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I'm hoping for a VBAC, but I personally just do not feel comfortable going over 40 weeks, especially considering that I have GDM (insulin controlled) and I've never laboured before.
Would love to hear peoples experiences with various natural induction techniques. When did you start? and what seemed to work for you?
I went into spontaneous labour at 38+5 (waters broke at home) and here's what I did:
- Raspberry leaf tablets from 36 weeks
- Raspberry leaf tea the day before I went into labour - two massive, very strong mugs the night before
- scrubbed the laundry floor the day before
- DH and sister (my birthing partners) both hit the booze the day before! DH had a 'team building' day with work and my sister had a girls night. LOL!
Good luck with getting your VBAC. I'm a big believer in The Secret (power of positive thinking) so keep imagining yourself having your VBAC and put that positive energy out there :)
dont do anything until you are term.
i did it all and baby #1 still didnt come.. baby #2 came after a hard long day of gardening and house work :)
Nipple stimulation gives you instant braxton-hicks if you're close :) This is one of the tried-and-true ones. Nipple stimulation releases hormones, but you need to do it a LOT to get any effect.
I was booked for an induction at 41 weeks with #2. We only bothered to read the hospital brochures on it the day before - it was very descriptive scaremongering of what can go wrong if you get induced (yes, our local hospital is anti-intervention, great isn't it?). I went into labour 6 hours before my induction appointment :)
for me it was accupunture from 35 weeks (weekly) then at 40 weeks he attached electroded and ramped it up, waters broke 12 hours later! i was also on herbs from him too
I tried every kind of natural induction techniques with both my two bubs from long walks, hot chilli, acupuncture, rasberry leaf tea, nipple stimulation, sex, and acupresssure points on my hands and feet. Nothing worked!
Both my bubs were over 40 weeks. DS was 42 weeks and and my DD (VBAC) was 41 weeks.
Honestly, I truely believe babies come when they are ready. Try and be patient and trust you body and your baby to know when the time is right.
DH and I DTD with DS2, he was born 3hrs later......worked rather well LOL!!! he must have been very ready, I only just made it to the hospital. I also took the Raspberry tablets for the last 5weeks.
Accupressure and Massage did the job for me with Colby!
B's Aunty is a Remedial Massage Therapist. I asked her to come over and hit some points with me.
I felt Colby turn anterior that night and went into labour with her the next morning!
I guess the main thing is be open minded. You can do all you want to do but if that baby AND your body aren't ready, natural techniques aren't likely to work. Baby and body need to be on the same page!
So I guess what I am trying to say is don't invest to much emotional and physical energy into it as you don't want to set yourself up for disappointment.
But the best thing about natural techniques is they are just that....natural! No real harm can come them!
Good luck!
x
Hi Everyone, thanks for your feedback! There are a few things I think I'm going to try ;)
Oorki, I wish I could wait til term but 40 weeks will be my limit before a section is done I'd say, so I'm hoping this little man is ready to greet the world a little earlier.
Kelly, thanks for posting the link to the article. It's really informative :)
Now, just a few questions re: EPO and nipple stimulation. Do you ***** little holes in the EPO capsules before inserting them? Also do the shells completely disolve or do you have to go "fishing" for the left over bits the next morning? Also the nipple stimulation technique really makes sense to me. I have a double electric breast pump so wonder whether this could be a good way of going about it. Would it be too much to put both sides on at once for a 5 minute period and see what happens?
The hospital also mentioned the possibility of breaking my waters if my cervix is favourable instead of just going straight to a section. And I'm wondering is nipple stimulation with a breastpump would also be a good thing to try once this is done to see if it helps get labour underway. I wonder if they'll think I'm weird for suggesting it :dunno:
I used a breast pump for nipple stimulation, and then helped the instant BH along with a belly massage using a clary sage oil blend (clockwise round the belly, every 15 mins for an hour). The BH stayed with me as I went to sleep and I woke up at 2am in labour :D
term is 38 weeks :)
i think limiting your self to 40 weeks may limit your chances for the vbac. be open (in mind and body) to going in to labour when your baby is ready and you might feel at ease with the whole vbac. labour is as much a phsycological event as a physical one and we all know time frames dont help anyone :)
many women use pumps for nipple stimulation, the only problem i see with it is it may not produce the hormones you want (just like when expressing milk its harder then when a baby is attached) so i would be doing it by hand. from what i have read( study wise) it is more for when your having contractions to ramp them up some more (like clary sage).
Oh cool, I thought you were talking 40. How about 37 ;) Lol:
DD came at 38w1d and i honestly believe it was all the gardening i did that morning LOL! i was on all fours for most of the morning and digging lots of little trenches for the kangaroo paws to go in!
That said i did have a cup of RLT a day from 36 weeks onwards. but TBH it didnt feel as though it was doing much (i never really had any 'good' or 'strong' signs of BH with her).
oh and have to agree with Oorki on the nipple stimulation...the day BEFORE my waters broke i finished my breastfeeding workshop and they told us that we could 'practice' at home...so that night after a shower i tried to get some colostrum out and sure enough a bit came out lol! mebbe it helped?? :dunno:
I've already got a bit of a nipple fetish, Lol. Quite often when I'm in the shower I'll give them a quick squeeze to see if colustrum comes out. I just like to make sure they're on track for doing what they're supposed to Lol ;):
hahaha! i have been doing the same this time lol! although i figure i had better stop as have had a few 'soakings' overnight LOL! bit too peachy keen for my own good :rofl:
I did a lot of research online when I went post-dates. One suggestion that I came across, but didn't try, was fasting. Not sure it's a brilliant idea when pregnant, but apparently the drop in nutrients is a signal it's time to get out.
no no no fasting.... not good and you need your energy, for you and your baby. Definitely a HUGE no.
Lol Cass, sounds like you're definately on your way to making some good mummas milk ;) I haven't had a soaking yet. Just managed a few drops.
Wow, that's an interresting one marcellus. :) Not one I think I'll try with having diabetes tho.
An old workmate of mine swears by chamomile tea. With both of her pregnancies, when she'd had enough she drank 5 or 6 cups of chamomile tea over a 12 hour period and on both occasions she went into labour that night. Her friend tried it too and exactly the same thing happened. I'm not sure why and when I googled it I couldn't find much info, but there must be something to it. :dunno:
yeah, I kinda thought that too. Interresting concept though.:
Oh yeah, well like I said I didn't do it - file it under "I think not"
Raspberry and Dandelion tea (1:1) four cups a day. I went the labour the very same night I started this!
:yeahthat: Hi mamaS as you know I'm also seeing an acupuncturist, it was fortnightly, I've just started going weekly and as of next week it will be 2 x a week (to keep my kidneys going strong and to try to increase my BP) He also gives me herbs which don't include the raspberry leaf. I plan to get the acupuncture to bring on labor at 39 weeks if bubs isn't here. You belly buddies will be the 1st to know if that ends up working! In our hypnobirthing book it also talks about nipple stimulation and not to do it until you are close to your EDD cause it can bring on labor, so that will be worth a try too:
hmm, patience for me, i decided after ds was born that I didn't want to try and rush dd as i didn't feel finished with my pregnancy the first time around and felt a little depressed because of it, like I was too eager for it to finish.
I totally get where you're coming from as I felt the exact same way first time around (DD was taken by CS at 38 weeks) and I always said I'd let my next bub stay as long as he/she wanted to but because I've got GDM I've gotta beat the clock. if I don't go into labour before 40 weeks it's section time again.:
Things that I totally think worked for me:
1. Having an osteo treatment the day before to release the muscles around the baby.
2. Having an emotional melt down the night before - had it around 11pm or midnight or something, and woke up with my first contraction at around 5am-ish.
I don't think my EPO or RLT did anything for inducing me because I was overdue. I think because I released my fears about going into labour, it was just the right time for Eden to be born.
Good luck honey - you know I'm here if you need to talk! :D
:yeahthat::
With my DD, I drank RLT from about 34wks I think, one cup to start with, increasing to to 4-5 at the end. I also had acupuncture, had been having it all thru my pregnancy for other reasons and at 38wks she touched the induction points. 39wks she added the electrodes and DD was born at 39+5. DH and I had also been dtd a bit.
DS - nothing worked and I went one week over. Had acupuncture, RLT, wore out DH with dtd, tried expressing... Nothing. Until
I had a big emotional breakdown - went into labour 12hrs later!
Hi Girls, does anyone know a good acupuncturist in Brisbane who can do induction acupuncture. I am 2 days over, but if I still have not had bub by next week might look at trying this. Have tried EVERYTHING else and still no sign of bubs :wall: