What to Do the Day Before Your Induction: Expert Tips

In this episode of The Pulling Curls Podcast, Hilary Erickson, RN, dives into essential tips for preparing the day before your induction. From packing your hospital bag effectively to getting much-needed rest and staying active, Hilary shares her expert advice to ensure a smooth induction experience. Plus, learn what to discuss with your provider and how to make postpartum preparations. Don’t miss these invaluable insights for expectant parents facing induction.

Find it here on Apple or Spotify Podcasts

Big thanks to our sponsor The Online Prenatal Class for Couples — if you’re planning on an induction a birth class is EXTRA important. This class has a full chapter just on inductions to help you get prepared!

Links for you:

Grab my hospital packing list: https://pregnurse.com/free-resources/#packing

Grab my postpartum checklist: https://pregnurse.com/free-resources/#Postpartum

Grab my induction checklist: https://pregnurse.com/free-resources/#induction

Timestamps:

00:00 Hospital bag essentials: hair tie, charger, ChapStick.
04:57 Prepare for postpartum, not just childbirth.
06:19 Clarify induction duration with provider to prepare.

Keypoints:

• The importance of packing your hospital bag carefully, including entertainment options like movies, cards, and apps to fill waiting time during induction.
• Key items for your hospital bag include a hair tie, an external charger, and lip balm to combat a dry hospital environment.
• The necessity of getting adequate sleep before induction; consider asking your provider for a light sleep aid if anxiety is a concern.
• Keep physically active the day before induction through activities like walking and doing squats to help position the baby.
• Eat a satisfying meal before induction; prioritize something enjoyable but light to avoid discomfort.
• Prepare for postpartum by gathering necessary supplies and creating a postpartum plan, including visitor policies and support arrangements.
• An induction can take varying lengths of time; communicate with your provider to get an idea of what to expect based on your specific circumstances.
• Maintaining a positive mindset about induction can make the experience more manageable and less stressful.
• Inductions have the potential to be a positive and controlled birthing experience with successful outcomes for both mother and baby.
• Engage with the podcast’s community on social media to share and gain insights about preparing for induction.

Producer: Drew Erickson

Transcript

[00:00:00.870] – Hilary Erickson

Hey, guys. Welcome back to the Pulling Curls Podcast. Today on episode 242, we are talking about what to do the day before your induction. Let’s untangle it.

[00:00:11.310] – Hilary Erickson

Hi, I’m Hilary, a serial overcomplicator. I’m also a nurse, mom to three, and the curly head behind Pulling Curls and the pregnancy nurse. This podcast aims to help us stop overcomplicating things and remember how much easier it is to keep things simple. Let’s smooth out those snarls with Pregnancy and Parenting Untangled, The Pulling Curls Podcast.

[00:00:40.230] – Hilary Erickson

This episode of The Pulling Curls Podcast is sponsored by the online prenatal class for couples. If you are planning on an induction, you extra special need a prenatal class, and this one only takes three hours. It’s available 24/7, and it turns your partner into a teammate rather than just a cheerleader. I know you guys want to have a great birth, so Come see me inside there.

[00:01:01.900] – Hilary Erickson

Before your induction, the first thing to do is to pack your bag. Now, I have a hospital packing list. You can look for it on my website. I’ll put a link in the show notes. But when you’re going for an induction, because it It would be a little bit longer, we’ll talk more about that, it’s important that you bring some things to fill the time.

[00:01:20.750] – Hilary Erickson

I got induced on my last baby. We had movies, we had cards. I downloaded apps specifically to just futz around on my phone during the induction because because it’s just a lot of hurry up and wait. When you get there, you’re going to be busy, and then the nurse is going to give you the medicine, and then she’s going to be like, hang out and wait.

[00:01:38.960] – Hilary Erickson

If you’re hanging out, waiting, hating life, hating what’s going on, that’s not going to help you relax. But if you’re just enjoying things, I love it when couples bring cards. I think that’s so fun for them to do get together. They can do that and watch a video. I think that’s awesome.

[00:01:53.740] – Hilary Erickson

Hospitals sometimes have on demand offerings. If you’re taking your hospital tour, ask them. You could always call and ask, but I I recommend loading up your Kindle Fire with some videos so you can just set it on your tray. You can enjoy those together.

[00:02:05.910] – Hilary Erickson

As a reminder, the three things that your partner needs to know where they are in your hospital bag. Number one, a hair tie. Unless you have a full on Pixie cut, you’re going to want something to pull back your hair. Number two, an external charger or your cord to plug into the wall. Although I recommend an external charger because wall plugs can be hard to use in some hospitals. Number three, chapstick. I’m not saying the brand chapstick, but something to put on your lips because the hospital makes it extra dry. You’re definitely going to want all of those things.

[00:02:34.590] – Hilary Erickson

I recommend that you have them on an outside pocket that your partner knows where they are so they can grab them when you want them. Because I’ve seen some pretty ugly looks when I can’t find the hair tie.

[00:02:43.800] – Hilary Erickson

Okay, second is to sleep. Now, if you’re going in in the evening, I would say get a nap in the afternoon. If you’re going in in the morning, we’re going to talk more a little bit about that, try and get some rest the night before. In fact, I don’t think it’s horrible to ask your provider if there’s something really light that you could take for sleep the night before. I know a lot of people, the anxiety of going in for induction makes it so they can’t sleep.

[00:03:07.370] – Hilary Erickson

Now, first off, I would recommend taking a birth class so that you’re not as anxious about your upcoming birth. But second of all, I don’t think it’s bad to ask your provider if there’s something you can take for sleep. If Benadryl works for you, ask them if that’s okay, stuff like that. But there are things they can give you for sleep that you come in feeling rested.

[00:03:24.280] – Hilary Erickson

Because the worst is if you don’t sleep, have a long induction, don’t sleep well during the induction, and then you have a baby and you’re just so tired. The more sleep you can get in advance, the better. Do what you can. Don’t feel bad asking your provider to give you something for sleep. We do this in the hospital all the time. If I have patients that are on anapartum or whatever, I’ll say, Can you just order something for sleep in case they need it so that if the patient can’t go to sleep, we can give them something.

[00:03:49.670] – Hilary Erickson

Number three is to keep moving. I think you might just want to sit on the couch and watch TV, but I would recommend getting some walks in, doing some squats. Huge fan of squats lately. Getting your Kaylee Cohen on where she’s coming on the podcast, and we’re going to talk about exercise during pregnancy, so stay tuned for that one.

[00:04:07.780] – Hilary Erickson

But make sure that you’re still moving and you’re trying to give baby their best way into your pelvis as possible. If you just want to watch some TV, grab that birthing ball or the yoga ball and do some sexy hip circles on it. There’s lots of ways to keep moving your pelvis while also trying to get some rest.

[00:04:22.970] – Hilary Erickson

Number four is to eat something great. Eat something that you love. This is going to be one of your last meals that you get to have on your own, that you get to choose unlike the hospital meals. Try and eat something that you really enjoy. I know we tried to go out to dinner the night before we got induced, things like that, just to really enjoy that meal together.

[00:04:41.360] – Hilary Erickson

Some people are afraid of eating. Ask your provider if it’s okay if you eat in advance, but most often it is. I would encourage you, like the morning of your induction, to get something, but I wouldn’t get the Mondo breakfast burrito. I would eat something light, something that doesn’t feel super heavy, but is filling. You don’t want a super full stomach when you come in for the induction if you can avoid it.

[00:05:02.220] – Hilary Erickson

Finally, get prepared for postpartum. Now, I have a postpartum checklist, and I have a postpartum plan, like a birth plan, but for postpartum that I’m going to put in the show notes. Both are super important, and I think so often we’re like, got to prepare right up until baby’s born, and then we’re ignoring what’s going to happen later.

[00:05:18.750] – Hilary Erickson

Just like we prepare for the wedding, but we forget that we’re going to have to live with this person for the rest of our lives. Make sure that you’re getting prepared for postpartum. Now, some of that is going to be supplies, the pads that you need, tucks, thermoplasty, things like that, food that you’re going to eat when you come home, cleaning your house.

[00:05:35.160] – Hilary Erickson

I think cleaning is a great way to move, by the way, but I would definitely get my partner down on their hands and knees, too, if we’re cleaning the grout. Grab that checklist for the supplies you’ll need and then the plan so you can talk it over with your partner, things about visitors who can help you after the baby’s born. That postpartum plan is so helpful.

[00:05:51.740] – Hilary Erickson

I also have an induction checklist. The last thing I would tell you to do is make sure that you’ve talked with your provider about what to expect. So often patients We’ll ask the provider, How long do you think it’s going to take? They’re like, I don’t know. Do I have a crystal ball? That’s so dumb. We have a guess as to how long it’s going to take based on your cervix, based on how far along you are.

[00:06:12.790] – Hilary Erickson

They will need to check your cervix in order to have that guess, but we have a guess. Now, is that guess always right? No. But usually we know if this is going to be a two-day induction or it might just be a few hours. Ask your provider what you should expect, because I think the worst part is people go into induction thinking it’ll just be 12 hours, and then they get to day three, and they’re begging for a C-section because it’s just not what they expected. Whereas if the provider said, We’re going to be two plus days on this thing, so be prepared to be there a long time, meaning, Let’s get you a sleep pill during the night so that you can get some rest. You got to be prepared for how long they’re thinking it’s going to be so that in the end, you’re not begging to end up with a C-section.

[00:06:56.830] – Hilary Erickson

That’s the biggest regret I see from inductions, and people will say that the provider didn’t go over with them. I would probably agree, but it truly isn’t something that we really know. We don’t know how long your induction will be, but we do have guesses. When you use the right language, you can usually assess that with your provider so that you just know what to expect as you go in.

[00:07:15.940] – Hilary Erickson

If you are having induction, I want to promise you that an induction can still be amazing. I got to say I cried for the day before mine, and I wish I hadn’t. The induction ended up being really fast and easy, and I avoided everything every step of the way, and I wish I hadn’t. I wish I had just given into it, had the induction. I probably would have had the baby within four hours if I had let them break my water.

[00:07:36.830] – Hilary Erickson

Inductions can be really great. Don’t be so scared of an induction. There’s so many people online who make you scared of an induction, but at the same point, there’s so, so, so many people who loved their induction would do it again and really enjoyed the fact that they could schedule it or that the baby got out healthy and mom was healthy as well.

[00:07:53.220] – Hilary Erickson

If you’re planning on an induction, come find us over on Instagram where we can start the chat about inductions and what you are doing to get prepared.

[00:08:01.120] – Hilary Erickson

Stay tuned. Next week, we are talking about when you are too tied to routines. Hello, Hilary. This one’s about me. The one after that, I’m having Dr. Nicole Rankins come on, and she’s talking about the birth plan that you need. So stay tuned.

[00:08:14.640] – Hilary Erickson

Thanks for joining us on the Pulling Curls Podcast today. If you liked today’s episode, please consider reviewing, sharing, subscribing. It really helps our podcast grow. Thank you.

Keywords:

induction, hospital bag, prenatal class, pregnancy advice, birth preparation, labor, sleep tips, meal suggestions, postpartum, hospital packing list, external charger, hair tie, ChapStick, relaxation during induction, hospital tour, Kindle Fire, birthing ball, exercise during pregnancy, postpartum supplies, birth class, induction checklist, cervix check, induction duration, anxiety management, partner support, labor expectations, hospital meals, postpartum planning, visitors after birth, healthcare provider communication