41+ 5 days overdue!!!! please help !!!! some advice on castor oil ...

[MamaMoonFairy]

I'm now 41 + 5 days overdue, being trying everything to induce labour nothing worked( reflexology, acupuncture, raspberry leaf tea, sex, pineapple you name it!!) my first Ds was late too i had an induction and went really bad ended up having an horrendous labour that last for 3 days!!! can't bare the idea of going trough the same again, starting to think that i will never be able to do this by myself.... please can somebody give me some advice about using of castor oil and let me now your experience with it, please!!! I'm on the verge of desperation..

i feel for you big time - i went overdue too and was induced - you must be so very uncomfortable
the midwife at my ante-natal class actually warned against castor oil as it can make you very sick - im sure you wouldnt want to be bent over a toilet spewing for hours at 9+ months pregnant. i would say keep at the sex if you can bear it - i've heard its the most effective natural inducer going.
good luck!

have you had a sweep?

castor oil is a big no no. it can give you the severe painful runs and if you do go into labour, you will be labouring on the loo,

try sex, nipple stim, visualisation and a sweep.

I took castor oil with dd2 and didn't have vomiting or the runs although these are frequently cited side effects. I did however, have a lovely 3 hour labour at home instead of the induction horror with dd1. Mary Cronk has some advice on taking it, google her and see what you find. The cochrane review website has information on alternative methods of inducing labour including castor oil and concludes there is not enough evidence to support it's use (just like lots of obstetric interventions we use all the time really!) It tastes foul, so mix it with orange juice. Professionally I would say don't take it as there is not enough evidence to guarantee it's safety but that could be said for many things in life! Neither is there any evidence to suggest it is dangerous so take your pick but do read up about it first in the same way you would any intervention in your pregnancy, don't just take personal accounts as everyone will react differently. Good luck.

Have you tried sex? Worked for me - waters broke within an hour. Will not be the most erotic experience of your life but worth a certain amount of clumsiness.

don't do it
have a shag instead

Having said that Reikizen, What if OP is one of the ones who does react badly?

Not very good advice imo, If in doubt of illness then surely a no no. I have personal experience of this when I tried it with my 1st child and was very ill. Baby came 18 days later. (14 yrs ago)

It is v hard to find anywhere that even stocks castor oil!!

Pienapple, curry and sex

nipple stim, sex are the best but only if your body is ready.

You would have to eat about 9 whole pineapples in one sitting for it to have any effect so unless you're a huge fan, i wouldn't try too hard with that one either.

If you are having strong bh then a laugh out loud movie of show, (stand up dvd or similar) will release endorphins.

I'm very sorry you had a hard time liahgen, that's why she has to gather as much info as she can and then make an informed decision like we do with all the interventions in preg/labour. I am in no way recommending it! I am aware I had a good experience that's why I said don't just take personal opinion on the subject. I'd say the same for epidurals, home birth, water birth, pethidine - you name it. Labour is an unknown quantity, we can only use the information we have to decide what to do, no crystal ball. Sex is a good bet as it releases oxytocin and prostaglandins and is hilarious when you are that pregnant!

yes i agree Reikezen. Sorry have had long day with a stop start lady in labour, was probably a bit short.

Oh god, don't apologise! Have a restful Friday night and possibly a glass of wine (as I plan to do after a day writing the essay from hell. Continuity of care? Where does that exist then?)

thanks Reik, no baby yet, so still on call so no wine for me Will save it forover weekend hopefully.

have good one

A friend of mine gave me a foot massage and I had my show the same night.It got everything started and my baby was born 3 days later after a nice slow lead up to labour, my waters started leaking and I was having strong contractions in the early hours of the morning. Gave me chance to get my head round what was to come!!

hello all

and thank you for all advice

I have tried sex ( a lot... believe me)
I'm immune to curry because Im quite use to spiced hot foods
my nipples are row from so much stim
walking miles every day
jumping up and down
drink RBL tea 6 cups a day
have had 2 sweeps ( one this morning)
3 reflexology sessions
2 acupuncture sessions
1 pineapple a day... and so on... nothing worked
I'm 40 + 12 today
need this baby out!!! let me know if somebody had a positive experience with castor oil

more details

I was induce with ds1 and it all went so wrong that baby ended up very stressed passing meconiom and having a poor apagar record, and having antibiotics for 3 days in the vain, and all in the hospital... so what's the difference of trying an natural induction with castor oil??? can things go wrong anyway , anywhere??

thank you reikizen for your advice I found it very helpful

just one thing more I will just use castor as last resort , as a can t face induction in hospital , i have my HB

I used castor oil mixed with fresh orange juice as I was overdue aswell.

It was the most disgusting thing I had ever drank and as soon as it had hit the back of my throat I spewed into the kitchen sink. I managed 2/3 mouthfuls in between puking and then spent the rest of the night vomiting and sitting on the toilet feeling sorry for myself. I would not reccomend it!!

Instead I mowed the lawn and painted my fence, had sex 3 times in one day (poor husband didnt know what had hit him) and that evening I went into labour

Mama, You do not have to agree to induction at any stage regardless. Even the Hp can only strongly suggest to you.

I know it's easy for me to say, and believe me, all but one of my 5 were post dates but babies will come when they are ready. I'm sorry i know that's not particularly helpful, but any natural method of induction will only work if body is ready anyway.

I do hope it goes well for you, whatever you decide to do. Let us know how you get on.

i think the castor oil can increase the risk of meconium being passed

the sex/orgasm/nipple stim produces oxytocin and prostoglandins which are given in synthetic form when you are induced ,so better than castor oil, which works by irritating your gut which can trigger contractions

what did your MW say about your cervix and how ripe it was at your sweep

go on have another shag
you probably won't get another chance for a while

went out for a nice meal, then went to shopping at tescos and guess what!! had a show and starting having some ctx they fell hard but don t hurt much they are very irregular..
hopefully that s it!!!!!

can i just add that I thought sex was the best way as semen contains something or other which induces contractions but I have since been corrected to show that actually you need to ingest the semen by mouth to get the greatest and best effects.
So I would say a sweep and oral sex might do the trick although if you are having some contractions the oral might be better on its own.
fingers crossed for you

er...mrsleroy, who told you that? was it your husband?

hahaha nope it wasnt. It was infact a midwife and a Dr who told me that one. And no I havent told my dh either.

castor oil can cause complications, it can not only give you the runs but cross the placenta and the baby can poo in the womb. i would def advise againt it!

hope baby comes soon!

Chances are baby will pass meconium anyway if they are truly post dates because the digestive system is more mature. Meconium is not always a sign of distress and does not always cause complications but it is certainly something the midwife will be alert to during labour. Sounds like stuff is happening anyway so that's brilliant! You may have a babe in arms as I write!