Inducing labor naturally

jennclee · November 2015

So what are natural ways, old wives tales, etc., of inducing labor? Lol. I know I still have some time and don't plan on doing anything until we get closer to our due date. Just seeing if anyone else plans on or has heard of anything worth while to try.

kleshelle · November 2015

Walking, sex, fresh pineapple, spicy food, hitting speed bumps at a decent speed (also screwing your car up), bouncing on an exercise ball, squats, castor oil, nipple stimulation

Court11152325 · November 2015

Acupressure - spot near the ankle and between the thumb and first finger

breezypip · November 2015

My acupuncturist says she can help with that if/when the time comes.

brady1031 · November 2015

If you get on Pinterest (my go to search) and look for ways to induce labor there are tons of ideas. Also I read that they won't work until your body is ready.

I'm going to try some of them starting in December! I'm looking forward to the accupressure during a pedicure!

Mizuiro007 · November 2015

I've heard of cilantro doing it if you eat a lot.

Bombmom3 · November 2015

Since I've tried my damnedest two times around to go into labor before being induced at 39 weeks I have a long list of "do it yourself" induction methods. Nothing really worked for me at all except for breast pump/nipple stim and even then I still had to be augmented with the pitocin to get everything going. Here is the list, though, and I have one new thing I'm trying this time as well (I'll put it last since I haven't done it yet):
- Evening Prim Rose capsules
- Red raspberry leaf tea
- eating a huge amount of fresh pineapple
- castor oil (I did a poultice on my belly rather than ingesting it - sorry, explosive diarrhea is NOT what I want happening to cause labor or during labor)
- really super spicy Indian food (as in I told the gentleman at the restaurant that I wanted it as hot as they make it for their local, repeat Indian customers)
- Fleet enema (yeah, not fun)
- sex, sex, sex and more sex
- walking (and walking ... Oh, did I mention walking?)
- repeat stretch and sweeps at the OB clinic and at home (with the OK from the doctor)
- labor cake (it was freaking amazingly delicious but not one contraction resulted from its consumption)
- squats (oh so many squats)
- birthing ball hip rotations
- prayer
- harsh language
- acupressure points
- prenatal massage
- chiropractic manipulation
- nipple stim/breast pump (actually gave me real contractions every time I used it but would stop as soon as I stopped using the pump)
- clary sage essential oil in a bath and rubbed along the fundus and bottoms of feet (we'll see how that goes!)

*had to add a few I forgot

Everycol0r · November 2015

There's nothing you can do.

jennclee · November 2015

Thank you all. With my first DD my water broke at 38+3 and coincidentally we did a ton of walking and of course sex which at that point was still a regular occurrence. Lol! I will definitely try some of the others as well.

mbecca11 · November 2015

Okay so this may seem like a stupid question, but when it comes to the nipple stimulation method, how exactly are you supposed to stimulate it? Like is there a specific way to do it or do you just rub them and tug them till you start having contractions?

jennclee · November 2015

Good question. I wasn't too sure about that myself.

casicatalana · November 2015

@mbecca11 @jennclee You can use a breast pump for nipple stimulation. It helped my friend go into labor.

ssn109 · November 2015

But what if your insurance won't get your breast pump until after you've already given birth? Suggestions on other methods?

stephaniearthurs · November 2015

This is a serious question as well! Why are these things good at starting labor at the end of your pregnancy but don't do anything earlier! If sex is ok all through pregnancy, why does it induce labor later. I do many of the things listed (the speed bumps in my neighborhood are insane).

Also from what I've read caster oil is a big big big no no when ingested and can actually harm the baby (more then just the raging diarrhea). I'm a FTM so I'm just going off of what I've read!!

Bombmom3 · November 2015

There are a few different ways you can do nipple stim. You can use a breast pump, you can do it yourself by gently rolling and tugging on your nipples (in a similar fashion to if you were trying to express milk from them) and then the super fun one: you ask DH/SO for some assistance and let them go between using their mouths and hands. When using DH/SO, it is more than just a quick foreplay type session so you should make that clear to them before starting (honestly I think me and my DH tried this way three of four times but neither of us was "mature" enough to not have it
turn into something else entirely haha).
There are specific guidelines for how long to stim each side and when you need to stop or take a break from the stim because it can cause super long/hard contractions or hyper stimulate the uterus. This is because it releases oxytocin into your body which is your body's natural version of pitocin. Unlike pitocin, though, generally if you stop the nipple stim the moment you start feeling super long/hard contractions or contractions that come back to back they will calm down or go away.

Correct nipple stim times can be found here as well as the correct manual stim technique:
https://www.birthingnaturally.net/cn/technique/nipple.html

Bombmom3 · November 2015

stephaniearthurs said:
This is a serious question as well! Why are these things good at starting labor at the end of your pregnancy but don't do anything earlier! If sex is ok all through pregnancy, why does it induce labor later. I do many of the things listed (the speed bumps in my neighborhood are insane).

Also from what I've read caster oil is a big big big no no when ingested and can actually harm the baby (more then just the raging diarrhea). I'm a FTM so I'm just going off of what I've read!!

None of these methods are going to to diddly unless your body is primed and ready for labor, anyways (generally would happen on its own within the next 24/48hrs) which is why it's safe to do most of these all throughout pregnancy. Certain things (like the castor oil or the clary sage) are NOT recommended until your baby has reached or passed full term because they do cause uterine contractions regardless of if your body is ready or not.

Sex can cause labor in two ways. Once you hit a certain stage of pregnancy, your cervix responds to the prostaglandin in semen which can ripen and can even dilate/efface it a little bit. This can also trigger the hormonal changes that cause the membranes connecting the sac and the cervix together to begin separating. Orgasmic sex for the woman can also start or step up contractions. So can stimunlation/irritation of the cervix (if you have a "touchy" one). These last two reasons are why doctors put women who have cervical competency issues or who are at risk of PTL on pelvic rest.

In regards to the castor oil: negative side affects to the baby is another reason I have never ingested it, just used the poultice on my belly. It is widely debated amongst professionals (and labor lore) as to whether it is safe or not. I know a lot of midwives and OBs that suggest it when a mom is looking for a do-it-yourself induction. Every mom who is researching how to induce at home needs to look into the risks/benefits of all of these methods and talk with their birth professionals before trying to get labor rolling at home on their own.

Addy1227 · November 2015

I read somewhere that you shouldn't do squats after 30 weeks unless you're positive the baby is head down; otherwise it'll push the baby further down making it harder for the baby to flip. Not sure how true this is, especially since I don't remember where I read it but just thought I'd share.

nik6499 · November 2015

Unfortunately none of these are going to actually work until your body is ready. However, some are pretty fun to try. And at least trying these makes you feel like you are doing something while you wait for baby

Ccat1977 · November 2015

My doctor said if she wants me to have her encourage him along she can when we get to 39 weeks. She can move some membranes away from the cervix apparently that may help - no guarantees though. My prenatal massage therapist said she can also help encourage. I've also heard sex (semen really) helps up the hormone levels that get things moving. Part of me wonders how much is mental - when you tell yourself your ready and open up to the idea.... My brain can do some crazy amazing things that greatly influence how I feel, why not this?

nik6499 · November 2015

@Ccat1977 this is called stripping the membranes, this does work for some moms, this is usually done no earlier than 38-39 weeks

Inducing labor naturally

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