My dr. says castor oil?

[Preciousfaerie7]

Well i'm sure all of you know my situation and all, well today i went to the dr and she thinks that taking a small dose of castor oil to induce labor will be my best bet. That way i can kind of be "ready" since i am driving myself and etc. The only thing i'm worried about is it safe? We had planned on my drinking ALOT of water throughout the whole ordeal.. Have any of you guys tried this at all?? Even if its a bad situation i would still apreciate your imput!! Thanks

[EllasMama]

I haven't personally used it but know some people who have. Like any labor inducer, if your body is "ready" then it will often work - which is to say that you'll feel ill and have diarrhea and possibly vomit, but labor will begin. If your body is not ready, you'll just have the yucks, diarrhea, and vomiting. If that happens, IMO you'll want to wait a couple days before trying induction again so you can get your fluid levels and nutrition back up to where they need to be. Oh, and be sure you've had a good meal and plenty of liquids before you try it the first time, including some time for the food to digest or it'll just all come back up.

It apparently tastes like complete and utter crap. I read a birth story where a woman made a milkshake with castor oil in it, hoping to disguise the taste, but now she's sorry she did b/c she can't stand milkshakes anymore, LOL! So don't mix it with something you love!! I think some people mix it with OJ, or maybe Coke? Mmm...not!

Carol

[Honeybee'smama]

I am confused. Why the castor oil to induce? Wouldn't you have to drive yourlself either way, if labor started on its own or with castor oil. It seems like if the issue is you having to drive yourself you could take a cab when labor started and then avoid the whole castor oil induction.

I personally have never used castor oil. In general I tend to think inductions are not the best idea and that baby knows when it is time to meet the world. It seems like in this situation there are other possible solutions that do not involve induction via castor oil or other methods.

[Shelleybelly]

I took some castor oil when I was pregnant with ds. I was doing a homebirth and was in labor and not progressing quickly (I had been at 4 cm for almost 24 hours) and my midwife gave me a castor oil shake to see if it would help. To be honest with you I didn't find the experience too unpleasant. The castor oil itself had no smell or taste (I've heard that most people have a problem with the thickness of the oil). It didn't make me vomit or dehydrate me. It did give me diarrhea but that passed pretty quickly (I tried to look on the bright side and told myself I wouldn't have to worry about going to the bathroom while I was pushing ).

Some people worry that the castor oil passes through the placenta and can cause the baby to pass meconium (which, I'm sure as you know can cause problems if aspirated). My ds was born about 20 hours after I took the castor oil and he had not passed any meconium. Another caveat is the possibility of dehydration, but from your post you seem to be planning to take precautions to prevent that.

As for your situation, I would be scared to take castor oil then have to drive myself to the hospital. For me it kicked in pretty quickly and I had to use the bathroom A LOT for the first half hour and then the contractions came on hard and fast, so I don't see how that would help you in getting yourself to the hospital. If you would have to be driving yourself if you induced yourself or when into labor naturally, I would much prefer to be driving myself with my labor progressing naturally and without castor oil diarrhea.

I'm sorry that you have to deal with so much of this on your own and I hope this helps no matter what you decide.

[alicia9178]

Ok....I drank 4 oz of Castor Oil yesterday cut with pineapple-orage-banana juice and some gingerale. I gagged a lot but got it down. It took like 2 hours for it to kick in and I had diarrhea on and off all night. I did have contractions though too.....very uncomfortable ones that were very regular for a few hours and then they have slowed. I am still contracting, but not regularly. I also am using some Labor Balm that I have been rubbing on my belly every few hours tht is seeming to keep the contractions going too. DH checked me last night and said that the baby's head is MUCH lower and I am opening nicely...when my MW was here a few days ago and stripped my membranes I was 3cm and 70% effaced. So we will see. I WILL not to doing Casor Oil again though.
ALicia

[mamasittingduck]

just wanted to add in here; i met a new mama yesterday and she told me she used castor oil to induce, and she regretted it. she said she vomited/ had diarrhea for a very long time and felt she couldn't focus on her labor. she said if the labor was just the contractions she would have handled it a lot better........ thought that may give you another viewpoint.

sherri