Trying to bring on labour... here's a thought...

[specialmagiclady]

Has anyone used a breast pump to stimulate their nipples to try and bring on labour?

With DS1 I tried:

curry
shagging
pineapple (at least one whole pineapple a day)
long walks
reflexology
acupuncture
homeopathy
nipple stimulation (using fingers)

In the end it took a shot of prostaglandin up my mimsy to get him into the world.

Now I'm thinking... IF I go overdue again, I might whip out the ol' breast pump and give my boobs something to really think about - also might mean milk comes in quicker post-natally.

Anyone tried it? Anyone got any good reasons NOT to do it??

i have heard that a breast pump is an excellent way to do the whole nipple stim thing !!

semen does the same as the prostoglandin, and the nipple stim does the oxytocin thing, so i would do them both for a double hormone whammy !!

7 pineapples, to give you enough of the enzyme to actually do anything , BTW..imagine the heartburn ! ouch!

I read somewhere, can't remember where, that with the semen thing, you have to ingest it so, indeed, with the pineapples, major heartburn!

yup ingesting semen is the better then up the "mimsy" (lol)...shudder though!

you do not have to ingest the semen! it is fine applied topically to the cervix

there was some research to show that , ahem, swallowing it was better and more effective as it is absorbed better that way...but sex is still a recognized way to help ripen the cervix!

Ooh my husband is in BIG LUCK as I practise my oral technique with an electric breast pump going "Weee waaah weee waaah weee wah!"

Tried everything including nipple squeaking, etc - didn't work.

Did you swallow though?

If its your second, I have heard that a tens machine on low overnight will work, but on NO ACCOUNT do this if its your 1st.

I read somewhere (possibly in something NCT from the antenatal class) that you shouldn't stimulate both nips at the same time as it can lead to foetal distress

May or may not be more fun-try half a Guinness in your local. DD2 came the day after, coincidence...

TENS machine? eh? not heard that one! that is a pain relief,! is it supposed to stimulate the uterus to bring on labour? hmm.... not sure about that

tips including nipple stim instructions

re foeatal distress.....the hormone produced by nipple stim is oxytocin, which is given in synthetic form in induction ( syntocinon). Too much synto can cause very strong contractions which can cause foeatal distress...

however, oxytocin is natural, and i don't think your body can overproduce it through nipple stim to the point of causing foetal distress. If you do do it, and the contractions are too strong to cope with, stop tweaking!

i am happy to be corrected if i am wrong, obviously !

lulumama - I'm sure you're right. It would seem to be a massive design flaw if it were true. Unfortunately I can't remember where I read it. My brain is mushy and pregnant and I can barely remember my own name half the time

lol,its good to know that swallowing it is just as good as if not better than sex...Id prefer giving head to having sex anyday at this stage

I did it the day after my edd with my 3rd and went into labour immediately! Half an hour of pumping, had strong twinges while I was doing that didn't stop when I stopped when I stopped pumping and I gave birth less than 3 hours later.

Having said that I also did it with my 2nd and it didn't work at all, despite doing an hour every night from 5 days late until she was induced at 12 days over.

I think it's the same as all of the diy induction methods, it'll only work if you are on the brink of going into labour naturally.

You could also try a Burger King Bacon Double Cheeseburger meal with Sprite. I went into labour about 6 hours after eating one with ds1 and ds2. Weird coincidence or labour inducing properties in Burger King, who knows!

but is the breast pumping ok before baby comes? ive already been leaking colustrum for months,stupid question but the real milk wont come in until the babies born isnt it

I was worried about that too, but it makes no difference, the changeover from colostrum to milk is triggered by hormones after you give birth. Some people actually express and freeze colostrum so that could be an option!

It's worth a try, just bear in mind you may well get strong contraction type pains while you're stimulating but they will probably ease off when you stop pumping.

I tried everything except super hot curry (and considering the amount I threw up in labour that was probably a good thing). None of it worked. All the nipple tweaking just got my hands and clothes very sticky and horrible. Also got me laughed at lots by dp although why a stupidly pregnant woman bouncing on a ball while tweaking her nipples and watching trash tv is something to be laughed at I have no idea............

(I credit showing my face at the first aquanatal class of term at 42 weeks for my labour. That got a few laughs too they really weren't expecting to see me back there!)

hey thanks for the tips...pity i cnt really try the curry/spicy thing...dont think it works if ur systems already really used to it, dh is asian so curry is a norm...plus i tried to eat a teeny bit of mackerel and ended up with pains...theres just no room 4 me to eat my stomach cnt hold it - bump is HUGE - if i dnt have ds soon im gna end up really sick...well im off to eat some pineapple,might try breastpump 2nite, do u realy hav 2 sterilise it and everything on ur first go when its new out the packet?cnt b bothered,doing anything such an effort...im sure everyone knws how i feel. By d way footspas supposed2induce labor, my mother inlaw got me one months ago as a treat but when i read d back it said not to use if preg, researched it and found out its similar to reflexology,can stimulate something or whatever...but been using now for 2 weeks do u think thats worked...ehh no

Did the shagging involve orgasm (yours not his of course)?

That seems to have done the trick for me each time - and you don't even have to shag!

I read its something to do with the spasms/contractions you get.

For Pineapple to work you have to eat 7 of them .

Unless you're going to keep the colostrum to give to the baby you don't need to sterilise or even wash it.

Think you should wash & sterilise breast pump before you use it for expressing milk proper - you never know how long it's been hanging about in a warehouse for, with spiders and rats and that crawling on it...

And I have to agree with Hanifah - oral a slightly more attractive option than the full shag at the moment. With my son belting my cervix from one side, I ain't letting his father at it from the other. Yowch!

yeah it was an experiment lol,did it spooning and no didnt orgasm cos was like cum quick as u can dh,haha. I got what HAS 2 be a contraction about half an hr ago, maybe labor isnt gona start i duno but it cudnt b BH...just going for a walk hopefully will bring more on