need ideas to naturally induce

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

I had posted a few months ago about my baby being diagnosed with a rare heart problem. Because I live in another state I have to be induced because it's too big of a risk I won't make it through Boston traffic in time to get to the hospital. I still want the most natural birth possible and tried to express that to my OB, even though I've only had two appointments with her. I have been seeing someone else locally for normal prenatal visits. Anyway, I had asked her if we could induce by breaking my water and seeing what happened. She fully agreed to that, but today when her nurse called to schedule the induction she said I will have to go in and if not dilated then get Cervadil (made from pig semen) or if I am dilated just start with Pitocin. I told her I didn't want to do either and we argued back and forth for awhile. She told me there is no way to break my water if I'm not at least a little dilated but if I get to the hosptil and am 2-3cm then they can try to break the water first. So now I'm trying to figure out how to get myself dilated in time for the induction so I can avoid all medicine. I know there is some acupressure stuff you can do but I need to find out where to read up on that. Does anyone have any ideas at all? I know having lots of sex will help too, because the semen will trigger dilation. I'm open to any ideas. I'm really want to avoid another epidural.

[tofutti]

walking up and down stairs, walking a lot
bumpy car rides
strong -- um...orgasms
strong laughter
nipple stimulation
evening primrose oil caps inserted and also taken orally


i am sure there will be others added to this list. i am not an expert but this is what i have been told time and again from those who do know!

GL!!

[Ianthe]

Not just sex, but let his semen stay inside you for as long as possible.

I've also been taking Evening Primrose orally and vaginally. My cervix is soft but still 1cm at my last appt on Tues.

[JanB]

Nipple stimulation is a big one. If you have a breast pump or can borrow one from someone, I would definitely go with that one. That's what I did with my ds when I was facing a medical induction that I didn't want, and my water broke the next day. (For a variety of reasons I would be reluctant to do this again, but in your situation I think it would be warranted. )

Good luck! I have been thinking of you and your baby and hoping you would check in.

[mayapapayam]

Acupuncture acupuncture acupuncture!

usually 2 or so sessions will induce labor...acupressure is good too and you could do it yourself...strong point massage on the inside of both ankles, from slightly behind the bony protuberance up the entire ankle...

reflexology, massage, sex with semen (or solo orgasms, spicy food, walking...

a couple of days ago i looked for the worse infrastructure in town to ride my bike through! bumpity bump bump...

good luck. hope that helps!

[FuzzyOne]

i also think if you can have an orgasm during sex (combined with semen) is even better. and don't forget red raspberry leaf tea and spicy food (i have also heard eggplant???).

don't forget to pinprick the evening primrose oil capsules before inserting them vaginally.

good luck!

[sarabrynn82]

All of the above!

If I remember correctly, castor oil only helps once your cervix is ripe, so I guess that wouldn't help much...

And I third the nipple stimulation, it's one of my mw's favorite ways to get things going. She's got me using a pump twice a day for 30 minutes to try to get things going by next week (along with epo and lots of sex!).

Keep us posted!

[FuzzyOne]

i would be cautious about using castor oil. my understanding is that it has the potential to cause the baby to be distressed (because it can jump start labor and intensely) thus the baby might release it's meconium. i think in this particular case, you will want to be extra careful with something like that.

[dancebaraka]

Here's a cool link from a very knowledgable midwife with further links to research, etc...
lists basically all the natural induction methods I've heard of.

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/natinduc.html

[Synchro246]

I absoluetly wouldn't want water's broken without the cervix being ready that's setting the stage for a cesarean.

If your cervix doesn't seem ready chances are labor isn't around the corner and you have a bit of time. Would you feel comfortable waiting to induce when your cervix starts to show signs of readiness?
It's very important to have a ripe cervix for induction. I cannot stress that enough. Are you familiar with Bishops Score? It's a predictor of the ease of induction by evaluating the cervix. That's a really good link, I'm adding it to my favorites. They say a score of a 8 or more is favorable for induction.

The above advice sounds good to me. Semen+Orgasm as much as possible is probably the best thing for natural ripening. Evening primrose oil is good too.

If it does get down to the wire I would re-consider the cervidil though. I think it's unlikey for labor to spontaneously start after AROM with an unfavorable cervix. Does your hospital have a 24hour rule for ROM? When would you consider accepting the Pit after AROM? Cervidil works and it will GREATLY reduce your pitocin requirements. Negative effects from pit are dose dependent and if you can lower your pit needs labor will be easier on your baby.

Maybe if you're bishops score is in the 7+ range a strech and sweep of your membranes would be more appropriate than jumping strait to AROM. that way you won't be under the clock right away, yet you get those hormones going.

If your bishops score is less than a 7 I recomend waiting. Chances are good that you won't jump into labor without another oportunity to visit the doc.

Can you check your own cervix?

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by FuzzyOne

(i have also heard eggplant???).

don't forget to pinprick the evening primrose oil capsules before inserting them vaginally.
!

I have also read about eating eggplant Parmesean will put you into labor. Worth a shot, even if just to get you and DH out on a date together!

I haven't been pinpricking my EPO, they have been disolving as I sleep. I know it's disolving because I wake up slimy down there!

[EarthyMamaofDaisy]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am going to the health food store tomorrow to buy some evening primrose oil. Haven't decided yet whether to do oral or vaginal... I also told my DH he better start performing soon! He said he can go along with that I looked at the Bishop Score thing but I can't figure out where I would be. I know almost nothing about the medical stuff behind birth. On the happy side I did start with the bloody show this morning. At least stuff is headed in the right direction. Plus, I dropped 3 weeks ago. I had thought about waiting until my midwife can check my cervix for ripeness, but the Boston OB's office is being really pushy about putting me on the schedule. Plus, my DH is bugging me about knowing what days to take off.
Will keep everyone posted!

[Synchro246]

Originally Posted by EarthyMamaofDaisy

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am going to the health food store tomorrow to buy some evening primrose oil. Haven't decided yet whether to do oral or vaginal... I also told my DH he better start performing soon! He said he can go along with that I looked at the Bishop Score thing but I can't figure out where I would be. I know almost nothing about the medical stuff behind birth. On the happy side I did start with the bloody show this morning. At least stuff is headed in the right direction. Plus, I dropped 3 weeks ago. I had thought about waiting until my midwife can check my cervix for ripeness, but the Boston OB's office is being really pushy about putting me on the schedule. Plus, my DH is bugging me about knowing what days to take off.
Will keep everyone posted!

Yay, for a willing DH!
Even one who is familiar with bishop's score and medical stuff probably has a hard time figuring it all by themselves without a very recent vaginal exam. Things can change so quickly--as you have demonstrated by loosing your plug! Gain 3pts right there

It'd be a useful tool to print out and bring to your next appointment or ask the practitioner to calculate your bishop's score for you and just consider it at the time of your induction.
Some practioners use different Bishop score meausers. The one I gave above has a LOT of parameters so the score needs to be higher for a favorable induction, but on some there are only a hand full of parameters so a lower score may be considered favorable. So if you just ask them what your bishop's score is off the cuff also ask what # they consider favorable for induction. You may want to add one to that number though to be on the safe side.
Good Luck!