Can We Get This Over With??

doozer1345 · February 2016

Meaning things you can do to induce labor.

I've seen these type posts increasing lately and since most of us are in the home stretch or getting close (3rd tri) I thought we'd knock this out with one post.

Castor Oil? No. Asking to be induced only bc you're uncomfortable? No. It's been proven time and again that baby will come when baby is ready. The longer LO is in there the better off LO is going to be. Why cut that time short? Yes, this is increasingly getting more and more uncomfortable and gross feeling but it's so important to stick it out and not try things that can potentially hurt you or your LO.

Some ways to naturally induce labor (disclaimer: these are old wives tales but if it gives you a sense of control and relief have at it sister!): sex (sperm softens the cervix opening), walking, getting a pedicure (this can be harmful if not done by professionals who understand pressure points that can set off labor and of course always check with your doc), eating spicy food, gently bouncing on an exercise ball....

Anyone else have thoughts or old wives tales??

sarawifenow · February 2016

Amen, sister!

mrstmoose · February 2016

I have nothing to add but this: thank you!

Image: https://media.giphy.com/media/ajgz23DpDDB4s/giphy.gif

yogahh · February 2016

I always thought the Italian Eggplant recipe was a fun one. I mean we have Engagement Chicken, so why not Induce Labor with Eggplant Parm??

doozer1345 · February 2016

@yogahh Yumm.. Eggplant Parm.

KidShrink · February 2016

I've been told that acupuncture with moxibustion works every time (as per my pelvic health physio). I'm planning on testing it out at 40w on the dot if this little guy doesn't show up early.

In the complete old wives tales category: washing your floors on all four.

hellogoodbye2 · February 2016

Thank you! Don't be like that woman's mom from the show Rattled! ;-)

I thought the most important aspect to having sex to induce labor is for the woman to orgasm? I have not heard of the sperm thing.

yogahh · February 2016

doozer1345 said:

@yogahh Yumm.. Eggplant Parm.

NOOOO!!!! Its too early. If you eat it, your cervix will magically open up and baby will pop right out. You cant have it until at least 39+3 weeks!

araecasey · February 2016

hellogoodbye2 said:

Thank you! Don't be like that woman's mom from the show Rattled! ;-)

I thought the most important aspect to having sex to induce labor is for the woman to orgasm? I have not heard of the sperm thing.

Oxytocin from orgasm can help push you over the edge. Same with nipple simulation. Semen helps ripen the cervix because it contains prostaglandins. Hubby and I got the ball rolling with DD this way, it was lots of fun!

wamam027 · February 2016

I've been told the best way to get baby to come early is to stand on one foot, rub your head and pat your belly at the same time 10 times, then click your heels together 3 times and chant "my cervix is opening, my cervix is opening". Works like a charm, there's even scientific evidence for this, swear! Ps, works even better if somebody records it, who wouldn't want the moment of their labor beginning caught on video anyway?!

baby-2-due · February 2016

Ok on the note of waiting for LO to come when LO is ready, I plan on going as far as 3 weeks past my DD as long as baby is doing well, before I will allow my dr to intervene. However, she keeps telling me she will "allow" me to go only one week past my DD. My sister and I are on the same page with this issue, and I will be ignoring the phone calls to set up induction BUT will go in for non stress tests to make sure LO is ok. I believe that LO will come when she is ready. My mom was 3 weeks PDD with myself, 2wks PDD with my older sister, 1 wk PDD with my brother and a week early with my little sister. We all came on our own just fine. Does anyone else have a dr that has told them how far they are willing to let them go before helping things along? I mean I'll try sex to help because SO is going to have to wait a while after LO gets here so I'm totally fine with trying that, but if baby is still healthy and so am I is it bad to wait for her to be ready?

saladflambe · February 2016

Apparently - lemon. There's a lemon labor-inducing cake recipe....
https://lemon-sugar.com/2011/04/labor-of-love-lemon-drop-cupcakes.html/
Or you can be me and drink a couple lemons worth of lemon juice every day. Oops.

kami09 · February 2016

I tried everything with DS because I realllly didn't want to be induced (I was)....but I will echo NO CASTOR OIL. DON'T DO IT. I REPEAT: DO NOT DO IT! lol- all I'll say is my ass was on fire and no baby resulted from it.

doozer1345 · February 2016

I will throw out there that 3 days before DD1 came I ate spicy Mexican food, got a pedicure (told the pedicurist if she put me in labor I would give her a fat tip), and walked and walked and walked. I did this all in one day. I can't say these things put me in labor bc my water broke 3 days after but... There you have it.

TheThornBird · February 2016

doozer1345 said:

Asking to be induced only bc you're uncomfortable? No. It's been proven time and again that baby will come when baby is ready. The longer LO is in there the better off LO is going to be. Why cut that time short? Yes, this is increasingly getting more and more uncomfortable and gross feeling but it's so important to stick it out and not try things that can potentially hurt you or your LO.

THIS. You know what's really uncomfortable? Being forced to come out of the womb before you're done growing and ready to go.

kami09 · February 2016

^ also uncomfortable....pitocin. Did I say uncomfortable? I meant HELL.

Bltbear82 · February 2016

doozer1345 said:

I will throw out there that 3 days before DD1 came I ate spicy Mexican food, got a pedicure (told the pedicurist if she put me in labor I would give her a fat tip), and walked and walked and walked. I did this all in one day. I can't say these things put me in labor bc my water broke 3 days after but... There you have it.

Same! Ate Mexican and walked a ton, that night contractions started and my water broke the following day. Might be pure coincidence but it happened.

dshannah · February 2016

So in another thread I complained about my absurd childbirth class and the nurse who runs it. Case and point: she told us all not to get hand and foot massages because they induce labor.

She went on for ten minutes. Telling us how to tell our manicurists that we don't want hand massages. Yeah. So much ridiculousness.

Sunshinebins · February 2016

There's a local place here that has a pizza that supposedly does it. To me, it sounds like the only thing it'll induce is heartburn.

kbrands7 · February 2016

Pineapple! I may have used this tale as an excuse to eat lots of pineapple upside down cake when I kept having false labor (for days on end during 38w...it was either false labor or the slowest early labor ever). I'm ruling that it did not work, and frankly, I didn't expect it to. My water broke spontaneously a week after I started the pineapple binge.

lalala2004 · February 2016

This needs to be pinned! 3rd Tri has had way to many posts about this.

That said, if someone came up with a way I could just sleep until it's time for baby to come, that sounds really nice right now....

Bluejay3030 · February 2016

I've heard that sending your husband/SO or delivery room support person out of town for a day or two is extremely effective at inducing labor. Because Murphy's Law.

Sunshinebins · February 2016

Bluejay3030 said:

I've heard that sending your husband/SO or delivery room support person out of town for a day or two is extremely effective at inducing labor. Because Murphy's Law.

This seems the most effective to me! I'm sure I'll go into labor the day SO is on a job site at which he doesn't get cell service haha

LadySamLady · February 2016

I read this whole thread and the only thought I have is "I need eggplant parm."

JoMunson · February 2016

My mom induced her two weeks late baby by untying every knot in the house.
im with you ladies- if it's up to me, baby can stay in as long as he needs to!

LovingLife! · February 2016

I have never understood why women still do castor oil!! It'll just give you stomach cramps and make you poop all over the place!

Ditto to Pitocin being hell...my own contractions weren't as hard and fast as the pitocin-induced ones! Yuck.

I tried walking on a curb with one foot up and the other down (just managed to make me look like an idiot), sex, Mexican food...nothing worked either time. Just went into labor when babies were ready to come!

yogahh · February 2016

Sunshinebins said:

There's a local place here that has a pizza that supposedly does it. To me, it sounds like the only thing it'll induce is heartburn.

Please tell me more about this magical place!

laurenmdrn16 · February 2016

Apparently there are magical pumpkin ravioli at an Italian restaurant across the street from my hospital that are legendary for sending women into labor. I know at least 5 women who swear by it!

Sunshinebins · February 2016

yogahh said:

Sunshinebins said:

There's a local place here that has a pizza that supposedly does it. To me, it sounds like the only thing it'll induce is heartburn.

Please tell me more about this magical place!

It's a local pizza place that has a few locations in our general area, but they are "famous" for their Prego pizza. They even put success stories up on their website

Jenly17 · February 2016

The night before my water broke I tried every old wives tale in the book! DD was 3 days late and I was getting very uncomfortable so I walked, bounced on my exercise ball, got a pedicure, then had super spicy Mexican for dinner, came home and ate pineapple and had sex. The next morning at 5am my water broke. I have no idea if any of those things worked but it seemed like they all worked collectively...or DD was just ready to start her journey into the world

If LO is late again this time, I'll just have a preggo pizza. Man that sounds good!

AdorkablePixie · February 2016

Maybaby0519 said:

Ok on the note of waiting for LO to come when LO is ready, I plan on going as far as 3 weeks past my DD as long as baby is doing well, before I will allow my dr to intervene. However, she keeps telling me she will "allow" me to go only one week past my DD. My sister and I are on the same page with this issue, and I will be ignoring the phone calls to set up induction BUT will go in for non stress tests to make sure LO is ok. I believe that LO will come when she is ready. My mom was 3 weeks PDD with myself, 2wks PDD with my older sister, 1 wk PDD with my brother and a week early with my little sister. We all came on our own just fine. Does anyone else have a dr that has told them how far they are willing to let them go before helping things along? I mean I'll try sex to help because SO is going to have to wait a while after LO gets here so I'm totally fine with trying that, but if baby is still healthy and so am I is it bad to wait for her to be ready?

This. My midwife will let me go two weeks over my due date. So, I will go two weeks over if need by. I've heard and read that going more than two weeks over can be bad for baby. One couple lost their baby because they went over. I had a friend who went over and her baby pooped inside her and choked on it, she almost died (the baby, not the friend). Since my midwife won't let me go two weeks over it's not an issue, but I am all about waiting until baby is ready. They didn't really induce back in the day. I honestly can't stand doctors who induce before due dates (unless it's medically necessary) or just a week over. A week is not long enough, the due date could be off and baby just isn't ready yet!!

They induced my sister in law what they thought was a week early and it was way earlier. Her daughter was a preemie and had a lot of developmental issues. She's a year and a half and JUST started walking. She wasn't even crawling at her first birthday. Sorry this got so long winded!

BlueJuice · February 2016

Picking a day that you really, really don't want to go into labor is, indeed, fairly effective. I was adamant that DD2 was not going to share her daddy's birthday, and guess who had a baby at 8:40 that morning? Happy birthday, honey.

That probably doesn't bode well for my brother's wedding that is one day before my EDD. Hahahahahahadangit.

baby-2-due · February 2016

@AdorkablePixie yes! I feel like too many people view your EDD as the final date instead of a guesstimate. My EDD is the 19th however all of my ultrasounds show LO measuring about 5/6 days behind which puts me around the 24th. So I don't feel the need to rush her and I don't feel like one week past is enough. Maybe I should let her intervene at 2 weeks past IF LO hasn't made her grand entry yet. I'll play it by ear, but I knew what I was getting into when SO and I started trying again. I'm sure I'll be so miserable by the end I'll be trying all the old wives tales to get her here haha but definitely NOT castor oil or being induced bcuz of discomfort. My mom says that if there is a full moon near my EDD that's when I will go. I guess when she was pregnant with me a guy that worked for my dad told her I would be here on the 28th of April (which was also his birthday) because it was a full moon and that's when his sow would go. She disputed this but it happened at 2 am the night of a full moon lol she was not happy he was right but now she swears by the moon and babies births.
sorry this was so long!

laurenmdrn16 · February 2016

I am in a different sort of situation because I know with about 80% certainty that my little lady will be born 4/20. She will be delivered via CS at 38wks. I was bummed we wouldn't get our original EDD of 5/4 (May the Fourth be with you...I am a nerd!) but even still we know that there is a chance she could come earlier, though I am not going to go into labor or have any chance of delivering vaginally. If there are any signs of labor, I will be put on bedrest and labor will be stopped until we determine that a CS would be safe for me and baby. Of course, all my friends are loving that she is due (and will most likely be born) on 4/20. They joke she is going to be the most chill kid, but probably have the munchies a lot...

AdorkablePixie · February 2016

@Maybaby0519 I wonder if there is a full moon around my due date? I should check! lol Yeah, I wouldn't go by our EDD especially if baby is measuring a little smaller. I think doctor's forget that their dates are just estimates and they don't need to induce just because they want you having the baby while they are on call or something.

kami09 · February 2016

AdorkablePixie said:

and they don't need to induce just because they want you having the baby while they are on call or something.

Ugh don't get me started!!! Lol

emma+karen · February 2016

AdorkablePixie said:

@Maybaby0519 I wonder if there is a full moon around my due date? I should check! lol Yeah, I wouldn't go by our EDD especially if baby is measuring a little smaller. I think doctor's forget that their dates are just estimates and they don't need to induce just because they want you having the baby while they are on call or something.

Your post made me go check! The full moon is May 21...2 days before my due date! Wooo!

Would be great if it actually worked to get this baby moving...I was late with my son and hated having to be induced!

Pascal86 · February 2016

Jenly17 said:

The night before my water broke I tried every old wives tale in the book! DD was 3 days late and I was getting very uncomfortable so I walked, bounced on my exercise ball, got a pedicure, then had super spicy Mexican for dinner, came home and ate pineapple and had sex. The next morning at 5am my water broke. I have no idea if any of those things worked but it seemed like they all worked collectively...or DD was just ready to start her journey into the world

If LO is late again this time, I'll just have a preggo pizza. Man that sounds good!

Ughh... things I will never do, even if I'm trying to induce labor. After Mexican/Thai/Indian, my husband is on his own!

AdorkablePixie · February 2016

@emma+karen We have the same due date!!

Jenly17 · February 2016

Pascal86 said:

Jenly17 said:

The night before my water broke I tried every old wives tale in the book! DD was 3 days late and I was getting very uncomfortable so I walked, bounced on my exercise ball, got a pedicure, then had super spicy Mexican for dinner, came home and ate pineapple and had sex. The next morning at 5am my water broke. I have no idea if any of those things worked but it seemed like they all worked collectively...or DD was just ready to start her journey into the world

If LO is late again this time, I'll just have a preggo pizza. Man that sounds good!

Ughh... things I will never do, even if I'm trying to induce labor. After Mexican/Thai/Indian, my husband is on his own!

Ha! FWIW it was a quickie nightcap.

also not knowing when I was going to be able to DTD again was in the back of my mind quite a bit towards the end.

emma+karen · February 2016

AdorkablePixie said:

@emma+karen We have the same due date!!

Woo! My ticker is off by a couple days, but hurray for May 23!

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