What to expect and bring for an induction

I had my induction last week. I was in a bay after my pessary was inserted, you only get your own room when you move to labour ward. Be prepared, they are ridiculously busy atm, I waited 2 days after my pessary fell out for a room on labour ward. I didn’t take my hospital bags in but a lot of the other girls on the bay did, I would in case your labour progresses quickly, at least you’ll have it on you. My partner could stay throughout, but he went home in the evenings as they only have a chair to sit on which isn’t very comfortable and he wouldn’t have been able to sleep. You will be fed, they have break about 7:30/8ish, lunch at 12:30 and tea at 5ish, but your partner won’t be fed, it’s only for patients so bring snacks etc if he’s going to be there a while, or there’s a cafe on the bottom floor for him if he’s wants to buy food. I unfortunately didn’t have the most positive induction but I will say that the midwives there are amazing and you will be so looked after, good luck!🩷

@Naomi thank you so much for all that info you are AMAZING!!! Also congratulations on your bubs 💕 Another question (sorry!) But was you charged for the parking daily or was there like a different way it was charged due to the time you had to stay in?? Sorry your induction wasn't positive lovely, sending you so much love 🙏💚

@Kyiann 🍃 you are very welcome, it’s hard not knowing what to expect!! So I’m still wondering about the parking, I was there for a while so my parking would have amounted to £75, we left without paying and I’m waiting to receive my charge in the post, but I’ve already emailed the company to either reduce/waive the payment, I’m just waiting to give them the notice number. Only the people on neonatal get a permit with free parking, so I’ll let you know what the verdict is with my parking, hopefully it gets reduced/waived 😌🩷

Hey! Naomi’s covered most of what I was going to comment but wanted to say good luck 💕 I had my (not planned!) induction in late September, be prepared to be in for up to a week, as Naomi says it can be days if they’re busy and I wish my partner & I were more prepared for that. He did the same and went home to sleep, and I did bring my bags (including baby hospital bag!).. I wished I had more PJ’s suitable for delivery/postpartum in hospital so buy/pack a few! Something else I didn’t know beforehand was that partners aren’t allowed to stay once you’ve delivered your baby and are moved to the ward (small wards of 4 bays)… they have to leave and can only come during visiting hours, so worth being prepared for that ☺️ xx

Parking wise the receptionist can register your vehicle with the parking company so you don’t have to deal with paying each day etc! Just ask your partner to book the car in once you get there, I think you have to do it every 24 hours (but I left that as a job for my bf haha!) Wishing you a smooth delivery 💕

@Lizzie every midwife I asked had absolutely no idea about the parking, but I did have to park in the main car park as there were no spaces in the women’s health centre🥲 waiting to receive my parking charge in the post but I’ve got evidence of length of hospital stay so hoping they’ll waive it 🤞🏻

The other thing that I would suggest is bring adult nappies , they were a life saver for me I know it sounds silly and sounds not very charming but I would recommend them to everyone! My waters broke at 7 am the day after my induction and they kept leaking until I was on labour ward at 5pm the same day so pads just weren’t doing anything , nappies would hold so much more water ! X

And then i carried on wearing them afterwards too for the bleeding as i had a c section and they were just so much easier to deal with ! Xxx