does sex really start off labour?

[mayaknew]

I know there's loads of theories about but I've heard sex is the the only.one with a bit of science behind it.

When I went into labour with ds , DH and I had had sex the night before. But I went into labour about 20 hours later, so just coincidence?

[Micah]

Yes. There are prostaglandins in semen- they use prostaglandin pessaries to induce labour.

It Wont start you if youre not ready (why they usually need to supplement induction with iv), but will get you going sooner.

[ThursdayLastWeek]

In theory the prostoglandins thing.
In reality no.

[sepa]

Didn't work for my friend when she tried.
I think the baby will just come when it wants to and if something like sex, curry, pineapple etc worked then it was a coincidence

[ThursdayLastWeek]

In MY reality - no.

[CestLaVie93]

Didn't work for us. It was just very, very awkward & quite hilarious when I was overdue 😂

[Georgeofthejungle]

I had some pineapple last night and baby is staying put. Also, in Australia you can eat as much pineapple as you like whilst pregnant.

If the sex theory is as flimsy as the pineapple, I'm gonna say probably not.

[katienana]

I think if any of the theories were true then you'd be advised to avoid those activities until term.

[SleepIsForTheWeakAnyway]

It worked for me. I had a show a few days before and nothing seemed to be moving any further. I checked with a midwife that it was safe, went home, dtd and ds was born 4 hours later.

[NorthernLurker]

You need to eat about 7 pineapples to get enough of whatever it is that works and if you did that you'd probably have such bellyache that would sufficiently irritate your uterus to put you in labour. Sex is more fun

[Boogers]

Didn't work for me with DD. The theory is prostoglandin in the pessary is the same as in semen, and the oxytocin released during orgasm is the same as in the drip. Tried it purely for perfunctory measures at T+7 but nothing. Ended up being induced at T+12 with both the pessary and drip.

[ToastMakesMeHappy]

Did for me

[lanbro]

I'm going to buck the trend and say yes, worked for me twice!

[Georgeofthejungle]

Good to know Northern. I do love pineapples

[Newlywed123]

With my previous pregnancy i was barely allowed sex as i had a cervical cerclage, when my stitch was removed at 36+6 we didnt have sex straight away due to me being sore. When we did have sex after a 2/3 mile walk labour started a couple of hours later at 37+3. She qas born within 24 hours

[Inwaiting]

My aunt swore by (in her words not mine) 'a good shg got all of her children on the move'

Not sure what she constitutes as a good shg though

[WoodleyPixie]

The semen need to be as close to the cervix as possible to get maximum chance of working. So let him know that if that's what you are having sex for that he needs to ejaculate right inside you.

It s the hormone that they use in induction. It won't start labour unless you are almost ready to go to labour anyway though.

[Wardrobespierre]

It doesn't work at all. Of course some people have sex and labour starts x number of hours later. Thousands have sex and don't go into labour. It's pure coincidence.

No study has found a link. That prostaglandin might be in semen but not in a quantity or form that will start labour. In fact should the science mean anything, it would work better when ingested orally. But it doesn't.

It's like a heroin addict sniffing a poppy to try and get a hit. Theoretically, the opium is there. Practically, you can't benefit from it.