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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

So what really works to get labour started?????

29 replies

aideesmum · 08/04/2011 09:21

Hi all,

Am 37+4 and went for scan yesterday, all is ok and baby is head down. Had EMCS with DS after induction, failure to progress, got stuck etc etc. Desperate for VBAC this time so want to start to get things moving next week, any ideas what actually does work? Booked in for induction 10 days after due date but really want to avoid this as it can cause the scar to rupture, need another CS etc!

Anything worked for you? Thanks lovely ladies

OP posts:

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TotorosOcarina · 08/04/2011 09:23

Are you taking raspberry leaf, evening primrose oil and massaging with clarysage?

I swear these things helped me have 2 babies on their due dates after I did nothing with DS1 and he was 15 days late and induced.

TotorosOcarina · 08/04/2011 09:24

Also lots of walking if you can, sitting on an excercise ball and sex if you can bear it (I can't!!, lol)

QueenofDreams · 08/04/2011 09:26

DS I tried all the usual culprits - curry, nipple stim, long walks etc and he was born 18 days overdue
DD I was a little more relaxed about things (although did do the dirty and next evening got told I was two centimetres so maybe that actually helped a bit) She was born 13 days over.

It is possible to refuse induction, but I don't know if there's any increased risk with doing this after a csection, sure someone more knowledgeable will be along shortly :)

Good luck, hope all goes well

Original poster

aideesmum · 08/04/2011 09:28

Thanks for that. I will be getting some raspberry leaf tea and going for lots of walks then, also I have a exercise ball so will use that more - partner is not interested in sex so it rules that out (can't blame him as our bellies would get in the way, ).

OP posts:

TotorosOcarina · 08/04/2011 09:30

I'd get the capsuals/tablets rather than the tea if you are 37+ weeks.

also EPO can be used internally to soften and ready the cervix

Prunnhilda · 08/04/2011 09:35

Scrub floors (on hands and knees)
Go for long walks
Get the baby bouncing in a good position on your cervix
(But really it'll happen when it happens)

nocake · 08/04/2011 09:44

Unfortunately all of the things people have suggested are old wives tales and none of them actually work... although you will have lovely clean floor and given the lovely weather a long walk is a great way to pass the time, as long as there's a stop for cake on the way.

The only proven way to start labour is using the drugs that are used for inductions. Are you sure they'll do a full induction? Many hospitals will only attempt one Prostin if you've had a CS previously and won't progress to sytocinon because of the risk of a rupture.

CBear6 · 08/04/2011 09:46

A long walk on the beach - the rolling motion of walking on sand helps baby push down.

Sex. Sperm has prostaglandins in it which are the same things that are in the induction pessaries. If you can't bear sex then just an orgasm will do - that releases oxytocin which also used in hospital inductions.

Pineapple is a bust - my GP told me you'd have to eat about 20 including the peel and core to get enough of the chemical needed to kickstart labour, and your body doesn't store it very well so by the time you ate the 20 the first ten would have already dissipated.

Anything is worth a try except castor oil :)

downbutnotout · 08/04/2011 09:51

Dc1 was bang on time. Dc2 was ten days late and I still maintain I finally got him out by bouncing up and down on my birthing ball until I felt queasy (which didn't take long). Don't think ds enjoyed it too much though - there was meconium in my waters. He was absolutely fine though and the delivery was quick and without interventions.

Btw, I'm sure you're aware of this, but they cannot force you to be induced at 10 days over. I insisted that we should wait at least 14 days and the hospital grudgingly agreed. They did say that if I wanted to go later than that I would have to be scanned every day (and they were very reluctant to do that). However, you will probably need to be quite assertive to get your own way and you may not feel like battling at that stage, as pregnancy is so exhausting. I just thought I would mention it as I know at my hospital the induction at 10 days was presented as a fait accompli and it was only through reading threads on here that I realised that I had a choice.

downbutnotout · 08/04/2011 09:58

I also say that because I got really wound up about ds's lateness as I desperately wanted to avoid an induction (having never heard anything good about them) and I'm sure that all the anguish wasn't helping my body to relax and get on with delivering the baby. So make sure you get plenty and exercise, take care of yourself, relax and let nature do its work (with a bit of bouncing to help it along if you like!)

sirgeorge · 08/04/2011 15:04

You don't have to be induced at 10 days over, i know lots of hospital trusts where their guidelines are two wks over and i bet their IOL rates are much lower! there is very little research around IOL and i personally wouln't accept it, babies come when they are ready!

bemybebe · 08/04/2011 15:11

downbutnotout I do not get it, who are "they" who can force inductions and how exactly can "they" do it if the woman doesn't want it?

You just made me very worried.

ShowOfHands · 08/04/2011 15:11

None of it works. It's all old wives tales. You cannot force a baby- short of chemical induction- to be born when it is not ready and you do NOT want to do so. It's a chemical process between you and the baby that no amount of sex or curry will change. Yes lots of people will coincidentally do a and labour will start. But there will be hundreds more who do a and labour doesn't start and many, many more who were asleep/eating chocolate/MNing when labour started.

Interesting, though semen does contain prostaglandins, no study has ever found that it is at all linked to labour starting. But a couple of small studies have found a very small, tenuous link between the oral ingestion of semen and labour starting. Not a big enough link to be convincing, but lots of men seem to like it as a suggestion.

Oh and raspberry leaf tea isn't an old wives tale linked to labour starting. It strengthens the uterus in order to make your second stage more effective.

Spend the last few days and weeks of your pregnancy doing whatever makes you happy. Forcing out a baby who isn't ready isn't the recipe for a successful and straightforward vbac. You don't have to be induced either.

bemybebe · 08/04/2011 15:12

I just assume from you post that since you are saying "at 10 days over" they cannot, means at XX days over they can. Please say I got it all wrong.

bemybebe · 08/04/2011 15:14

SOH can you please post the link to the 'ingested semen study'. Surely it is a wind up.

ShowOfHands · 08/04/2011 15:29

It's not so surprising. A friend had the research at uni (he was doing biology). Prostaglandins are absorbed more easily through the gut than the vagina. Hence how you can induce using a tablet.

I can hunt it down if you want, but I assure you it's been looked at. I doubt it really causes labour to start (as nothing does) but it has been shown to work in a tiny number of cases more than vaginal intercourse. And by 'work' I mean 'coincidentally'.

bemybebe · 08/04/2011 15:52

I will be very interested to see the study if you can hunt it down. What do you mean "a friend had the research at uni" - do you mean she was participating in the study or she came across it whilst at the uni?

I have searched internet and the only "sources" are the pregnancy forums and chatrooms. Sounds like complete bs to me.

ShowOfHands · 08/04/2011 17:55

No, he was doing an obstetrics module thing (he was going into medicine) and had been reading journals. We were in the library. He shared it back then in a 'can you believe this type way' (ie, the things they spend time researching ). It meant beggar all to me at the time but now I've actually been heavily pregnant it makes me . No clue what he was actually studying but something to do with induction as he said at the time that it still wasn't known what actually caused the start of labour (hence you not being able to replicate it at home). I asked my cons about it in passing and he said it's still very much true. They don't fully understand the exact thing that triggers labour but that it's probably chemical/hormonal. Something like that.

And it doesn't sound like complete bs at all. If prostaglandins are linked to inducing labour and oral prostaglandins are better absorbed through the abdominal wall then if there was any truth in the old wives tales you'd expect oral ingestion to be more effective. Why wouldn't they look into it as a premise? It has a hypothetical basis. Neither works though iirc though theoretically the one should work better than the other. I think what was found was that neither thing was linked to labour in a statistically significant way but in more cases they saw the coincidental start of labour after the oral ingestion.

Really, it was a passing comment and a glance at a journal but I can email him if you're really interested.

ShowOfHands · 08/04/2011 17:55

Oh fgs, they need to sort out italics so you can do two words still.

ShowOfHands · 08/04/2011 18:03

I've had a quick search on some medical journals (that I can't access fully) and found a reference to a study that looked at the difference between absorption of prostaglandins in semen through vaginal mucosa and through oral ingestion and you can see around 10x more levels when ingesting orally. They then looked at the links to labour but like I say I can't access the full thing.

It is out there, strange as it may seem.

Leilababyno1 · 08/04/2011 18:13

uuuuuuuh...might have to oblige the hubby this weekend then..- still, if getting baby out soon means more valuable drinking time in those beer gardens....then one must do what one must do!

bemybebe · 08/04/2011 18:24

Soh, please email him if possible. I would really appreciate it if it is not too much of an effort. I have looked very carefully on google, but to view these academic journals one has to have a special sub. The reason I am saying it is bs, not because it can or cannot be explained, but because I have seen absolutely no reference to it, whilst a lot of internet gossip.

bemybebe · 08/04/2011 18:24

x post with your second message.

nocake · 08/04/2011 19:02

A friend who is a MW did some calculations in a quiet moment on the amount of prostaglandin in the pessaries compared with the amount in semen. Let's just say that you'd need DH to be some sort of shagging superman to get enough to have any effect

downbutnotout · 08/04/2011 20:26

bemybebe I just meant that when you attend your check-up nearest to 40 weeks, the midwives/doctors at a lot of hospitals (obviously mine included) will tell you that you are being booked in for an induction at 10 days over. It may not be apparent to you if you are new to all this birthing malarkey that you have a choice in the matter and can ask to go longer than 10 days over. They will not refuse you if you ask, but there maybe a lot of pursing of lips, muttering, frowning and consultation amongst themselves which can be very off-putting if you are a newbie (and not keen on confrontation, like myself). I've probably overstated the case by saying you need to be quite assertive and I didn't mean to worry you. It's just that I am by nature the opposite of assertive so it took quite a lot for me to challenge what was presented to me as a done deal.

The main thing is to know that you have a choice. If you don't, then you can find yourself in a situation you didn't want.

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