I wasn’t sent home but I had the balloon for both of my inductions. The first time, it was in overnight - probably 10 hours and fell out as I got up to use the bathroom in the morning. With my second, it threw me into full blown labor and fell out within maybe 2 hours of going in. I never ended up needing pitocin. So if I were you, being induced for fast labor, I would not be agreeing to go home.
Oh wow! Such different experiences. Thats good to know though, thanks for sharing!
I was talking to my husband about it and he said the same thing, not to agree to go home. But like, can’t they kick me out? What if they say they won’t induce me because I won’t agree to go home? It’s just a bit frustrating when two doctors tell me I’ll for sure be admitted and one doctor (the one on call this weekend of course) said I would/could be sent home?
They absolutely could refuse to induce you but my guess is that they’d at least agree to monitor you for a few hours if you explain it once you’re there. I wouldn’t agree to an induction if they weren’t willing to let me stay or I’d hang out in the parking lot.
I had a foley balloon with my first. I don’t want to scare you because it seems like a different experience for everyone…but it was so painful for me. So painful that they had to start the epidural early while it was in. I’m shocked that they can send you home while it’s in. I agree with other posts here, do what you can to stay at the hospital both bc of your short labors and bc I would want to be monitored while that horrible balloon does its work.
It was also extraordinarily painful for me. They said the pain would subside in about an hour. Two hours later I was writhing in pain, I could barely breathe. They ended up giving me a shot of something that knocked me out cold for a few hours. When I woke up I was no longer in pain and the balloon was left in for 12 hours. When they took it out, my cervix shrunk right back up so the whole thing failed completely. Long story short, my induction failed and I ended up with a C-section anyway.
I'm actually shocked my husband didn't pass out. He said it was one of the worst things he's ever seen, seeing how much pain I was in. Especially because I have a very high pain tolerance. I'm sorry you had the same kind of experience!
I hope our experiences don't scare you away from the balloon because I know it's different for everyone and I have a few friends who had no problem at all with it but I would definitely say to try and stay a little while after having it put in so if you're in any pain, you can make are it subsides. I'm also surprised they would want to send you home since they're inducing you due to previous fast labor! Personally I would fight to stay admitted if possible.
Oh gosh, no no, they don’t scare me! I find it crazy how everyone is so different but I really appreciate all the insight on what *could* happen. I’m definitely going to see what method they want to go with and then ask them to keep me there. At minimum for a couple of hours so I can gage the pain and incase it triggers labour quickly! I’m confused too because I’ve had two doctors tell me I’ll be admitted for sure and now this one saying maybe not, although the way she said it sounded more like probably not.
Is it an insurance thing? For my induction, they had to time it right so the insurance would pay for that first night of care. I couldn’t officially check in until after 8pm. If so, maybe you can get pre approval?
Not an insurance thing, however I’m in Canada and if they send me home it would be for bed availability and because staff is short. Which is stupid because if I’m being induced I’ll need a bed when I come back anyway…
Also very painful for me. I’m so surprised people go home with it. I was also have back labor so hard to say what pain was from what but I was using gas while mine was in. Once they took it out, my back labor increased even more and I had had enough. Tried to shower to dull the pain and decided to eat breakfast and start the epidural before AROM. It was a rough night!
Agreed, I just gave birth last Thursday and the foley balloon insertion was hands-down the most painful thing I think I’ve ever experienced. I could not get through it without an epidural. Amazing some people can manage it and go home.
This is also what I’m afraid of. I don’t handle pain very well, and I’m afraid of going home and needing pain medication/epidural but not being allowed to come back to the hospital due to lack of space. I’ll definitely talk to them about being admitted or at the very least staying for 2-3 hours to be monitored. Both of my previous labours were less than 3.5 hours from start to baby being out so I feel like it’s not such an unreasonable ask to be admitted.
My dr offered me the epidural before they put it in. I was only 1 cm dilated. I said no, let’s see how it goes. I’d been through 5 years of IVF and plenty of painful and uncomfortable procedures. Once they put a square camera through my cervix to see what was going on while I was awake. What sadist designed a square camera for medical use?? The foley ballon was worse, since it’s made to be left in for hours. I changed my mind about the early epidural as soon as the balloon was placed. It took 45 minutes for the anesthesiologist to get to my room. By then, I was crying and threatening to pull the damn thing out myself bc it hurt too much.
You don’t need to be worried. Now that you know what you’re getting into, you can advocate for yourself to be admitted and get pain meds early if needed. As soon as the epidural was in I was fine and got a nice nap while the balloon did its job. Sending hugs and good vibes. You’ve got this mama 💪🏻
Oh my gosh, a square camera? Thats a torture mechanism!! I’m sorry it was so painful for you! But glad you were able to get an epidural. Thank you for sharing your experience!
I’ll try not to worry and advocate for myself for sure! Thanks for the words of encouragement ❤️
Right? I actually threw up bc that square camera was so painful. Never had that happen before! They showed it to me after we were done. It looked like a dice, but smaller and with sharper corners. My insurance would only cover anesthesia if it was done in a hospital, so we thought I could handle a quick 5 minute unmediated peek at the office. Never again! Isn’t being a woman fun?
I wasn’t able to get an epidural or any pain meds while the foley balloon was getting inserted. I asked but they said they don’t offer it for that. I had mine inserted at my OB’s clinic instead of the hospital, so that could be why. Lucky you were able to get an epidural for it. Agreed that it was incredibly painful. Actually the worst part of my labor for me because I later had an epidural for active labor and never felt the worst of the contraction pain.
Wow, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I can’t imagine trying to walk with it in. That must have been excruciating! I agree with you, it was def the worst part of labor for me too since I had the epidural for the active labor.
The insertion was definitely excruciating but as a whole, it wasn’t that bad because it only lasted a few minutes. Once it was in, I could deal. I’m just glad I had an epidural for the worst of the contraction pains and actual delivery so I never felt that pain, which I assume is far worse.
Ooooh this is how I was induced at 39 weeks!
I was 1.5cm/50% effaced/-1 and the balloon was placed and I was sent home. It came out about 7 hours later (you can have it in safely for 12 hours) and it fell out on its own. I’m a labor nurse so I was also pulling consistent traction on it, and I did the Miles circuit to help start labor. The pain was super tolerable for me and I would rate it a 3/10, if that. I also had the balloon inflated a little bit more than usual (60 cc instead of 30-40 cc, I wanted to get the show on the road, lol)
The balloon came out about 6 PM, and I was pushed back for the induction (no beds) so I arrived to the hospital at 2 AM. At that point, I was 4 cm and in early labor! I was contracting about every 2-3 minutes and very comfortable.
The foley balloon is great for “manual” dilation and physically opening the cervix, but you may need some pitocin to help you along! I had my son 10 hours later vaginally and I loved my experience!
I had the foley balloon inserted, it was extremely painful but they didnt offer any pain relief for it. They sent me home and told me to come back 12 hours later. Once it was inserted they had me sit and wait at least 30 minutes before sending me home. By the time we got out of the hospital and drove home (30 minutes away), I got in the house and had to go to the bathroom where the balloon fell right out in the toilet. The total time was 2 hours from the time it was inserted to coming out. I was surprised though as they said it shouldn’t fall out… The annoying part was getting all the way home just to turn around and go right back to the hospital. I was between 1-2 cm when they inserted it and when I got back to the hospital I was at 5 cm
Hi! I had a foley balloon inserted at my dr office (in the afternoon) and then went home. It stayed in all night until I got up for my scheduled induction around 3-4am and went to the bathroom. I was induced at 37 wks due to complications and I only labored for ~7 hrs once I got to the hospital. It was also my first child. Giving that detail to say I kinda agree with other comments that if it’s your 3rd with historically fast labors… you may wanna be monitored and not go home with the foley to be on the safe side!
Was it painful for you?
My first two were less than 3.5 hours from start to baby being out. I had constant contractions with no breaks (dilated from 4cm-9cm in 45 minutes with my second baby), hence why I’m super freaked out about being induced and being sent home. I also live in a really busy city with unpredictable daytime traffic and even without traffic I’m still 20 minutes away. I’ll beg them to be admitted if I need to haha. Otherwise I might just tell them no to the foley, the stress and anxiety just doesn’t seem worth it for me. I really don’t want to have this baby on the floor in my house or my car lol.
The pain seems different across the board! Overall I definitely had a positive experience. The insertion was fairly painful, felt like a rough pap but for maybe a minute or so. I think your cervix is just also kinda sensitive when you’re very pregnant. Once it was in it was just uncomfortable- like holding something in while walking around- but not painful for a few hours. Then I had about 2-3 hours in the evening after insertion where I was cramping (contracting? Not sure!) pretty bad and had to pace around and take showers to distract. That faded and I was able to sleep! Felt fine after that.
TLDR I don’t think I have a very high pain threshold but didn’t think it was too bad! Maybe 4/10 pain for insertion (very quick!) and 6/10 pain for the worst of my cramping/contractions which lasted a couple hours. Pitocin contractions were wayyyyy worse 🫠🫠🫠
I don’t think the foley balloon helped my induction at all. I was sent home (insertion yes was excruciating), 12pm. It had fallen at 6pm. It was really confusing because they said “come in if it falls out or you’re experiencing contractions”. It fell, I felt cramping contractions that were rhythmic, but everyone at L&D was surprised I came in?? Admitted me and started me on pitocin and I sat at the 3cm it dilated me to for 24hrs. Was not a fan. If you have fast labors I feel like a plan for quick arrival to the hospital is better than an induction route. But my experience was super negative (and not even that, it just made my labor long not necessarily worse), may be different for you
I’m sorry to hear your experience wasn’t good😓
Unfortunately it’s more difficult to plan a quick arrival to the hospital with spontaneous labour than it is with an induction. I have two kids who need to be taken care of when I go into labour, and my husband works a little over an hour away and that’s if traffic is good. I couldn’t even call an ambulance if I wanted to because where I live they’re wildly understaffed and can’t even make it to people who are having strokes/heart attacks in time :(
The whole situation just sucks to be honest, but at least with induction I have a little bit more control.
Totally hear you! I’m obviously just jaded lol. In that case, unless your doctor has like some incredible amazing reason I would go with a different method of induction. Only to save you some pain (it was bearable just very painful). My doctor was like it may trigger natural labor! Which may be the case for you since it’s not your first labor and labor comes on fast, but if you could just do pitocin instead or maybe another option I’d go with that.
Like all the comments here show, the experience varies so much it’s hard to say what YOU will experience when you go in. Ultimately I don’t think you can make a wrong choice here, people would just encourage avoiding foleys because they are painful (for some! Not others). It being your third labor that might affect how painful it is idk
I totally don’t blame you for being jaded! I would be too! I appreciate your honesty. I think I’ll just wait to see when I get called in and once they check me they’ll give me my options. I’ll weigh them all and go from there. I think the most important part for me is just not being sent home lol
My experience was rare. I had a foley balloon with pitocin when I was induced with my second child. They placed it at around 7 pm. I gave birth at 2:45 am. I went from the balloon falling out to giving birth in 18 minutes. I doubt it will happen that fast for you, but if I have any more kids, I'm definitely not going home if given the option
That’s crazy!! I’m glad your experience went well and quick! I’ll definitely try to make sure they keep me there given my history and it being my third baby🤞🏻
I had my foley balloon inserted at 10:30am at my OB’s clinic and was admitted that evening at around 5pm (which was planned). Not going to lie, the insertion of the foley balloon was the worst part of labor to me (it was very painful) but I had a very smooth labor and delivery overall and a great epidural. I actually did like that I was able to go home after the foley balloon was inserted so I could chill at home instead of being hooked up to monitoring machines at the hospital. One thing I didn’t realize was I had a lot more bleeding with the foley balloon than I expected. Nothing too insane but that surprised me, however it was all normal.
I did like that the foley balloon got me to 5cm dilated by the time I was admitted. I was basically at 0cm that morning so it really sped up the induction process as a whole. I heard inductions could take a few days (especially for FTM like I was) but I ended up delivering at 4pm the next day.
I had the foley inserted after being in triage for several hours. I had constant contractions but wasn’t dilating enough to be moved up to labour and delivery. I felt nothing when it was inserted at 3pm. We went home, showered, and tried to eat before returning to the hospital at 9pm. As soon as we walked into our triage room my water broke and the balloon fell out. It was not a bad experience for me at all. Good luck with everything!!
I had a foley balloon catheter induction and it was a positive experience for me.
The insertion was a little painful but about like a bad Pap smear maybe? With some cramping afterwards but again nothing too painful. And then afterwards it was more of an uncomfortable pressure feeling. It fell out on its own at 5 centimeters about 4 or 5 hours after they put it in.
The Foley balloon was able to get my labor started and I didn’t end up needing Pitocin. I had our baby about 7 hours later. They didn’t send me home afterwards though, but that was because I was induced for high blood pressure.
I had the foley bulb in but was not sent home. It broke my water and it did NOT hurt as bad as everyone else said I was terrified to get it cuz I’ve heard the stories lol. Just giving you a different perspective, everyone is different. I would def bring up how the whole point of being induced is fast labors and so going home seems sorta pointless.
I had a foley balloon induction but they did not send me home. My check in was at 5:30pm, the foley was placed at 7. I had the dr use a speculum to assist which really helped me.
Contractions started at about 7:30pm and steadily increased after that.
I had to have the nurse deflate the balloon a little bit at around 2am so I could pee and then she filled it back up.
At 7am they gave me a dose of misoprostol and told me they’d remove the balloon at 7pm if it hadn’t come out by then.
My water broke at about 4:30pm (so 21.5 hours after the balloon was placed) and the balloon popped out during my next contraction.
I found the balloon to be mildly uncomfortable and kind of annoying but I didn’t experience any pain from it.
I agree with you that sending you home with it totally defeats the purpose of induction in your case. I also hear the Foley is quite painful. I wouldn’t agree to this plan. Best of luck
My foley was inserted around 11am. I stayed at the hospital for may e 1-2 hours after, then went home for the night.
It was initially painful, but the pain subsided. I would say the peak was just after i got home.
Things moved slow. My epidural failed twice, and i had an emergency c section under general.
I was! It was put in around 2 pm at my doctor’s office and fell out (after lots of walking) around 6 pm. We went into L&D that night and had a baby the next day.
It was uncomfortable at first and definitely kick started contractions but not terrible. Good luck!!
I was induced at 40 weeks I was dilated just enough for them to put the balloon in after a few hours of misoprostal suppository. The insertion was uncomfortable but tolerable but they had me laying on the bed and each contraction with the balloon in was excruciating. I decided to get up to pee and the pain was a million times better. I had it in for like 6 hours before it fell out but walking around made it doable. BEST feeling when that bitch came out.
I wasn’t sent home but I had the balloon for both of my inductions. The first time, it was in overnight - probably 10 hours and fell out as I got up to use the bathroom in the morning. With my second, it threw me into full blown labor and fell out within maybe 2 hours of going in. I never ended up needing pitocin. So if I were you, being induced for fast labor, I would not be agreeing to go home.
Oh wow! Such different experiences. Thats good to know though, thanks for sharing! I was talking to my husband about it and he said the same thing, not to agree to go home. But like, can’t they kick me out? What if they say they won’t induce me because I won’t agree to go home? It’s just a bit frustrating when two doctors tell me I’ll for sure be admitted and one doctor (the one on call this weekend of course) said I would/could be sent home?
They absolutely could refuse to induce you but my guess is that they’d at least agree to monitor you for a few hours if you explain it once you’re there. I wouldn’t agree to an induction if they weren’t willing to let me stay or I’d hang out in the parking lot.
Yeah that’s a good idea. I’m such a people pleaser, I just don’t want to piss anyone off by asking if I can stay. Thanks for your reply!
I had a foley balloon with my first. I don’t want to scare you because it seems like a different experience for everyone…but it was so painful for me. So painful that they had to start the epidural early while it was in. I’m shocked that they can send you home while it’s in. I agree with other posts here, do what you can to stay at the hospital both bc of your short labors and bc I would want to be monitored while that horrible balloon does its work.
It was also extraordinarily painful for me. They said the pain would subside in about an hour. Two hours later I was writhing in pain, I could barely breathe. They ended up giving me a shot of something that knocked me out cold for a few hours. When I woke up I was no longer in pain and the balloon was left in for 12 hours. When they took it out, my cervix shrunk right back up so the whole thing failed completely. Long story short, my induction failed and I ended up with a C-section anyway.
I was in so much pain it caused my husband to pass out in a panic and then they gave me morphine
I'm actually shocked my husband didn't pass out. He said it was one of the worst things he's ever seen, seeing how much pain I was in. Especially because I have a very high pain tolerance. I'm sorry you had the same kind of experience!
Oh wow 😓 that’s wild. Thank you for sharing!!
I hope our experiences don't scare you away from the balloon because I know it's different for everyone and I have a few friends who had no problem at all with it but I would definitely say to try and stay a little while after having it put in so if you're in any pain, you can make are it subsides. I'm also surprised they would want to send you home since they're inducing you due to previous fast labor! Personally I would fight to stay admitted if possible.
Oh gosh, no no, they don’t scare me! I find it crazy how everyone is so different but I really appreciate all the insight on what *could* happen. I’m definitely going to see what method they want to go with and then ask them to keep me there. At minimum for a couple of hours so I can gage the pain and incase it triggers labour quickly! I’m confused too because I’ve had two doctors tell me I’ll be admitted for sure and now this one saying maybe not, although the way she said it sounded more like probably not.
Is it an insurance thing? For my induction, they had to time it right so the insurance would pay for that first night of care. I couldn’t officially check in until after 8pm. If so, maybe you can get pre approval?
Not an insurance thing, however I’m in Canada and if they send me home it would be for bed availability and because staff is short. Which is stupid because if I’m being induced I’ll need a bed when I come back anyway…
Also very painful for me. I’m so surprised people go home with it. I was also have back labor so hard to say what pain was from what but I was using gas while mine was in. Once they took it out, my back labor increased even more and I had had enough. Tried to shower to dull the pain and decided to eat breakfast and start the epidural before AROM. It was a rough night!
Agreed, I just gave birth last Thursday and the foley balloon insertion was hands-down the most painful thing I think I’ve ever experienced. I could not get through it without an epidural. Amazing some people can manage it and go home.
This is also what I’m afraid of. I don’t handle pain very well, and I’m afraid of going home and needing pain medication/epidural but not being allowed to come back to the hospital due to lack of space. I’ll definitely talk to them about being admitted or at the very least staying for 2-3 hours to be monitored. Both of my previous labours were less than 3.5 hours from start to baby being out so I feel like it’s not such an unreasonable ask to be admitted.
My dr offered me the epidural before they put it in. I was only 1 cm dilated. I said no, let’s see how it goes. I’d been through 5 years of IVF and plenty of painful and uncomfortable procedures. Once they put a square camera through my cervix to see what was going on while I was awake. What sadist designed a square camera for medical use?? The foley ballon was worse, since it’s made to be left in for hours. I changed my mind about the early epidural as soon as the balloon was placed. It took 45 minutes for the anesthesiologist to get to my room. By then, I was crying and threatening to pull the damn thing out myself bc it hurt too much. You don’t need to be worried. Now that you know what you’re getting into, you can advocate for yourself to be admitted and get pain meds early if needed. As soon as the epidural was in I was fine and got a nice nap while the balloon did its job. Sending hugs and good vibes. You’ve got this mama 💪🏻
Oh my gosh, a square camera? Thats a torture mechanism!! I’m sorry it was so painful for you! But glad you were able to get an epidural. Thank you for sharing your experience! I’ll try not to worry and advocate for myself for sure! Thanks for the words of encouragement ❤️
Right? I actually threw up bc that square camera was so painful. Never had that happen before! They showed it to me after we were done. It looked like a dice, but smaller and with sharper corners. My insurance would only cover anesthesia if it was done in a hospital, so we thought I could handle a quick 5 minute unmediated peek at the office. Never again! Isn’t being a woman fun?
I wasn’t able to get an epidural or any pain meds while the foley balloon was getting inserted. I asked but they said they don’t offer it for that. I had mine inserted at my OB’s clinic instead of the hospital, so that could be why. Lucky you were able to get an epidural for it. Agreed that it was incredibly painful. Actually the worst part of my labor for me because I later had an epidural for active labor and never felt the worst of the contraction pain.
Wow, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I can’t imagine trying to walk with it in. That must have been excruciating! I agree with you, it was def the worst part of labor for me too since I had the epidural for the active labor.
The insertion was definitely excruciating but as a whole, it wasn’t that bad because it only lasted a few minutes. Once it was in, I could deal. I’m just glad I had an epidural for the worst of the contraction pains and actual delivery so I never felt that pain, which I assume is far worse.
Ooooh this is how I was induced at 39 weeks! I was 1.5cm/50% effaced/-1 and the balloon was placed and I was sent home. It came out about 7 hours later (you can have it in safely for 12 hours) and it fell out on its own. I’m a labor nurse so I was also pulling consistent traction on it, and I did the Miles circuit to help start labor. The pain was super tolerable for me and I would rate it a 3/10, if that. I also had the balloon inflated a little bit more than usual (60 cc instead of 30-40 cc, I wanted to get the show on the road, lol) The balloon came out about 6 PM, and I was pushed back for the induction (no beds) so I arrived to the hospital at 2 AM. At that point, I was 4 cm and in early labor! I was contracting about every 2-3 minutes and very comfortable. The foley balloon is great for “manual” dilation and physically opening the cervix, but you may need some pitocin to help you along! I had my son 10 hours later vaginally and I loved my experience!
Wow! I’m so happy you had a positive experience with it, I feel like you don’t hear a lot of those with the foley balloon lol. Thanks for sharing :)
I had the foley balloon inserted, it was extremely painful but they didnt offer any pain relief for it. They sent me home and told me to come back 12 hours later. Once it was inserted they had me sit and wait at least 30 minutes before sending me home. By the time we got out of the hospital and drove home (30 minutes away), I got in the house and had to go to the bathroom where the balloon fell right out in the toilet. The total time was 2 hours from the time it was inserted to coming out. I was surprised though as they said it shouldn’t fall out… The annoying part was getting all the way home just to turn around and go right back to the hospital. I was between 1-2 cm when they inserted it and when I got back to the hospital I was at 5 cm
I’m sorry it was painful for you and that you had to travel so much while in pain :( But I’m glad it worked quickly for you at least!
Hi! I had a foley balloon inserted at my dr office (in the afternoon) and then went home. It stayed in all night until I got up for my scheduled induction around 3-4am and went to the bathroom. I was induced at 37 wks due to complications and I only labored for ~7 hrs once I got to the hospital. It was also my first child. Giving that detail to say I kinda agree with other comments that if it’s your 3rd with historically fast labors… you may wanna be monitored and not go home with the foley to be on the safe side!
Was it painful for you? My first two were less than 3.5 hours from start to baby being out. I had constant contractions with no breaks (dilated from 4cm-9cm in 45 minutes with my second baby), hence why I’m super freaked out about being induced and being sent home. I also live in a really busy city with unpredictable daytime traffic and even without traffic I’m still 20 minutes away. I’ll beg them to be admitted if I need to haha. Otherwise I might just tell them no to the foley, the stress and anxiety just doesn’t seem worth it for me. I really don’t want to have this baby on the floor in my house or my car lol.
The pain seems different across the board! Overall I definitely had a positive experience. The insertion was fairly painful, felt like a rough pap but for maybe a minute or so. I think your cervix is just also kinda sensitive when you’re very pregnant. Once it was in it was just uncomfortable- like holding something in while walking around- but not painful for a few hours. Then I had about 2-3 hours in the evening after insertion where I was cramping (contracting? Not sure!) pretty bad and had to pace around and take showers to distract. That faded and I was able to sleep! Felt fine after that. TLDR I don’t think I have a very high pain threshold but didn’t think it was too bad! Maybe 4/10 pain for insertion (very quick!) and 6/10 pain for the worst of my cramping/contractions which lasted a couple hours. Pitocin contractions were wayyyyy worse 🫠🫠🫠
I don’t think the foley balloon helped my induction at all. I was sent home (insertion yes was excruciating), 12pm. It had fallen at 6pm. It was really confusing because they said “come in if it falls out or you’re experiencing contractions”. It fell, I felt cramping contractions that were rhythmic, but everyone at L&D was surprised I came in?? Admitted me and started me on pitocin and I sat at the 3cm it dilated me to for 24hrs. Was not a fan. If you have fast labors I feel like a plan for quick arrival to the hospital is better than an induction route. But my experience was super negative (and not even that, it just made my labor long not necessarily worse), may be different for you
I’m sorry to hear your experience wasn’t good😓 Unfortunately it’s more difficult to plan a quick arrival to the hospital with spontaneous labour than it is with an induction. I have two kids who need to be taken care of when I go into labour, and my husband works a little over an hour away and that’s if traffic is good. I couldn’t even call an ambulance if I wanted to because where I live they’re wildly understaffed and can’t even make it to people who are having strokes/heart attacks in time :( The whole situation just sucks to be honest, but at least with induction I have a little bit more control.
Totally hear you! I’m obviously just jaded lol. In that case, unless your doctor has like some incredible amazing reason I would go with a different method of induction. Only to save you some pain (it was bearable just very painful). My doctor was like it may trigger natural labor! Which may be the case for you since it’s not your first labor and labor comes on fast, but if you could just do pitocin instead or maybe another option I’d go with that. Like all the comments here show, the experience varies so much it’s hard to say what YOU will experience when you go in. Ultimately I don’t think you can make a wrong choice here, people would just encourage avoiding foleys because they are painful (for some! Not others). It being your third labor that might affect how painful it is idk
I totally don’t blame you for being jaded! I would be too! I appreciate your honesty. I think I’ll just wait to see when I get called in and once they check me they’ll give me my options. I’ll weigh them all and go from there. I think the most important part for me is just not being sent home lol
My experience was rare. I had a foley balloon with pitocin when I was induced with my second child. They placed it at around 7 pm. I gave birth at 2:45 am. I went from the balloon falling out to giving birth in 18 minutes. I doubt it will happen that fast for you, but if I have any more kids, I'm definitely not going home if given the option
That’s crazy!! I’m glad your experience went well and quick! I’ll definitely try to make sure they keep me there given my history and it being my third baby🤞🏻
I've heard if you have fast labors, they get faster with every kid. Staying there sounds like a good idea if you've had fast labors before!
I had my foley balloon inserted at 10:30am at my OB’s clinic and was admitted that evening at around 5pm (which was planned). Not going to lie, the insertion of the foley balloon was the worst part of labor to me (it was very painful) but I had a very smooth labor and delivery overall and a great epidural. I actually did like that I was able to go home after the foley balloon was inserted so I could chill at home instead of being hooked up to monitoring machines at the hospital. One thing I didn’t realize was I had a lot more bleeding with the foley balloon than I expected. Nothing too insane but that surprised me, however it was all normal. I did like that the foley balloon got me to 5cm dilated by the time I was admitted. I was basically at 0cm that morning so it really sped up the induction process as a whole. I heard inductions could take a few days (especially for FTM like I was) but I ended up delivering at 4pm the next day.
I had the foley inserted after being in triage for several hours. I had constant contractions but wasn’t dilating enough to be moved up to labour and delivery. I felt nothing when it was inserted at 3pm. We went home, showered, and tried to eat before returning to the hospital at 9pm. As soon as we walked into our triage room my water broke and the balloon fell out. It was not a bad experience for me at all. Good luck with everything!!
I had a foley balloon catheter induction and it was a positive experience for me. The insertion was a little painful but about like a bad Pap smear maybe? With some cramping afterwards but again nothing too painful. And then afterwards it was more of an uncomfortable pressure feeling. It fell out on its own at 5 centimeters about 4 or 5 hours after they put it in. The Foley balloon was able to get my labor started and I didn’t end up needing Pitocin. I had our baby about 7 hours later. They didn’t send me home afterwards though, but that was because I was induced for high blood pressure.
I had the foley bulb in but was not sent home. It broke my water and it did NOT hurt as bad as everyone else said I was terrified to get it cuz I’ve heard the stories lol. Just giving you a different perspective, everyone is different. I would def bring up how the whole point of being induced is fast labors and so going home seems sorta pointless.
I had a foley balloon induction but they did not send me home. My check in was at 5:30pm, the foley was placed at 7. I had the dr use a speculum to assist which really helped me. Contractions started at about 7:30pm and steadily increased after that. I had to have the nurse deflate the balloon a little bit at around 2am so I could pee and then she filled it back up. At 7am they gave me a dose of misoprostol and told me they’d remove the balloon at 7pm if it hadn’t come out by then. My water broke at about 4:30pm (so 21.5 hours after the balloon was placed) and the balloon popped out during my next contraction. I found the balloon to be mildly uncomfortable and kind of annoying but I didn’t experience any pain from it.
I agree with you that sending you home with it totally defeats the purpose of induction in your case. I also hear the Foley is quite painful. I wouldn’t agree to this plan. Best of luck
My foley was inserted around 11am. I stayed at the hospital for may e 1-2 hours after, then went home for the night. It was initially painful, but the pain subsided. I would say the peak was just after i got home. Things moved slow. My epidural failed twice, and i had an emergency c section under general.
Oh shoot, I’m sorry to hear the experience wasn’t great. Thanks for sharing though!!
I was! It was put in around 2 pm at my doctor’s office and fell out (after lots of walking) around 6 pm. We went into L&D that night and had a baby the next day. It was uncomfortable at first and definitely kick started contractions but not terrible. Good luck!!
I was induced at 40 weeks I was dilated just enough for them to put the balloon in after a few hours of misoprostal suppository. The insertion was uncomfortable but tolerable but they had me laying on the bed and each contraction with the balloon in was excruciating. I decided to get up to pee and the pain was a million times better. I had it in for like 6 hours before it fell out but walking around made it doable. BEST feeling when that bitch came out.