castor oil, anyone?

[spu]

So I'm planning on taking the leap and doing castor oil. Anyone else have experience with this delicious coctail? I'm 41w2d, and if baby doesn't come by Saturday (42w), they're planning on inducing. At this point, what's a day on the throne if it helps avoid an induction!

If you've done castor oil, I have a bunch of q's for you:

-- how much did you take, and what did you mix it with?
-- what time of day/night did you take it?
-- how long after you took it did you start having movements?
-- how long after you took it did you start having labor? (or no labor?)
-- is it really as peoplel say - you need to stay home for the day and sit on the can? Or will I be able to run out for a walk or do a few errands/drive?

thanks!!! wish me luck!

[leurMaman]

Sorry - I never got around to it. I do wish you luck, though! I nearly got to that point at 41w1d last pregnancy! You can also try acupuncture.

[Avani]

With my 3rd babe at 43 weeks i took it.So that was 4 years ago.

~i took it about noon,4oz in a chocolate milkshake.Could not really taste it at all,just choose my fav chocolate flavored ice cream and blended it.I kept busy for awhile and then started feeling nauseous within about an hour or so.It is really important to keep this stuff down otherwise it will not work.You need it to get through your bowels to release the oxytocin.So i laid down and kept still for awhile and the nausea passed pretty quickly.We decided to go for a walk and got about 4 blocks from the house when some mild contrax hit and i felt the strong urge to pee.It was very difficult to hold that pee,have contrax,be 43 weeks pregnant and walk 4 blocks home i highly recommend not walking too far from your home after taking castor oil.We got back and i ended up taking the biggest pooh i have ever taken in my life.I wasn't in pain,just a very large movement.We went back out to walk some more but i only got a block before deciding i would like to be at home.I would say it took about from 12-2 for any activity to occur contrax wise but it was very,very mild.And it was around 3 when i had that bowel movement.At 5 pm i had to pee and had a very strong feeling my water would break if i sat on the toilet.Sure enough it broke.From that point right there i had back to back contrax that never stopped,no break in between whatsoever and my babe was born 45 minutes later.Very intense.But of course worth it :

[Yulia_R]

I would not do that, castor oil can cause baby to pass meconium...

[MamaRabbit]

Studies have shown that it's not the castor oil that causes meconium. It's the coincidence that many postdates babies have meconium already and more postdates moms use castor oil to get the labor going.

[erikaa]

I took it when I was 41wk and 3 days with my first.

I was told you could cook some eggs in the oil and then just eat the eggs. So I made myself an egg sandwich around 2p.

I would say within the hour I started to feel the need to pooh. I probably had about two or three large "blowouts" as I like to call them. I personally would not have wanted to be anywhere that was farther than a few steps from my bathroom!

I basically sat around on my birthing ball for the next couple of hours having contractions that didn't hurt and that were pretty irregular.

My husband got home around 7:45pm and while we were catching up about his day, my water spontaneously broke and things started amping up quickly!!!

I was already measuring 4cm dialted and almost 100% effaced before I took the castor oil.

My contractions were immediately 2-3 min apart so we called the midwife and met her at the birth center by 10p. I had my daughter at 11:35pm that night. About 3 1/2 hours after my water broke.

I just had my son this past wednesday and I did not the oil to start things this time. Essentially I started with heavy labor around 4:45 and he was born less than two hours later, so I guess my body likes to move fast. I can't say if the castor oil sped things up the first time.

I wish you luck. I know some people are against the castor oil, but the midwives at my birth center were the ones to suggest it to me the first time. I was trying to avoid having to birth at the hospital. If I went to 42 wks, I'd have no choice.

[One Art]

I took it with my dd... mixed with orange juice i think, at two different times in the day... can't remember the exact mix or quantity... it worked for me, but I'm not sure I recommend it, it was not a pleasant experience to sit on the toilet half the day before going into labor! I don't regret it so much as I would not want to repeat the experience...

[Earthy~Mama]

Hopefully you won't need to drink it and the baby will be born by the weekend! Hugs mama!

[grapejuicemama]

Crashing from April........

I took it with my second child. My midwife made me a shake that had 2 oz castor oil, about a cup of oj and some baking soda. She said the baking soda would make me burp, which would alleviate any nausea. It didn't taste that bad. I never got nauseous.

I took it at about 2 pm. I did have some bm, but nothing like I was expecting. I thought it would be horrible, but it really wasn't.

I didn't really have any contractions and we were all wondering if it would work and then at about 7:30, I started having, "Oh, yes. These are the real deal" contractions. I labored in and out of the water and on the toilet, just because it was comfy. I took an hour long nap at about 2 a.m. woke up at 3 a.m and pushed baby out in 20 minutes. Another perfectly wonderful waterbirth, though we were surprised that he was born in the caul!

If I had to do it all over again, I would. Oh, I was already 2-3 cm dialated, also. My mw said it would either work or it wouldn't, but either way, my body would be cleaned out!

[Media Mama]

(Also 41w+) I haven't tried castor oil but I did have an acupuncture appointment this morning. Worked with my first one...

[Mrs_Hos]

Hmmm...
I'm interested in this thread since I have heard over and over and over NOT to use castor oil...
The bottom line of any 'intervention'--whether medical or herbal--is that your body STILL won't do much unless it is ready--and you can really throw it off of your cycle of labor if you use intervention too early.
I still wouldn't LET them induce at 42 wks unless the stress tests show that there are problems brewing.
High blood pressure, baby's heartrate, and a placenta that is having problems (due to age) may influence me to try some herbals first--then induction if necessary.
Bottom line--I wouldn't do it. Don't throw your body into it if it isn't truly ready. JMHO