any experts on curry for helping bring on labour... and the rest!

[mad4mybaby]

This w/e want to try all the usual methods to try to encourage baby to come. DH works away mon-fri and i will be 39 weeks. I have someone to have ds1 and someone to drive me to birth center if need be but i really only want dh with me for birth and we are both getting bit stressed about him not being there so this w/e we want to try to make the w/e!

Now i know that all these methods will only work if baby ready but would like as much help/advise as possible to bring it on!

Firstly i have a question about having curry. I know its down to upsetting your stomach but how hot does it have to be? I always have an extra mild curry as i hate spicey food but am prepared to eat one this w/e! What do i need to go for to be most effective?

Ive been taking EPO and RTL for a while. Tried clary sage last w/e but did nothing. I dont actually mind the smell! But last w/e i didnt 'feel' like the baby would come so he obviously wasnt ready! I have a MW appt sat and will ask for sweep but not hopeful of them agreeing....

I have an irritable uterus so always getting contractions so i know my body is heading in the right direction at the moment.. Also been getting period type pains!

I have bad SPD so long walks unfortunately are out of the question. Sex makes me want to be sick! Well the thought of it so want that as a last resort! Heard of nipple stimulation which again i tried last w/e but i only did it for a few mins as felt very odd and wasnt sure what i was doing....

any help id really appreciate

your post made me LOL as nothing worked for us! Even being induced brought on rubbish contractions and ended up with c/s, but that's another story.

I am sure you will be more lucky though.
I tried a jalfrezi - it just gave ds big hiccups that made our mattress bounce with the force of them!
Tried fresh pineapple too, it was tasty but the leftover skin attracted an infestation of fruit flies.

Good luck, hope it goes well.

I got ds out with a curry then an afternoon strole. we were out for hours (im not sure what spd is) but do you think you could manage a relaxed walk? It helped me loads. I have also hear pineapple can help.... cant stand the stuff personally.

With dd I had a massive meal the night before actually which incidently was curry. Only a korma but contractions started a few hours afterwards. I think its supposed to irritate your stomache or something.... very odd. Not sure what else to advice really. I really think the walk did the trick for me.

thats interesting! I thought it was the prostaglandins in sperm that did it? I also read something funny last night on that subject, that to have enough prostaglandins for it to work you have to have sex loads, like 57 times in 24 hours!! Maybe it IS down to the 'motions' so to speak!

DS was 10 days overdue so I tried everything, believe me nothing worked. Nipple tweaking meant to be done for 3 hours per day to have any effect - I was stupid enough to do this. Pineapples meant to help if you have at least one a day, gave me mad indigestion but nothing else. Tried the other potential solutions, didn't do much for me but left DH with a smile on his face for a while.

Second sweep brought on labour, but I do wonder now in retrospect if it came on too fast and I would have been better trying to let it happen naturally. I suspect that babies come when they want to and there is not a lot you can do to influence it.

yeah it is the prostaglandins in the sperm. my midwife suggested that i get on all fours for the deed and stay that way for a while so the sperm stays up there. orgasm was the other thing that kick started labour. had a show shortly afterwards. hope that helps.

We went out for a curry the night before DD arrived, and I think it was more the noise (it was very, very noisy that night with a table full of blokes celebrating something), then anything else that bought her on!! Why not try playing very loud music!

chicken madras worked for me!

i swear nipple stimulation got baby one out!, couldn't take it any more, stuck breast pump on and after a few hours had show and then a few hours later waters broke.

however tried again with baby two and nothing was getting him out and was induced at day 10.

With dd2, I ate loads of pickles - gherkins, pickled onions, beetroot and ran (well just about!) down and then up six flights of stairs (I lived in a flat on the sixth floor). Contraction started a few hours later. baby born within twelve hours. I could never 'get' the nipple stimulation thing either

Good Luck.

Ha ha! Why does everyone always say 'sex' when you ask this...cos this is seriously the absolute last thing I want to do right now!! I've spent today (due date) fending off texts of " is it here yet?" (like I wouldn't have let people know...) but just have a feeling it's not ready yet...going to try a long walk (sorry with spd that's not a plan) and maybe a curry: the last one gave me horrible indigestion though!!

reflexology worked for me & acupuncture worked for a girl in my PN group... good luck. (if you do nipple stim you are only supposed to do one side at a time apparently)

The only thing that worked for me was vigorous walks/ jumping up and down a lot - with your spd I assume any movement hurts, but if you can do anything I would.

I'd never heard of the curry one when I was expecting dd.

But I did have sag paneer (which is pretty mild imo) the night I went into labour!

Word of warning though - the strenght of the contractions made me vomit in labour and couldn't eating that meal for almost a year later.

Good luck, hope baby comes soon

I have a very upfront midwife. This is what she told me (nearly word for word): Sex is most effective if he comes (for the prostaglandins), you come (as the orgasm makes the womb contract) and it is very vigorous. If you are too uncomfotable for enjoyable sex then do it doggy until he comes and then immediatley use an aid to get yourself off.

She also told me the prostoglandins are more effective orally. If you cannot face a BJ then copy my colleague if you dare. She got her husband to ejaculate into a cup, mixed it with juice, and shot it back.

Have you tried putting a clear evening primrose oil capsule up your fanjo? Meant to be better than taking them by mouth.

Finally castor oil is meant to be very effective. But you will have severe diahorrea throughout labour which is my worst nightmare.

second reflexology - had one session where she stimulated the uterus area on my heel (pretty painful)and labour started next morning.

bloody hell artichokes - if I were pg I think I'd rather be 4 weeks overdue than go through any of that.

I know Mercy!
I was induced early with DD so I never had to worry about these things. I am now 36 weeks with DD2 and I hope beyond hope that I never need to call on my midwife's advice.

I had a mild curry 2 hrs before contractions started. Hadn't gone out for a takeaway on purpose to bring on labour, but just for a meal with friends. Downside was your body will empty itself before birth and I did spend a large amount of labour on the toilet. I was also sick when I was given some painkillers and mild sedative, and it wasn't a pleasant colour, poor mw looked horrified at it

My friend swears by the fresh pineapple, brought on both her children, but you do need to eat a large amount of it

Two weeks over due, tried everything, curry, fresh pineapple (three of them in a week), sex, window cleaning.....

What did it?

three pessaries and waters broken (pretty much painlessly)...then rapid onset of labour!

Prior to this I had not had any braxton hicks or any indication that the baby was due apart from my gigantic size, and swollen feet.

Curry lots of nights in a row and being very very busy!

nipple stimulation

I tried it all, and still went 16 days overdue. Was induced in the end, although by then I was already contracting. I had drunk half a box of RLT the night before and my MW said I had just agrivated my uterus.

BTW, the official advice is not to use castor oil, as it can give you diarrhea, thus dehydrating you.

Sex is probably the best think, as semen contains prostaglandin, which gets things moving when it comes (ahem) into contact with the cervix. However, whatever your DH tells you, it DOES NOT work if administered orally!!

Nipple tweaking also releases the right hormones. I read somewhere though it must be both nipples, never just one. I think that may be bollocks.

It'll come when it's good n ready though.

I had a mushroom biriani the day before I had DD.