The reason why inductions start at night is to align with your body's natural circadian rhythm and potentially lead to shorter labors and less interventions, as spontaneous labor peaks overnight, which can start with cervical ripening agents like prostaglandin gel at night to allow for sleep and take advantage of your body's readiness for labor when your melatonin levels are high, which also improves efficiency for hospitals and comfort for mothers, although morning starts also remain common.
Natural labor tends to begin at night, usually as a result of hormonal shifts like increased melatonin, which promote contractions and make evening starts more efficient.
Historically, inductions began in the morning to align with the start of the hospital's day shift and staff availability.
You can sleep during induction and you should try to sleep if you can during induction, especially during the early stages of labor induction and especially if the inductions start in the evening as induction can be a long process and rest can help to conserve energy for active labor.
Some methods like Foley bulbs or even cervical ripening allow for rest during induction, and some hospitals even offer sleep aids, although it can also be hard to sleep through contractions.
Evening inductions starting at night allow for you to rest or sleep while medication like Prostin or a Foley bulb work to ripen your cervix.
During cervical ripening you may sleep some of the time, but the process can also be slow and boring and some women find it difficult to sleep through early contractions.
Hospitals may offer Ambien or Unisom for sleep aids or even provide birthing balls for comfort.
And during active induction if you're on oxytocin drip, you'll be monitored, but you can usually move around and if contractions become too strong or too frequent, you may be asked to lie on your left side.
To rest during induction, wear loose clothing and set up your space with music, movies or books and drink water and have light snacks to say hydrated and fueled and balance rest with movement and walk or use a birth ball or rock when you're not sleeping and limit visitors which helps you focus on resting before active labor begins.
Induction at 3 cm dilated will take at least 24 hours although it may take 48 hours or sometimes longer.
Some women will progress to induction more quickly than others and if it's your first baby or your cervix is not yet favorable for labor it may take longer.
For some women it may only take 4 hours or a bit longer for induction at 3 cm with the induction medication.
Dilation is just one of the factors in determining if you need to be admitted for labor and delivery.
Doctors also consider the strength of the contractions as well as the frequency of your contractions as well as the status of the water breaking and your overall well being and your baby's overall well being when deciding whether or not to admit you for labor and delivery.
3cm dilation during pregnancy is considered the beginning of early labor, and this phase can also last for hours or even days as your cervix gradually dilates to 6cm.
The point at which hospitals often admit you to the hospital for labor and delivery is when you're in active labor, which is when your cervix is dilating more rapidly, which is often 6cm or beyond.
If your contractions are not strong enough or not regular, or if you and the baby are stable, then you might be sent home to continue early labor at home.
The contractions intensity and frequency are key indicators of active labor and if contractions are not painful enough or consistent enough to indicate active labor then you will often be sent home, even when you're 3 cm dilated.
You can go from 3cm to 10 cm within 4 hours to 8 hours.
However the time it takes for you to dilate and go from 3cm to 10 cm during labor can also vary, but 4 to 8 hours is average.
This phase of labor is also referred to as active labor and your cervix often dilates at a rate of about 1 centimeter per hour.
Although some women might dilate faster and other women may have slower dilation.
Active labor is when your cervix dilates from 3 cm to 10 cm and most women will dilate around 1 centimeter per hour during active labor.
You can make contractions come faster and help to induce labor through sexual activity, especially by having an orgasm, which can release oxytocin, which can help jumpstart the uterine contractions naturally.
Other things that could help make contractions come faster are sexual intercourse, eating spicy foods, exercise and nipple stimulation.
Even walking around, taking a warm bath, breathing and relaxation techniques can also help to get your contractions to come faster.
To calm down early contractions, you can move and change positions as you need to, but don't stay lying down and instead try to walk around between the contractions.
And then relax and breathe slowly and try taking a warm shower or bath.
Warm water has been shown to help with reducing the achy pains in early labor and contractions.
And try to remain upright and active, which helps the body to move into a good position and to move down into your pelvis and always eat and drink small and light and high in carbohydrates.
When you're in labor, ice chips can also help provide you with hydration and a cooling sensation, which can also be comforting to you during the physical exertion that occurs during labor.
Traditionally women in labor were often restricted to only ice chips during labor, but now current guidelines are also becoming much more liberal and also now allows for drinking clear liquids and in some cases even light meals.
Ice chips provide you a good way of staying hydrated, without overwhelming your stomach, especially when any solid food is restricted.
And the cooling sensation of the ice chips also are soothing during the contractions during labor and helps to manage any discomfort.
And ice chips are a low risk option for hydration, especially when compared to larger volumes of liquids or solid foods which could result in aspiration or inhaling of food or liquid into the lungs.
When I was in labor I used ice chips, although some women may need more than just the ice chips for hydration during labor.
If you need more than just ice chips during labor your doctor can help you get something more suitable along with the ice chips if needed.