What inductions methods worked for you?

DH and I DTD the night before I went into labour with Harrison... I believe that this is what did it for me.

LOL Becky...not worked for me yet.

Feeb was tellin me you can do it sitting on the loo....use lotsa lube. put in two fingers til you find ur cervix, cos its ur 2nd bub there should be like a little hole (hmm so im told), ur cervix should feel like ur ear lobe (on a non preg lady it feels like ur nose), then u gently 'sweep' the cervix.

Or of course get Dh to help ya out....thats what i do....hmm maybe thats where im going wrong....dont think so tho....i cant find nothing when im doing it myself on the loo neither!

Now i/we are either doing it wrong, not finding cervix, or im/we are useless.....but i have no idea wats going on.

LOL
Thanks Kimbaz. Not sure I'll have any idea either. I'll give it a try - cant hurt!

Just make sure u have lotsa lube, go slow..and apparently cant do damage so cant hurt to try!

Just to top it off... DTD! haha

just out of curiousity, what is EPO and stretch and sweep?

i've never heard of these terms before

Evening Primrose Oil. And a stretch and sweep is where your caregiver, OB, or midwife, inserts a finger or 2 into your cervix and attempts to seperate the membranes from the cervix. The idea is that this will cause a surge in hormones and kick start labour.

thanks, i've already gone through 2 pregnancies and now with the 3rd, i'm still learning new tricks!!
how does the epo work when taken orally? and do you just stick a normal capsule up 'there' for the other way?
and when should you start taking it?
(at the moment i'm 32 weeks & 3 days.)

TBH, I have no idea how the EPO works orally, other than that it is recommended to do also. You can start using it at around 36 weeks both orally and internally. For the internal dose start with one to 2 capsules inserted high into the vagina, by 38 weeks you can up it to 3 capsules, and you can do it morning and night. I only ever did night time though. I find right before bedtime best as it gives it a chance to pool and soak the cervix. Make sure you wear a pad or panty liner though, because what goes in, will come out ;)

With my last pregnancy I was 3 cm dilated before I even went into labour and my cervix was so ripe and easy to stretch. Has to be a bonus.

Trish - do you mean you can insert x3 in the morning and then another x3 at night? I want to up the dose now that I'm so close but wasn't sure if it was a no-no? I can't see why it would be.

Anything to help right now!!

From what I hear, EPO works somewhat like a prostaglandin, which is what they would give you to ripen your cervix in an induction. (also present in semen, BTW) It is good for making your cervix soft and ready to dilate and efface. I asked my midwife about taking it, and she said they used to recommend it in their practice, until a study came out that associated it with early rupture of membranes. So they don't recommend it here anymore. But from what I hear/read on BB, lots of women are taking it without issues, so if you're fine with that, then go for it!
My midwife gave me a herbal combination to take three times a day that has pulsatilla, arnica montana, caulophyllum tha, actea raccem., and gelsemium semp. in it. (don't ask me what all those things do - she told me, but I forget!) Anyways, the idea is that it will give you a little nudge into labour if you are close anyways.
All the best!

Willow, yes you are right. Morning and night x 3.

Cricket, I know that the pulsatilla is to help calm any fears you may have, arnica is a stimulant and diuretic and is also used for sporting injuries like sprains. It's actually a good thing to take after bub is born to stop any swelling you may get "down there". Caulophyllum thalictroides (which is what I think cculophyllum tha is supposed to be) is also known as Blue Cohosh, this is used to stimulate labour. Gelsemium sempervirens is used for feelings of fear and irritability, depression, headache, chill, heaviness of the eyelids, weakness, and vertigo. And I'm not sure what actea raccem is at all.

Usually just a combination of black and blue cohosh and perhaps some pulsatilla is all that is needed to give labour a push start. But I will warn you and say that this can cause and irritable uterus, basically set you contraction fast and frequent - more like spasms than anything else.

But nothing will work unless your body is already to do so on it's own.

OK cool - thanks Trish!! I might speak to the middy at my obs office today about it too.

I have heard that Raspberry Leaf Tabs are great!

Accupuncture, and Reflexology, and RLT for me this time, from 36 ish weeks!

RLT won't actually bring on labour. What they do is tone your uterus so that when you do start having contractions they will be stronger and more effective. They are also great for helping to build a good milk supply and also help with post partum bleeding.