Anyone had a foley/balloon induction?

[BeccaSueCongdon]

I'm interested to hear the range of experiences regarding how long it took for the balloon to fall out, what it felt like (did it hurt?), and what kind of things helped you cope?

[stevensmom]

I never had it...but my sister did.

I think it fell out a few hours after insertion. And she was induced for about 18 hours before my neice came

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Originally Posted by stevensmom I never had it...but my sister did. I think it fell out a few hours after insertion. And she was induced for about 18 hours before my neice came

Thanks! My SIL is getting one tomorrow and I'm her doula, and we're working out the best time for me to show up to assist her. Has your sister ever commented about it being painful or requiring an epidural?

[stevensmom]

she did get an epi around 8cm...she had a doula.

[Sarah]

I had one with ydd. Basically it just dialated me enough to have my water broken. I had it in all night and except for some mild cramping it wasn't painful at all

[3MonkeysMomma]

I am a weirdo and they couldn't insert mine. It was too painful. I had to have some cervadil first before they were able to insert it without peeling me off the ceiling. (I also had massive trouble with a colposcopy that I had prior to the induction.) It was completely fine and painless after I was able to have it inserted, but it was terrible the first time she tried.

[mama_to_DJM]

My induction started with a foley catheter, and it went very well. This is how it went- I was set to be induced with DD. The day before my induction I had a doctor's appt. at around 5 pm. I was only about a fingertip dilated. They inserted the balloon thing- the procedure went fine. It made me mild-moderately crampy the rest of the night. When I woke up at 5 am to go to the hospital, I went to the bathroom at home and realized the balloon was practically coming out. I called the hospital to ask if I can try pulling it out and they said yes, so I did. When I arrived at the hospital I had dilated to a 3. They broke my water and started the pitocin, and DD was born 6 1/2 hours later. I had an epidural for the last 45 minutes of the labor.

So basically, the balloon itself didn't hurt, but it did produce somewhat painful cramping that did its job of starting the dilation process. There really was no discomfort when the balloon came out.

Good luck to your sister, I hope it goes well!