induction was not is considered average (30 hours from start to actual delivery). I was induced early due to pre-e, and ended up seeing all the bells and whistles involved with inductions and labor. Constant BP checks, IV, epidural, internal monitors, catheter, oxygen masks- if there was something they could hook me up to I got it! LOL!

My best wishes that you don't need anything more than the Cervidil.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Starting with Cervidil is pretty standard. It is basically a pill that is inserted close or on your cervix and accelerates the ripening process. Y

The pill is actually a drug called cytotec (misoprostil). Cervidil comes in the form of like a shoelace and is inserted. It has the medicine on the suppository. Cervidil is a much nicer, gentler, safer drug than cytotec for both mom and baby. Cytotec does work pretty well but the potential side effects are starting to keep more and more Dr.s away from it.

I forgot the catheter question; it shouldn't be an issue. If they don't want you getting up they would do a bed pan. But, you should be able to get up. The catheter would be a consideration if you had an epidural and couldn't feel the urge to go, not just because you couldn't get up to go.

Beth

[JBaxter]

I was induced the Jack in october. I went in the night before and they placed the cervidil. I requested no IV I did have a heplock placed ( port of the IV to get plugged in to. I also refused a cath ( no need) I did have to stay in bed or the rocking chair for the external monitoring. I simply rang the nurse when I wanted to go pee. I wasnt supposed to but I took my own snacks they brought me juice, soda ( gingerale) water and snow cones as I requested.

I was induced with Nathan and I learned I have LONG inductions and dont want IV fluids running for that long. I simply said NO as to the cath ( I had one once and ended up with a UTI) there is no reason they cant unhook the monitor and let you go pee .

Ask why the IV, Why the cath. IME they were unneeded. As long as you keep hydrated you dont need IV fluids. I have had 4 epidurals ( ok 5 but one didnt work) and never had a cath placed. Its amazing what you can say no to and they listen just be firm. Sometimes they do procedures because its easier for the nurses you have to advocate for yourself.
Now when/ if they start pitocin you will need some IV fluid or if you want an epidural you need 1 bag onboard before you can get one started but for me that was 24hrs after I was admitted.
my timeline was... sunday evening 7:00 placed cervidil , monday morning 730 broke my water , monday 130 started pitocin started IV fluids sometime after that epidural at 530 ( wore off at 6:00) delivered Jack at 8:30 all 10lbs & 22 3/4 in of him with 3 pushs

[LarsMal]

I was "induced" with DS as 38 weeks. I guess it was more that I was helped along. My fluids were a little low, and I was starting to have contractions. It was a Friday, so the OB on-call decided to admit me that night b/c I'd be back in over the weekend anyway, and he didn't like that my fluids were low.

I was admitted around 6:00 and given Cervadil around 7:30. I was on monitors the whole time- not allowed to get up and walk around. I was still able to use the bathroom on my own (it's like have a tampon in). I made the excuse the I had to pee all the time just so I could get up and move!

I was having contractions the whole time, but no drugs at that point. The Cervadil was supposed to come out 12 hours later, but I don't think they took it out until 9:00. I was supposed to get petocin right after, but that didn't happen for several more hours. Again, contractions the whole time, not able to get up and walk around- SUCKED!!!

I wasn't given my epidural or petocin until after noon, maybe even closer to 2. My epidural didn't really work- I was never even given a catheter. Once the petocin kicked in, around 4:00, I was ready to push and DS was out in 15 minutes.

I don't think the Cervadil ended up doing much for me in the end. I can't remember it working in the time I had it in.

GL!

ETA: I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything once I was admitted- cervadil or not.

[elephantmeg]

yes, pretty much the same as you but was 41 wks with low amniotic fluid. Started cervidil Sun night (we ate supper and went in afterwards). We took our laptop and watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" for the period where I had to be on the monitor. Then we walked some, took a sleeping pill and then contractions woke me up about 3 am. Had toast for breakfast (all they would let me have), took a shower, started pitocin 8ish. Labored all day, all evening. Had a c-section at 10:30 pm after not getting past 5 cm. But let me state that no one in my family has had vaginal births-since my grandmothers. My husband's cousin has had 3 cervidil inductions, pitocin started at 8 am, baby out at 3 pm. So YMMV. Good luck to you!

[MamaKath]

I had Cervadil. They allowed me to choose a heplock that night. Water and food no (I went in around 9). I did sneak food in, they were mad since it can mess with being knocked out for a c-section. No cath that night. Pretty lousy nights sleep though, hospitals are just not good for sleeping. Oh and the room they had me in was not the nice Labor and Delivery Room. It was a regular hospital room with a teenage roommate and her boyfriend going through the same thing. They talked all night (just added to the lovely hospital sounds, ugh)! DH went home and slept, returned in the AM for the pitocin. The pitocin was what got things going....

GL and hope it is a quick and easy labor!

[clc053103]

I was 37 weeks, preeclamptic, and they attempted to induce with cervidil- inserted wed night at 10- new one every 12 hours until 10 am Friday when NOTHING had happened, and I was sent home for the weekend. When I came back Tuesday my amniotic fluid was so low they ordered cervidil again but before it came up from the pharmacy, DS's heart rate dropped twice so badly that I ended up with an emergency C section.

While I was on the Cervidil, I ate pretty much normally I remember, did not have catheter, but I was hooked up to the fetal monitor 24/7.

[mrshalco]

I'm actually going in NEXT sunday for this. So I don't know first hand yet, I can tell you what I remember from the doctor. I will be going in on Sunday and getting the Cervidil placed. I will not need to be monitored - that I will be able to leave the hospital and get dinner or go somewhere close by and then return to be checked in 4 hours. If things seem to be working - I was told I could then go home until the next day. If they aren't working - I will get another cervidil and wait again another 4 hours. She said they can do that for 12 hours so I'm assuming that I can get 3 doses of cervidil to get things going. Since she told me we could go out to a restaurant - I'm assuming there is no monitoring with this.

Good luck on Friday - I'll be curious to hear how it went for you!