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Did you try any natural methods to encourage your labour to come on? Do you think they actually worked or just wivestales? Some common ways women encourage labour, which may be wivestales or known to help include:
*Eating spicy foods
*Nipple stimulation
*Having sex
*Aromatherapy (see a qualified therapist for any aromatherapy use)
*Herbs (see a qualified therapist for any herbal use)
*Other - feel free to discuss!
I also heard that walking would help & also Fish & Chips!
I tried everything too (most of what is already mentioned) and absolutely nothing worked for me!! (but i didnt mind trying the bding side though!)
I was overdue (by 4 days) with Olivia and was SO OVER IT that I was trying anything and everything, so I am not sure if any of it worked, but here is what I tried:
~ Sniffing Clary Sage........(this is to be AVOIDED during pregnancy, and shoudl only be undertaken under the advice of your Dr and an aromatherapist). Plus it stinks.
~ Raspberry Leaf tea, by the gallon. Again, only should ever be taken in the last stages of a pregnancy. I love the stuff.....
~ Sex. Had a bonk on the Friday night and went into labour on the Saturday morning
~ Reflexology. My hairdresser gave me a sheet with all the right points to apply pressure to (the feet from memory) but I was so huge I had to get DH to do it, and we just got the giggles...........
~ Chilli-con-Carne with extra tabasco........
Had a friend who got so sick of waiting she "forced" her husband to have sex every two hours for an afternoon. Didn't work though.
I tried:
sex - everyday without fail from 40weeks
curries - one everyother day
mexican - on the off curry day
walking - 1 hour a day
rasberry leaf tea - 3 cups a day
Clary sage only the last week as I was too afraid of it before then...lol
and Matilda just disengaged instead....lol....nothing moved her...
LMAO Lucy. I did what you did on Friday night (just after a warm bath), then lost all of my show minutes later and Elijah was born Saturday morning. I think being in early labour already helped but who knows!!! I remember contractions started Thursday lunchtime sitting at the puter working away... I just knew what was coming :)
I have to say the last thing I wanted to do at 40 weeks pg was have sex!
I did try raspberry leaf tea, reflexology, lots of walking but in the end none of it worked. Grace had her own ideas about when she wanted to be born!
Bon
I tried a few things..Tried aromathearapy, walking, sex, raspberry leaf tabs and Evening Primrose oil. The one thing I do know is that none of these things will work unless you are dilating already...meaning your cervix is ripe. But the funny thing is, you still don't know if it works because you don't know whether you would have gone into labour anyway. But it sure is nice trying some of the stuff and at least you know that you're doing something too ;)
I was two days before EDD, and hubby and I decided to "practise" natural induction sex one Sunday morning. I was sure that bub was going to be late being my first and all. Anyways, my waters broke just as I started to eat breakfast and bub boy was born 8.5 hours later....
I only have 8 days to go and have been walking my butt off and drinking the raspberry leaf tea and nothing at all, bubs is still quite happily kicking my ribs!!!!!!
tried it all and NOTHING worked at all:
*Eating spicy foods
*Nipple stimulation
*Having sex
*Aromatherapy (see a qualified therapist for any aromatherapy use)
*Herbs (see a qualified therapist for any herbal use)
*Other -
Also tried driving along bumpy roads, Oral Sex I read it somewhere on the net..DP wasn't complaining ;), jumping up and down, walking,etc..
Felix was engaged for over 7 weeks was born 41+6days and my cervix need artificial ripening by gels..all I can say is if they aren't ready they aren't ready! Next baby I will be adding 2 weeks onto my due date ;)
I tried it all! Sex, spicy foods, walking(a lot), nipple stimulation, raspberry leaf tea. Nothing worked. I was 7 days over and had to be induced due to pre eclampsia which was discovered 5 days overdue.
I found from memory that i just started doing the nesting stuff without realising it and then i wanted a bath and it all started the next day, one day before due date so i was lucky, hoping i can strike it lucky twice but yeah not likely i am guessing!
Jillian,
I noticed that you said something about inserting evening primrose oil capsules. What sort of dosage did you use and how often did you use this. Also did you take it orally? I have read alittle about using this but haven't really found alot.
Take care
Trish
Trish I have read a little bit about evening primrose capsules basically they contain a precursor of prostaglandins and help ripen the cervix. The sites I have looked suggest either inserting a capsule (apparently they dissolve) I guess you would do it at night, or taking up to 4 a day orally. I have read that the gut is more effective at absorbing the substances than the cervix so I am thinking of giving that a go.
Be careful girls - just because it is natural, doesn't mean it is 100% safe or particularly gentle. Speak to a naturopath or midwife before messing with natural remedies, even from websites.
Natural medicine is still medicine, and can be quite powerful.
Take care!!!
Lulu
Thanks for that girls, I will do abit more searching - might even set up a post to see if any other girls come forward.
Take care
Trish
BUMP!
My SIL is now overdue and is incredibly uncomfortable and just cant wait to meet her bub, yet there has so far been not a single contraction or cramp.
So thought Id bring this post back up and see if anyone had any other ideas of what can help and to maybe assist some of you who might be hoping contractions start soon....
Keen
I was 10 days overdue and scheduled for an induction. My neighbour told me about some pressure points in the foot that induce labour but requires at least 2 hours of massage. So my MIL and DH took a foot each and massaged the ankle area for over 2 hours! It made the contractions start up, alright! The massage was rather uncomfortable, I have to say, because of the contractions. However, after a night of mild contractions, they faded off again. The next night I made the poor guys do it again, but they rebelled after an hour. Spoil sports. Still, it started mild contractions again. The next morning, I woke up with a hot feeling in my stomach which stayed there all day, followed by backaches mid afternoon, and then proper contractions around 6pm.
It's the only method I've discovered that has any success at all.
*Bump*
Does anyone know if lavender oil has anything to do with bringing on contractions?
Its just that last night I had a bath with lavender oil in it(as per my naturolpaths instructions to help my heachaches)and at about 3.30am I woke in pain having mild contractions till about 5.30am.This morning they have gone but I was wondering if the lavender bath had anything to do with it?
*bump* how many have been trying natural induction methods? The main site has a great article for it!
All these bumps today! It's great! I haven't yet but will be doing LOTS of stuff that I can to try and brin this baby on before my hospital gets impatient and try to surgically remove it again! :) So I will doing RLT, EPO, DTD, acupuncture, curries, massage, DTD, walking, visualisation and anything else I can think of! :) Will be talking to my midwife on Monday about all of the above and also getting started on RLT and EPO.
I tried clary sage oil rubbed onto tummy and in bath water...castor oil,raspberry leaf tablets,evening primrose tablets both orally and inserted vaginally at night (make sure u wear a pad,very messy),walking,bouncing on my fit ball...nothing worked for me......a few days later I felt very tired and slept most of the friday..I told DP that we better do a bit of lovin as it b his last for awhile lol...we did and got right into it IYKWIM!!! 2 hrs later @ 2am on the saturday, I was awoken with contractions 5 mins apart and my son was born my emergency c section later that night...all my hard work for nothing!!! Well not really,I had my bubs 2 show...
You can also add:
eating pinapple
walking along the kerb -the uneven rocking motion helps
blowing up balloons
having a good belly laugh
i started on the RLT from 36 weeks...
we DTD the morning of my water's breaking (which was at 38 weeks, so maybe next time, i'll deny poor DH! LOL!).
also, i found digging a hole in the garden worked wonders...oh and the Elizabeth Taylor midday film: cat on a hot tin roof...something she said must have made my waters pop...;)
i also did loads of walking with our dog. i noticed that i would get pretty strong BH when i went with her. and friend of mine went for a long walk when she was 40 weeks and by the time she got back to her letterbox she was crowning!! egad!
Well, there's nothing like the fullness of time. Make friends with Mother Time and her daughters Trust and Patience eh?
There's a difference between giving things a gentle nudge when you *feel* you're ripe and ready, and panicking because you're trying to beat an arbitrary dead-line. The problem there is not that your body isn't performing, it's that old problem, 'Failure to Wait' on the part of your scareproviders. The solution is - change careproviders! Midiwfe Lisa Barrett took on a woman who'd been dumped by her Ob at 43 weeks because she kept refusing to be induced. Two days later, she had her baby safely and easily at home, with Lisa attending. It's never never too late to change careproviders.
Practical strategies:
* OFP - if bub is anterior, the pressure on the cervix will be just right. If your babe is right-lying, be aware s/he might want to rotate anti-clockwise to ROA - or clockwise (usually preferred) the long way round - through the posterior position, round to left side and finally to left front. So, if your right lying baby keeps moving to posterior, don't be doing OFP trying to get him/her round the ROA! S/he might be trying hard to rotate clockwise - be aware of your baby's game plan and work with, not against, what baby is doing.
* Chiro care can help balance the pelvix and encourage optimal postioning for the babe
* Evening Primrose Oil late in pregnancy help the body produce pre-cursors for prostaglandins
* Other GLA -rich sources will do the same.
* Avoid sugar and complex carbs - now's not the time to paralyze your system with sugar. Insulin is the 'Mistress' of the hormones, and you want your birth hormones surging right - so, the sugar will have to wait!
* Lots of long walks (do nothing to the extreme)
* Relaxation. Swimming is beaut.
* Dinner with friends - yep, it actually promotes the flow of oxytocin! Works best when you boycott labour and totally forget you were trying to get into labour, and you just relax and genuinely enjoy the moment.
* Birth Tea - RLT, lavendar, basil and grated nutmeg. RLT - old folk-lore has it that a super-strong brew of RLT will act on the uterus - I used a whole packet. I figure it couldn't do any harm - it's very rich in nutrients.
* There's a beaut acupuncturist in Melbourne with a good rep for successful inductions. (Any induction method is STILL an induction - pointless, even dangerous to do if your body and the baby are not ready. Preferable to a medical IOL for sure - but herbal and acupuncture inductions I think should be a last resort.) His name is Andrew Ramsey - Meridian Wellness, Warrrandyte. PH: 9844 0111.
* A herbalist can help you out with black & blue cohosh.
* Here is one midwife's herbal induction regime.
* A combination of long walks, sex, OFP and pelvic rocks & rolls worked for me. Oh and I was skulling the RLT as well.
If you're ripe and ready, it does not take much to tip the balance. It's like when an apple is ripe to be picked, you barely have to touch it. But if you are not ready - or the baby is not - we can cause more harm than good by interfering. You might be going "overdue" because your baby is still busy organizing an optimal position for him/her. Inducing a first time mama whose baby is not engaged is a recipe for a c/s. So much better to wait with a careprovider who trusts you and trusts your body - if you don't have one of those, time to get one.
If you are are well, and your baby is well, - you're feeling kicks, the FH is fine, plenty of amniotic fluid shows placenta is also just fine - then the safest course of action is to await the fullness of time. There is intense pressure to induce - in Australia they call it the 'induction seduction' - but it's born of the fear and lack of trust in women's bodies and capabilities. They may even attempt to scare you with classics such as 'do you want your baby to die, your placenta is failing' etc. That's when it's good to do some independent research and know your facts and stats.
Just wanted to say that WALKING worked for me.
DD1 MIL took me on a shopping day at 7 days over due & made me walk as much as possible. Waters broke at 12.30am that night. Born at 6.56pm at 8 days over.
DD2 had a few contractions & decided to go for a walk. Walked about 5 kms & they got regular a few hours later. Born at 7.08am at 7 days over due.
DS Decided I was NOT going over again, so walked every night at the end for about an hour. Wasn't happy coz it wasn't happening yet, so I walked about 2 kms3 days before my due date. Had my first contractions at 5.15am. DS was born 5 hours later at 10.15am 2 days early.