Pepper Mill’s labor was induced. She was retaining so much weater that her fingers and toes were painfully distended. Because of that, she couldn’t drive anymore, and was afraid she was going to dislocate something. She was past the predicted due date anyway, and when the doctor suggested “Thursday” for delivery she jumped at the chance.
They used Pitocin, and it went easily and smoothly.
Hey OAOW! In case you’re feeling really manly, I read somewhere that sex can help things along - the semen has the same effect on the cervix as the gel everyone’s mentioned, and it’s definitely a more natural approach. Worth a try! 
I imagine it depends on whether your body is going into labor as a result of other things… e.g. the p-gel might get contractions started enough on its own.
When Dweezilwas born, my water had broken on its own (while I was on the potty, fortunately, as there was quite a lot of it!) and 12 hours later I had not gone into labor, so pitocin was called for. Had an idiot doctor who insisted on avoiding the p-gel (some think it’s contraindicated in asthmathics, others think it’s fine) so I had nothing but pitocin. Which was thoroughly unpleasant.
Yeah, the labor was hard. I finally broke down and got an epidural… which didn’t work. (my c-section with my second kid, the epidural didn’t work quite well enough either… and it was less painful than the induced labor with kid#1).
Actually, I WASN’T in labor that had stalled. Beats me - I wasn’t happy with that OB/Gyn ant ALL for several reasons - but that’s a whole other story.
How long ago was this. (Or how old was your doctor?) I should have been more clear that breaking your bag was indeed something they used to do to try and get labor started, but they don’t anymore. Some doctors may still use the technique in stalled labor, but even that’s going out of fashion.
[hijack] Did anyone else catch the article a couple of weeks ago that found only like a 15 minute decrease in labor and delivery times when a woman pushes? That’s right, apparently, most women could simply not push at all, and the baby will find its way out anyway with the help of only her contractions. How weird is that? Just goes to show that a lot of the things we take as True and Right about childbirth are simply fashions of the day. Our daughters may be aghast at our stories of pushing for hours, because their doctors will tell them women don’t need to push at all! [/hijack]
[anecdotal story]
My mother always said, “Push? PUSH?! My babies always shot out of there like they were jet propelled!” [/anecdote]
??? Who was the ‘non-pushing’ comparative group in this study? I would find it harder in a way not to push. It is such an overwhelming urge, you would have to actively fight not to do it. I just assumed it was a natural way of getting baby out. Pushing isn’t a ‘new’ technique at all, is it?
I didn’t have pitocin until after an epidural so I can’t weigh in on whether it made things more painful, but it did speed them up.
On the subject of pushing – it was 30+ years ago, but when I was birthin’ babies, I was told there was no point at all in pushing until the very final stage of labor, as in the last few minutes.
Somebody up-thread said something about so-called “dry” deliveries, when the water is broken early on, being harder. In my Lamaze class, they told me the body keeps exuding more fluid anyway, so it makes no difference.
My experience of labor immediately before and immediately after my water broke says otherwise. Sure, fluid keeps coming out, but it’s not having the same “cushioning” effect. Imagine pressing on a water balloon, and then imagine pressing on a balloon that’s got a hole in it where you keep sending water in the top and through the hole. You’re going to have a very different resilience between the two.
On the pushing study, the difference wasn’t between pushing and no pushing, it was between coaching women to push and just letting them push when they felt like they needed to. It also didn’t study women with epidurals (who may not be able to feel the need to push, although I don’t think that’s proven yet, either).
Ah, found it. I was a bit off. What they were studying is the difference between *coached *pushing and “doing what comes naturally”. The difference was 13 minutes less labor and a higher risk of incontinence:
16 years ago, and he was in his forties???
One big problem I had with him involved pushing - he and his nurse got into a loud argument during my labor - he was telling me to push, she was saying it was too soon. My son was blue for the first few days - all from bruising. 
With my first baby my labor was induced with IV pitocin because my water broke (a small leak) and my labor didn’t start within a few hours. I got a lovely epidural that completely relieved my pain, yet I did feel the urge to push and I was able to push with no problems.
My water also broke (quite spectacularly this time) with the second baby, and my labor still didn’t begin, so they induced me again. It makes me wonder if I would have ever begun labor on my own. Although I had sons, I suppose I am still passing on the genes for not-going-into-labor-in-a-timely-manner.
That makes more sense. My doctor must be rather progressive then, she let me tell her when I felt the need to push, although she did raise her eyebrows at me when I kept silent during a few ‘pushing contractions’ but I just wanted a break, ok? 
They did coach me to push harder at times, or longer, but didn’t make me push when I didn’t want to (well, until the end when I was ready to give up on the whole deal, but someone had to be firm with me!)
I had an epidural but could still feel when to push.
I was induced for my last two babies, and it worked pretty well for me. I went into labor naturally with my first, and I didn’t notice any difference in the intensity of contractions between that labor and the next two.
For Baby #2, we were at 43 weeks, so getting down to the wire. Baby had dropped, vertex, but after 4 weeks of sporadic contractions, nothing. Induction was Cervadil, which is a little string-like thing applied to the cervix, for 12 hours, and then Pitocin. Labor was a piece of cake, and he popped out after six pushes. (That was my largest baby.)
Baby #3, only three months ago, wasn’t growing very well and was breech, so we opted to get him out the day before my due date, the moment we saw that he turned vertex. (My wonderful OB was more than willing to do a breech vaginal delivery, and even said that she is absolutely opposed to doing a C-section just for breech on a third-time mother. Her malpractice insurance company disagrees with her, and she tells them to stuff it.) But he looked bad on the non-stress tests, and other ultrasounds indicated that he just wasn’t thriving in there, and he kept flipping from breech to transverse. For that induction, my OB broke my water (minor ouch, because I was already uncomfortable), and then gave me Pitocin. I got an epidural an hour or so later, because the anesthesiologist happened to be on that floor of the hospital, and then I took a nap while my husband went out to have lunch. When I woke up, I yelled for the nurse to tell her my epidural had worn off, and was already pushing when my OB rushed into the room. Easiest delivery ever, about four minutes from the first push to holding my baby. Recovery was easy also; two days after, I didn’t even feel like I’d given birth. (Second largest baby I’ve had.)
I admit, I had epidurals with all three, but at different stages of labor. Middle with the first, late with the second, and early with the third. Perhaps I’m the freak, but I found the induced labors to be easier, as I knew more of what to expect (“Ok, we’re administering the Pitocin now…” means expect fairly regular and strong contractions) instead of “Holy shit, my water just broke! Now what?” I felt more prepared with the inductions, but then again, my first was, well, my first, and I had no idea what to expect.
Ok, that post was far longer and more detailed than I intended, but if it reassures anyone, inductions aren’t always horrible.
Kayleigh Louise was born this morning at 4:15 am BST. She weighed in at 7lb 8oz and Mother and baby are doing well.
Congratulations on your daughter!
I just wanted to add that in electromagnetics, induction is where you run energy through a loop that causes the energy be thrown off–which can then be picked up by another bit of hardware. So you can, for instance, power something through induction (i.e. no touching parts.)
Thus your thread title keeps making me have this image of a pregnant lady standing there willing herself to broadcast “pregnancy waves” for the other women to pick up and become impregnated as well.
Is that how they do it these days!? :eek: 
CONGRATULATIONS!
It’s good to hear that everything went well. Now, you must give us pictures!
Congratulations!!!
(You should start a new thread so everyone can share your news - many might not wade through the induction horror stories to get to your post).
Send pics when you can!