Ideas on how to bring labour on !

[june05isttimer]

Hi there

Am now one day officially overdue now and am dying to just be over being pregnant !!!

My Dr has booked us in for an induction on 9th June but I don't want to be induced if I can help it. It all sounds way too painful and scary !!!

I know there are a few methods out there and I have tried a couple like the spicy food and we have also tried the sex one (only once mind you)

I was wanting to know if anyone else has tried anything that has worked and what they might be.
I know there is a castor oil one but im not sure I can bring myself to consuming that and isn't that harmful ?? I don't understand how these things help bring on the baby !!!

I would also love an insight as to what labour pains may feel like when they first start. I am assuming I will go into labour at night but lately I have felt that any little twinge might be labour. Is there a general feel to when they start and should I feel any different before they start? Im getting a fair bit of pelvic type pain or pressure but its more of a night before I go to bed than in the day time. Is that a sign that labour is near.
I have had no 'show' so far either.

ahhhh I just want to meet our baby now and hope she isn't overcooking !!!!!

Any help would be great !

thanks in advance.

[jamb]

As much as you probably don't want to hear this, it will happen soon and you will get to meet the little one you've been growing. For now pamper yourself silly or enjoy doing nothing- hard I know :p

I was SO over being pregnant from about 36 weeks, I tried the sex and spicy foods to no avail. I personally would not reccomend the castor oil- I read somewhere that is risky and fast- similar to induction.

That said, I went into labour naturally on my due date but ended up being induced 23 hours later, and boy was I happy for the drip to be put in! It was like get this out of me NOW

For me labour pains were like BAD period pains, a tightening in your pelvis/uterus. I had this for a couple of days prior to the regular 5 min apart contractions- they were about every 20 min and I ended up going and seeing a movie to take my mind off it. The first couple of ones woke me up but I didnt put two and two together until the next morning when I realised they were kinda regular and wern't going away. A little after this I had a tiny bit of blood. That was it though, my waters were broken by the midwives, as labour did not progress very well.

Its funny, I read everywhere that a woman knows when it is time to go to the hospital and I rang the hospital and said my contractions are 5 minutes apart. Midwife said do you want to come in and I said well not really, only if I have to. She said, "you'll know" 8 hours later I rang her and started crying saying "I want to come in now".

Keep us posted and good luck- its a magcial time meeting your little bub, enjoy

[Briannabear]

Hi! I know how you feel! I was very over being pregnant also! I used quite a few remedies! I went for a walk every evening (it took ages to walk around the block - LOL!), I drank rasberry leaf tea (it is well known to tone the uterus and bring on labour), and I had sex every day (even though it was very uncomfortable!). Brianna ended up coming 3 weeks early! :eek: I was expecting the remedies not to work so quickly! (or maybe she was just ready!).
My contractions started very mildly about 4 days before I gave birth. I had a show, then they started after that. They just got more intense every day. I didnt find them overly painful, they were just intense. Kind of like a strong tightening. Just keep calm (I know its hard!) and breathe deeply - it helps heaps.
Your baby will come when the timing is right. Try to avoid getting induced if you can. (I mean if you can bring it on naturally before then). I ended up being induced once in hospital to speed things up and I found the experience quite scary, but at the same time exciting. (We'd see our bubby soon!).
At the end of the day we do what we have to do to bring our precious children into the world safely. Just go with the flow and trust your instincts! :rolleyes:

[BJelly]

For me, a good laugh helped bring on my labour.

I was a week and a day overdue and had tried sex, walking, raspberry leaf tea.

My labour started just 5 mins after I'd watched a TV program that had me in fits of laughter.

Best of luck with everything! :)

[Rell]

Thats funny you say that Bjelly a lady at playgroup today said laughter also brought on her labour.

[suziebear]

I know how you feel by 38 weeks I was ready to do anything to get out my bundle of joy.

I had tried the raspberry leaf tea etc etc etc and in the end with a visit to my midwife and the "please I need him out - what can I safely try" question she explained them all.

I went and had accupuncture as this has been proven can really shorten labor as well as bring it on.

After a few days of accupuncture the midwife told me evening primrose oil taken orally and also if you can get the gel like capsuals inserted will ripen the cervix so to speak, so we tried this and a half dose of castor oil ( I drank it in orange juice and it really was not that bad - Many people tell me they also make an omlete and then put the castor oil in the omlete and it has no taste ). Took a really long walk around our acerage, long bath in Epson Salts, Went to bed and tried the good old fashion sex.

The next morning my waters broke at 6 am. We stayed at home as I was not in any pain and I got my husband to clean the house from top to bottom. Around 1 pm I started feeling short and sharp pains so we set off to hospital and my son was born at 4.25 pm that day. Really short fast and enjoyable delivery.

[mummy2two]

Hi! i am only new on here. But reading your msg i went through the same thing. Was over it way before my E.D.D. I tried everything to get me to not be induced! even rasberry leaf tea. All that did was taste awful and made my baby use my belly like a jumping castle. Eventually i got induced. And again! i was thinking the same thing as you... heard stories about it taht were bad. Going in there scared out of my whits... broke my waters and put a drip in... thinking the contractions were going to come ASAP but it was really steady, as they only gradually but the stuff that made my contractions come. So if you do go into an induction, go into with an open mind otherwise you will be stressed and that just makes things worse. Good luck with everything and i hope your labour is a breeze. ;) - Danni

[RuthK]

Apart from almost constantly drinking raseberry tea, I found with both my pregnancies that both my labours occured when I finally stopped worrying about when it would happen. With both I just chilled out and said to myself that it was senseless worrying about something I had no control over, and lo and behold, I went into labour the next day, with both of them.

So relax and stop thinking about it, because a watched kettle never boils.

[Kirsty_Lane]

Well i ended up coming 2 weeks early myself. And i think it was, a mixture of having an arguement with a crazy stupid driver and having sex :) So try having a fight with someone. But it was the fact that she stressed me out and made me so mad.l Good luck!!!!

[maybe1more]

I tried everything to bring my labour on, i went on long walks, had warm baths,had sex, i even went 4W driving for 2 hours and nothing work. I was it tears with fustration,FINALLY i was induce after being overdue for 14 day!!! I felt like i was pregnant forever. But goes to show bubs usually come when their ready and no sooner, well in my case anyway :) Mum to Connor 14/07/03

[lathyrus]

i am currently pregnant with my second and i am due on 21/05/06
wen i had my first little boy he was 13 days late and my husband and i tried sex walking 4 wheel driving everything we could and 4 hours befor i was due to be induced i went into natural labour.
with this baby now i am tired of being pregnant and my mid wife has done a sweep and streech of my cervix so ask you doc to do that she thinks within 2 days i will go into labour so thats my due date (fingers crossed) i have been walking lots and lots and i have done the castor oil mixed with orange juice (not that bad) and scubed walls and floors so far nothing so i do think babies come wen they want to and we just have to be patient (unless the streech and sweep works) fingers crossed.
oh and about being induced you will be in pain no matter wat sorry to say if your induced or you go natual go in open mind and seriously its not that bad wen you hold your baby for the first time
good luck

[mumof8]

If what you say is right & the dates, they are not going to induce you till you are 21 days over due...This is very dangerous & I would not allow them to let you go this far over !!!.I have been told by Drs that they will not allow you to go over 10 days as it can get dangerous...Not to alarm you BUT 21 days over I think is taking it to over cooking your baby...That is only 10 days of being pregnant for 10 months !!!!...My six girls went the 10 days over & my only boy came 1 week early !!!!...Please question the 21 days over due !!!..Good luck anyway when it all happens ..

[nats]

I take it on good authority that having an orgasm will do it. Supposedly once the uterus starts contracting it just might not stop. My best friend did this but she was overue.

[CJandMum]

I don't have any kids of my own but I think I read too many books..lol. I heard that if you use the breast pump it releases oxytocin (the stuff they use for induction) from your brain and causes you to go into labour. I also read castor oil does work, just make sure you don't use it at night (keeps you up to the toilet). In addition, it can give you cramps from emptying your bowels which can be unpleasant.. good luck.

[LillynJonson]

My DD was 9 days over and DS 2 days over. Both were late December babies so I was so over being so huge in Summer that I tried almost everything possible to hurry things along. Lets see.......lots of spicy food, fresh pineapple :eek: (I'm so glad it was in season), clary sage oil rubbed onto my belly several times a day, LOTS of walking, rapberry leaf tea by the galon, and of course sex! Not sure if any of it worked but I did end up going into labour naturally both times and was happy to know at least I was doing something about it. My first sign of labour both times was a feeling like I had food poisoning which wasn't what I expected at all! Good luck:D .

[Kat =^.^=]

Sex is good but you have to let the semen pool at the cervix for it to work. It's not the act of sex but rather the prostaglandins in semen and it'll have to sit at the cervix to - soften/ripen - it. So have sex and then don't move! Ha

Nipple stimulation (true) is supposed to help but you'll be playing with your boobs all day ... manually stimulate the nipple for 5-15 mins every 4 hours. Or use a breast pump for 10 mins every 4 hours. I reckon you'll have more chance of having sore nipples than anything else!

Spicy foods only make bowel motions and these are supposed to perhaps trigger muscle contractions in the uterus - Same goes for castor oil ... but castor oil is dangerous as it can induce vomiting etc.

Walking stairs is supposed to be good but only to get the babe's head into the pelvis ... doesn't actually bring anything on as a baby's head can be fully engaged for weeks (my first was fully engaged from 35 weeks and she went a week over!)

Raspberry leaf tea, Clary sage and Primrose oil are all uterine tonics and will help regulate contractions and ease general pain but do NOT induce labour.

Bumpy rides in cars will just hurt.

Best thing to do is the suckiest ... wait it out.
Have a hot bath listen to your favourite music, and unpack your hospital bag ... this usually works for me. :o That or leaving my phone uncharged!:yes:

Just try to make sure you are a little unready and out will come the little tike!!!! HAHAHA:banghead:

I unpacked my bag when I was a week over and found myself repacking it less than 8 hours later with contractions less than 5 mins apart. Plus my phone was not charged up and I had no money in my purse.

THAT'S MY TRICK and I'm doing it this time too ...

[k15s]

Not sure if these have been mentioned:
- sex, sex and more sex (my DH was in his element!)
- walking (well running after my 2yo at a high pace)
- sitting and bouncing on a gym ball
- walking with one foot up on a curb and one foot down (read this somewhere else and tried it the night before no2 was born)
- home acupuncture (grab the fleshy bit between your thumb and first finger, and really hard foot massages concentrating on the arch)
- and if all else fails, sex! LOL!

Best of luck with the wait...

[lil_rabbits_mummy]

my partner says sex all the way. he's really happy bout it. but make sure its comfy for you and doesnt hurt. there's something in semen that softens the cervix.

[Mylittleboy]

I did the sex thing in the morning, the spicy food thing that night and my waters broke at about 1am the following morning, but I still didn't have bubs for a few days, long story (they thought I had a bladder malfunction, WTF?)
The day my labour started I walked the shopping centre nack to front, sideways and upsidedown, I think the hard floor made DS really "fall" into place.

[sexcbec]

lots and lots of sex .....lol

seriouse everyone tells me the same thing