[Maggi315]

OK,<br>
for all you midwives and others...what are your thoughts about preterm contractions and having sex or orgasms. Generally, in the office I apprentice at, we tell moms to use condoms if they are having preterm contractions (ones that are actually changing the cervix, not just braxton hicks). The reasoning behind that is no prostaglandins on cervix. Others in our area also add no orgasm to that. Just wondering what other perspectives are. Some docs in area say no sex at all, but that certainly seems overkill.

 

[pamamidwife]

I don't know. I guess I'd shy away from any prodding of the cervix or even orgasms if there was a real risk of preterm labor. But, I'd ultimately have to leave it up to my clieint.<br><br>
I have always heard that EFAs like Borage/Flax/Fish oils/Evening Primrose Oil works WONDERFUL in staving off preterm labor.

 

[swebster]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>pamamidwife</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I have always heard that EFAs like Borage/Flax/Fish oils/Evening Primrose Oil works WONDERFUL in staving off preterm labor.</div>
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<br>
I'm confused, why does my midwife recommend taking EPO from 37 weeks on to get things going? Is it possible for it to stave off preterm labor but encourage regular full term labor?

 

[pamamidwife]

EPO is incredible for holding off preterm labor, as are many of the essential fatty acids.<br><br>
EPO does not encourage labor at all. At best, it could POSSIBLY soften a cervix. In Michel Odent's studies, women on coastal communities that consume alot of oily fish rarely had any incidence of preterm labor and many went over their due dates by some degree.<br><br>
I don't routinely recommend EPO in the last month of pregnancy. I recommend it - or something like it - all through pregnancy, though. To focus on using it during the last month ignores its more important benefits jsut for the sake of "cervical ripening" / "easy" labor / before due date labor (which I don't feel it really does well).<br><br>
I think mws need to get away from all this prepatory stuff that they recommend to clients. To do this implies that our bodies will not take care of it on its own and we cannot do anything without herbs or supplements. I think it sets a standard that somehow women alone cannot birth well.

 

[~Megan~]

Is there also a difference with EPO between ingesting it and applying it directly to the cervix?

 

[pamamidwife]

Some would say so, but I don't think it's completely evidence-based. I think what works best overall is semen - not EPO.<br><br>
In my experience, I think the constant use of EPO and other things like that at the end of pregnancy is more indicative of a distrust of a woman's body more than anything. I think that it does little to help, yet there is alot of anecdotal evidence that people give - "I was thick one week, took EPO orally and vaginally and the next week I was 50% effaced!" One can only wonder if the "results" would have naturally occurred or if it is because of EPO.

 

[Thmom]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>pamamidwife</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I think mws need to get away from all this prepatory stuff that they recommend to clients. To do this implies that our bodies will not take care of it on its own and we cannot do anything without herbs or supplements. I think it sets a standard that somehow women alone cannot birth well.</div>
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