Tell my your experiences of Nat. Therapies to assist Labour

[BrightSparkles]

Whether it's Raspberry Leaf eg. when did you start, etc?
Accupuncture?
Accupressure?
Reflexology?
Anything else???

[Olive]

i started accupuncture at 30 weeks then again from 35 weeks-this was weekly until 40 weeks, my waters broke the next morning, i also had herbs from 35 from my TCM

[BellyBelly]

I had a labour induction/stimulation massage with a good friend of mine and I went into early labour the next day Rouge had the same experience with her, I think it was 3 days and she was in labour.

I have had clients have acupuncture and their waters break - one of them in the waiting room after LOL!

[phynna]

oooh that massage sounds good!

From week 35 onwards I did the following religiously, several times a day:

raspberry leaf tea - i had pretty strong BH's from around week 20 onwards, but once I started on the tea I noticed a definite pick up on frequency (secret is to get the tea that's been allowed to grow the mould on the leaves, it's the chemicals in the mould that do the trick) Check with your local herbs/organics stores, they should know

Aromababy labour massage oil - clary sage - did nothing, too weak
Clary sage oil from health shop (about 6 drops in a olive oil carrier in a shot glass - massaged on pressure/pulse points like wrists, jugulars, ankles, behind knees, rubbed in till you feel heat - noticed "stormy" feelings in belly, if you can imagine what rumbling thunder of a storm approaching would feel like...?

Evening primrose oil capsules - tried two things here. 4 orally per day, and 2 internally (after researching this on BBforums) honestly don't think either way helped dilate, maybe soften, but as I was only 5 cms dilated 12 hours after labour began I don't think so

Week 37 got more frustrated and started leaning on couch back by my elbows whilst kneeling on the birth ball and doing rotations, definetly helped to lower bubs in position, you could feel the downward pull

Best of all though, was the marching very briskly up steep hill on our farm, over and over and over, 2 days of this and I was in labour at 39 weeks exactly

[Swoop]

I drank RLT, I can't remember when I started it... Just followed the guidelines and upped my dose to 5 cups a day (never wanted to see it again after that!) when my midwife recommended me to. My understanding was that RLT works by toning the uterus and is used to encourage good strong contractions rather than bringing on labour.

I used lavender oil (in the burner) to relax and grapefruit and mandarin (massage) to reduce extreme swelling, and jasmine (burner) to help bring along labour.

I had accupuncture and massage from 25 weeks, I started it a bit earlier than planned due to pubic symphisitis, but the induction accupuncture massage was built up slowly from 38 weeks. I also started accupressure from around 37 weeks.

I think the combination of everything worked well, but I think it was the accupuncture that really did the trick to start things moving. My accupuncturist came to my house on my due date and gave me a massage followed by accupuncture. Then she put some little studs into my accupressure points for me. While she was packing up her table my waters broke! Contractions started about an hour later. Then the benefits of the RLT kicked in and my labour was relatively short (followed by an ecs due to other complications).

I found all of these really worked for me and I'll definitely be going the same route again for any future pregnancies.

[surprised]

Sorry to burst the bubble...

You name it, we tried it.... acupressure (heaps and heaps and HEAPS), massage, acupuncture, clary sage oil, RLT, etc etc etc... I ended up being induced at 40+12, baby was born via emergency c-section 40+13. He never even engaged! I assume my uterus was just too comfortable to want to move. On the plus side, he has a beautifully-shaped head!

Good luck hun

[Kitt3n]

I had a pelvic tension release osteo massage at 4:30 pm (no signs of labour or anything before hand), went for one hour.....

Baby was born at 7:58pm.

[Visitor7]

My sister recently had her first bub. On Saturday her OB said bub was still happily floating around in her tummy. On Sunday she started getting dull period type pain. On Monday she went to accupuncture, where her waters broke on the table and bub was born 6 hours later!
With my DD2, I had accupuncture at 39 weeks, then again at 39+5weeks, bub was born the next day.
Both my sister and I took RLT religiously in the third trimester.