Does sex really work?

[bytheMoonlight]

I am 39+2 and want to give the baby a helpful nudge out, does sex really work or is it another myth like hot baths?

Well the prostaglandins in semen are what works. They are the same gubbins they use in the pessaries to induce labour so yes it can if it's time for the baby to come out anyway.

Worth a try!

Yes it's definately helpful - go for it

It worked for us.

It wasn't exactly passionate though .

I've heard that if you try and express some milk it can be helpful too.

Right,for once though I'm not sure if dh is going to be overly keen

Well you just need to tell him that once the baby arrives sex is going to be a very long way down your priority list - that may inspire him.

I told DP he had to, and to stop being such a wimp... he got into it in the end. It hasn't worked for me yet. Although apparently ingesting the semen works better?

giddyup that must have been a man that suggested it works if semen is ingested

Ha! it was someone on another thread, I haven't mentioned it to DP [hgrin]

"There's not much evidence that it does work. Of the small studies that have been carried out all but one (Tan et al 2006) suggest that sex neither helps to ripen the cervix nor to start labour earlier ... giving your partner oral sex may work better. It is thought that prostaglandins are absorbed more efficiently through the gut than through the vagina"

I have already abused DP today and he goes away to work early tomorrow until Sunday so I may have missed my chance! I may try and pounce again later...

Oh damm, I've already told dh, wish I'd read your post first Show. Not that I'm up for ingesting tonight, just because I'm not up for anything!

Just wanted to say that the thread title gave me a giggle; perhaps it would be better placed in "Childbirth", since the answer to "Pregnancy - Does sex really work" is quite obvious [hgrin]

LOL Giddyup, your name and your post together just give me the vision of a pregnant lady in chaps with a riding crop screaming at her cowering husband to man up and do the deed!

it didnt for us

i went 17 days and 19 days overdue. Dh was exhausted

Still no sign despite dhs best efforts

I bet you were too Kristina!

bytheMoonlight, a normal pregnancy is 37-42 weeks. None of the old wives tales work. For every woman who had sex and went into labour, there will be several more who sat on the sofa and went into labour or ate chocolate and went into labour. And many, many more who had sex and didn't go into labour.

The onset of labour is still not completely understood, save to say that it is something that happens inside your body without reference to what is happening externally bar situations like chemical induction for example. Your baby will tell your body when it's ready to be born. Eating certain foods, walking and having sex have never been shown to have any proven effect on this chemical reaction.

I know it's frustrating but you don't want to push a baby into being born when it's not ready anyway.

It's like parenting. You can't hope to change nature/physiology but you can change your attitude and make life easier for you.

Of course in said vision, husband was also wearing a saddle (naturally).

Writerofdreams, stop. You're making my DH horny.

stumps - i didnt want to push my baby into being born. i wanted to start labour naturally and not be induced, to give me a better chance of a normal delivery

KristinaM, that I completely understand. I was addressing the op who is 'only' 39+2.

Umm, an orgasm of any type is worth a try if DH is not keen and you're feeling too beached-whale to be sexy.

Writerofdreams it is like you were in the room! [hgrin]