natural ways to induce labour?

[myk]

i know that nipple stimulation can induce contractions. i know that semen contains natural prostaglandins. what other ways are there to get labour going?

[DaisyMae08]

Spicy food and exercise are easy ones to try.  But also reflexology and acupressure/acupuncture.

[lillymonster]

my doula told me walking, pumping with a breast pump between contractions, and evening primrose oil to help the cervix.

I just moved a bunch of furniture today, I think that might have helped, lol! My dad said my mom tried to move a fridge and went into labor shortly afterwards.

[~Adorkable~]

we are needing to move thing alone possibly early so i have been looking into this alot

my midwife is a strong proponent of starting first with the cervix and letting things follow that (can ask anyone to leave till you open the door right?)

so she is having me start with 2-3 EPO liquid gel capsules inserted right before i lay down in bed each night for the week before i want to birth, then the last few days we will take like 9 at a time and place them in an instead cup and put them up there each night, she says it works wonders.

semen and my orgasms are great

then when the cervix looks like it is responding we add things that encourage or promote the contractions like:

nipple stim, i have already rented my breast pump so will be using that 

and another midwife explained a pattern of rubbing my uterus firmly in circles to "bring up a contraction then long strides and squats while i have it, then doing it again, in 3-4 minute cycles, she says it helps the body get into a rhythm.

once you are ready for the contraction (your cervix is ripe, thinned and at 4cm and your birth team is in place) you can move from the more mellow versions of RRL tea that so many of us drink to larger quantities of much stronger brews of it.

I'm personally going to stay away from Castor oil i think, i worry that with me being a first timer and me having twins that the prolonged labor and the oil and side effects might not be too good for each other.

i look forward to hearing what other folks are thinking of, it is pretty important that i get mine started with in week window or less, so this is a big deal for me

[myk]

i would have never thought to insert EPO vaginally.. :) does the oily nature of it not irritate the vagina at all?

[~Adorkable~]

i have heard it recommended by a lot of various sources including no less than 4 midwifes from different areas and no one has ever talked about irritation at all.

[lawmama1984]

I did 2 caplets (1000 mg each) vaginally for about 2 weeks. My cervix is soft like butter now (although obviously I haven't had my baby yet) :) It never irritated my vagina at all. The only thing is you will want to wear a pantiliner because it does have a tendency to be a little messy.

[Italiamom]

Originally Posted by myk 

i would have never thought to insert EPO vaginally.. :) does the oily nature of it not irritate the vagina at all?

I think mainstream medicine thinks that it can cause vaginitis in some women, but I know that with out of hospital midwifery care, it's pretty darn common.  My midwife had me inserting it vaginally, and I have to say, ew.  It may be TMI, but having your vagina leak greasy, oily residue is not pleasant.

FWIW, I think that just taking them orally is almost as effective.  It elevates the levels of prostaglandin in the blood that way too.  But it sounds as though the OP may REALLY need to be moving things along for actual medical reasons, so in that case, I would try both vaginally, and orally?  Double that approach?

I also had a really good result with acupuncture treatment.  IE, I had a treatment, and was in full blown labor less than 12 hours later.  But my water broke before I went into labor, so it was really important that my labor start.  I'm not sure if an acupuncturist would "pull out all the stops" so to speak, if it weren't medically indicated.

[Aliy]

pineapple is also a good uterine tonic. and eggplant.

I agree with the EPO as well i'll be starting that late feb early march depending on how I am feeling.

The thing to think about natural inductions is being that they are natural they are only going to help your body along, if it is getting ready. there really is not sure fire way that is the definate thing to put you into labour.

i had a 1 tsp of castor oil with my second in a bottle of oj, I didn't think it was going to work but it did and none of the icky side effects..... it took a few hours till my water broke but once it broke i had my baby 5 hours later. Now i had also had pineapple sex and been drinking rrl tea that day too and we went for a walk so it was likley a combination of all thoes things... plus i was less stressed and feeling ready to have the baby 

[WifeofAnt]

I took Borage Oil from 38 weeks on.  I guess its a stronger version of EPO and also labeled as a 'uterine stimulant'.  The night before my due date and the day of I did a lot of walking and during the walking he dropped.  I didn't feel him down low but his butt was a good 2 inches lower on my belly.  The day of my due date we DTD.  One orgasm (mine ) later and contractions started.  They weren't regular yet (2-5 minutes, occasionally 10) but they continued.  I walked a little more to try to keep them going, went to bed, only got 2 hours of sleep, and had my baby about 24 hours after the first contraction (12 hours early labor, 12 hours active).

I also rubbed my belly a lot but it wasn't something I was doing with the intention of starting labor, it was just something that felt right to do at the time.

PS: I've heard if you do EPO vaginally to put it in at night and wear a pantyliner.  If you're laying down it won't leak as bad.

[EnchantedMamma]

I used castor oil per my MW's suggestion/directions: one teaspoon/tablespoon (??) in ice cream, then about two hours later a second dose (since the first dose caused no cramps/contractions). She said to use a strong flavor like mint chip.

It def. caused some intestinal cramping, but nothing unbearable. Got very regular contractions going and that was it! (We started castor oil trial at maybe 8 pm, baby came next day just before 11 am).

You can also chug in orange juice.

She said at worst it might clean me out a little, but she preferred smaller doses so as not to cause really awful cramping. Apparently I was ready because it DID work :)

[myk]

Originally Posted by Aliy 

pineapple is also a good uterine tonic. and eggplant.

I agree with the EPO as well i'll be starting that late feb early march depending on how I am feeling.

The thing to think about natural inductions is being that they are natural they are only going to help your body along, if it is getting ready. there really is not sure fire way that is the definate thing to put you into labour.

i had a 1 tsp of castor oil with my second in a bottle of oj, I didn't think it was going to work but it did and none of the icky side effects..... it took a few hours till my water broke but once it broke i had my baby 5 hours later. Now i had also had pineapple sex and been drinking rrl tea that day too and we went for a walk so it was likley a combination of all thoes things... plus i was less stressed and feeling ready to have the baby 

see, that's the thing about natural inductions that i'm counting on - if the body is simply NOT ready, it won't do a thing.. which is a lot safer IMHO compared to medical inductions.. helping one's body along its natural processes is a positive thing. trying to force it isn't.