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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Original poster

Has sex actually worked for anyone?

63 replies

MustHaveaVeryShortMemory · 04/07/2009 21:50

I mean to start labour of course....

I'm desperate enough to try pretty much anything now but I'd just like to hear any success stories before I go about finding a position in which it's even possible.

OP posts:
lilywhite80 · 05/07/2009 17:58

Nope, just ended up having a little bleed and a trip to the hospital to tell me my cervix was closed, boo hoo.

I tried it all on Fri, bumpy car ride, hot curry, glass of cider to relax me, hot bath, hot sex ;-) along with my usual raspberry leaf tea. No luck, my babe is obviously very comfy in there.

I was due yesterday and got a hundred texts asking me if there was any news, aagh!

As I'm a midwife, I've been trying to give myself a sweep as well, but not had much luck with reaching my cervix, haha xx

bigTillyMint · 05/07/2009 18:04

No, but it was fun trying

dawntigga · 05/07/2009 18:04

My waters broke early so I tried:

curry
a walk
pineapple
a reasonably warm bath

on the Thursday. I went into labour on the Friday so maybe something worked

dxx

Swaliswan · 05/07/2009 18:07

Tried everything else then finally found a position in which to have heavily-pregnant-lady-sex. Not the most fun sex ever, but DD2 did put in an appearance the next day after lots of cramps that started straight after sex.

monkeyfacegrace · 05/07/2009 18:19

Oooh LittleWhiteWolf has gone quiet, do we think we have liftoff?!
BTW Tilly, fun trying, are you having a laugh? By 40 weeks if my other half had so much as shown me his willy Ive have ripped it off.

GColdtimer · 05/07/2009 18:45

Nothing works unless you are ready. Take it from someone who tried everything Honestly, if you are all ready to go it probably helps it along a bit but nothing is going to get it going if you are not ready.

GColdtimer · 05/07/2009 18:46

monkeyforgrace, that is exactly what I thought

expatinscotland · 05/07/2009 18:46

Well, did it work, OP?!

LovelyDear · 05/07/2009 19:36

worked for me - contractions started about 30 mins later. mind you, ds not born for another 36 hrs. so maybe he wasn't really ready.....

redboxer · 05/07/2009 19:40

we just been talking about this at our ante-natal class. MW reckons it's to do with the sperm, some sort of chemical that gives reaction to start labour but obviously like everything, doesn't work for everyone.

She did say walking is about the best

Lulubee · 05/07/2009 19:44

I have a friend who swears an oral ingestion of progesterone is what set her off...

PotPourri · 05/07/2009 19:51

Didn't work for me. Neither did anything else though, and I tried EVERYTHING - including all old wives tales, homeopathy and reflexology (which did produce a show though - only thing that did much at all). But it is nice to be together iyswim - especially when you are feeling like a big grumpy whale (me - each time!)

I really don't recommend castor oil. I did it two pregnancies - and it is just nasteeeee having to sprint/waddle to the loo!

Mumsnut · 05/07/2009 19:52

Bet the Federers haven't dared do it for a fortnight!

JoesMummy09 · 05/07/2009 19:54

Personally I couldn't face sex when I was over due... but nipple twiddling worked a treat(!)

Not v romantic I'm afraid. Bit like tuning in the radio really.

Comewhinewithme · 05/07/2009 20:00

This is what I did 5 weeks ago (I did have a sweep on the Tuesday so it may have helped but I didn't go into labour until very late Thursday night).

Hot bath
Bounced on birthing ball for a while
Hot spicy meal
Went on birthing ball at 8.00pm stayed on it and watched tv including last ever ER which was very good started having CTX halfway through ER ......realised I was in labour after watching Family guy got to hospital at 2.30am and was holding DD at 9.30 am .

Good luck .

fizzpops · 05/07/2009 20:01

Isn't it the prostaglandins in the sperm?

Apparently synthetic ones are used to induce childbirth, although I would imagine they are much higher doses than occur naturally or no-one would be advised that it was safe to have sex while pregnant. You probably have to be almost in labour for it to speed things up at all.

BaronConker · 05/07/2009 20:17

I'd say approach with caution - with DS2 it worked a treat, quick go with DH at 9pm and woke at 1am with contractions, and away we went. So two days late with DS3, tried the same approach. Four hours after the deed, contractions did indeed start, so shipped kids off to mum's and settled in. Four hours later, stopped again. So we had another 'go' the next morning, and the same thing happened - several hours of contractions, then nothing. So we had one more try, and even ended up in hospital being told I was only 3cm and should probably go home for a bit. Four days later and the baby finally arrived - but all the sex did for me was produce a lot of discomfort and to-ing and fro-ing with the children. Wish I'd left well alone and let nature take its own course!

pippylongstockings · 05/07/2009 20:21

Well for DS2 we had sex every day for about a fortnight - bar a few days in the middle cause it was christmas and I didn't want to have my baby then.

Had a sweep NYD, had sex, had a walk, had a curry - had baby next day 8am after a 45min labour.

So would second that it works if your ready but doesn't if your not!

maxbear · 05/07/2009 20:27

First time round I had a sweep on my due date and sex that evening. Started contracting half an hour later.

Mind you had been at it every day since 37 weeks in a bid to bring on labour.

Second time round far too exhausted to have that much sex, so only did it a couple of times a week, ended up going in to labour about 5 hours after sex with nipple stimulation. Also both times proped my bottom on a couple of pillows to make the sperm pool around my cervix. Afterall sperm has prostaglandins in it, as do the drugs they use to induce you!

Original poster
MustHaveaVeryShortMemory · 05/07/2009 21:02

Still here although I do have bad back ache this evening

I will draw the line at an oral ingestion of progesterone Lulubee but all these positive stories have convinced me it works and I'm definitely going to give it another go

OP posts:
MamaMimi · 05/07/2009 22:18

My dd2 was due yesterday but was born on 15th June. She may have been 3 weeks early because dp and I had sex the morning before.

I felt uncomfortable for the rest of that day, probably beginning of contractions but I'm one of those women who don't feel much when it comes to contractions so didn't think much of it, particularly since I was 3 weeks away from being due.

Then my waters broke at approx 8:30pm that evening, I went into hospital at 10:30'ish still not convinced this was the real thing, she was born at 2:12am next morning.

I still cannot think of any other reason that she arrived 3 weeks early except that we had had sex and that set things off. We used a variation on the spoons position BTW.

FreddoBaggyMac · 06/07/2009 09:55

Yes - I have no doubt it worked for me and also gave me a super-quick labour (less than an hour) for dc4!

We tried it a few times during the weeks leading up to my due date and it always gave me really strong BH contractions for a few hours afterwards, which in retrospect I think were pushing the baby further and further down....

Shefflin · 06/07/2009 10:38

What the fug is a "sweep"?

Kaylo · 06/07/2009 10:58

A sweep is where a MW puts her fingers up you fanjo and strokes the membranes to try and encourage labour. Never had one myself but have heard they're uncomfortable.

Stigaloid · 06/07/2009 11:13

Kaylo - i ad a sweep and it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Think your body has to be ready for it to work but i barely felt a thing and started contracting that evening and had baby by next day.