is there any point in sex to help bring labor on??

[daniwalkes]

im 38+4 pregnant with my second dc andi honestly thought i would of had this baby by now... i went into preterm labor but thankfully it all stopped and i haddn't actually dilated but when checked by cervix was 'very soft' and the midwife said it probably wont be too long, well that was at 34 weeks!!!
I don't want to induce the labor as such as i believe it will come out when ready HOWEVER if there is something natural i can do that may help things along without stressing out the baby then i might try it. im presuming things like the teas and pineapple are pointless as my cervix is already soft but what about sex?
I know that all these 'natural' methods wont work unless me and baby are both ready, my ds came at 39 weeks so im kind of hoping for the same result this time!
ANYWAY back to the sex questions;

1. does it really work?
2. do you need to orgasm to make it work (im thinking there is very little chance of that!)

Have sex, it will take your mind off the baby atleast!

Nope it doesnt work (i tried and it was not fun gave birth 41 + 2), and yes the idea is that the semen contains prostaglandins which open the cervix, only contains a v small amount tho so think multiple orgasms would be required!!

as you say highly unlikely u could put up with all that poking when heavily pregnant

Sorry to be dense (and crude) but do you actually have to have sex or can you just squirt a bit up there?

worked for me. I think probably actually doing it is part of it. I saw it as that or a fingering from the midwife in the morning.

You might as well have sex. It'll probably be your last chance for a while.

MadamDeathstare

MadamDeathstare!

Daniwalkes its the combination of semen and endorphins released that are supposed to help the cervix ripen!

I agree though, it only works if your body is 'ready' to give birth anyway!

Last time I had two sweeps, and sex pretty much twice a day got to the point where DH said, and I quote,"I'm not a piece of meat!"

As I was desperate to avoid induction, still went 10 days over but did go naturally, think it was more about it just being 'time' though rather than anything I did to induce it!

But like wukter said, could be your last opportunity for a while for various reasons, so rather than 'doing it' for the sake of anything other than enjoying some romantic time with your other half, don't put any expectations on it resulting in labour!

Good Luck! (not with the sex,with the baby!)

I am in a similar boat and same point in pregnancy. My first was early so this is a whole new thing for me at 38+3. Ultimately I think the baby will come when ready but found this useful, looks like nipples are the key.

www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/labourandbirth/planningyourbabysbirth/naturalbringonla bour/

i'm 40+5 and have tried EVERYTHING!!! i agree with those who say,it'll just come when it's ready.becareful with the nipple twiddling,i did it so much i think i picked up radio 2 ...and it didn't work anyway

if you don't want to go for full-on sex -

nipple - tweaking is still an option and does have a research basis to show it can work - and if you feel like sex after that, why not?

Worked for us twice! I went into labour early with my first 2 dcs within 12 hours or less of sex.

Sadly, dc3 was a pessary instead!

Oohh Weegiemum, read your post too fast and thought you had a marathon sex session of 12 hours!!!

thanks all, we tried but i cant say it was much fun... i have spd which although isn't too bad its difficult to be in some 'positions'!!!
I think maybe i will try something more relaxing like reflexology!

I don't understand the nipple tweaking thing, maybe i just do it wrong but it seems to have no effect on me at all. My mum however swears by it too as she used it to induce by brother so maybe im just getting it all wrong!!
Oh the things we'll try when we're desperate!

Who says we didn't

It worked with ds2. My waters started to trickle whilst having sex.

Find a good pokey position, and orgasms are always good as they can bring on BH's.

Go on, give it a go. You might even enjoy it

Weegiemum , !

Dani - think you have to spend ages 'twiddling'! But the whole nipple including the aereola supposed to simulate baby feeding?!?

Probably why Motherbeyond picked up Radio 2, mammomth efforts required I think!

I think it has to be quality sex, Dh and I had really good spontaneous sex the morning DD was due, my waters broke two hours later.
Bullied Dh into it when DS was two days overdue, it was crap and did nothing.