do laxatives bring on labour?

[yuletopian99]

And is this such a bad thing?

I'm not due till saturday, but a friend from NCT is now 14 days over, and my mum went way way over with me and my brother. I know laxatives are banned during pregnancy due to the risks of them stimulating early laboyr/miscarriage, but once past your due date therefore is there much risk?

Forgive me if this is a idiot question...

I did castor oil and went into labour the next day. I was 11 days late though so I don't know if the castor oil did it.
And I didn't get the runs during labour at all

I would avoid this, I heard castor oil or laxatives can make the baby poo as well, which obviously would cause big concerns. I had my baby recently and was 10 days over, its a frustrating time but letting things happen naturally is best.

Hmm, don't want to risk the baby... Anything else i can do to encourage him? Taking raspberry leaf tea, accupuncture, pineapple, curry, sex - will try anything safe!

Raspberry leaf tea won't hurt but it doesn't bring on labour, it's thought to more tone the uterus to help it have more efficient contractions. Curry & pineapple aren't thought to have an effect.

There is some that think acupuncture does work, quite a few hospitals offer it to women who are overdue so may be worth asking your midwife.

Your body will go into labour when it's ready - walking around and swaying can help the baby's head press onto the cervix which in turn produces oxytocin. Lots of distractions to take your mind off it, and remember you may not have any visible signs that labour is starting but there is a lot your body is doing behind the scenes!

Good luck x

Walking is the only thing that set me off... And I tried everything, including castor oil (which just gave me horrendous diarrhoea and a few false contractions)... Go walk 3 miles if you are mobile...