Anyone try castor oil at 38 weeks? Your experience?

Kingme07

[-O<

MrsLaLaBug

anne0709 said:

A baby is considered full term at 37 weeks. Full term is anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks.

Wrong.

WashingtonQueen

Do not do it. Seriously. Don't. 

thegoodpotato

No. This is not a choice you should make on your own. Baby should be allowed to come when it's ready.

I was offered a castor oil concoction by my midwife with my last pregnancy.... But I was 41+3 and it was *medically administered*. I actually declined the castor oil and ended up induced the next day anyway just because she wasn't comfortable letting me go any longer.

Do NOT try to evict your baby early. Do NOT use castor oil unless you are doing so under the advise of a medical professional. Baby will come when it comes.

I was overdue with both my kids (41 weeks and 41.5 weeks), so I know how desperate you can feel in those final weeks... But please don't do anything stupid like trying to start labour with castor oil.

MrsLaLaBug

Please try it and absolutely let us know how it goes!! 8-}

Tapsalteerie

No. You are only 38 weeks. Give the kid a chance.

abbyful

Baby will come when baby is ready to come. Really, what is a couple more weeks in the grand scheme of things? You aren't even to 40 weeks yet! And gestational period of a human is actually 41w1d (according to Harvard), don't try to evict your baby 3 weeks early!

tbarker14

I am 33 weeks, almost 34 weeks and while it is starting to become a little bit more uncomfortable I would never do anything to ease my comfort at this point in time we have carried this little one so long already, a few more weeks is better for the baby. Besides a few more weeks isn't going to kill us. I would never try to force this little one out earlier unless it was medically necessary by more than one dr's input.

Patch89

i echo all the ladies here!  as eager as i am (41 weeks) , castor oil is where i will draw the line!! you should check some of the horror stories out haha labour and bad diarrhoea do not go hand in hand... hang in there mamma!!

anne0709

A baby is considered full term at 37 weeks. Full term is anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks.

kaleb87

anne0709 said:

A baby is considered full term at 37 weeks. Full term is anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks.

No they have changed this. A baby isn't considered full term until 39 weeks. At 37 weeks it is still considered early term. Sorry if the link isn't clicky I'm mobile.
https://m.acog.org/Resources_And_Publications/Committee_Opinions/Committee_on_Obstetric_Practice/Definition_of_Term_Pregnancy?IsMobileSet=true

PrimRoseMama

WashingtonQueen said:

Do not do it. Seriously. Don't. 

You will be so sick dude.

kmoon2011

My doc said he would be happy as long as baby stayed in for at least another week (making me 37 weeks) . if baby is ready, baby will come. I would not drink straight oil like that, makes my stomach hurt thinking bout it..
I've been walking and bouncing on my body ball to help baby get and stay in position.. wont make you go early but gets baby "ready" to be "ready". plus it helps with some pain and discomfort.
just hang in there, i know it gets exciting wanting to meet baby but we just gonna pray baby comes when good and ready and healthy!!!

best wishes!!

soulcupcake

At 38 weeks? Nope. The majority of women are not "ripe" enough for most induction methods to be effective, and it's even more iffy if you're a primipara.

My midwife and I induced with castor oil with my youngest, my fourth. It's an old method for bringing on labor when the body/baby are ready. It's not something I would advise or advocate willy nilly since not everyone responds to it the same way. But under the care of a midwife who is experienced and trained in using castor oil, it can be effective with minimal or no adverse effects (e.g., dehydration). I took two doses spaced a few hours apart, and it was gross. Since I was planning/having a homebirth I could eat and drink before and throughout labor to keep hydrated once the "effects" kicked in. In my situation, which apparently isn't the norm, it took many hours before the "effects" kicked in, and even then, it wasn't bad at all. Only about four fairly quick bathroom trips (sorry, TMI, but hey, given the subject, it applies), which is when I felt a few Braxton Hicks type contractions, but they always subsided after I was off the loo.

The mechanism behind using castor oil is that it can help stimulate the release of prostaglandins and the effects of it, stimulating the gut and thereby causing the uterus to begin contracting, induces labor *if* the body is already near labor (and it should be avoided if the Bishop's score is too low).

It "worked" in my case, but I was already 5 cm and 80% effaced with a bulging bag. I had been that way for a week, and we were confident the process would be quick given I have extremely precipitous births. We definitely didn't want to go the amniotomy route because there's no reversing it once it's done, and it carries its own set of risks. So castor oil it was, and there wasn't much to the process. It was a waiting game, and a long one, before I even made a trip to the bathroom. I spent a lot of time walking around my neighborhood with the hopes that it may help get things going. I managed to make it to 6 cm with all that walking, but no labor. In the end, I never "labored." When we least expected it, I went from no labor to birth in a matter of two minutes. I had roughly four back to back contractions, going from 6 cm to birth in one minute. It was a crazy experience for everyone. My midwife had never seen anything like it. We knew to expect a very fast birth (<60 minutes), but not that fast. 

Under the care of a provider experienced with castor oil, I would go that route again, but that's because I know how I labor/birth and what works. If I didn't have extremely precipitous labors/births, and there's a greater chance of diarrhea lasting for an extended period of time and I wasn't able to drink/eat to keep my energy up, then I wouldn't go that route. 

This addresses the data (limited) on castor oil's effectiveness. Since it is widely used within midwifery practice, it is not studied in the same way as pharmaceutical methods of labor induction (Misoprostol, Cervidil, pitocin, PGE2).

"Castor oil is oil derived from the castor bean of the castor plant (Ricinus communis). Castor oil has been used for induction of labor for many years, even dating back to ancient Egypt (Garry et al., 2000). The scientific literature has very few references on castor oil and its use in midwifery practice. However, the use of castor oil is very widespread, although dosages are not standardized and the exact mechanism of action to stimulate labor is unknown. Of practitioners that implement natural methods of induction with their clients, 93% use castor oil as a method for labor induction. Some providers feel that castor oil is a good option for women who have tried other methods of induction that have been unsuccessful; while others feel that the side effects of nausea and diarrhea make this method less desirable. Ingestion of small amounts of castor oil for labor induction have not been shown to have any serious adverse effects and may possibly bring about contraction, labor and birth. Castor oil is the most commonly used herbal preparation by midwives, however more research needs to be done to determine other serious side effects, safety and appropriate dosages for its use in labor induction. (Knoche, Selzer, & Smolley, 2008).

Castor oil appears to increase the incidence of spontaneous onset of labor when it is used in term pregnancies. The best time for castor oil ingestion for induction of labor is after a good night's sleep. It is thought to act by stimulating the gut, which stimulates the vagal nerve and then stimulates the uterus. The onset of action is between 2-6 hours after ingestion. This method of induction had very few drawbacks, despite the little amount of research done on the topic (Varney, Kriebs, & Gregor, 2004). A proposed physiologic mechanism of action is that ingestion of castor oil decreases the absorption of fluids and electrolytes in the small intestine, which stimulates peristalsis and causes diarrhea and possibly contractions. Castor oil also is thought to promote the release of prostaglandin E2 and enhance cervical ripening and uterine contractions (Knoche, Selzer, & Smolley, 2008)."