CASTOR OIL TO BRING ON LABOUR?

[ecco]

I am a week overdue, and do not want to be induced. I have tried everything to bring on labour, without success. Should I try Castor Oil? I bought some today, however it says on the bottle that you should not take it if you are pregnant. I don't know whether to take it or not?

NO

horrid stuff. could also cause fetal distress, bad diarrhoea for you...no!

have you tried sex?

if you want to give yourself massive stomach cramps and diaorrhea, and possibly labour on the toilet in horrible pain from the stomach cramps, then, yes, go for it

it can increase the chance of baby passing meconium, aswell as leaving you feeling weak and not necessarily working

baby will come when ready.

you are not overdue until 42 weeks, so hang on in there, and keep going with sex and nipple stim !!

no don't. it's seriously nasty.

no, no, no, no, no, no...got it? lol

Those of you all saying 'no' - why not?

I just read the Ina May Gaskin book as evangelised by many people here, and castor oil is one of her recommendations for bringing on labour - one spoon with breakfast and another a couple hours later if that went down OK. The rest of the book seemed pretty well researched with references...

Step away from the Castor Oil. See Lulumama's post. Pretty compelling reasons there I'd say.

As to my beloved Ina May... that book was written a while ago and lots of people did the castor oil thing. What research and references did she use to say that it was good to do?

ecco... don't go there. Take it back to the shop. Nipple stimulation, sex or good old fashioned patience is the key. Term is 37-42 weeks so you're not yet overdue my lovely.

My cousin took it for several of her pg's to bring on labour. She took it with orange juice - warmed up I think. I thought about it too for Dd who was 7 days late...didn't though.

Have a spicey curry or some loving with your man.

Lots of luck though, whatever brings baby on.

No! Nippple stimulation is the best

these are all the methods me and my friends tried when we were pregnant

bouncy on the top sex
thai food
sweeping
weeding the garden
star jumps
bouncing on a trampoline
cleaning all the windows
wiping the walls
orange juice
raspberry and cranberry juice
rotating their hips on a birthing ball
washing the car
figs
mini golf
bowling
yoga
chamomile tea
ginger
dancing
massaging the roof of the mouth??
mix ketchup, soda and bbq sauce and pour over chicken wings??

have you tried any of those?

castor oil is quite an old fashion way to bring on labour. although some women do still do it most midwives, doctors, etc wont reccommend it now for the reasons the ladies above have given and you have to drink a lot to make it work which will make you ill.
Try fresh pineapple or evening primrose capsules one maybe what worked for me.

star jumps
bouncing on a trampoline
mini golf
bowling
yoga
dancing

Nappyaddict, are you sure you were pregnant and not just in a 90s Tampax advert?

haha positive. these methods were all resorted to after the "normal" methods of pineapple, curry, bumpy car rides, walking, running up and down stairs failed to work!! seems that sometimes you need to think outside the box

btw i should say we didn't all do all of them. they were a group effort lol. i didn't actually do any of them myself because ds was early.

Mrslady, this is what Ina May says - book first published in 2003:

"Nearly 9% of nearly 11 000 pregnant women in a birth centre study used it to start labor, with no adverse outcomes" - ref Rooks, Weatherby & Ernst, The national birth center study II - intrapartum and postpartum + neonatal care, J. Nurse-Midwifery 1992; 7:301-30.

Not having read the paper I'd guess that means no adverse effects for the baby and no long-term adverse effects for the mother - isn't diarrhoea pretty normal in labour anyway?

IMG's suggested dose is one tablespoon with breakfast, followed possibly by another an hour later. My instant reaction is I can't imagine so little doing much of anything!

I wouldn't do it myself... but get back to me in a month when I'll most likely be feeling just like the OP!

notcitrus don't you worry babe. We won't let you lol

Spare a thought for the mw catching your baby mid stream ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

A friend of mine swears by rasberry leaf tea, she had quick labours too

I went into hospital 13 days overdue ready to be induced and I had a bath with Cage Sage in and within 5 minutes of getting out my waters broke!!!!!
Mind you I did put in half the bottle- much to the delight of the midwives- it stinks!!!

Thanks folks - I'm not going to use the castor oil now.

raspberry leaf tea
a very warm (but not lobster hot) bath with a few drops of lavender oil
fresh pineapple
lots of walking

the baby will come when he's ready, don't worry, you aren't really late yet.