At what stage (if any) did you try and kick start your labour?

[Naetha]

As it says in the subject really...

I'm 34 weeks, and wondering if come 37 weeks I should do all the usual things to try and kick start labour (nipple twiddling, curries, pineapple, long walks, reflexology etc) or if I could start it before it's ready?

I'm feeling impatient already - I want everything to hurry up so I can meet my baby! Am I just being selfish and putting my child's wellbeing in danger?

Also because I'm due on the 30th December, I don't really want to have the baby between Christmas and New Year (not fair on LO if avoidable) so would be nice to already have him here by mid December

Am I being wholly unrealistic in thinking my actions can have any effect on when my LO is going to make an appearance?

All of the above methods will only work if baby and your body are ready.

By all means try them when you are due, and they won't do any harm. But it will probably be a waste of time trying before then.

Just try and relax and be patient. Good things come to those who wait!!

41 weeks with ds3. The only one to go overdue so far.

Reflexology didnt do it (but amde me a lor more relaxed about waiitng so worth it LOL), it was downing a large amount of raspberry leaf capsules that did it, but only because MW was insisting on an induction two days later.

Im 39+1 and have been trying the nipple stim, sex, pineapple etc for the past week.... hasnt made a difference yet.

Im being a bit slack this time around compared to DD2, was doing everything from 37 weeks with her!

Whatever you do, avoid Castor Oil - it doesnt work, just gives you major upset tummy!

I do find nipple stim and sex is giving me a few hours of contractions, but nothing concrete and i soon fall asleep and wake up and nothing has appeared!

peachy - how many capsules of RLT did you take per day? I am only taking 1 (640mg) but wondering if I could be taking more

naetha - think 37 weeks is a bit early just because it will be so frustrating for you if it doesn;t work. I am working on the assumption that I will go 2 weeks overdue this time (as I did last time) in order to try and avoid the madness when you've gone past your due date

You can try all those things you suggested but IMHO I think the best thing anyone can do is just resign yourself to the fact that you'll be late and anything else is a bonus.

I'm like JARM, this is my 3rd baby and I'm 39+5 today and I havent done a thing to try and start it off.

I did buy some clary sage oil but it smells vile so its gone in the cupboard.

skidaddle - i have that stength and it says 2 tabs 3 times a day? Am i taking too many ??

I tried everything and it didn;t work, I was 8 days overdue. My friend tried allsorts from 36 weeks onwards and conned a doctor at the antenatal clinic into giving an early sweep etc and then forced being induced. She had a very difficult time and ended up having a c-section. I'm not trying to be the scaremongerer but dates are never accurate and as frustrating as it is you just have to let them come when they come unless medically you have no choice otherwise it makes it harder for both you and bubs!!

I can't comment on kicking off labour since my two were both pretty late (dd-40+14 and ds 40+11)

BUT, what i wanted to say is that raspberry leaf tea/tablets won't start off labour. It is supposed to make dilation quicker. I can say that IMO it does work but I can't prove it! With dd I thought it started labour off and was very disappointed that she was very late. i wasn't going to take it with ds but then I found mn and realised that i'd got the worng idea about what it does so took it again. With both of them i went from 3/4cm dilated to fully dilated in a couple of hours and was told that is very quick(1-2cm per hour or two is what they 'expect')

I'm 39+6 today and have tried sex and nip stim but nothing has worked.

I reckon the sex and nip stim were invented by a bloke so that he could get off on getting some last minute nookie before the big dry patch!

40 weeks today and STILL nothing.... sex and nipple stim gave me contractions on and off all night last night but still no baby to show for it.

Its a crock of sh*t I tell ya!

Im going to go and start my own "due today and pissed off" thread - i need some cheering up!

40 weeks

beller - I don't know - if it says to take that many then I'm sure that's right although after reading this thread I think I might hold off the RLT for a while...

I started trying to start things off 2 weeks before my due date and 2 weeks after my due date was still eating vast quantities of pineapples, eating curries, walking miles, having really, really, unenthusiastic sex...and on my midwifes recommendation even drank a vile cocoction of orange juice mixed with...er...human prostoglandins. None of it worked. She wasn't budging and I had to be induced before I exploded.Don't know if raspberry leaf tea speeded up my second stage of labour but the episiotomy and forceps certainly did!

I will say though that all that stuff gave me something to do...but next time I think I'll just lie on the sofa, watch TV and conduct an experiment into the benefits of eating chocolate to bring on labour.

Tried the natural way with DD, didn't work.

Tried 11 days before DS2 was due and it worked, I think.