How much worse is petocin?

[Anonymous]

Morning --

I'm going to be induced next Thursday most likely (baby does not seem inclined to move on). I'm 3 cm dilated already, which they said may make the induction process a bit easier, but I am still concerned that pitocin contractions will be so much worse than non-induced contractions that I'll be heading for an epidural and/or C-section almost automatically. Has anyone received pitocin and managed to avoid both epi and c-section (or at least the latter)? Any tips? Are all doses of pitocin the same or do they start you off very light? How soon after you receive the pitocin do you start getting contractions? Is it that the contractions are faster? Stronger? Last longer? Or is it that the cervic just acts like a brick wall since it wasn't really ready anyway?

I'm going to be doing a lot of last minute walking and spicy food eating this weekend and meeting with the accupuncturist on Tuesday, but at this point, I'm pretty resigned that Thursday will be the day and would appreciate any advice!

[Anonymous]

I labored on pitocin for 12 hours without an epi - because I was starting out completely not dilated or effaced and wanted to avoid a C-section. Got an epi after 12 hours of contractions every 2-3 minutes because I needed to rest. Labored 8 more hours with the epi, resting, then pushed for 2 hours and delivered db vaginally.

Tips:

1. Keep the room darkened and calm - and your door shut, if you want.
2. Talk with your doctor about giving orders that allow you to move around and only be stationary periodically for regular readings of the fetal monitor. You will be put on a fetal monitor automatically when induced - and when you move, it dislodges it and drives the interns/residents and labor nurses nuts - but if your doctor orders that you are allowed to walk, etc., and only have the monitor reattached at regular intervals, they will have to deal with it.
3. Get a doula who will be stay with you throughout the process and be your advocate and help keep you calm and focused. Doctors usually don't stay for labor - they will often come for the beginning, then leave, then return just prior to crowning, depending on the OB - so clarify your OB's routine so you won't freak out if your alone - hence the doula recommendation. Partners are usually freaked out themselves and even having a lot of knowledge or even experience with birth won't necessarily help keep you calm that much once labor starts.
4. Be open to an epi if necessary - but try to labor without it as long as you can to reduce the likelihood of the C-section.
5. Think about contractions as "intensity" rather than "pain" - and ask your doula and partner not to use the pain word either. It's a small thing, but it can help. Contractions are pain with a purpose and very different, in my opinion, than regular pain. But they are intense.
6. Remember that YOU are in control of the decisions - ALL of the decisions that are made. You have the right to refuse or request ANYTHING during the process. The nurses will follow: first, your doctor's orders, and, second, hospital policy. But you, your partner and doula can do what you want, despite how it can feel once you put that gown on.
7. Talk to your doctor in advance about how long you will be "allowed" to labor without proceeding to a C-section - and what the decision-making tree is. Some doctors have set amounts of time that they are comfortable with women laboring, but - really - a C-section is only necessary when there is evidence of medically-significant fetal distress (some distress is normal as a result of the intensity of labor for db too) or maternal conditions that indicate it (blood pressure, etc.). Fwiw, my labor was almost 36 hours from insertion of the Cervadil to delivery - but I had a midwife and they tend to be more comfortable with more extended labors. So clarify your expectations with your doctor.
8. If you want to feel your contractions at the end (to allow you to push consciously), then make sure your doctor knows that.
8. Read some Ina Mae Gaskin books about childbirth ahead of time - just to keep you focused about what labor and delivery are really all about.

Good luck and best wishes to you and db!

[Anonymous]

8:33 again.

Forgot to answer your original questions. I don't have experience with non-pitocin contractions to compare my labor to, but I know that my contractions started almost immediately upon the beginning of the pitocin and were every 2-3 minutes - and sometimes closer together - from there. One difference is that they are more close together, without the somewhat longer rest periods that early labor in particular usually has. They are also more intense according to almost everyone. Your OB likely has a pitocin protocol of some kind that they follow - so ask your OB about that, in terms of does she/he build up gradually, etc. There definitely are ranges of amounts - my midwife kept ratcheting mine up over and over again. I know that from watching her and her interactions with the L&D nurses - and from the changes in the contractions that resulted.

Breathe, breathe, breathe - and stay in the moment. Don't have *anyone* in the room with you that you feel like *you* have to take care of emotionally, if you know what I mean And, make sure too to visualize a couple of new and different "ideal" birth scenarios so that you come out of your experience feeling successful, as you will deserve to no matter what.

And, again, consider a doula (I didn't get one - thinking I knew enough to get through it on my own just with my partner - but would if I were doing it over again, hence my emphasis)...there is one period in labor in which feelings of panic are totally normal. That period is transition and means you're almost there and ready to push. But that's the time that most women will beg for an epi or (as I almost did) beg to be cut open to remove the baby. So it helps to have someone there to soothe you and keep you focused.

[Anonymous]

Petocin's pain is not worse than normal labor. Let me explain something:
The reason petocin hs a bad reputation is bc it is false labor and comes in full force with no ramp up time to get used to the contractions. With normal labor - the contractions start off mild and progressively get stronger and stronger. With petocin it starts strong therefore feels more painful.
One word of advice - ask for the epidural even if you feel no pain bc you WILL feel pain regardless of petocin or not at some point and you dont want to wait to long and it is too late.
I have 2 kids that were induced with petocin and had great natural deliveries with both. Good Luck.

[Anonymous]

I've had pitocin twice. Both times I was contracting before I was given pitocin, but I couldn't feel them. After I started getting pitocin, I felt them within 5 minutes.

With my first son, I wasn't dilated at all. I got the epidural after 2 hours and had my son 9 hours later.

With my second son, I went in for my 39 week check up. The doctor did an internal exam and told me she was shaking the baby's hand. I was dilated 5 cm. I got the epidural after an hour and had my son 2 hours later.

I'd have to say that I had good experiences both times. Even though the first took a lot longer than the second, I'd also say that both labors were pretty easy. With my first, the epi made me very sleepy, so I was knocked out pretty much until it was time to push. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Because you are 3 cm already your induction will probably be successful (meaning it will most likely not lead to a cesarean).

I would also say that you have a pretty good chance of going into labor on your own before Thursday (you have an entire week!), especially if you are willing to try some natural methods to get things moving - which it sounds like you are. Acupuncture, castor oil, sex w/orgasm, walking, etc. can all help get labor moving and is more likely to work because you are already 3cm.

If you do wind up on pitocin, it might hurt worse but not necessarily. Some women labor for a long time on it with no epidural. It just depends on how easily your body handles it.

[Anonymous]

I've had experience with and without pitocin. Contractions with Pitocin were not hard at first. I remember the doctor asking on a pain scale of 1-10 (10 being worst) how were the contractions - I recalling saying 2 or 3. After a few hours of that, they broke my water - that's when the contractions were rough! But I had short labor, so I was lucky. No pain meds (although if I had to do that for hours, I would have absolutely considered it!).

Second child no Pitocin. The hard labor (I'm sure there's a technical term - is it "transition"?) was not nearly as rough as it was with the Pitocin. I had another short labor with no pain meds.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Petocin's pain is not worse than normal labor. Let me explain something:
The reason petocin hs a bad reputation is bc it is false labor and comes in full force with no ramp up time to get used to the contractions. With normal labor - the contractions start off mild and progressively get stronger and stronger. With petocin it starts strong therefore feels more painful.
One word of advice - ask for the epidural even if you feel no pain bc you WILL feel pain regardless of petocin or not at some point and you dont want to wait to long and it is too late.
I have 2 kids that were induced with petocin and had great natural deliveries with both. Good Luck.

Actually, pitocin pain is worse than normal labor. Several reasons I know of: 1) when your body normally goes into labor and releases oxytocin, your body also releases endorphins, natural pain killers. Synthetic oxytocin or pitocin does not. 2) In normal labor your body builds up to the intense, fast contractions--usually closer to what is called the transition phase of labor. With pitocin, even though your dose should be gradually increased, the contractions are much closer together and more intense and stay that way or even increase.

While some OBs will tell you that "all labor hurts", most will admit that a pitocin labor is much more difficult and the pains much more intense.

I labored for 18 hours or so without meds on Pitocin and can tell you it was the STUPIDEST thing I have ever done. I have an extremely high pain tolerance but was so exhausted by time I finally asked for an epi, that it then took me a long time to push the baby out.

Of course, everyone is different and since you are already at 3cm, your body make take over with just a bit of pitocin and you won't have a long labor. Otherwise, I recommend getting an epidural so you can rest to push the baby out, especially if this is your first--it typically takes alot more time to push with your first baby. Also, when you are 9 cm, I recommend letting the epi wear off, so you can feel to push.

Finally, I read on this board all the time about how long it takes to get an epidural---I suppose it depends on where you deliver. I delivered at Sibley and the anesthesiologist was there in 5 minutes of my asking and I had relief in 7 minutes from his getting there. I have never heard anyone having to wait long to get an epi there. So, you might ask your doctor about the wait time where you are delivering.

[Anonymous]

I was induced and had an epi and had a vaginal delivery. I don't have any basis for comparison but the contractions seem to come on fast and furious! I was ok for eight hours or so and then needed the epi. I asked for it and the doctor came within five minutes and I had relief in 10. I delivered at Sibley. The main issue I saw with the induction was that including the Cervadil insertion, the whole experience took about 24 hours. I was not able to eat and sleeping was pretty tough with the monitors, nurses checking me, anxiety, etc. So I needed the epi as I was just too tired to deal with the pain. My OB never suggested a C section. I pushed for three long hours but it wasn't awful until the last hour...but even that went by fast. As soon as the baby is born, I was fine! Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

I started on pit at 10am and didnt feel any contractions (despite seeing them on the monitor) until 4pm when my water broke. I got an epi shortly after and had a vaginal delivery at midnight. It was not ideal, but certainly not awful.

As far as not having an api w/ pitocin, I got an epi but it didnt work, so not that I have a basis of comparison, but I pretty much felt everything (legs werent even numb) and it hurts but I survived and forgot long enough to get preg with #2

[Anonymous]

I had an epidural early on, but it wore off for about two hours so I was feeling contractions when I was 4-5 cm dilated. (we had the anesthesiologist do another spinal.) My labor progressed really slowly - I was only 1 cm dilated when I went to the hospital after my water broke - and I was finally given Pitocin to try to speed things up so I wouldn't have to have a C-section. It did make the contractions more intense, but to be fair, the contractions might have gotten more intense as I got more dilated anyway. Pitocin really didn't speed things up that much, though - my labor still lasted 26 hours before the pushing stage. (Note: going to sleep when I was 6 cm dilated really seemed to help - my labor progressed 4 cm in 2 hours, vs. the 1 cm every 4 hours before that.)

By the way, I personally feel that unless you are dead-set against it, epidural is a very, very good thing. I still had no problem pushing, and my baby didn't seem especially groggy. I don't see the point in having *more* pain than necessary - you're already a hero for carrying the baby 9 months and then having it by whatever means are necessary. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I was on pitocin and did end up with a c-section. However, I don't think pitocin was the primary reason at all. My baby was malpositioned and could not descend (I pushed for 2 hours). In my case, I needed pitocin since my water had broken spontaneously but no natural contractions followed. Once I got the pit, the contractions started almost immediately and were very painful right from the start (part of that may also have had to do with the fact that I no longer had any amniotic fluid, supposedly it cushions and makes the contractions more bearable). I got the epidural pretty early on (but I wasn't planning on a natural birth, so it was fine with me). Since my water had been broken, they wouldn't let me out of bed (which also could've contributed to the malpositioning).

[Anonymous]

my water broke but i was not dilated so i had pitocin and started labor within two hours i think. it did get fairly intense and i got an epi after 2-3 hours. after i got the epi i started to dilate. one word on the epi: i got relief only on one side. i had a doula and she told me to ask for a second epi. they said it was very rare for that to happen. i got a second one...it was much better. thought it was smooth sailing until i realized the epi doesn't mean pushing doesn't hurt. ended up pushing for 2 hours+. that was the worst part! if i ever have another child, i do want to ban the phrase "good job" from my delivery room.

[Anonymous]

Two pitocin births here (water broke both times without spontaneous contractions) and two epidurals. I had generally easy births, and I was so relieved to get the epidural; the second time, I actually felt relaxed for the couple of hours between epidural and pushing, which made the pushing phase even easier.

Here's one more thing to consider: Both deliveries, there was a period when my babies' heart rates went way down, and I needed to shift and hold positions to try to get it back up. Likely (per my OB), those declines happened in part because the contractions are so fast and furious that babies get pushed and squeezed harder and more quickly, which can affect heart rate. Without the epidural, those periods would have been unbearable for me -- the pain of those super-intense, super-fast contractions on top of the stress of worrying about the baby's safety -- would have been very, very difficult. Without the pain, I was able to relax a bit and hold the positions as instructed by my OB. (My epidurals were not of the total-deadening variety; I had some sensation in my legs and could hold myself in these positions.)

I guess what I'm saying is, be prepared for anything. And be open to the epidural.

[Anonymous]

Nothing to compare to, but my first delivery was induced with Pitocin and I delivered without an epi or other drugs. I was between 2-3 cm dialated when they induced me 3 wks early. My labor was very fast (less than 1.5 hrs from start of pitocin to delivery of baby!). good luck. walk a lot & have lots of sex between now & your scheduled induction!