blue cohosh and black cohosh for bringing on labor

[gwinith]

someone at the herbal shop told me that these 2 herbs were the strongest ones that would bring on labor. although she seemed very knowledgeable, she was very young and so i did some research once i got home with online sites.

these 2 are STRONG... they are used for aborting in early stages of pregnancy and at the end of pregnancy can be used to start contractions... however what the girl failed to mention and should be stated is that the cervix must already be RIPENED for it to work properly.

i have not heard anyone talk about this at all, and i think it should not be used without confirmation from MW about state of cervix... and should even likely be used in consult with an herbalist/ or some other knowledgeable person in that field...

just thought i'd put it out there for anyone who may want to do some more searching for natural induction methods.

-also, if anyone has already done the research, or has experience, please share what you understand of this topic.

gwinith

[maciascl]

I talked to my mw at lenght yesterday about these because I was a little worried about taking them. She says she has never had anyone have a bad outcome with these other than they didn't work for some. From the reding I've done Black Cohosh will help to ripen the cervix while Blue Cohosh will help with the ctx. However they work best together.

The only other thing I can say about these is that they taste HORRID!!! I am going to start mine for today in just a few min. Here's hopeing!!!

[HomeBirthMommy]

I used blue cohosh at 41w2d to try and induce labor and I felt absolutely *nothing*. After my water broke and there were no contractions, I tried it again and still had no results. My midwife gave me homeopathic gelsenium (sp?) and that really worked to kick my labor into high gear.
The cohosh just didn't do anything for me.

[ariahsmum]

FWIW- I would not use cohoshes to induce a labor with previous c/s, unless of course my only other option was major abdominal surgery.

Herbal induction can still cause stronger than usual contractions, with no way to reverse the results after they have begun...

[wytchemorgan]

You have to be careful with these herbs, black cohosh can cause premature separation of the placenta from the uterus. My best friend and I both almost died because of this. (I used it after I knew that it caused it to happen to her, because I felt that hers was a case of were she took too much too quickly (she consumed 1 bottle in less then 24hours) I on the other hand was more conservative about it (3-5 drops under the tongue every hour) it did start some contracting, but they didn't last long and I started bleeding before I was even dilated to 4.

[RoadWorkAhead]

I personally had my waters break prematurely thanks to blue cohosh contractions before my body was really ready, my labor stalled and I ended up witha hospital birth, episiotomy due to near dead son, and meconium that he passed while in distress. I would try again if I was way past due and in danger of a hospital induction, but I won't be trying to play god early on this time (I was right before my DD with DS)

[littleteapot]

Black cohosh can also raise blood pressure... so if you have any BP issues, I wouldn't.

FTR, my midwife gave me cohoshes during my very long labour to try and see if we could move it along - it stalled me flat.
As soon as she stopped, my contractions came back. She said in 25 years she'd never seen someone react that way :

[Piper's mama]

My Mw's believe that no induction method will work unless your cervix is "favorable" (she told me this often...). They told me to take the cohoshes when I felt contractions start to bring them on stronger (we were 10 days past EDD when I talked to them and they suggested trying this. We were trying everything to avoid the hospital). One night after sex I started having mild erratic contractions and took the cohoshes every hour. Nothing happened. At the beginning of my actual labor I took the cohoshes every hour. Contractions picked up a bit but I don't think it was due to the cohoshes. When I was in active labor I took the cohoshes and they made me Really nauseous (which sucks when you are having hard contractions). So basically I don't believe they did anything for me at all. But I have heard stories about them bringing on contractions.

[gwinith]

[QUOTE=ariahsmum
Herbal induction can still cause stronger than usual contractions, with no way to reverse the results after they have begun...[/QUOTE]
*******************
good point

[gwinith]

thanks for the responses

wow... THANK YOU for all the info... some pretty crazy stories out there... : and to think this 20 year old hippy girl at the herbal shop suggested the cohosh cocktail to me. i'm just glad i had the inclination to ask on site here. i may be going back to that store and feel like sharing some of this with her... i mean, she needs to be aware that some people may just take her advice and go for it .... with some serious effects.

so since i posted the question, i asked my MW about it and she said there is a real lack of study on the effects on cohoshes, that she prefers castor oil, in part b/c there is so much more research available. but she says if i'm interested in the cohosh route, i should seek the consult of an herbalist and she would support me to do that and support the herbalist's advice.

not sure what i'll do yet... at this point, we're just waiting, doing an USound today to check fluid around babe and cord health ....and a non stress test NEXT week if i'm still carrying...

thanks again for your stories... you ladies really are a wealth of knowledge.
g