Induction, Two experiences In Two Different Countries

I am not one of those mums who really talks about my birth stories but with a Sister who is ready to drop any time shortly and all our conversations revolving around my new little Nephew,  it has got me thinking about it more recently.

I have two little girls who were both overdue and refusing to budge. As a result I was induced with both of them but this happened in two different Countries and I had two very different experiences. This is not your usual birthing stories with all the glory details, I'm not the sort of person to share all that information. This is more like a comparison of my two experiences.

Poppy was two weeks late when they induced me.  I went to the hospital at 9am and was given the gel. I was told to go home, relax and if anything happened to come back in but if nothing did then I should come in the following morning for  a stronger dose.

I went home, had a relaxing morning taking photos in our garden:

At home after being induced

In the afternoon I started to feel really tired and a bit unwell. I had a rest and actually managed to get some sleep. As the day went on, I continued to feel not quite right and kept getting funny twinges.  We had been going through the whole "am I in labour?" thing every night for the previous two weeks so I wasn't convinced I was.

I went to bed about 11pm but never actually got to sleep.  30 minutes later I was in the bath and during the evening had about three of them. Husband was blissfully unaware and fast asleep.  When not in the bath, I spent most of the night watching TV and bouncing on my birthing ball.  Eventually, at about 2.45am I woke my Husband up and told him I thought it was really happening and that we needed to go to Hospital. He was very good and quickly timed the contractions.  They were coming every three minutes and lasting about two minutes.... I really was in labour! We were slightly panicking as we lived 30 minutes away.

Husband dawdled a bit, he rang the hospital, both our parents and then washed up the dishes before finally leaving the house! We knew we wouldn't be returning for three days because once you have had a baby in Canada they like you to stay 3 days if you have a normal delivery and 5 days if you have a Cesarean section.

We got to the hospital, were whisked through A&E and I was led to the maternity unit. I went into a 2 bed room where they checked me out and told me I was in labour and was going to be admitted.  I was then moved to the delivery room and it was here I was to stay for the next 12 hours. This room had everything you needed including an en-suite shower/ toilet for me and a big comfy leather chair for the husband as well as the baby crib complete with pink sheet because we knew it was a girl. Despite experiencing the most unimaginable pain ever, Poppy arrived into this world healthy and we were the happiest we could be. This photo was taken pretty much straight after the event:

Minutes after poppy was born

I then stayed in the hospital for three days in my own room. During this time Husband did not leave me once. There was pull out bed in the room for him and he just brought a sleeping bag. Under the baby  crib was a cupboard that was full of nappies, wipes, Vaseline, babygrow's and vests. I had taken my own clothes in but it was amazing it was all there for you.  There was a room where we could help ourselves to tea. coffee and fruit juice. New Mums were encouraged to drink plenty of apple juice as its supposed to be good for increasing milk.

On top of this we were taught how to hold, bath and change our baby. Luckily for me Poppy took to breast feeding immediately but there was a feeding specialist who came into check on me and would have offered help and advice if needed. This time in the hospital allowed us all to bond as a family and gain a little confidence before getting set loose in the world with our precious little bundle.

Next came Rosie.  She was induced a week late due to personal circumstances and was born in England.  I had to arrive at the hospital at 9am but was not seen until about 11am. During this time I was in a room with about 10-12 beds.  The staff were all very busy rushing around. I felt a bit like I was on a conveyor belt as everyone was there for the same reason.

Once again I was given the gel but this time I was not allowed to go home. I had to stay in the hospital and would not be allowed home until after the baby was born. To be honest it was only minutes later that I started to feel things happening.  I didn't like it one bit. Husband was in hysterics telling me it couldn't be happening so quickly but the midwife told me I was in labour with very mild contractions....mild? All the memories came flooding back and I was terrified.

After about half an hour I was told to go for a walk around the hospital grounds. Right easier said then done when you are having contractions. Husband wanted some lunch so we went to the restaurant where I almost threw up.  Next we sat outside in the sunshine and tried to relax.



I told the Midwife I really was in pain and needed some drugs. She checked me out and said they could break my waters to speed things up. last time this happened Poppy was born 40 minutes later so I knew it wouldn't be long.

Once my waters broke everything happened really quickly. I cannot explain how much pain I was in all I can say is I thought I was dying last time, this time I knew I was. I kept screaming for drugs and no one was taking me seriously. 23 minutes later much to the surprise of everyone Rosie was born. It was about a minute later when the drugs kicked in!!!

When they plonked her on my tummy all I could say was "its a baby" I was completely traumatised.

One traumatised Rosie with Daddy. I was not fit to be seen

About 20 minutes later I was moved to another room where there were 8 beds. At this point there was only us but women were wheeled in all night. Husband had to leave after about half an hour.  This was horrible. I knew I needed to sleep but still I wanted him to stay.  I don't know how I would have felt if it was the first experience, I think I would have cried. Once he left, I picked up Rosie to give her a cuddle when I noticed my baby was not even lying on a sheet. She had a paper one. At this point I did have a few tears. I had a sheet in my bag so quickly sorted her out. Then cuddled up and tried to sleep. I felt very alone. No one came to check I was okay, they were all far too busy.

I left the following morning, had I been a first time mum I would have not known anything.  I cannot fault the staff, they were doing the best they could but the whole experience felt like a conveyor belt.... one in and one out. They needed your bed space and apart from checking you had a car seat you were left to get on with it.

Very different experiences indeed but two beautiful baby girls who are loved equally by their doting parents!

Karen x