ha, thelollipoplady, I'm getting that way! People keep telling me to get a move on, like its my fault. I'm getting dangerously close to smacking people!

im a newbie so a big hello to you all!.... yes to your Q, sex seemed to work for me, my midwife suggested it, which in turn i suggested to my OH, he was horrified (ha ha) i told him that he had no choice or say in the matter as by that point id had enough, we managed it and what a palaver it was but it worked and i was on my way roughly 7 hours later. woo hoo! good luck!

yes worked for us with dd. Am gutted that DH is refusing to have sex with me at the moment as due date is 1 1/2 weeks away and he doesn't want it early. I'm like... COME ON! Never mind. That said it only works if it's ready to start anyway, the prostoglandins in the sperm help start off contractions but had a friend who tried pineapple, curry, sex you name it and baby was happy to stay put till they put a drip in her hand.

my sympathies littlewhitewolf, my due date is today and still nothing, despite lots of sex / acupuncture / and pineapple!

last time i went 10 days past my due date and had to be induced - and I did everything possible, including downing a couple of bottles of castor oil.

at the end i was so frustrated that if any body dared to phone / text to ask if i'd had the baby, i lost it.

preparing for the same this time round. not really what i'd describe as an 'exciting wait' monkeyface...!

my secret weapons this time are a good boxset, lots of trashy novels and hiding the mobile phone/calendar.

One thing I havent tried is pineapple--I'm really not a fan of them.

I've been baking like crazy today and even prepared meatballs for dinner later. Wondering if this is my own version of nesting and maybe it'll be soon???

four pineapples?! Just had a half and can't face anymore...

It wont be much longer wolf! Im so jealous reading this thread, my waters went with my son at 32+6 so I kinda feel cheated out of the exciting wait at the end!

Yep, twelve hours later (and four pineaples) went into labour.

monkeyfacegrace, sadly I've only gone quiet because I'm all fed up and DH had to get me out of the house before I started climbing the walls.

Still no baby

If I'm being honest I dont think anything will work to trigger labour, baby will come when its ready, sure people might do something then labour starts......but that could just be coincidence IMO anyway.

All my 3 were overdue so I sympathise with your long wait xx

Didn't work for me, I tried everything (sex, orgasms, pineapple, walking, evening primrose oil, nipple twiddling - all recommended by midwife!)
What did definitely work was stretch and sweep - had one when I was 7 days overdue. Midwife said that if it was going to work it would work in 24-48 hrs. After 48hr nothing had happened, so I tried some more nipple stimulation and that got things going. Baby was born 12 hrs later. (nipple thing, think it's 15mins each side for an hour at a time - if it's working you feel some cramps)
I did look at NICE guidelines for 'induction of birth' and stretch and sweep and nipple stim are the only things with scientific 'proof' behind them.

1st pg - bonked, waters broke and serious, full-on contractions started within the hour.

2nd pg - bonked, and bonked, and bonked, and bonked, and nothing fecking happened. nipple-twiddling, that's what finally got her started.

lol at cupcakes - as if any other position is possible when you're the size of a whale! or is that just me?

I heard at our NCT classes that ingesting sperm was most effective - I'm thinking of a raspberry leaf tea/spoof cocktail if I get desperate enough.

Kaylo - i ad a sweep and it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Think your body has to be ready for it to work but i barely felt a thing and started contracting that evening and had baby by next day.

A sweep is where a MW puts her fingers up you fanjo and strokes the membranes to try and encourage labour. Never had one myself but have heard they're uncomfortable.

What the fug is a "sweep"?

Yes - I have no doubt it worked for me and also gave me a super-quick labour (less than an hour) for dc4!

We tried it a few times during the weeks leading up to my due date and it always gave me really strong BH contractions for a few hours afterwards, which in retrospect I think were pushing the baby further and further down....

My dd2 was due yesterday but was born on 15th June. She may have been 3 weeks early because dp and I had sex the morning before.

I felt uncomfortable for the rest of that day, probably beginning of contractions but I'm one of those women who don't feel much when it comes to contractions so didn't think much of it, particularly since I was 3 weeks away from being due.

Then my waters broke at approx 8:30pm that evening, I went into hospital at 10:30'ish still not convinced this was the real thing, she was born at 2:12am next morning.

I still cannot think of any other reason that she arrived 3 weeks early except that we had had sex and that set things off. We used a variation on the spoons position BTW.

Still here although I do have bad back ache this evening <<clutches at straws emoticon>>

I will draw the line at an oral ingestion of progesterone Lulubee but all these positive stories have convinced me it works and I'm definitely going to give it another go

First time round I had a sweep on my due date and sex that evening. Started contracting half an hour later.

Mind you had been at it every day since 37 weeks in a bid to bring on labour.

Second time round far too exhausted to have that much sex, so only did it a couple of times a week, ended up going in to labour about 5 hours after sex with nipple stimulation. Also both times proped my bottom on a couple of pillows to make the sperm pool around my cervix. Afterall sperm has prostaglandins in it, as do the drugs they use to induce you!

Well for DS2 we had sex every day for about a fortnight - bar a few days in the middle cause it was christmas and I didn't want to have my baby then.

Had a sweep NYD, had sex, had a walk, had a curry - had baby next day 8am after a 45min labour.

So would second that it works if your ready but doesn't if your not!

I'd say approach with caution - with DS2 it worked a treat, quick go with DH at 9pm and woke at 1am with contractions, and away we went. So two days late with DS3, tried the same approach. Four hours after the deed, contractions did indeed start, so shipped kids off to mum's and settled in. Four hours later, stopped again. So we had another 'go' the next morning, and the same thing happened - several hours of contractions, then nothing. So we had one more try, and even ended up in hospital being told I was only 3cm and should probably go home for a bit. Four days later and the baby finally arrived - but all the sex did for me was produce a lot of discomfort and to-ing and fro-ing with the children. Wish I'd left well alone and let nature take its own course!

Isn't it the prostaglandins in the sperm?

Apparently synthetic ones are used to induce childbirth, although I would imagine they are much higher doses than occur naturally or no-one would be advised that it was safe to have sex while pregnant. You probably have to be almost in labour for it to speed things up at all.

This is what I did 5 weeks ago (I did have a sweep on the Tuesday so it may have helped but I didn't go into labour until very late Thursday night).

Hot bath
Bounced on birthing ball for a while
Hot spicy meal
Went on birthing ball at 8.00pm stayed on it and watched tv including last ever ER which was very good started having CTX halfway through ER ......realised I was in labour after watching Family guy got to hospital at 2.30am and was holding DD at 9.30 am .

Good luck .

Personally I couldn't face sex when I was over due... but nipple twiddling worked a treat(!)

Not v romantic I'm afraid. Bit like tuning in the radio really.

Bet the Federers haven't dared do it for a fortnight!

Didn't work for me. Neither did anything else though, and I tried EVERYTHING - including all old wives tales, homeopathy and reflexology (which did produce a show though - only thing that did much at all). But it is nice to be together iyswim - especially when you are feeling like a big grumpy whale (me - each time!)

I really don't recommend castor oil. I did it two pregnancies - and it is just nasteeeee having to sprint/waddle to the loo!

I have a friend who swears an oral ingestion of progesterone is what set her off...

we just been talking about this at our ante-natal class. MW reckons it's to do with the sperm, some sort of chemical that gives reaction to start labour but obviously like everything, doesn't work for everyone.

She did say walking is about the best

worked for me - contractions started about 30 mins later. mind you, ds not born for another 36 hrs. so maybe he wasn't really ready.....

Well, did it work, OP?!

monkeyforgrace, that is exactly what I thought

Nothing works unless you are ready. Take it from someone who tried everything Honestly, if you are all ready to go it probably helps it along a bit but nothing is going to get it going if you are not ready.

Oooh LittleWhiteWolf has gone quiet, do we think we have liftoff?!
BTW Tilly, fun trying, are you having a laugh? By 40 weeks if my other half had so much as shown me his willy Ive have ripped it off.

Tried everything else then finally found a position in which to have heavily-pregnant-lady-sex. Not the most fun sex ever, but DD2 did put in an appearance the next day after lots of cramps that started straight after sex.

No, but it was fun trying

My waters broke early so I tried:

curry
a walk
pineapple
a reasonably warm bath

on the Thursday. I went into labour on the Friday so maybe something worked

dxx

Nope, just ended up having a little bleed and a trip to the hospital to tell me my cervix was closed, boo hoo.

I tried it all on Fri, bumpy car ride, hot curry, glass of cider to relax me, hot bath, hot sex ;-) along with my usual raspberry leaf tea. No luck, my babe is obviously very comfy in there.

I was due yesterday and got a hundred texts asking me if there was any news, aagh!

As I'm a midwife, I've been trying to give myself a sweep as well, but not had much luck with reaching my cervix, haha xx

never worked for me
expat- 6 hours?! How did you have the energy?

Yes with ds2, got my mum to mind ds1, did the deed at 7pm went into labour at 9pm.

Worked both times for me. When I was a week overdue with ds2 my midwife asked if we were havig sex and I said 'yes' to which she replied 'You do realise the best position is doggy style as the cervix is in prime position to get hit with the sperm.'

Yep - 4 hours later went into labour!

this is good news <waddles off to find Barry White CD..>

Yep - two hours later went into labour.

yes

worked for us - about 24 hours later in full blown labour.

I will let you all know--did the deed last night about midnight ish and now I'm drinking a cup of my raspberry leaf tea, but so far not even a twinge.
I'm 4 days overdue btw.

oh i think it definetly works, with DD2 i was apparenlty 9 days over (due date was calculated by scan and she was a weeny 6lbs 15oz so think that she was probably on time)

i went for a long walk had a hot curry, ate fresh pineapple, had a nice warm bath and a good bonk (DH was very happy) she arrived the next morning

my midwife did say though that it is important to actually have an orgasm yourself as this can trigger contractions!!! lol

Well it seemed to work for me. But it could have been a coincidence. i am not very good at discussing these things (not as evolved as I thought I was ). I was due on 26th, had sex late on 28th and waters broke around 1am the following morning (not long after the deed). Had DS3 that afternoon.

Its not going to start you off unless you are ready though (well unless its really mindblowing I suppose )

I think if you have sex when your cervix is ready and ripe then the sperm will speed things up.

With my first i went into labour the day i was due. the day before my due date i went on a hours walk then we had sex that evening doggy style , that night i had my show, waters broke the next morning and labour the night I was due.

2nd time i had a sweep at midday and then that evening went into labour. i was really nervous about it because i heard it really hurts. i did not feel anything and i think it was because my cervix was just so ripe so what im saying is the sweep and sperm helps you on your way if your body is ready.

sometimes nothing except time is going to get that baby moving... well that and an induction!

worked for me too !

DH was gutted

two thrusts!!! this is sounding better by the minute!!

Think spooning will be the only option. I will go and set up my complicated lying on side pillow arrangement

Yep. Just two thrusts did the trick for us.

spooning worked for us best.

lol!! Not sure I can do romantic but you have given me hope. Might just go and get some gaviscon and give dh the good news.

Well, with DD2, it took about 6 hours to work.

With DS, about 4 hours (the older two took a rare nap).

yes i am sure it worked for dd. I was due to be induced early with her, and midwife said on thursday to have some romance dh and i went out for dinner, had sex went to bed and then about 5 hours later i went into labour, 10 days early.

Really expat?! Mind if I ask how long it took to work?!!

Worked for me with DD2 and DS!

Try doggy style or spooning.

Its a myth isn't it? Probably started by frustrated dh's.

no, didn' work for me.

I mean to start labour of course....

I'm desperate enough to try pretty much anything now but I'd just like to hear any success stories before I go about finding a position in which it's even possible.