Help Bringing on labour first baby

[Katieb21]

Hi, was just wondering what helped bring your labour on with your FIRST baby? I understand baby’s come when they are ready but I’m so scared off going overdue and was just wondering if there’s anything I could do to encourage things... I will be 40weeks on Wednesday, what do you think worked for you? And when was your baby born? Thanks in advance!

[GlitterBurps]

Congratulations on baby! With my first I tried hot curry and a midwife friend said to drink pure pineapple juice. Had both on the Saturday evening and started having contractions Sunday lunchtime. He arrived Monday afternoon. I was 40+5.

[GlitterBurps]

I also had 3 sweeps which didn’t seem to do much.

[Katieb21]

Thanks for replying, I have a consultant appointment 2days before im due so hoping I can get a sweep then and get another on my due date if it doesn’t work! Been drinking raspberry leaf tea bouncing on a birth ball and trying to stay active hoping it helps I’m just really scared off going over and having to get induced or end up having a csection 😩🙈 my midwife did say Wednesday to try prune/pineapple juice so I guess I’m gonna have to give that a go xx

[GlitterBurps]

I was scared of being induced as I didn’t want to be kept in hospital. With both pregnancies I have given birth the day before my scheduled induction

[Montypontypine]

I tried everything ... raspberry leaf tea, hot curries, sex, strong espresso. I ended up 12 days overdue, 2 sweeps and still nothing. I was induced but it was completely fine. The hospital used a pessary to get labour going gently, the start was very gentle and moved along quite slowly so please don't worry about being induced.

[babynelly2010]

Get a pedicure and relax :-)

[Whereland]

Try hand expressing a little bit of milk. This can stimulate labour.
Also, I know they recommend sex but I couldn't think of anything worse at that stage- try a DIY approach!

[Eeeeek2]

Cuddling

[Tryingtokeepfit]

Expressing! I had a manual pump, I 'pumped' a grand total of 30ml of colostrum in the week before baby. Went into labor on my due date.

[Closetlibrarian]

I went to 40+14 with DC1. Having turned down induction at 40+10. I was flipping desperate for it to come out and tried EVERYTHING. In the end she was born naturally - I credit the tons of sex/ orgasm (much as I absolutely did not feel like it) plus nipple twiddling. All the other stuff (curry, reflexology, acupuncture, sweeps, etc, did bog all. But mostly I think she just came when she was ready. The mw said she didn’t ‘look’ like an overdue baby when she was born.

[Flisspaps]

If anything actually worked, no-one would agree to be induced medically.

You do know you can decline induction, if you choose to do so based upon the risks and benefits of waiting vs action. The length of a 'normal' pregnancy can be 42 weeks (some women go longer than that)

[guest477337]

I'm sure it was the raspberry tea leaf tables from Holland and barter

[Orangedaisy]

I mowed the lawn and stood up all day baking the day before I went into labour with DD1. With DD2 swam the day before she was born and went round a farm with DD1 on the morning DD2 arrived (v fast labour-no contractions until well past 5pm, baby at 9.40pm). So keeping active seemed to do it for me....

[Celticlassie]

Nipple stimulation.

[GimbleInTheWabe]

I denied any sweeps and the like as I'd heard they can be painful and ineffective if your cervix isn't ready or somesuch. I went 9 days overdue.

It was the old 'one way in one way out' method that got things going for me. I can't say it was the best shag of my life but it was certainly the most amusing! Labour began the next morning. Lots of sitting on my yoga ball also helped I think.

[ShowOfHands]

Nothing works. I like the "this is what I did in the day/hours before so it MUST be that" theory. In that case, sitting around and eating jaffa cakes definitely works.

None of it works. Sex, curry, pineapple etc. They've studied it, tested it etc. Nothing short of chemical induction works. For every one woman who claims she had sex and then a baby at 40+1, there will be dozens who had sex and had no baby. The baby came because of the 40+1 bit. It's coincidence.

Raspberry leaf btw is recommended to strengthen the pushing stage. Nothing to do with starting labour.

[annlee3817]

I went into labour when I stopped trying everything I could to bring labour on. Instead I had a lazy day on the couch with lots of naps, was glad I did as went into labour in the early hours and lost a night's sleep. Raspberry leaf tea is meant to make contractions more effective rather than actually bring on labour. I'd had a sweep on the Wednesday, was 3-4cm dilated, waters bulging, my lazy day was on the Sunday.

[Katieb21]

Thanks for al your lovely replies ladies, I know raspberry leaf tea doesn’t bring on labour even though the way I wrote seems like I was using it to try and bring it on I’m just hoping it makes labour a little easier! My baby is measuring small and have a growth scan today so just want him out as it’s making me worry!

[Katieb21]

I’ve drank a litre of pure pineapple juice and attempted to use my breast pump, been on my birthing ball for about a hour had a few niggling pains nothing much though I doubt anything will happen though...

[BossWitch]

Agree with pp. Nothing works works. But for interest:

Walked dog.
Washed dog (golden retriever who has to be lifted in and out of the bath, so no small undertaking!)
Drank a large bottle of cobra beer.

Had dd on her due date in under 3 hours.

[Clevs]

39+6 here and wondering the same! Have just ordered takeaway but decided against curry as we fancied pizza instead. I might blow my gym ball up later though and have a roll around on that!

[Flisspaps]

@ShowOfHands I ate a box of Jaffa cakes the night before I went into labour with DS, I definitely recommend it as an induction technique 😂

[Ekphrasis]

There was a study on eating dates being more effective than not eating them.

Raspberry leaf capsules are supposed to be better than tea.

[Shaunieh95]

I'm trying everything to get mine to come before my induction 😩.

So many people have sworn by clary sage oil however nothing seems to work. I really am starting to believe he really will come when he's ready which I know is THE most annoying phrase you can ever hear 😩

[LittleRen]

Nothing really works. For me what “worked” with my third was having a huge cry to my husband and finally relaxing about it, then I topped it off with a glass of wine... next day contractions started! I was 10 days over though so just coincidence I am sure... although it certainly helps not to stress about it.