40+2... thinking of castor oil... what would you do?

[mommyhammel]

hello folks - I am the ULTIMATE lurker, heck I have no idea when the last time I posted was! But anyway I decided to post up...

I am 40 wks 2 days (was due the 14th). This is my 3rd child. My 1st will be TEN on OCTOBER 20th. He is really getting nervous about this baby boy being born on his birthday.

My daughter turned 2 in August and I had a not "ideal" experience with her when my hope and intention was to go completely natural/water birth... I got impatient at 38 and 39 weeks having my MW strip my membranes, which I think led to PROM, which led to me having to be induced - 16+ hours on pit no drugs and then finally getting an epidural to avoid C-section...

With this pregnancy I am much more relaxed about things... I haven't been checked yet but I have been doing EPO applications at night and can tell I am soft and I believe maybe 1cm dilated (I can get a finger in there). I also have had some periods of what I would call VERY intense BH but that wrap from back to front all the way down and cause pressure on my rectum and make me feel like I have to poop (without the diarrhea/gas/menstrual type pains I am expecting with labor)...

The main thing I am "worried" about is my son's birthday... I would really like to be home when his birthday rolls around and not take that from him. We have so many issues with him to begin with I just would be so sad for him if that was "taken" from him.

What I am thinking is... maybe do castor oil and try 1 oz to start and then maybe another ounce an hour or two later and if that doesn't work it doesn't work... I guess because in the natural birth world it's kind of frowned upon to get impatient and for me to wait for mother nature to do her thing ... well, that's the only way to go and I "feel bad" if it seems I am getting impatient. BUT I am not willing to go hard core and do 2 ounces at a time... I've also thought about whipping out the breast pump and trying that to see if that works at all... I don't know.

Given the circumstances, what would you do?

Let me know your thoughts...

[Youngfrankenstein]

I think doing something like that with the motivation of getting a different date is a bad idea. Truly in the big picture, it's not important. You shouldn't/don't have control of when a baby comes into this world. You're not giving birth on a certain day to spite any one.

Having said that. I did the castor oil and it did nothing for me. I had liquid diarreha all day but no pain or discomfort...and no labor.....

[mamabadger]

It is your choice, of course, but I am inclined to scream BACK AWAY FROM THE CASTOR OIL BOTTLE! I have had a couple of clients use it, and the effects were unpleasant in the extreme. It is a desperate last resort, not something you use lightly.

My two sons were born on the same date, three years apart. Both DH and I missed his birthday, which in retrospect was not the end of the world. His grandparents took care of the birthday details; you could have a relative or friend on call to take over the event if necessary. One birthday celebration is not worth potentially messing up your labour and risking complications and surgery. Things are likely to go better if you let yourself go into labour spontaneously, and your health and an uncomplicated birth are important and worth trying for.

[alegna]

I would not do it. #1. even if it worked, I've read several women complain that a castor oil start to labor was miserable- they were worn out when labor started and still had labor ahead. yuck.

#2. babies come when ready. My ds was 43 weeks 5 days. If I'd kicked him out before 41 weeks I'm quite sure he would have had problems (was just "perfectly done" when he came- not at all overdue looking, and yes, I'm sure of my dates)

-Angela

[babyjelly]

I would vote no on the castor oil. I don't think I know anyone personally who had a good experience with it.
That said, I totally get where you're coming from. No, in the grand scheme of things, missing one birthday shouldn't be the end of the world...but if you are already having issues with your son, it could very well be, to him, anyway. Ten is much different than three. I'd probably be enlisting the husband and maybe the breast pump to evict baby, were I in your shoes. Good luck.
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[earthyamber]

I will be the odd one here and say that I did castor oil and I would do it again. My first baby was medically induced once I hit 42 weeks. It was a tough blow to me. With my second, I feared the same thing. I was so nervous and I really had no signs of labor or anything. My midwife suggested we try castor oil and see if it works. So, I took castor oil at night (40 weeks 2 days), and woke up in labor at 40 weeks 3 days. Was castor oil fun? Nope. It was hard to get down but I didn't have any vomitting. I did have some diahhrea but it was gone within an hour of taking it (and then I went to bed and slept all night). I took 2 oz with ice cream and 2 raw eggs (a recipe my midwife suggested) and it worked well. This time, if I go past 40 weeks, I will do the same because I know my OB doesn't want me going past 41 weeks and I don't want a medical induction.

Ultimately, this is your decision and do whatever feels comfortable to you. I just wanted to let you know that while most people are anti-castor oil, it can and does work for others like myself. No matter you decide, I hope your baby comes any day but your sons birthday!

[mommyhammel]

earthyamber ... okay I am kind of in the same boat you're in... had a totally undesirable experience with my daughter's birth... and I DON'T want that to happen again... also, I had tried CO twice with her - the first time was like 1 oz - MAYBE 2 and it was not bad at all, and did bring on some contractions that petered out. I did that with a vanilla milkshake on a full stomach (after eating) and maybe had 2 BMs. The second time I tried it, I had really bad diarrhea - I did it on an empty stomach, and no contractions to speak of. In the end CO didn't work for me then but all the other interventions caused the PROM.

I wouldn't be super hard core with it - doing anymore than 2 ounces. And if it didn't work I would be okay with it.

I have two other friends who were downing a bottle of CO and went into labor and had their babies and they had some serious diarrhea. They don't swear up and down for me not to do it either...

It seems to me in all the reading I've done about it, on this forum and elsewhere is that less is better, and that it won't work (just as any other intervention, natural or otherwise) unless things are "ripe" and pretty close to being ready to go... my doula says it wouldn't work unless I was probably going to go into labor 48 hours from now anyway...

[mmaramba]

I understand the feeling, but I wouldn't do castor oil unless I was truly desperate-- like I'd lose my HB or VBAC if I didn't go into real labor in the next 24 hours... And even then, I don't know. It seems not to work for so many women, and make them miserable and dehydrated... I don't think that it NEVER works, just that the consequences aren't usually worth the relatively low "success" rate.

[mamatoElias]

This is just my experience and I know there are others who have used castor oil successfully with minimal discomfort. I tried it at 41 weeks and 5 days because I was approaching the 42 week mark at which point I risked out of a homebirth. I used it along with nipple stimulation and blue and black cohosh (all supervised by my midwife) to try to induce labor and it was awful, awful, awful. I clearly recall laying on the cold tile next to the toilet praying to God that I wouldn't have to poop again. Maybe I'm really sensitive to the stuff, but it just wouldn't stop and it HURT so bad. And it didn't even work. As far as uterine contractions, NOTHING happened.

I contracted a lot the last couple weeks of my pregnancy and my husband and I joked that we'd know it was really labor when it got worse than the castor oil. Two days later I had an 8 pound, 10 oz baby in my arms (and no pain meds) and I can say with absolute certainty that castor oil was significantly more painful than labor. And I am not one of those women blessed with easy, pain-free labors. I seriously will check my self into the hospital for a pit induction before I will ever touch the stuff again.

[Smokering]

Yikes, NO! Your baby might not even be "done" yet - yes, 40 weeks is term, but some babies need to cook longer. Castor oil induction is generally agreed to be horrid (although obviously people's experiences differ - but I notice whenever it's brought up on MDC it's usually followed by a chorus of "Noooo!"). You have a few days before your son's birthday, not to mention that you might not go into labour until several days after it (in which case you'd be MORE involved at his birthday than if you had a newborn). I get that he doesn't want to "share" his birthday, but I think you'd be doing yourself and your baby a disservice by choosing a yucky method of induction without a medical reason. Couldn't you promise your son that if the baby interfered with his party, you could have a super-duper unbirthday party once you'd recovered from childbirth and go to the zoo/park/Disneyland/waterpark/somewhere awesome? Or even try to frame it as a positive thing: "Wouldn't it be cool if the baby was born on your birthday?". Or say "How about we have the party tomorrow, just in case!" and do it ahead of time?

[Kidzaplenty]

I can't say if CO is the right thing for you. But, I can say that I have used it several times, and would use it again, if I felt it necessary, without a second thought.

It will work if you are ready, it will not if you are not.

Either way, I would not worry.

As for the "how". If you are serious about trying to get things started, I would suggest you take three doses (I usually use 1-2 oz per "dose"). One dose, wait 2-3 hours, one dose, wait 2-3 hours, then last dose.

I can't stand CO. Makes me gag just to think of it. So, if I am going to be taking it, I gather a small cup with about 2 oz of pineapple juice (any citric juice would work, I just think it tastes better with the pineapple; highly acidic but sweet), a spoon, a piece of bread, and a hot, wet wash cloth.

Pour the dose into the juice, stir vigorously, and gulp as fast as possible (it will seperate quickly so I do it fast). Then immediately wipe mouth with hot cloth removing CO, and follow with a piece of bread to remove flavor.

That is how I do it, anyways. Works for me.

Hope you have your little one soon.

[mommyhammel]

I woke up this morning having a complete breakdown... it doesn't help that my husband can sleep through anything and any requests for help with my 2 yo and my soon to be 10 yo are essentially ignored... and I realize I am still pregnant... I am willing to wait until I feel like both my midwife and doula are supportive of any kind of "natural" attempts at induction. I would take sitting on the toilet for hours with castor oil over the roller coaster hell of pitocin induction that I went through with my daughter ANY DAY.

Right now, when I really think about it I am not at peace with trying anything right now. I mean, I am one day closer to my next midwife appointment, one day closer to my son's birthday, one day closer to the end... I am trying to stay positive... but what's the worst that can happen... I will be pregnant for like another 10 days or so? I am giving birth in a hospital so they will induce at 42 weeks if I haven't had the baby yet... anyways... I am hoping he comes sooner. Send me some good vibes and prayers people, I need them. This has been a really hard pregnancy for me emotionally and after this morning I am not sure I am going to be in a good state if I have to wake up like this everyday for the next two weeks...

[amyjeans]

Mama, I feel your pain, as I have been there mentally with previous births. I think it is time for you to find a quiet place to talk to your baby. You might want to visualize the labor out loud, just the way you want it to go. Peaceful, quiet, easy, quick.
Right now your mindset is not right and it is hard to turn it around because it is so frustrating- with the pressure of still running the house, the thought of induction, stress, etc. I experienced this with each one of my pregnancies and had to work hard to calm myself down, and surrender to what will happen.
I talked out loud to my baby, saying things like "I am ready when you are, baby" "only you know when the time is right, and I will be here to work hard for you and do everything I can to bring you here." Or" You have sisters (or brothers) that can't wait to see you and there are so many people who want to hold you and kiss you !" or my favorite "I need to share you, and stop keeping you all to myself!" Sometimes I would stand in the shower at 2am and cry. It was very cathartic.
I hope that helps a bit and I wish you a peaceful birth~

PS- I did castor oil a few times- I can't say it helped kickstart labor, though.

[hotharmony]

You might also want to consider that at this point if you end up with a c/s you will be in hospital for you sons birthday. So I would just wait until after his birthday and maybe try some other natural induction techniques ones his birthday has passed.

[boogiebearlove]

I would avoid it for a little longer. I believe that a safe natural birth means no intervention - any intervention can lead to complications. If your baby just isn't ready to come, I don't think it's a good idea to try the castor oil. That's just my opinion, though.

I had a planned home birth with my daughter 2 years ago, and she carried until 42 weeks and 3 days. I had no reason to assume she was unsafe, so I waited. It was hard, but she was born perfectly happy and healthy spontaneously. I am 37 weeks now, and I'm getting anxious. The thought of going to 42 + weeks again sounds awful, but I won't do anything "induction wise" unless I have a feeling that the baby isn't tolerating the pregnancy well anymore.

I DO think sex is a good idea - we had sex the night before I went into labor and I don't know if it helped, but when I'm getting anxious again I plan to have lots of sex! That's the only kind of natural induction that I think is safe, because it truly is natural. Putting something like castor oil into your body could be totally harmless, and I know for many women it is, but I would feel like it would change the labor and birth from spontaneous to "messed with".

[mommyhammel]

okay... so putting castor oil aside... what do y'all think about having membranes stripped? Like, if I was to go in today and have them stripped... I'm at 40+4... my boy paused in the middle of his granola this morning to pray that Noah was born today... thoughts?

[alegna]

I wouldn't. If they accidentally break your water, you're on the clock.

-Angela

[mommyhammel]

okay okay... got it.

[kawa kamuri]

I'm thinking good thoughts for you. I know how frustrating this wait can be. Much love, mama.

[mommyhammel]

thanks for the good vibes. I actually did take 1 oz CO this afternoon at 2:30 and some really strong and consistent Braxton Hicks type contractions have started. I haven't been timing them at all but I'd say they've been going for at least an hour. I made sure I had a full stomach. I MAY do another 1/2 oz or full oz around 6 or 6:30... or I may just take a loooong walk/nipple stim and see where that gets me. If nothing happens, I'm done trying until I see my midwife on Wednesday. I most likely will be starting the NSTs and all that crap come Friday anyway... I am happy that I am contracting and not even really feeling the urge to go to the bathroom at all. Add more to the mix and I might but I think if I do it it'll be with a lot of food ... lol.