The people caring for you in the hospital will evaluate the readout of the baby's heart rate pattern as these patterns can provide some indication of how the baby is doing at a given point. The fetal monitor cannot tell everything, but it can tell how your baby is tolerating labor, whether or not the placenta is working well, and if the umbilical cord is getting pressed. If there has been no change in your cervix, they will probably have you walk around for a couple of hours and then recheck your cervix. If there still has been no change, they may even send you home for a while. Don't get discouraged if this happens.
Many women make several trips to the hospital before the real thing.
Sometimes the excitement of going into the hospital stops the contractions and sometimes getting to the hospital and rehydrating with fluids will also stop contractions. All the pieces need to be in place before it will actually happen. The process of inducing labor involves stimulating the cervix to soften and dilate and the uterus to contract. This is not an acceptable reason for induction. Medical reasons, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or if you are past your due date, are reasons for induction of labor.