Sometimes, due to health or other concerns, labor must be induced, or artificially started. Labor inducement can be a long process and induced labor is slightly different than “regular” labor.

Labor can be induced using a variety of methods. Check with your provider to determine which method they prefer to use. Some practitioners prefer to begin the process in the evening, with the hopes that you can sleep through most of the night. Other practitioners prefer to begin in the morning with labor inducements.

How to Induce Labor

The process can take anywhere from 1-3 days depending upon a variety of factors including your health and the overall well being of the baby. Because of the risks, most women who are induced will need to be regularly monitored. This may mean that you are confined to bed for the majority of the process. For some women, this can be bothersome.

I’ve found that contractions are different during inducements. During naturally occurring labor, I found that I was able to work with the contractions. During my inducements, I felt that the contractions were much more powerful and intense. They were also very close together which made me feel very overwhelmed. I ended up asking for pain medication for some of the inducements; with others I was able to get through the process without pain medication. During one of my inducements, it went so quickly that there simply wasn’t time for pain medicine.

Get Support

Getting support during the process is important. It’s also important that your labor support person is aware that this is an inducement and that he or she is aware of the possible complications which could occur during the process. During my most recent inducement, my husband became so discouraged when I “stalled out” at 3 cm for 6 hours. I found myself encouraging him instead of concentrating on the labor!

Be prepared to be flexible. After 18 hours of labor, it appeared that I would need a c-section to complete the delivery because I just wasn’t progressing in my labor stages. I have to say, I was slightly discouraged. By the time the midwife left to make some final arrangements and came back a short time later to discuss options with my husband and I, I had fully dilated. Our son was delivered shortly thereafter.

My grandmother gave me some sage grandparenting advice 16 years ago before the birth of my first child. When I asked her how she handled the demands of childbirth, she simply replied: I kept my eyes on the prize. I find that “keeping my eyes on the prize” is essential to handling an inducement. Hopefully this advice will help you too!

By Amy Cummings

1. Don’t waste time buying a nice outfit for the hospital. After women give birth, they bleed (like a heavy period). I was much more comfortable in the hospital gown and those undergarments they give you to wear. It is so much easier.

2. There is a pretty good chance you may go number #2 while pushing the baby out! This certainly isn’t something to be embarrassed about, it happens naturally when you are bearing down.

3. Don’t plan on sleeping while you are in the hospital. Nurses are in and out at all hours. If you’re nursing the baby, they will bring her/him in to nurse, etc. Don’t be annoyed. Their job is to take care of you and your new little gift, let them.

4. You are charged for all the stuff that is under the baby in the hospital bassinet! I didn’t know this the first time. However, the second time around, I took everything I could, including diapers, blankets, nasal aspirator (AKA “The Boogie Sucker”), the water jug, etc. If I am paying for it, I am taking it!

5. You might be modest before you go into the hospital, but it is a good idea to shed it before you check in. Everyone comes to check your “Belly” every hour or so, no shame left at all! Don’t be embarrassed, they do this everyday. In addition, their job is to take care of you and your little one on the way, so let them!

6. Although things can get pretty uncomfortable, it all melts away once you see your baby. All the pain is worth it when you hear your baby’s first cry and hold them for the first time.

7. Try not to have expectations when you go into the hospital to deliver. Don’t have your mind set on having/not having an epidural, giving birth naturally, having a c-section, etc. Remember, it doesn’t matter how the baby gets here, as long as it’s healthy.

8. I wish I had known to tell friends not to come to the hospital – you are there such a short time and you need all the sleep and help from the nurses you can get!!!! You’ll have the rest of your lives to show off your new addition.

9. Use the nurses for all the knowledge that they have. Nurses do this everyday, all day. Therefore, use them for their knowledge. Ask them to show you how to correctly change the babies diaper, give them a bath and feed them. Even if this is not your first child, get a “refresher” course. If there is something that you forget to ask, call them!

10. If you are nursing, ask to meet with a lactation nurse. These nurses specialize in making both mommy and baby successful in breast-feeding. In addition, you may want to ask for some breast shields to take home with you. If you are not nursing, as the nurses the best way to help you feel comfortable when your milk comes in and drying up.

About the Author
Amy Cummings is currently a stay at home mom who takes care of her two daughters. Amy is a special education teacher by trade. She created the “Knot Me” which helps eliminate knots and bald spots from riding in the car seat or stroller. They are available at http://www.theknotme.com. In addition, Amy sells gourmet soy candles and soaps. Visit her website at http://www.soycandleshome.com.

Unfortunately we are not talking about the blue of your baby’s eyes. We are referring to the mild form of sadness a mother may experience after she delivers her baby.

Also known as maternity blues or maternity baby blues, baby blues are very common and occur in as many as 75-80% of new mothers. It is not postpartum depression unless it is abnormally severe.

What Causes Baby Blues?
When the placenta is delivered after the baby is born the part of the body creating the hormones shuts down abruptly. This causes a woman to react as if she is going through withdrawals from the high levels of estrogen, progesterone and endorphins that she had during her pregnancy.

In addition to the changes in hormones there is the exhaustion that sets in, whether it is physical, mental, or emotional after the baby is born, as well as sleep depravation you probably feel that can contribute to the baby blues.

Symptoms of Baby Blues
Symptoms may include some of these:

• Weepiness and bursting into tears.
• Sudden mood swings.
• Anxious and hypersensitive to criticism.
• Low spirits and irritability.
• Poor concentration and indecisiveness.
• Feeling ‘unbonded’ with baby.
• Restless insomnia.

Baby Pinks
Another, less referred to and less known feeling a person may have after giving birth is call the baby pinks. This is referred to when a person is overly happy and exuberant. This can be a sign of impending postpartum depression or psychosis.

If you have recently had a baby and you feel a bit of sadness, call your doctor to talk to him about it. He can help you judge and decide if you are experiencing a simple form of the baby blues, or if there is something more serious going on.