My experience with induced labor

My experience with induced labor during the first birth

During my first pregnancy, which was many years ago, there was no information available to me in Arabic like what is provided today by Omooma, including courses, articles, and reliable information. I did not know what awaited me when the moment of birth came, and my naivety, scarcity of information, and the negative experiences I had were the reasons I decided not to get an epidural. I'll tell you later why I regret this decision!

The moment came, and labor began. First, the mucus plug came out, and I started to feel a light pain and cramping that repeated every half hour. I thought I was lucky, as it was not very painful. Then, after two hours, the pain increased in severity, and the contractions began to last longer and began to occur again every quarter of an hour. So we went to the hospital; a quarter of an hour later, I would return home. The midwife examined me and said to me, “Only 3 centimeters! It’s still a long way to go; go home and return when the labor worsens.” I returned home, and after three hours, the pain became unbearable and began recurring every five minutes. So, I went back to the hospital, and the midwife shocked me again: “Still 3 centimeters!” Will I be able to bear more until I reach ten centimeters?!

They admitted me to the maternity ward, and after about an hour of intense pain, my doctor decided that this labor had lasted a long time and that I was suffering a lot because I did not receive an epidural. So, she decided to expedite the matter by giving me an induction! And here, the nightmare began as the pain multiplied tenfold. Because of the severity of the pain, I sometimes thought that I would not survive. But after many hours, my cervix dilated, and I brought my baby girl into this life.

The experience of giving birth without pain relief was an emotional and mental trauma. It was one of the reasons that made me suffer from postpartum depression, and I faced problems with breastfeeding and sleeping, to the point that I thought that I did not want to have children again! But because, as grandmothers say, childbirth is the forgotten hour, I forgot the suffering and repeated the experience.

My experience with induced labor during the second birth

This time, due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to give birth to my child on a specific date, which was my due date. That day, I woke up early, arranged all the necessary preparations, and headed to the hospital to give birth to my baby. Fortunately, I had to have an induced birth because I did not want to feel the pain of a natural birth again.

Indeed, I received the induction through IV. After minutes of bearable pain, I received an epidural, which I consider to this day to be the best invention known to humanity. After the nightmare, pain, and suffering that I went through the first time Because of feeling both natural and induced pain, here I am, watching television and talking to my friends and family while the magic epidural works to relieve my pain.

Here, I realized that the problem the first time was not the induced labor but rather the pain of the induced labor, which could be quickly relieved by resorting to the wondrous epidural.

Induced labor in the last birth

Knowledge and experience are the most essential tools of empowerment for women. Here I am in my third birth, knowing precisely what to expect. This time, I did not want to feel even a few minutes of pain, so I asked for an epidural before the Pitocin dose. Everyone was surprised by this request. They told me that they usually give mothers the shot first and then begin pain relief procedures. But I remained persistent, and the anesthetist actually came and inserted an epidural, and then the gynecologist came and gave me a dose of Pitocin to induce labor. I didn't feel his pain at all this time.

Conclusion,

Giving birth is a beautiful experience, but it is undoubtedly painful, whether the birth is natural or induced. However, labor pain management options, most notably epidurals, have been found to alleviate these pains. Therefore, my dear, do not listen to negative experiences; talk to your doctor and make a birth plan according to the information you collected from reliable sources and what your doctor recommends.