When you get to those last few weeks of pregnancy and you’re counting down the days until you finally meet your baby (and stop feeling like a whale), it’s almost impossible not to start reading birth stories.

If you look up inductions, you’ll quickly find a lot of negative experiences. Many people understandably share traumatic births, difficult labours or inductions that ended in emergency C-sections. My own sister-in-law started the induction process and ended up needing an emergency C-section 30 hours later.

So I thought I’d share my experience, because not every induction ends that way.

After Ozzy cancelled his C-section, I was left in a weird state of limbo. I’d been told I’d be having my baby on the 1st of April, only for him to decide at the very last minute that actually… he quite fancied turning head down.

Every day after that felt strange. I’d done my “everything shower”, cleaned the house from top to bottom, even the dog had been bathed. I was ready. More than ready. I just wanted to meet my little boy. There was also the constant fear that he’d flip himself back to breech before labour started.

So when I met with my consultant on the Saturday and he said, “Let’s just get this baby out,” I couldn’t have agreed faster.

I waddled down to the antenatal ward and unpacked my bags, and got settled. Then I was hooked up to blood pressure monitor and as it had always been it was elevated. While I waited for the blood pressure machine to squeeze my arm again, the midwife began the tedious task of trying to take a blood sample. When that was finally wrestled from my veins she asked if I had eaten, when I said no she sent me on a journey to go get food, while my partner went home to grab the hospital bags and take the car home so we wouldn’t have to pay the ridiculous parking fee.

After I had loaded up on snacks and grabbed a sandwich I waddled back down the long corridor to my bed. They checked my blood pressure again and it was finally back in the normal range so they said they would wait for someone to come in and start the process there was just one person ahead of me.

In the meantime my partner had returned with everything I needed to entertain myself, my tablet, steam deck and my phone charger. So I sat in my bed snacked on sweets and played games while distracting myself.The midwife then came round and explained what was going to be happening with my induction, there’d be a cervical check, then they’d assess what sort of induction they would do. Now this had me scared, not because of the potential pain, more I found the thought of some stranger getting all up in my business so incredibly cringe.

I explained this to the midwife and she laughed saying “oh it’ll just be like having a pap smear” I responded I’d never had one I was not old enough for the compulsory ones and hadn’t had any worries that required one. “Oh well here’s happens” She went through and explained it all and asked if I was okay to go ahead. I responded yeah I’m not too worried I just find it embarrassing.

When she had done the cervical check she decided that my cervix was pliable enough to have the foley balloon straight away. This meant I didn’t need the pessary to get the process started and she went to go and prep it. (A foley balloon is two balloons one placed just inside your cervix and one just outside it. Both are filled with saline to inflate the balloons, this puts gentle pressure on your cervix opening it wnough to allow your waters to be broken).

When she came back with here tray of tools she sat down and asked if I wanted any pain relief before starting, I said no and that I was okay to get started. Now in doing research I know some people find even insertion incredibly painful, in my case I just found it felt super weird and cold. The weirdest part was the tail I was left with the two pipes for filling dangling between my legs.

After it was inserted she told me I could ask for pain medication whenever I needed, I could have a warm bath, but staying active was one of the best things to do. The more pressure I put on my cervix the better. And off she went, so balloon went in at 19:31. As I had high blood pressure and needed monitoring I wasn’t allowed to go home with balloon in which some people are allowed to do. I had a few more minutes with my partner as he helped make sure I was comfy and had everything I could need nearby before he had to go home, this was because I had a roommate.

My poor roommate had been there in 2 days waiting for her body to respond to induction. She’d had multiple pessarys’ put in and her body was refusing to dilate. She was useful for knowledge on the room, like how to get the curtains to sit just right so no sunlight would peek through in the morning.

As it hit 8 the shift change for midwives occurred and my new lady came to introduce herself, and in walked a familiar face. The angel of a midwife who had told me my baby had flipped! She recognised me immediately and laughed “are you trying to get him out before he flips” Me and my partner laughed and she told me to ring if I needed anything then she told my partner he would have to start leaving.

I decided to walk him out the building and I was quite sad to be left without him but understood the rules. After I had waved him goodbye I set about my routine. My plan was to walk up and down the hallway to try and keep this induction thing moving on.

So I did I phoned my dad who had been texting nonstop asking what the plan was after seeing my consultant and filled him in on what had happened. I told him I would probably be having Ozzy in 2 or 3 days after all the induction process had finished and then labour and everything. He kept my occupied while I marched up and down from junction 8 to junction 2 (I was too scared to go past this as one it started to look more like a staff area and two the morgue was nearby) over and over again. As time went on I felt some slight cramping but kept going, two hours later I decided I may have a nice warm bath to keep me relaxed. So I hiked back up to junction 8 got buzzed back through to the antenatal ward and stopped off to collect some snacks to have to keep my energy up. Then I went back to my room.

When I went in the room was dark on my roommates side and I decided out of courtesy that I wouldn’t have a bath so I wouldn’t disturb her. So I climbed into bed set myself up with some silly show and ate my treats.

After a few episodes I decided I should try and sleep. This was easier said than done. Of course there was the fact it was a strange hospital bed, and I was now getting some more substantial cramps and I was 40 weeks pregnant and needed to pee constantly. But it was more the fact that it was the windiest night ever and my window kept getting blown open. Every time I shut the window, the wind blew it open again,So I gave up. I didn’t want to annoy my roommate by opening our door and leaving so I stayed behind my curtain walking in circles and doing squats.

At 1am the midwives came in first to my roommate who had finally dilated enough after 3 days to get the foley balloon, then they came to me to check my blood pressure and ask if I wanted any medication, I said I was fine for now and I’d ring if I needed anything.I stayed trying to distract myself swaying and walking to keep the pressure on my cervix and heard my roommate go for a bath, then come out and go to bed so it was back to being quiet.

Time kept racing on and the cramps were getting painful. I kept attempting to get some sleep and would close my eyes for 5 minutes before the cramp would start and standing would be the only thing that helped.

I finally decided I might go and ask for some paracetamol I felt like walking to the nurses station just to get some steps in but thought I should probably go for a wee before I did.

So into our shared toilet I went, I sat down gently held the cords up and out the way like I had done many times since they were put in. And then POP! The balloon hit the side of the toilet. I stared at it for a few minutes shocked about what had happened cleaned myself up and then went back to my bed.

I noted it down in my phone 5:27 balloon falls out. Then I had to build up some courage…I was terrified…to press the call button. I hate drawing attention to myself. Pressing the stop button a bus, horrendous. The old Yo Sushi button that would stop the music and shout your table number, my worst nightmare. So after umming and aahing I finally did it and sat down on the edge of my bed.

My lovely midwife walked in and asked if I needed anything and was met with me holding up the balloon. I laughed saying I was just about to ask for some paracetamol but it had already come out.”Oh well let me get some stuff to check you” she laughed.While she went for gloves and jelly I lay down and prepped, I wasn’t scared for this check as I now knew what was happening.

When she came back and checked me she told my I was dilated enough to have my waters broken and that she was going to go and ring labour ward to see if there was room for me and it may be quite a wait. I sat and rang my partner just to prepare him, but said it may be a while if there’s no space.

I’d barely hung up the phone to him when a different midwife arrived and said, I’m here to take you to labour ward pack your stuff. I raced to tell my partner and he rushed to get someone to drop him off.

In the meantime I was trying to pack as quickly and as quietly as possible. I felt horrible for my roommate, here she was on day three of the induction process only on the foley balloon. And here I was less than 12 hours of starting it and off to labour ward.

I grabbed my stuff and the new midwife took me down to my new swanky labour suite. This one was fancy I had a lovely bath and pretty lights, it was massive. My midwife said that it was about to be shift change so she wasn’t going to break my waters but she would be taking another few vials of my blood.

Once she’d wrestled blood from me, popped on a canula and hooked me up to the monitor I was introduced to Zoe the midwife that would be starting my labour. But we had to wait my partner was still on the way. In the meantime she wrote out my birth plan on a white board.

My partner finally arrived looking a bit shocked, he hadn’t expected it to be so soon, neither had I. And at exactly 8am Zoe broke my waters. Now I’d always assumed that once your waters had broken, that was it. It’s what you always heard about, no they leak continously until your baby is out.

She said they leave you for 2 hours and then introduce the oxytocin drip to move on your labour. So in the meantime she set up an diffuser for aromatherapy and dimmed the lights.

She noted my blood pressure was high and decided I needed some medication as it would only get higher the further into labour I got. So she found me some lovely little orange pills (these sealed the deal for me having to stay in for 24 hours after having Ozzy as they could affect him). Not 20 minutes later and I was throwing those up -thanks Ozzy for reminding me you were there. So she ordered some anti-nausea medication to put through my cannula and tried again.

I spent time on a giant birthing ball bouncing around as I felt my contractions getting stronger and stronger. Zoe noted them saying I was moving on nicely. By 10:15 she checked me and said they would normally start the drip now, but I was experiencing 3 contractions in 10 minutes and they lasted for 45 seconds so she said I could continue for 2 more hours without the drip.

This meant I was able to move a lot easier (minus the monitors). I kept bouncing on the ball and sniffing the clary sage until 12:15 where she said that I would have to start the drip, but she was very happy with my progress. She explained that it would start at 1ml, then double to 2ml, then double from then on until Ozzy was born. Throughout this I kept periodically being sick despite the anti nausea being pumped through my veins.

I had been a bit cold in my labour and had my dressing gown on. In this moment it would have been a good idea to take it off before I was attacted to my drip….I did not think of this. I wore that gown till 2 hours after Ozzy was born.

At around 14:30 contractions were painful and I decided that I would like gas and air, and moved to the bed, my drip had gone up to 2ml and I was not getting a break from contractions. One would start to diminish and then the next one would come in full force. Zoe noticed this and put the drip back to 1ml.

This later became a bit of a disagreement with the charge midwife… as I was being too quiet for somebody in labour so she kept demanding my drip be increased (Zoe stood up for me).

My labour continued on gradually getting more and more contractions until my body decided it was time to push. This however was not in time for my cervix to fully dilate therefore I was told “whatever you do don’t push”…….easier said than done. It felt like trying to stop a train. Each save of contractions having to actively prevent my body from trying to do what it was designed to. This went on for what felt like years but in reality must have only been an hour maximum.

Then they finally said those amazing words “It’s time to push” and relief flooded over me. More midwives appeared, my partner stepped up his supportive act by my head and it began 27 minutes of pushing that hurt less then trying to not push and Ozzy was in my arms. It was bliss I instantly forgot everything that had happened and the midwives could have done anything to me and I wouldn’t have noticed or cared. The tiny boy I had waited so long to meet was finally here, and he was perfect.

So while inductions can come across as terrifying and may end in emergency surgery. Not all of them are bad from starting my induction process to holding my baby at 18:15, it was under 24 hours. And my labour process 9 hours 33 minutes of first stage, 27 minutes of second stage and 7 minutes of third, my induction couldn’t have gone any smoother.

My induction took less than 24 hours from starting the process to holding Ozzy in my arms. It was calm, supported and, despite plenty of vomiting, a genuinely positive experience.

Every birth is different. Some inductions are long, some end in emergency surgery and some don’t go to plan. But if you’re being induced, try not to let the scary stories convince you that yours will automatically be the same.