Wife getting induced how does that work with me as her birthing partner

[StewartNGina]

So my wife and i are expecting our 3rd child, due date is february 2023 BUT baby is measuring 4 weeks ahead and the midwife has said that once its confirmed at scan on january the 17th that we will probably be given an induction dat for us to be induced, So we have a plan in place that our current kids (aged 8 and 9) will be going to their nanas to stay and we will be doing the hospital, can anybody tell us how it will work for us (Scotland) does my wife get a room to herself or is it a shared ward and what about myself? am i allowed to stay at hospital with her through the whole induction process? I suffer from poor mental health (anxiety disorders and my wife is my support) i am worried i wont be allowed to stay in hospital with her at all.

We have no clue of the induction process at all so dont know what will happen exactly so any information for both of us would be amazing

[Emdog87]

Hello, my experience was in England, but I went into to be induced with my 2nd and I was put on a shared ward with 5 other women. I was lucky that I was already 4cm dilated so I just needed to wait for a room on delivery where they broke my waters. I was waiting 3 days for that room, as people who went into labour naturally were prioritised. There were women on my ward being induced, the partners couldn’t stay all night, the hours were 8am - 9pm. Once I was on delivery my husband could stay with me the whole time but then as soon as I had my baby I was back on a shared ward and it was back to visiting hours.

The actual induction process is first a pessary or gel is used in the vagina to try being on labour and if that doesn’t work I think a drip is used which is an artificial hormone, again to try and bring on labour. The idea is then that this brings on contractions and once the cervix is dilated enough (around 4cm) the midwife can then break the waters.

I could be wrong and I know hospitals can be different, to calm your nerves / anxiety can you speak to your wife’s midwife? Or if you know the hospital that she will be giving birth give them a call direct and ask them to explain the process.

Just be prepared, inductions can take time.

Good luck. X

[roxannacar]

It would depend on what rooms are available on the day on which room you get. I'm in England but can't see it any different in Scotland. Induction isn't always a fast process, but everybody varies. In general you'd be on the ward at the being and transferred to the labour ward once things are progressing. I can't imagine that would be happy for you to stay 24/7 until you're on the labour ward. You can ask of course. You can can also check if they offer any private rooms on the ward, however that might come at an extra cost.

[Twiglet2]

hi I have experience of induction in Scotland. They gave me the choice of having pessary in the hospital or balloon catheter thing at home for the very first part where you spend the first 24 hours in your house with the balloon stretching things (I ended up not needing either as my waters broke themselves morning of induction before I went in) but basically first stage is to get cervix stretched enough that they can break waters and for that stage your wife will most likely be in a ward at some point with 4 or 5 others and whilst there is visiting times after 9pm it was lights out and no visitors to allow the ladies to rest. Once your wife is 4-6cm dilated they will give her a room of her own in the Labour ward and you will be able to join her the full time.

Even at the stages you are allowed in she absolutely won’t be able to ‘support you’ though as she will be focused on Labour which is pretty tough going so you will need to work out a coping mechanism for those days around Labour and birth (as well as obviously focusing on how you can support your wife during labour) as after she’s had the baby she will go to the ward and again be with several other ladies and whilst you can visit there again there will be lights out and sleeping for the new mums and babies at a certain point and you will have to go home and come back again in the morning x

[Seb9]

Each Trust has slightly different ways of doing it, so you're probably better off talking to your wife's midwife about the process there. I've had two inductions and they were q quite different.

My 1st induction, I had a pessary to soften my cervix and potentially induce labour. It was inserted for 24 hrs. I was on the maternity ward, not own room, but had a bed and curtain for privacy. There was also a day room and access to food and drink. My husband stayed while I had the procedure, we had lunch at the hospital canteen and then he went home until the following day when I was moved to the delivery suite, where I had my own room, to begin the induction as the pessary hadn't started labour. I then had my waters broken and started on the induction drip. He stayed then until baby was born, we were settled back on the ward and were resting. He went back home to get washed and changed, then came back to collect us and take us home later that day.

2nd induction, 2yr 1 month later. I declined the pessary as I found it very uncomfortable and requested a water balloon instead to soften cervix. This couldn't be done by the nurses so I was moved up to delivery for a doctor to carry this out. When she checked I was already a couple of cm dilated, so I was able to skip the pessary/balloon and have my waters broken and start on the induction drip. I asked for a break and something to eat between my waters being broken and the drip starting because they don't let you eat after then insert the drip. Husband stayed the entire time as I moved straight to delivery without the 24hrs on the ward. He only went home while we were resting and came back as soon as visiting hours started.

When you're wife does her birth plan worth her midwife, she can all the midwife able how your hospital carries out inductions and make sure you're both confident with the structure. I would also recommend you both do a hypnobirthing course as it helps you to advocate for yourself and looks at strategies for coping if interventions like inductions are needed.